No leaven in the sacrifice

So, last time we looked at the fact that Jesus was the bread of heaven that was offered in the meat offering. It is interesting to note that no leaven was to be offered in this offering. In fact verse 11 of Leviticus chapter 2 tells us that no leaven was to be offered in any sacrifice made by fire. Leaven signifies several things in the scriptures so let's take a look at them.

          1. False doctrine

In Matthew 16:12 it says,"Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." False doctrine spreads. It works its way through the church deceiving believers. Unfortunately 'doctrine' is a dirty word amongst many who profess to love the Lord Jesus these days. Nevertheless Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was THE way THE TRUTH and THE life. The definite article is used in each occasion. Truth is truth and error is error. There is no grey area between the two in regards to doctrinal truth - and so Jesus warns His disciples to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadduccees. In fact when Paul says,"A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" in Galatians 5:9 he is actually speaking about false doctrine since the Galatians were being tempted to go back under the law and be circumcised.

          2. Hypocrisy

Luke 12:1 states,"In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. " Hypocrisy is where false doctrine leads. The word hypocrisy means to be a stage player - pretending to be someone else - not really being the real you.  1 Cor. 5:8 says, "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth." Someone who is being sincere and truthful cannot be a hypocrite.

          3. Sin

In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Paul quotes the same thing as in Galatians 5:9,"A little leaven leavns the whole lump," but this time he is talking about sin. The Corinthians had not dealt with a sinful brother and Paul warns them that sin spreads. In fact verse 8 says that it is the leaven of malice and wickedness.


So in the offering up of Christ there was no room for false doctrine, hypocrisy or sin because He was the perfect sacrifice - the only way to heaven - the way the truth ad the life.

the meat offering

And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be [of] fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: Leviticus 2:1 This meat offering was actually a grain offering of flour. In John 6:47 - 51 Jesus tells us that He is the bread that came down from heaven and in verse 51 He says, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. So Jesus is the bread that is to be offered up for the sins of the world. Also notice that the offering had oil poured upon it. This happened to Jesus in Matthew 3:16 where the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form. Finally, this sacrifice had frankincense put on it. In Hebrew the word frankincense means 'white' in that this is the colour of pure frankincense. White obviously refers to purity. Thus Jesus was the Bread from heaven who was anointed with the Holy Spirit and was totally sinless and pure. (Hebrews 1:9; Hebrews 4:15;) Next we shall take a look at the fact that no leaven was to be offered in the offering.

Leviticus1 verse 7-9

"And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire."

As we discussed over the last few sessions the sacrifice typifies the sufferings and offering up of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we have a reference to fire. Fire relates to several things in the scriptures, one of these being the suffering and trial that we have to go through as believers in the Lord.  (Daniel 3, 1Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ).  Jesus said to His disciples: Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? (Matt 20:20-23) On the cross Jesus had to suffer the cruel mockings of sinful men, but He also carried our sins on the cross and took upon Himself the punishment for these offences. So much so that the apostle Paul says that He became sin for us. (For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2  Cor5:21) This was the baptism to which Jesus was referring to - a baptism of fire. So when Jesus said that we had to take up our cross, this was also referring to this baptism. Now note that the offering is placed on wood: Jesus was crucified on a wooden cross. Thus the sacrifice of Christ on the cross satisfied the divine justice of Almighty God. Isaiah 53:12 says that , "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied : by His knowledge shall my Righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities."

Leviticus 1: 6

And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. Leviticus 1:6. The offering had to be flayed and then cut into pieces. Before Jesus was crucified he was scourged. Matthew 27:26 says: When he had scourged Jesus, he delivered [him] to be crucified.  So the sacrifice in Leviticus was a type showing us that Christ Himself would be beaten and cut to pieces. The Roman scourge was a horrific instrument that was designed to quickly remove flesh from the person being beaten or scourged. Thus the Levitical description of the sacrifice being flayed is very accurate in regards to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus since this flaying was performed to remove the skin from the sacrifice before being offered as a burnt offering on the altar. Isaiah 50:6 tells us I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. The Lord Jesus offered Himself for us and put Himself through this for us! Praise His name. Next time we shall look at verse 7.

Leviticus 1 verse 5

And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that [is by] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 1v5. So here we see that the offering was killed before the Lord and the blood sprinkled about upon the altar. The Lord Jesus Christ, when He was offered up on the cross, was offered up to His heavenly Father as a perfect sacrifice. Isaiah 53 v 10 says, 'Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin'.  As well as being offered up to the Lord, His precious blood actually purified 'heavenly things' as Hebrew chapter 9 vs 22 - 24 says:  '[It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.' Praise God that 'by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.' Hebrew 10 v 14. Next time we look at this chapter we shall be looking at how the sacrifice in Leviticus speaks to us about the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bye for now.

Leviticus chapter 1

Sometimes the book of Leviticus can be seen as a very hard book to read or understand. The thing is it is still very relevant for us since it speaks to us of the Lord Jesus Christ in various ways regarding His sacrifice on the cross. Therefore today I would like to look at chapter 1 of Leviticus in regards to his great sacrifice for us. "If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. "(v.3-4) The Lamb had to be without blemish. At Passover time in a Jewish home the male  Passover lamb had to be set apart four days before the sacrifice. (Exodus 12v 3) The lamb was observed for defects and could not be used if it was imperfect. Typologically this speaks of Christ. He was the sinless Lamb of God offered to take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Now note in verse 4 that those who were offering the lamb had to place their hand upon the sacrifice for it to be accepted as an atonement for them. Therefore if the sacrifice was offered but they did not put their hand on it would not have atoned for them. Christ has been sacrificed - but you must reach out to touch him. You can do this by putting your faith in His finished work on the cross. Once you place your hand on Him His sacrifice atones for you! Nevertheless, even though He has been offered, if you do not place your hand upon Him, His atonement will avail nothing for you. Your sin can only be forgiven if you confess that you are a sinner and rely on nothing but Christ - He is the only way to heaven (John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.)  I will look at more from chapter one next time. Bye for now.

Ecclesiastes 11 verse 6

VERSESIX


In this final verse which I want to consider from this chapter we are encouraged again to diligently sow the seed of the gospel; indeed the scripture states ‘In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold not thy hand’. This term does not only speak of witnessing at every opportunity but also to me this speaks of ‘morning’ indicating the beginning of a believers life , whilst ‘evening’ indicating the end of life. Thus the whole life of a believer should be lived with the goal of reaching as many as possible with the gospel. We don’t know what seed will bear fruit to salvation but  we are to leave the results to God and direct our full attention to reaching the lost with the gospel.    

Ecclesiastes 11 verse 5

VERSE FIVE


This verse now speaks of the hidden work of the Holy Spirit in a person's heart. Just as we cannot behold new life with our natural eyes as it is forming within the womb, so we cannot observe the work of God in the individual. Therefore we should not be discouraged when we do not see results with our natural eyes. The work of converting the soul belongs to God, we are just messengers of His grace.  The words, ' thou knowest not the way of the spirit' reminds me of Jesus talking to Niocodemus in John Chapter 3.'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.' (v.8) We cannot see the hidden work of God’s Spirit in a person's life. We must give God time to work in people’s lives and one day we will see the results, even if that is only in eternity.

Ecclesiastes 11 verse 4

VERSEFOUR


Now the passage in the next three verses warn us against being slothful and  easily discouraged in the labour for lost souls.
Verse four tells us not to be excusing ourselves by looking at the circumstances around us. In this instance the sower is not casting the seed  because of the wind. Notice that he is ‘observing’ the wind; he is excusing himself because of the circumstances which are happening around him. These circumstances can be many and varied in our own lives: persecution, depression, financial problems or the hardness in maen's hearts.      
The second half of the verse warns against ‘regarding’. Here the reaper is thinking that it might rain due to seeing heavy clouds in the sky and thus is tempted to put off reaping to another day.(John 4:35-37) He is looking at events which might take place. Sometimes this can be more off putting than events which are happening around us since the mind can cook up all sorts of fearful scenarios. The truth is that we should not allow anything to distract our attention from the great commission which Jesus gave to the disciples: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.(Mark16:15)

Ecclesiastes 11 verse 3

Today we are looking at verse three of Ecclesiastes 11.

VERSE THREE

Sometimes the scriptures use clouds when referring to people. Jude 12 tells us of people who are clouds without water carried about of winds, whereas Prov.25:14 tells us that these people are false brethren who are boasting of a false gift of salvation.(Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.)

Here reference is to the clouds being full of rain, and what happens when they are? they empty themselves upon the earth. This is an exhortation to be full of God's Spirit, and the consequences of this being that we will pour forth ourselves (i.e.empty ourselves) upon a needy world. The Hebrew word used here for 'clouds' comes from the root 5743 (Strong's concordance)  'oob' to be dense or dark: thus referring to being heavy with rain.  The obvious conclusion to this is that we must be full to bursting with God's Holy Spirit. When the gospel has been shared with a person, then the responsibility for that person's soul rests with himself or herself.

Thus the second half of this verse tells of a tree falling to the south or the north. Again here the scripture is using 'tree' typologically. The term falling is given to indicate the death of the person who has been given the gospel by a believer. The south or the north indicates what happens to the person after death. There are several places in the scriptures where north illustrates God's presence.(e.g.Psalm 48:2; Isaiah 14:13; Psalm 75:6 North is omitted referring to promotion coming from the north.) The south speaks of the person entering death without Christ and thus falling away from God; whereas the north speaks of the person accepting the message of the gospel and thus at death falling towards God. This passage, as with the rest of the scriptures, tells us the truth of either eternal separation from God or eternal bliss with Him -- in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be. After the person has entered death there is no second chance, he remains in heaven or hell forever.

Verse 4 tomorrow

Ecclesiastes11:2

Yesterday we looked verse 1 of chapter 11 so now let's look further into this passage.

VERSE TWO Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

Here the scriptures command us to 'give a portion to seven and also to eight.'
According to Strong's concordance (2506) the word 'portion' can mean a smoothness of the tongue, thus the smoothness of the tongue signifies the speaking of the gospel to individuals, but the primitive root(2505) means to be smooth, as in the smooth stones used for casting lots to settle disputes for allotments or inheritances. This reminds me of the declaration of the wonderful inheritance He has won for the world if they will only repent and believe the gospel. The words 'seven' and 'eight' again convey to us the importance of reaching as many as possible in our lifetime. Seven (7651) typologically speaks of an indefinite number (e.g. Gen: 4:24; Luke 17:4; Mat: 18 21:22)  whereas eight (8083) conveys plumpness – a surplus above the 'perfect' seven. From this can be seen the importance of reaching the perfect seven, but also having such a burden for the lost that we go above and beyond this in our zeal to reach the eight.
The second part of this verse warns us of the day of darkness that can speedily come upon us. At the moment in this country there is liberty to preach the gospel but the day may come when that liberty is removed and there will be a persecution of the church of God which preaches the true gospel. Not only this, but the words 'for thou knowest not what evil shall be on the earth' also warn us of the frailty of life in that we don't know what tomorrow will bring:death, ill health or other unforeseen circumstances which can inhibit us in spreading the gospel.  Therefore the message of this verse is the same as that which our Lord Jesus said, "The night cometh, when no man can work". John 9:4

Verse 3 tomorrow. Bye for now.

Ecclesiastes 11

This week I am going to look at a few versus from Ecclesiastes 11.

Verse one is an often quoted verse regarding witnessing and the sowing of the seed of the Word of God, but if a closer look is taken at the proceeding verses it can be seen that much of the passage teaches us about this very important subject: so let's take a closer look. I will look at a verse per day.


Verse 1.

The word 'cast' (Strong's 7971) is an obvious allusion to the sowing of the seed of God's word in the hearts of mankind. The Hebrew for this word is 'SHALACH' and it is given in what is known as the 3^rd conjugation. This has significant interest for us in unlocking the meaning of this passage in terms of its urgency regarding the lost souls of our fellow men. The 3^rd conjugation gives a meaning of diligence or rigorousness; thus this passage is not speaking of an idle half-hearted spreading of the gospel, but rather a hearty diligent endeavour to win the lost.

What we are to cast is 'thy bread'. Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35). In the parable of the sower he is sowing seed to gain a harvest. It is interesting to note that the passage states 'thy bread'; that is the bread belongs to us – it is personal to us. In other words before we can give out the word of God, we must first be partakers of it – we must be believers. Where we are to cast our bread is 'upon the waters'. The Hebrew can also be translated as 'upon the face of the waters'. The same word is used in Genesis 1:2. Scripturally waters (amongst other things) typify nations and peoples (e.g. and he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues Rev 17:15) thus, although we cannot reach every person in this world with the gospel, the term 'face of the waters' represents our sphere of influence in the world -  the few people we will come into contact with as we live out our lives and try to reach as many as we can, even though this will only be scratching the surface of the waters and not plumbing the depths of the billions of people who live on Earth. As we live out our lives in this vein we have a promise from God that the bread shall be found after many days. This promise is given to encourage us so that we will not become discouraged when results from our labours are not seen, but rather that we should patiently wait for the seed of God's word to germinate in the hearts of those we have witnessed to. 

Tomorrow I will at verse 2. 

God shows mercy to those who love him

This is the last day that I will looking at generational curses. Obviously there is more that could be said, but you need to study the scriptures yourself to see if these things be so. (Acts 17:11) Also if anyone has any questions or comments I would welcome them. Exodus 20:6 states: And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Obviously, before we turned to Christ, we were under sin, controlled by the spirit that now works in the hearts of those who are the children of disobedience. (Eph 2) During this time we were certainly under the judgement of God. The scriptures that we have been considering regarding generational curses would have been applicable to us. 1Pet 1:18 says: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers. Nevertheless once we trusted in Christ we started to love God. We started to honour His word. At this point he showed us His mercy. We were vessels of his wonderful grace. Therefore in closing for today consider that the work on the cross is sufficient for our every need and problem. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus on the cross: It is finished! (John 19:30) Again - the verb finished is in the perfect tense. In other words it never needs to be repeated. It has been completed and His work will continue into eternity forever! Praise His name.

Ancestral curses and healing

Due to what we have been looking at over the last few days I am sure that there are some who would ask about the experiences of believers who have been healed as a direct result of an ancestral curse being broken in their lives.  In considering this we have to ask, 'Can experience over-rule the Word of God. Jesus says in John 10:35 'The scripture cannot be broken'. Isaiah 8:20 says, 'To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.' God's word can never bow to man's experience. Even the Apostle Peter said the following after the experience of the transfiguration: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:16 - 19) We have a more sure word of prophecy! Even though Peter experienced the Lord Jesus transfigured in glory before him he said that the prophecy of scripture was more sure than his own  experience. We must not - cannot - veer away from God's word.

Visiting the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth generation

As we discussed yesterday, when a person is born again (John 3), he or she becomes a new creature in Christ. What was in Adam has passed. A Christian is said to be 'in Christ'. As we said yesterday, Jesus becomes our living head. Our line of descent changes from Adam to Christ. Now consider this, where does the curse come from?  Very often, in my conversation with those who believe that a believer can be touched with this generational curse they will speak of praying against the curse to break it. If you read the following passages: Ex. 20:5; Num. 14:18; etc. you will see that it is God Himself that visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. It is not a demonic curse. Thus in a reduction to absurdity when someone is commanding the curse to be broken they are asking God to break his own curse upon someone for whom Christ has already been cursed. This is utter nonsense. This does not mean that a believer cannot be tempted, enticed into sin or led astray by demonic spirits, or the flesh - but the false doctrine of generational curses leads the believer away from accountability to his or her own sin and conveniently places the burden elsewhere. This is much more convenient to the conscience! So Peter is having such a problem controlling his lustful feelings. After being prayed for someone says that in the past a relative was a womaniser - this stems from a generational curse. What a disgrace - instead Peter should be pointed to the cross of Christ for forgiveness - after repentance - and total deliverance. Christ put Peter to death at the cross (Galatians 2:20)  - this is where victory lies - not in the psychological curse theory. Tomorrow we shall look at people's experiences regarding healing due to 'curses being broken' - and consider this against scripture.

A new creation

So now we are considering 2 Corinthians 5:17 in regards to the doctrine of ancestral curses. Yesterday we considered that God has already punished the Lord Jesus for our sins and thus He would be unjust to punish us too for something our forefathers had done. Now let us consider that the above scripture says, "Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. " Firstly, in 1 Corinthians 15:45 Paul tells us,"The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit." For a believer in Christ the old man is dead (Romans 6). He or she is raised up to new life in Christ. For the Christian a change in descent has occurred. What was in Adam died, what is in Christ is new. Now when we look back at 2 Cor. 5:17 the passage says 'old things are passed away'. The verb 'pass' in passed away is in the aorist tense. It is a tense meaning single or completed action. It has happened. It is finished with. The verb 'become' is in the perfect tense. It means something that has happened in the past with continuing results. Thus for the believer, in God's eyes, what was in Adam is dead, what is in Christ is continuing into eternal life. If there was an ancestral curse in our lives in Adam- it has already been broken in Christ. He has already done the work through the cross! The man or woman who deserved to be cursed is dead. Christ Himself is now our head. (1 Corinthians 11:3) The doctrine that teaches that we, as believers can be cursed due to what our forefathers have done takes away from the finished work on the cross. Tomorrow I am going to look back at the curse in the Old Testament to see who actually curses us - God or Satan - the result is very interesting in view of what we have just been discussing. Bye for now.

Ancestral curses

The starting point for our study is Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; and Deuteronomy 5:9. Basically these scriptures testify that the sins of fathers pass down to their children. The key in two of these scriptures is in the word,"Of them that hate me." In the Hebrew (I am not a scholar, I am just parsing the verb through books) the word 'hate' is an active participle. Thus the sins are visited upon those who were/are and will be hating God. So if you are worried that you are carrying around a curse from your ancestors the first thing you need to ask yourself is, "Am I a hater of God?" The second question is, "Have I trusted in Christ's work on the cross?" Gal 3:13 states, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree." If you answer 'no' to the first question and 'yes' to the second it is then impossible to have a generational curse - why? Because Christ became a curse for us and God is a just God. Christ has been punished for our sins, cleansed us though His blood, made us righteous in Him, made us into new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). is it just to curse a righteous person who loves God for the sins of his or her father? Think about this - and tomorrow I am going to look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 in greater depth.

Established with grace

Hebrews 13:9 states, "Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace;" Hebrews also tells us in 4:9 - 10 that, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath ceased from his own works as God did from His." There are many strange doctrines working around these days, even within the church. The plumb line for all truth is firstly, is it in the word of God and secondly does it take away from the finished work of Christ on the cross. Our hearts need to be strengthened with old truths that are still new. The finished work of Christ is ever new even though it happened years ago and it is what God did for us in His Son Jesus. We can rest in His work and find all of our strength in Him. He has already dealt with every sin and he will deliver us from present problems and habitual sin if we find Him as our resting place. Tomorrow I am going to think about how the doctrine of ancestral curses takes away from the work Christ has done on the cross. Bye for now.

Growth in Grace

The Apostle Paul tells Timothy to,"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 2:1) The starting point of faith in Christ is to realise that he paid for our sins on the cross and that we cannot work our own way to heaven. He has paid the price - we get there by his grace. Then as we grow in the Christian faith we realise that we need to grow in the grace of what Christ has done for us. In Him He is our righteousness, sanctification, wisdom and redemption. We died in Him and through His grace He will live His resurrection life through us now! This knowledge and experience is something that we need to grow in throughout all of our lives since the Christain life is a life lived totally in and through the grace of our wonderful God! (Romans 6; Galatians 2:20)