To me, I sometimes think of the Advent season as just another tradition that we perform in the month of December that does not really strike the heart. My church does not celebrate Advent (with the wreath and candles, etc.), and I have never really participated in the events of it since I a was a little girl, and I did not really get it then. Communion, Advent, Lent, The Lord’s Prayer, and other practices that many Christian churches do on a weekly (or annual) basis can inspire, in and of themselves, great reverence, awe, thankfulness, and humility. However, at the same time, these practices may also cause apathy, indifference, and a lack of attention to the purpose behind the acts or events because of their repetition.
Although it may seem that I have gotten off tract in regard to the title of this blog, I haven’t. Christmas has become so commercialized and so formalized that it seems like we don’t really get to the heart of the season, the reason why we celebrate. As my cell group had been studying the book of Genesis, and the promises of God had been a recurring theme throughout that book, this season, I have looked at the birth of Jesus quite differently. In light of the book of Genesis, God’s provision of Jesus to save us is so awesome to realize.
Looking back at the book of Genesis, covenants were contracts between two parties who each agreed and made promises and, if they were not fulfilled, the party who did not fulfill their part could be (would be) killed. In the Covenant between Abram and God, Abram never walked through the blood sealing his promise, but God walked through twice. God made a promise of His own and then promised to keep Abram’s part. Abram’s part was that he’d “walk before me [God] and be blameless.” (Genesis 17:1b) Impossible? Yes. But God promised when he went through the covenant blood that he’d keep Abram’s part. And it was not just Abram’s promise, but “Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.’” (Genesis 17:9) God told Abraham (his name got changed here) that not just he would need to be blameless, but all who would have God be their God would need to be blameless.
How can we do this? Be blameless? We can’t. But God, knowing that Abraham/Abram (and us) would never be able to keep that promise, walked through the covenant blood for us and would keep that promise for us. How? Jesus. Because we couldn't keep the promise of blamelessness (and God chose to keep it for us), the covenant would be fulfilled with the death of Jesus. To me, it is so amazing that Jesus was willing to do this. To be a sacrifice for me who has never been, nor never will be here, blameless.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT) reads that: “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for his glory.” God fulfilled all His promises to His people with Jesus choosing to come and be a man and Him choosing to be our sacrifice (see Philippians 2:6-8). The Promise of God was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus and in His choice to submit to death. This idea has hugely influenced my outlook on Christmas this year and on how important this birth was. It had been thousands of years in the making, and we only celebrate God’s willingness to be like us and to die for us one day a year, and that has been made so commercialized it has become unrecognizable. The celebration of the Advent of Jesus should be recognized for what it used to be, the anticipation and longing for our God’s sacrifice.
The term “advent” means the “arrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous).” I realized this year that I don’t celebrate the birth of Jesus through the whole month in anticipation of celebrating that He came to live and die for me. I worry and I fret about money and buying gifts, about having time for Christmas parties and friends and family. I need to re-prioritize my life and realize that it is the advent of Jesus that has given me forgiveness, grace, and mercy. That it is due to that covenant between Abram and God, that God kept both parts, that I am saved through that choice God made to love me unconditionally. Shouldn’t I take that realization and let the Holy Spirit work in me to make me a new creation? Shouldn’t I let go of the old man and put on the new? (See Ephesians 4:17-24) I need to let the Advent of Jesus and the celebration of His life and death change me, make me new, and make life about Him, not me.
Showing posts with label Covenant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Covenant. Show all posts
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Foreshadowing in Genesis -- Part III
Genesis 49 :: The Messiah Foretold
As we begin this chapter, Jacob lies dying (in Egypt) and gathers his 12 sons around him and says: “I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.” (49:1) He then proceeds to pronounce what will become of his sons, their families, and their descendents. The purpose of this section of Genesis 49 is described by the author/commentator: “These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.” (49:28) Although all are very interesting, I find two of the messages fascinating: Levi and Judah.
Although Levi’s message has noting to do with the foretelling of the Messiah, I find it very cool what Jacob says about him and about what his descendents will become. Levi, one of the brothers who killed the entire city’s population of men for the rape of his sister Dinah (34:25), is “cursed” as being violent and angry, and that “I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel” (49:7). That being said, Levi’s descendents became priests and were given no allotment of land in Canaan; they were dispersed among the 12 tribes of Israel. (When you remove Levi as a tribe inheriting land, there still remains 12 tribes when you include the “half tribes” of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons whom Jacob made his own sons in Genesis 48:5.)
OK, now on to Jesus. Judah, who is not the eldest, becomes the son of The Promise. What does The Promise refer to? God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the same; that God would swear “…by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:16-18, emphasis added.) The Promise is not just a group of descendents and land, but that the world will be blessed.
Remember the Covenant with Abram. Because Abram couldn’t keep his promise to “walk before me [God] and be blameless” (17:1), God had to keep His promise and be murdered so that we could be blameless before God, through Jesus (see Covenant Blog). In order for The Promise of God to be fulfilled, God choose to bless Abraham, followed by Isaac (not the first born, but the child chosen for The Promise), Jacob (again, not the first born, but the child chosen for The Promise), Judah, through to David (the first to hold the scepter of Judah) all the way down to Jesus (see Matthew 1). Part of The Promise was the lineage of Jesus. Through The Promise, he chose and protected these people until Jesus came to bless the whole world. We all, not just the Jewish Nation (see also Ephesians 2:13-17), are blessed with forgiveness and mercy through The Promise.
Now, read the central part of Judah’s “appropriate message” (49:28). Genesis 49:10 NLT “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.” The rightful ruling of the nation would flow from Judah and that his descendents would hold it until the “one to whom it belongs” comes. David is the first from the Tribe of Judah to become king. Interestingly enough, Judah is called “a lion's cub” (49:9 NIV) here. And later, in reference to this, in Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne.” The true owner of the right to rule? God. Jesus is God. (see Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58) Jesus is The Promise and “all nations” will not only honor Him, but trust in Him for salvation. Here also is where Jesus is foretold of being from the Tribe of Judah. Also here, I would almost give double meaning to the word scepter; that it is not just meaning a ruler or king, but also as The Promise being fulfilled through the line of Judah, fulfilled in Jesus.
OK, so the next few versus regarding Judah are a bit poetic and weird to me. However, when I read them, I look at them through the lens of what Jesus did for me and I see something interesting. “He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.” (49:11) Jesus was pure and had done nothing, but took on my sin and my punishment. He dirtied himself for me, and his blood covers me and makes me clean.
As we begin this chapter, Jacob lies dying (in Egypt) and gathers his 12 sons around him and says: “I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.” (49:1) He then proceeds to pronounce what will become of his sons, their families, and their descendents. The purpose of this section of Genesis 49 is described by the author/commentator: “These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.” (49:28) Although all are very interesting, I find two of the messages fascinating: Levi and Judah.
Although Levi’s message has noting to do with the foretelling of the Messiah, I find it very cool what Jacob says about him and about what his descendents will become. Levi, one of the brothers who killed the entire city’s population of men for the rape of his sister Dinah (34:25), is “cursed” as being violent and angry, and that “I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel” (49:7). That being said, Levi’s descendents became priests and were given no allotment of land in Canaan; they were dispersed among the 12 tribes of Israel. (When you remove Levi as a tribe inheriting land, there still remains 12 tribes when you include the “half tribes” of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons whom Jacob made his own sons in Genesis 48:5.)
OK, now on to Jesus. Judah, who is not the eldest, becomes the son of The Promise. What does The Promise refer to? God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the same; that God would swear “…by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:16-18, emphasis added.) The Promise is not just a group of descendents and land, but that the world will be blessed.
Remember the Covenant with Abram. Because Abram couldn’t keep his promise to “walk before me [God] and be blameless” (17:1), God had to keep His promise and be murdered so that we could be blameless before God, through Jesus (see Covenant Blog). In order for The Promise of God to be fulfilled, God choose to bless Abraham, followed by Isaac (not the first born, but the child chosen for The Promise), Jacob (again, not the first born, but the child chosen for The Promise), Judah, through to David (the first to hold the scepter of Judah) all the way down to Jesus (see Matthew 1). Part of The Promise was the lineage of Jesus. Through The Promise, he chose and protected these people until Jesus came to bless the whole world. We all, not just the Jewish Nation (see also Ephesians 2:13-17), are blessed with forgiveness and mercy through The Promise.
Now, read the central part of Judah’s “appropriate message” (49:28). Genesis 49:10 NLT “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.” The rightful ruling of the nation would flow from Judah and that his descendents would hold it until the “one to whom it belongs” comes. David is the first from the Tribe of Judah to become king. Interestingly enough, Judah is called “a lion's cub” (49:9 NIV) here. And later, in reference to this, in Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne.” The true owner of the right to rule? God. Jesus is God. (see Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58) Jesus is The Promise and “all nations” will not only honor Him, but trust in Him for salvation. Here also is where Jesus is foretold of being from the Tribe of Judah. Also here, I would almost give double meaning to the word scepter; that it is not just meaning a ruler or king, but also as The Promise being fulfilled through the line of Judah, fulfilled in Jesus.
OK, so the next few versus regarding Judah are a bit poetic and weird to me. However, when I read them, I look at them through the lens of what Jesus did for me and I see something interesting. “He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.” (49:11) Jesus was pure and had done nothing, but took on my sin and my punishment. He dirtied himself for me, and his blood covers me and makes me clean.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Foreshadowing in Genesis -- Part I
I’ve been missing from here for a while, so I thought I should write something. I’m not really sure why I should write because I doubt anyone actually reads these things, but I feel like I should. So…I had Bible study last night, and we are studying Genesis and I think that I’ll share some things I’ve learned that I think are really cool.
First, I’d say to read the passage because I’m not quoting and I’m writing from memory of wording. Second, this will be in however many parts I need it to be, so stay tuned (all of the hundreds who read this [I’m in full sarcasm mode here]).
Genesis 15 :: God’s Covenant With Abram
The Hebrew word for Covenant means “to cut.” The purpose behind making a covenant with someone (all people would do this, not just God with His people) was to solidify a formal agreement between two parties. The greater party would bring the animal sacrifices and the lesser party would come prepared to make their promises. The parties would dig a trench and cut the animals from top to bottom in half and place the pieces on either side of the trench and let the blood flow into the trench. The greater party (and then the lesser party) would then walk through the blood. The point basically is that if the party breaks their promises, what was done to the animals could be done to the party that broke its promise.
In this passage, Abram brings the animals that God directs him to bring. He knows what is happening because this is a common practice. Without direction, Abram knows what animals to use and does what needs to be done. Then he waits for God because he knows that God is the greater party in this Covenant, and his promise goes first. As Abram waits for God, a dark cloud comes over him. As we discussed this in my Bible study group, we came to the conclusion that whether literal or a nightmare, Abram’s freaking out about what he’ll have to promise in return to God. But God speaks, offers His promise to Abram, and then God goes through the trench, between the halves.
And here is the key…a flaming torch and a smoking pot passed through. (Remember God following the Israelites through the desert after they left Egypt…cloud of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.) God did not go through the trench just once, for His own promise, He went through twice: once for His own promise and once for Abram’s. Here is one of the first references to what God will do to redeem His people. (The first, many believe, is in Genesis 3 where God curses the serpent.) Because it is impossible for Abram to keep his promises, which we don’t even know about until a few chapters later, God must keep the Covenant Himself; Jesus must die.
I just found this so profound…this Covenant with Abram that is so many thousands of years old is why I am able to be with God forever, because God keeps His promises to His people. Because Abram couldn’t keep his promise…to “walk before me [God] and be blameless” Genesis 17:1, God had to keep His promise and be murdered so that we could be blameless before God, through Jesus.
Teaser for next time…think about Genesis 22:16-18, especially 18.
First, I’d say to read the passage because I’m not quoting and I’m writing from memory of wording. Second, this will be in however many parts I need it to be, so stay tuned (all of the hundreds who read this [I’m in full sarcasm mode here]).
Genesis 15 :: God’s Covenant With Abram
The Hebrew word for Covenant means “to cut.” The purpose behind making a covenant with someone (all people would do this, not just God with His people) was to solidify a formal agreement between two parties. The greater party would bring the animal sacrifices and the lesser party would come prepared to make their promises. The parties would dig a trench and cut the animals from top to bottom in half and place the pieces on either side of the trench and let the blood flow into the trench. The greater party (and then the lesser party) would then walk through the blood. The point basically is that if the party breaks their promises, what was done to the animals could be done to the party that broke its promise.
In this passage, Abram brings the animals that God directs him to bring. He knows what is happening because this is a common practice. Without direction, Abram knows what animals to use and does what needs to be done. Then he waits for God because he knows that God is the greater party in this Covenant, and his promise goes first. As Abram waits for God, a dark cloud comes over him. As we discussed this in my Bible study group, we came to the conclusion that whether literal or a nightmare, Abram’s freaking out about what he’ll have to promise in return to God. But God speaks, offers His promise to Abram, and then God goes through the trench, between the halves.
And here is the key…a flaming torch and a smoking pot passed through. (Remember God following the Israelites through the desert after they left Egypt…cloud of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.) God did not go through the trench just once, for His own promise, He went through twice: once for His own promise and once for Abram’s. Here is one of the first references to what God will do to redeem His people. (The first, many believe, is in Genesis 3 where God curses the serpent.) Because it is impossible for Abram to keep his promises, which we don’t even know about until a few chapters later, God must keep the Covenant Himself; Jesus must die.
I just found this so profound…this Covenant with Abram that is so many thousands of years old is why I am able to be with God forever, because God keeps His promises to His people. Because Abram couldn’t keep his promise…to “walk before me [God] and be blameless” Genesis 17:1, God had to keep His promise and be murdered so that we could be blameless before God, through Jesus.
Teaser for next time…think about Genesis 22:16-18, especially 18.
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