Revelations 22:12-21

-
Read Revelations 22:12-21 Verses for meditation: Revelations 22:12-13, 16, 20-21 ESV: 12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Reflect How does it feel to be reading the very last few verses of the bible? What do the proclamations, the last few of them, say about Christ? Come, Lord Jesus! Does this really express our desire? How does the greatest book end, and on what note? But is this really the end? Relate With mixed feelings, I'm writing this last devotion based on the final ten verses of the greatest book, the bible. What a journe...
Post a Comment

Exodus 24:1-11; Psalm 44

-

 

TITLE

Cleansed by Blood?

 

TEXT FOR DEVOTIONS

 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” Exodus 24: 1-2

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. Exodus 24: 9-11

REFLECT

We often view God as stand-offish, a God who doesn’t want sinful persons to come near Him. Verses 1 and 2 seem to suggest this. God invited Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s two sons Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel to worship from afar, but only allowed Moses to draw near to God. Did God find the others detestable and not worthy to come close to Him? Does God really have an aversion to sinners?

Yet verses 9 to 11 tell us that subsequently, the priest and elders were invited into God’s Presence and saw God and His splendour. After seeing God, they feasted in His Presence. They were not afraid, nor was there any threat that God would suddenly strike them dead.

What had happened in between the two invitations? What had changed was simply that a covenant sealed in blood was made between God and the people. The blood of slaughtered bulls had been splashed against the altar (which represented God’s part) and sprinkled over the leaders of the people (representing the people’s part). But could the sealing of a covenant in blood really make a sinful people clean to God? Would a God who detests sinful humans be easily appeased by the killing of bulls and goats and splashing their blood to seal a covenant? That wasn’t much of a price to pay. And the humans would remain sinful and filthy and unworthy of God.  In our time, even gangsters pay a heavier price with their own blood in blood covenant ceremonies.

Indeed biblical writers concede this as well. In Hebrews 10:4, the writer wrote that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins”. The truth is that blood sacrifices were only a foreshadowing of a greater sacrifice – a promise of a real sacrifice. The offering of the blood of bulls and goats held out the promise that one day, God himself would sacrifice something far more substantial to take away sins – He would give His own Son to make humankind worthy of coming close to Him.

This reality turns our understanding of God around. That God would order the priests and elders to stay away from Him was not because He detested sinful humans, but because He wanted to preserve their lives from being consumed by His holiness and their unholiness. But God yearns for our coming to Him, our ‘eating and drinking’ before Him. He wants that so much He would sacrifice His Son to remove our sins so that we may come near Him.

RELATE

We often speak of God’s holiness and His aversion to sin. But we fail to realise how much God desires sinners to come close to Him, and the extent to which He would go to bring sinners to Himself. One of the Church’s biggest mistakes is to insist that people change their lifestyles before they are allowed to come before God. We fail to see that it is when we come before God and experience His invitation to come to Him, that our lifestyles begin to change. My hope and prayer is that we will keep on finding ways to keep the doors of the church open to sinners, while keeping our eyes on the God who spared no sacrifice to bring us to Him.

PRAYER

Father, though you are infinitely Holy and we are desperately unholy, you went to the fullest extent to make it possible for us to come close to you. Help us to do the same for others, even for those whose lifestyles we find detestable. And then help us to turn their eyes to look on Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, even as we look on Him, acknowledging how much You sacrificed to let us come to You. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen.

 

Chiu Ming Li

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Revelations 22:12-21

-
Read Revelations 22:12-21 Verses for meditation: Revelations 22:12-13, 16, 20-21 ESV: 12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Reflect How does it feel to be reading the very last few verses of the bible? What do the proclamations, the last few of them, say about Christ? Come, Lord Jesus! Does this really express our desire? How does the greatest book end, and on what note? But is this really the end? Relate With mixed feelings, I'm writing this last devotion based on the final ten verses of the greatest book, the bible. What a journe...
Read more

Revelations 15-16 “A Time of Grace Before the Full Wrath of God”

-
READ : Revelations 15-16 Verses chosen for meditation: Revelations 15:1 15  Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. REFLECT This chapter marks the beginning of the “bowl” plagues, and though it is the “last” of the sequence of visions given to John (after seals and trumpets), it does not mean it would happen chronologically that way. In what order it happens, we are not sure, but all three fulfil the wrath of God. After the three terrible signs happen, “the wrath of God is finished” (v1). When Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled the wrath of God to bring salvation to the world. After a time of grace since Jesus’ death, the seals, trumpets and bowls must happen to fulfil the wrath of God on those continuing their evil, unrepentant ways despite the Gospel. These three signs are judgement of human sin after Jesus’ death. As the visions contin...
Read more

1 Timothy 2

-
Read 1 Timothy 2 Verses chosen for meditation: 1 Timothy 2: 1-4, 8, 9-10 ESV: 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;  9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Reflect What do you think form the focus and format of a worship service? Why is prayer important in a worship service? What are some of the things to be observed in the areas of propr...
Read more