unleavened

No grain offering that you bring to the LORD shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the LORD.

Leviticus 2:11

Most commentators take a mild stand on this prohibition for the grain offering. The reason: the text does not really say why. But I think that there is precedence based on symbol. The first has to do with history, the second with a generality.

Starting with Israel’s history, we know that the generation that first received the revelation of the levitical system was the same generation of the Exodus from Egypt. The whole vivid reminder of the sacrificed lamb with blood on the doorposts… eating unleavened bread in haste…all of that was fresh in their minds. So offering a grain offering without leaven was consistent with thanking God for His deliverance.

Generally, leaven is also symbolic of the corruptive influence of sin. Jesus used the metaphor this way (Matthew 16:6-12), as did Paul (1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Galatians 5:9). It would make sense that God would set up these sacrifices in this way and that the people would see this prohibition as instructive.

So in the picture of the grain offering is a prohibition that reminds us that even the smallest of sins are destructive to our relationship with God. We should take holy living and obedience to God seriously.

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Without blemish.

If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.

Leviticus 1:3

I will spend the next five weeks or so working through Leviticus. I have to admit that it is the most difficult part of the Bible for me to study through. But it is worth the effort, because the holiness of God is one of the very clear themes. And even though the responsibilities of the Levitical system are no longer a requirement since Christ’s final atonement, they are instructive on the nature of God, and the nature of our commitment to Him.

There were a wide variety of offerings that were part of the worship of God by Israel, and it is important not to confuse them when reading this book. The ESV Study Bible has this excellent chart to keep them in perspective (click on the table for a larger version).

The main requirement for the burnt offering was that it be a male from the flock “without blemish”. God was not going to take the second best, or something that no one else would have been satisfied with as a gift. God wanted the best. And He is owed that in our worship. So many times I am tempted to give Him my leftovers and blemishes today. One reason that I feel compelled to cultivate the habit of getting into His Word within the first hour of my rising in the morning is that for me, that is the most unblemished part of my day. I am at my most alert (most mornings), most optimistic, and most receptive. It is also the quietest part of my day because I have made the effort to wake up a good hour before the rest of my family. And the dark early morning has become the time that I offer in worship to God. I do not regret it.

Lord, Here I am at this unblemished time. Please show me the importance of offering to You the best that I have. In the thick of my busy, insane schedule and demanding ministry I am often tempted to just find the leftovers for You. I know that is not what is best for us. Train me to be holy in my time and in my commitment. I want Your to get the best, the all, the offering of this life. Amen.

Technorati Tags: Leviticus,Sacrifice,Worship

From enemy to worshipper.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.

Zechariah 14:16

The dramatic scene at the end of Zechariah’s prophecies has Jerusalem taken from the scorn of the world to the center of the world’s religious life. The prophet foretells of a future siege and destruction of the city that is unparalleled. Half the inhabitants are forcefully relocated from the city as it is plundered and the other half shall flee into a mountain stronghold to be protected by God. In the midst of what looks like the end for the Jewish nation, God intervenes to establish Himself as the king of all the earth.

The reality that I know is being portrayed is of the rulership of Jesus as King of Kings and Messiah. He arrives during this time, setting foot on the Mount of Olives and splitting it in two. The topography of the Holy Land is completely changed so that the city of Jerusalem rises over a vast plain. And the nations acknowledge God and come to the new world capital to worship Him.

Before this happens though, God destroys those final armies that were arrayed against Jerusalem. The description of their demise reads like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark (Zechariah 14:12-15). Israel is exalted, God’s enemies are punished, and those nations that survive this turn to Him. And for an age, the world experiences God’s original plan, with Israel as a nation that draws the world to Him.

God’s desire is to turn His enemies into His worshippers. This is not some despotic depiction. When we synthesize this passage with other Old Testament prophecies, it is very clear that God cares about the world. He wants the nations to see His glory.

There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Zechariah 13:1

When a large religious service was being conducted at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco (1939-1940), many people quickly became aware that the minister delivering the main address was not thoroughly orthodox. Although a gifted speaker, he began to direct most of his eloquence against the power of the blood of Christ.

Ruth E. Marsden (a hymnologist from the 1950’s) relates that when his fluent oratory ended, a timid, elderly lady stood up in the midst of the crowd and softly began to sing a great hymn by William Cowper as a touching rebuttal to the modernist’s remarks.

A hush fell over the assembly as they heard those faint but familiar words: “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.”

Before she could begin the second stanza, approximately a hundred people rose to join her.

By the time she reached the third verse, nearly a thousand Christians all over the audience were singing that blessed song of faith.

The triumphant, thrilling strains rang out loud and clear: “Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power, ’til all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.”

++++++++++

There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Emmanuel's veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that blood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains.

And sinners, plunged beneath that blood,

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he

Wash all my sins away,

Wash all my sins away,

And there may I, though vile as he

Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power,

'Til all the ransomed Church of God

Be saved, to sin no more,

Be saved, to sin no more,

'Til all the ransomed Church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

And since, by faith, I saw the stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be 'til I die.

And shall be 'til I die.

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be 'til I die.

from 200 Amazing Hymn Stories

Messiah Accepted.

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Zechariah 12:10

My observation from chapter 11 of this study in Zechariah was that the prophecy made it clear that the Messiah would experience rejection in Jerusalem. And of course, that is exactly what Jesus foretold and experienced. But chapter 12 shows us that even though He is struck down, He is eventually accepted by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It is God’s doing. God pours out His Spirit of grace and the nation cries out for mercy. And when they see “him whom they have pierced” (identified in the first person as God in this context), they will respond with heartfelt mourning and repentance.

The acceptance of Jesus is gradual in this day and age. It comes by exposure to the gospel, one life at a time. It comes by God’s gracious calling and the convicting work of the Spirit in those hearts that come to Him. God knows what He is doing. And Jews and Gentiles alike are finding a Messiah and a Savior in Jesus.

I believe this passage describes a future day when the nation of Israel will suffer its most difficult times. The response at the end of those times will be to turn to Messiah Jesus at His return. He is the one “whom they have pierced” (see John 19:31-37 where those who pierced Jesus’ side were Roman soldiers acting at the request of the Jewish authorities. Really we all are complicit). And the nation will come to Him as one nation, accepting the Messiah Who is the Savior of the world.

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malignant ministry as the call of God.

Thus said the LORD my God: "Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.”

Zechariah 11:4

This chapter is a difficult one to understand. There are metaphors and symbols within a large extended parable. Zechariah is asked to shepherd some stubborn sheep in the midst of some careless, foolish fellow-shepherds. There is no literal event being talked about. It is very hard to draw lines of interpretation from this complicated parable. Interpreters are all over the board on what is going on in this passage. But one thing is clear: God may call good people to work in difficult, dangerous, even unfruitful fields of ministry. Zechariah experiences no “success” in this endeavor, at least in terms of the response of the “sheep” and the “shepherds”. Both go bad and leave him with nothing but anger and anguish at his involvement with them (Zechariah 11:8-9). About fifteen years ago, I know I was there brutally for about six months. I was not a good guy at that time. It ain’t any fun!

I think that in terms of staying within the broader context of the book of Zechariah, it is good to see the prophet “acting out” the role of the Messiah and his eventual rejection. This is the interpretation that John MacArthur proposes for this chapter, and as I look at it further, it fits. The Messiah’s rejection is part of Old Testament prophecy (Daniel 9:26-27). And this does fit the way in which Jesus Himself predicted His rejection and the subsequent destruction that would befall Jerusalem at the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:1-2). The final puzzle piece that fits this is the whole thirty pieces of silver description here (Zechariah 11:12). The New Testament gospel writers pick up on this as the blood price for Jesus with the prophetic details emphasized (Matthew 26:14-16).

Jesus would be called to difficult ministry. And he would ultimately be rejected by those to whom He came. The Roman authorities that carried out His execution at the desire of those shepherds in Israel that had rejected Him would later complete their oppressive rule by destroying Jerusalem and the temple worship a generation after Jesus’ death and resurrection. And Zechariah acted out the key points in this drama as the exiles returned from Babylon centuries before these events.

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An overwhelming reason to respect Israel.

I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

Zechariah 10:6

Politics aside, there is a spiritual reason for protecting and supporting the interests of the Jewish people, particularly the state of Israel. What they have become is God’s purpose and design. When He regathered them to the Promised Land after the exile, He made it clear that this was all His work, and it would not fail. Read all 12 verses of this chapter carefully. God means to do something special and permanent in Israel (Zechariah 10:1-12). Respect God. Respect His work. Respect Israel.

I know that Israel and the Middle East conflicts radiating from there have been a political hotspot for generations now. That is probably as it should be. The place has been a political and religious volcano for millennia. That is not going to stop by the work of any kind of human diplomacy. God is strengthening and building the place. His plan is to jam more people in there than the land can hold. Really (Zechariah 10:10). It is only going to get more volatile.

I am disheartened when politicians diss Israel. I feel like they are striking at the root of the Abrahamic Covenant, where God said that He would curse those who curse Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:3). I will choose to respect and honor Israel in my thinking. I know God is doing something with His people Israel still. Romans 9 – 11 make it clear that although the perspective has changed with the work of the church, God is still clearly working among the Jews for His glory and purposes. Jesus is the Messiah of the Jews, and the Savior of the world. He is a shared Savior to all who will acknowledge Him. Proclaiming the Messiah, praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and respecting Israel are important when we look at biblical “Israelology”.

Technorati Tags: Zechariah,Providence,Israel