Numbers (Part 11)
Bible Study Time 3-23-08
(From James Roberts 4-11-99)
Bible Study Time 3-23-08
(From James Roberts 4-11-99)
Last week, as we continued our journey through the scripture, we looked in the book of Numbers, Chapter 19, where we saw a very unusual ordinance that God gave to the people of Israel. It was the ordinance of the red heifer.
After the red heifer was checked to ensure that it had no spot or blemish, it was taken outside the camp and burned. Then the ashes of the red heifer were gathered and mixed with water. If and when the priests became ceremonially unclean by coming into contact with a dead body, they were to be sprinkled with this water. This water was the water of purification.
The book of Hebrews teaches us that the Old Covenant water of purification was only effective so far as the purification of the flesh was concerned. It had no power to purify the conscience. However, Hebrews goes on to remind us that if this water did purify the flesh, how much more effective is the blood of Christ when it comes to purifying our hearts and minds through the ministry of the New Covenant.
According to the terms of the Old Covenant Law, the nation of Israel was called to be a holy nation and a royal priesthood. They were to serve as a nation of priests over the Gentile nations. Unfortunately, they failed to fulfill their mission because of their own rebellion against the Lord and His Law.
However, Jeremiah spoke of the day when this mission would someday be fulfilled through the power of the New Covenant. Jeremiah said:
Jeremiah 31:31-32 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
God’s plan and purpose for Israel was dependent upon the coming of the New Covenant, and Jesus indicated that His shed blood would serve as the blood of the New Covenant. After the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Peter was anticipating the blessings of the New Covenant kingdom. In his first epistle to the Jews, he wrote:
1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Zechariah describes the New Covenant kingdom, saying:
Zechariah 8:23 NKJV
23 . . . 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"
Beginning in Isaiah 60, Isaiah describes the ministry of the Jews in the New Covenant kingdom, then Malachi describes John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus as the messengers of the New Covenant. He says:
Malachi 3:1-3 NKJV
1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
John the Baptist came preaching the baptism of repentance to the people of Israel. They needed to prepare their hearts to serve the Lord as a nation of priests. In Luke, Chapter 3, John the Baptist baptized the people with water, and he told them to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.
However, the children of Israel were not allowed to enter into the kingdom because they refused to accept the Lord Jesus as their promised Messiah. The religious leaders arrested Jesus, and the people shouted, away with Him, crucify Him, we have no king but Caesar. Pilate declared, I find no fault in this man, but the people insisted that Jesus should be put to death, saying, let His blood be upon us and upon our children.
This nation whom God had called to be a nation of priests became defiled by coming into contact with a dead body, and that dead body was that of the Lord Jesus. To perform their duties as a nation of priests in the kingdom, they would need to be purified by the water of purification.
Accordingly, in Acts, Chapter 2, Peter told the Jews to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. To enter into the kingdom, the Jews would have to submit to the water of purification as well as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If they had done these things, Jesus Christ would have returned from heaven to establish the kingdom.
However, throughout the book of Acts, the Jews proved their unwillingness to repent, and time and time again they refused to accept Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah. Therefore, at the end of the Acts period, God set aside Israel’s kingdom program so that He could bring in a totally new program. This program was the program for the church of our present age, and it was revealed exclusively to the Apostle Paul.
Believers today are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and we must look to the writings of Paul to find the specific instruction that God has given to us. In Ephesians, Chapter 4, Paul says that for us today:
Ephesians 4:4-5NKJV
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
In Acts, Chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, there were two baptisms. Believers at that time were baptized in water and then they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Today, we have only one baptism.
Romans, Chapter 6, tells us that believers today are baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and Paul makes it clear that this is a spiritual baptism. This is the one baptism that is required of believers today. After experiencing this baptism, believers today can say with Paul:
Galatians 2:20 NKJV
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Israel had to have the water of purification to prepare them for their priestly duties in the kingdom of the New Covenant, but believers today have no expectation or hope concerning the earthy, New Covenant kingdom. The Apostle Paul tells us that we have a heavenly hope and a heavenly calling. We have been raised up to be seated with Christ in the heavens, and we are therefore citizens of heaven. In Colossians 3, Paul says:
Colossians 3:1-4 NKJV
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Israel’s hope was to serve the Lord in an earthly kingdom, but our hope today is to be caught up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven. Today, we do not look to a ritual of water to purify us, but we are purified by the word of God. Ephesians 5 says that:
Ephesians 5:25-26 NKJV
25 . . . Christ . . . loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
When the word of God convicts us of sin, we know that we can confess our sins, and God will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Well, I see that our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for studying with me in this, another broadcast, of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
After the red heifer was checked to ensure that it had no spot or blemish, it was taken outside the camp and burned. Then the ashes of the red heifer were gathered and mixed with water. If and when the priests became ceremonially unclean by coming into contact with a dead body, they were to be sprinkled with this water. This water was the water of purification.
The book of Hebrews teaches us that the Old Covenant water of purification was only effective so far as the purification of the flesh was concerned. It had no power to purify the conscience. However, Hebrews goes on to remind us that if this water did purify the flesh, how much more effective is the blood of Christ when it comes to purifying our hearts and minds through the ministry of the New Covenant.
According to the terms of the Old Covenant Law, the nation of Israel was called to be a holy nation and a royal priesthood. They were to serve as a nation of priests over the Gentile nations. Unfortunately, they failed to fulfill their mission because of their own rebellion against the Lord and His Law.
However, Jeremiah spoke of the day when this mission would someday be fulfilled through the power of the New Covenant. Jeremiah said:
Jeremiah 31:31-32 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
God’s plan and purpose for Israel was dependent upon the coming of the New Covenant, and Jesus indicated that His shed blood would serve as the blood of the New Covenant. After the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Peter was anticipating the blessings of the New Covenant kingdom. In his first epistle to the Jews, he wrote:
1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Zechariah describes the New Covenant kingdom, saying:
Zechariah 8:23 NKJV
23 . . . 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"
Beginning in Isaiah 60, Isaiah describes the ministry of the Jews in the New Covenant kingdom, then Malachi describes John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus as the messengers of the New Covenant. He says:
Malachi 3:1-3 NKJV
1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
John the Baptist came preaching the baptism of repentance to the people of Israel. They needed to prepare their hearts to serve the Lord as a nation of priests. In Luke, Chapter 3, John the Baptist baptized the people with water, and he told them to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.
However, the children of Israel were not allowed to enter into the kingdom because they refused to accept the Lord Jesus as their promised Messiah. The religious leaders arrested Jesus, and the people shouted, away with Him, crucify Him, we have no king but Caesar. Pilate declared, I find no fault in this man, but the people insisted that Jesus should be put to death, saying, let His blood be upon us and upon our children.
This nation whom God had called to be a nation of priests became defiled by coming into contact with a dead body, and that dead body was that of the Lord Jesus. To perform their duties as a nation of priests in the kingdom, they would need to be purified by the water of purification.
Accordingly, in Acts, Chapter 2, Peter told the Jews to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. To enter into the kingdom, the Jews would have to submit to the water of purification as well as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If they had done these things, Jesus Christ would have returned from heaven to establish the kingdom.
However, throughout the book of Acts, the Jews proved their unwillingness to repent, and time and time again they refused to accept Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah. Therefore, at the end of the Acts period, God set aside Israel’s kingdom program so that He could bring in a totally new program. This program was the program for the church of our present age, and it was revealed exclusively to the Apostle Paul.
Believers today are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and we must look to the writings of Paul to find the specific instruction that God has given to us. In Ephesians, Chapter 4, Paul says that for us today:
Ephesians 4:4-5NKJV
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
In Acts, Chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, there were two baptisms. Believers at that time were baptized in water and then they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Today, we have only one baptism.
Romans, Chapter 6, tells us that believers today are baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and Paul makes it clear that this is a spiritual baptism. This is the one baptism that is required of believers today. After experiencing this baptism, believers today can say with Paul:
Galatians 2:20 NKJV
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Israel had to have the water of purification to prepare them for their priestly duties in the kingdom of the New Covenant, but believers today have no expectation or hope concerning the earthy, New Covenant kingdom. The Apostle Paul tells us that we have a heavenly hope and a heavenly calling. We have been raised up to be seated with Christ in the heavens, and we are therefore citizens of heaven. In Colossians 3, Paul says:
Colossians 3:1-4 NKJV
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Israel’s hope was to serve the Lord in an earthly kingdom, but our hope today is to be caught up to be with Christ in the glory of heaven. Today, we do not look to a ritual of water to purify us, but we are purified by the word of God. Ephesians 5 says that:
Ephesians 5:25-26 NKJV
25 . . . Christ . . . loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
When the word of God convicts us of sin, we know that we can confess our sins, and God will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Well, I see that our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for studying with me in this, another broadcast, of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
No comments:
Post a Comment