Lord of Both the Dead and the Living

For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Romans 14:9

          Not long ago, I saw a bumper sticker that read “Union Members Vote!” Soon after that, I saw another one declaring “Christians Vote!” One bumper sticker I’ve never seen is “Dead People Vote!” although that also seems to be true.

          After every election there are stories and editorials that reveal how many deceased citizens cast ballots. Although their bodies are no longer around, it seems that their political voices are not defunct. Actually, what is happening is a form of voter fraud where a living person votes in the name of someone they met in the obituaries.

          Legally, dead people can’t vote because conventional wisdom says that they have ceased to be, they no longer exist. Actually that’s not true. They have just become non-residents, which also makes them ineligible to vote.

          The true essence of a person is his/her soul and spirit. They are real, but can’t be measured or weighed. They aren’t bound in a physical body which can be seen, because it has mass and form. That body eventually wears out or breaks down, but that person’s everlasting soul remains even after the body is buried. That spiritual person moves on to “the place of the dead” (i.e. Hades, Sheol). State, local, and national governments don’t have jurisdiction there, but order and authority are still very evident.

          Christ Jesus is the Lord of both the Dead and the living. He reigns over the dead, because He’s gone through death, established residency there, and conquered it. He is the undisputed Lord of all that have gone before.

          It is safe to say that many more dead people acknowledge Jesus as Lord than the living. Living souls worship other gods or things more than the Master Creator, but one day that is all going to change. At the final Judgment day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of Both the Dead and the Living.

Sun of Righteousness

But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
Malachi 4:2

Here is an astronomical title on the order of morning star and dayspring. It makes us look to the heavens to see things we’ve seen many times before and then relate that to the character of Christ.

The sun not only radiates light and warmth, but is the source of life for everything on the green planet. Without the sun, plants would be unable to carry on photosynthesis which produces food for all living things, and without global warming, all water would be ice and nothing could survive. Sunshine is so intense that it will sunburn the retinas of anyone who looks directly at it. Light also reveals the colors and patterns of everything in God’s creation.

Jesus Christ is hailed as the Sun of Righteousness. Just as Earth’s star is the source of all light, the Lord is the source of righteousness to a world of sinful men. The Bible declares, “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Even the little goodness we have on our own is gross in the eyes of God: “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

In the Old Testament, God told the city of Jerusalem, “For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns” (Isaiah 62:1). In the New Testament we see the source of that righteousness; “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

Natural sunlight has great therapeutic value. Depression, scabies, and even rickets greatly improve by going outside into bright light. Jesus rises as the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings for a sin-sick world, because He is able to disinfect our human nature by irradiating it with His sinless perfection. That indeed is a glorious Son Rise. 

Sure Foundation

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: " Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.

Isaiah 28:16

Our home is built about 100 feet in front of a one acre man-made lake. The house itself is about six feet higher than the water to prevent flooding. In order to get that elevation several dump truck loads of fill dirt were brought in. All was done according to the architect's plan, however, over the years the ground settled and the porch has started moving away from the rest of the house.

The main house has a very deep foundation and is in good shape. The slab for the porch, however, was just poured over the tampered ground, so never really had a sure foundation. The porch has gradually pulled away from the rest of the house, leaving a 2 inch gap. I’ve filled in the crack with caulking and concrete but basically have only hidden the problem rather than fix it. To really fix it, I would need to tear out the porch and put in a new foundation.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the sure foundation for those who choose to build their lives on faith in Him. The Savior remains firm even though shifting sands of modern society  pull down the foolish ones who built their lives on the goals and values of popular opinion.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said

Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

“Keen” 1787

Foundation

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:11*

          Reinforced concrete makes up the majority of modern foundations. In ancient times, people dug through the top soil until they got down to bedrock. Jesus explained in His Sermon on the Mount that those who got down to the solid rock were wise, because storms and winds wouldn’t bring down their houses. It’s the lazy people that have no foundation. Their houses won’t stand the tests of time and the elements, proving them to be foolish.

          The Lord Jesus is the spiritual foundation of every believer and it’s the nature of foundations to be built upon. Everyone builds their lives on a worldview. If a person has a philosophy of life that lives for the moment and has no concept of God, judgment, or eternity, then it’s as if they had a foundation of sand and their destruction is sure, although maybe not immediate (Matthew 7:26-27).

Belief in Christ and the Word of God opens potential for greatness that endures forever, but that’s only if faith expresses itself in action. Faith without sweat equity is like a big slab of concrete without a building on it. The Apostle James put it this way, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).

In God’s eyes, obedience, fervent prayer, meditation in His word, worship, and dedication are comparable to building materials made of gold, silver, and precious stones.

When a Christian has the Savior as his sure foundation, but his life is composed of incomplete obedience, hypocrisy, and materialism, it is like building a ramshackle shanty made with cardboard boxes and sheets of plastic on a footing made for a skyscraper. The wasted life results not only in a great loss of reward for the believer at the judgment seat of Christ, but is a terrible insult to the Son of God who laid down His life to become our Foundation.

*see also Isaiah 28:16; Luke 6:48,49; 1 Corinthians 3:12; 2 Timothy 2:19

Most Holy

… To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

Daniel 9:24

Sometimes in the Old Testament it is difficult to determine if a title of God is referring to God the Father or if it is actually a prophesy of the Christ who was to come. This time it’s not hard at all, because it is a part of Daniel’s seventy-weeks prophesy. This section is actually the only place in the Old Testament where the title “Messiah” is given (David 9:25,26 KJV and NKJV) and in the verse above the One who is called the Most Holy is anointed.

Conditions in an operating room must be 100% sterile. To arrive at that condition, antiseptics or antimicrobial devices are used to kill bacteria on surfaces and in the air. These things are not only 100% sterile, they also make everything around them free from germs.

Anything that is holy is 100% free from sin. Since the term Most Holy is superlative, it must be more than 100% sinless and it is able to sanctify whatever it touches. In the Old Testament, the phrase refers to things that were used to atone for sin. The inner part of the Sanctuary (1 Kings 6:16) and the bronze altar and its utensils were considered most holy (Exodus 40:10). The priests who interceded for sinners were set apart for service to God and the sin offering and other offerings made by fire were most holy before God (Leviticus 6:17).

All of these Old Testament images are nothing more than types and shadows of God’s anointed, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He is the Most Holy of all the most holy things that were ever used for atonement. With His one and only sacrifice on the cross, He was able to make an end of sins, make reconciliation of all mankind, and bring everlasting righteousness to the earth.

Door of the Sheep

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:7

Sheep herding was a poor man’s business at the time the Bible was being written. It was labor intensive, but required low capital investment. Starting with just two sheep, a flock could be built up over time and equipment was minimal. The rod and staff were nothing more than short and long sticks and the sheepfold could be made out of rocks. Israel has an abundant supply of rocks which are everywhere in the desert, so stacking them to form walls is not difficult. On the other hand, lumber to make a door and hardware to make it open and close cost money, so that was generally left off. The shepherd would sleep at the narrow entrance to the pen and would in fact become the door of the sheep.

With the shepherd at the opening, the sheep couldn’t wander away at night, but more importantly, wolves and bad guys couldn’t get in to hurt the sheep. Everything had to pass by way of the keeper of the sheep. That gave the flock a sense of security and discouraged the predators because the shepherd usually kept a camp fire going and his two sticks could poke or hit them.

As Door of the Sheep, Christ cares for and defends His flock. All the spiritual sheep must enter through the door and be recognized as a member of the flock. In the first century, flocks were generally small so shepherds could recognize their own charges and often had names for each one. Jesus knows each of His followers and interacts with every one. It is also extremely comforting to realize that nothing bad can happen to a believer that doesn’t first pass through the Savior. If Christ allows it, then the Christian can be assured that the strength and patience to overcome the trial will also be there. Jesus is more than just the Good Shepherd; He’s the Door of the Sheep.

Holy One of God

Saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are --- the Holy One of God!"

Mark 1:24

It might seem obvious, but I’ve learned a lot from my twenty year study of the titles of Christ. What started as a challenge to find a name of the Lord for every day of the year ended with a deeper love for and fellowship with my Savior. I also discovered things that I never heard preached on before and I never knew were there. One example of this is insight I’ve gotten from the “demonic titles.”

Sometimes when Christ healed the sick, He also cast out demons and a few of these carried on a conversation with Him. They addressed Jesus of Nazareth by name without any formal introduction, because they knew who He was. He cast them out of heaven even before the foundation of the world.

The thing that surprised me about the demonic titles is that they all speak truthfully of who He is. These evil spirits address Him as Christ, the Son of God, and even the Son of the Most High God (Luke 4:41, Mark 5:7), but they never own Him as Lord or Savior. The title Holy One of God is never spoken except by fallen angels as if it were a phrase they heard in heaven before Satan rebelled against the Lord of Hosts.

I find it interesting that demons never insulted the Son of God nor made disparaging comments about Him as did His human adversaries. Christ’s dissenters, on the other hand, called Him Beelzebub (Matthew 10:25), a Samaritan (John 8:48), and a glutton (Matthew 11:19), not knowing the condemnation they were laying up for themselves. “But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves” (Jude 10).

The demons not only knew who Christ was, they knew that their punishment was ready to be handed down and they begged Him not to cast them into hell before their time. Although condemned and without hope, they appealed to Him on the basis of who He is: the Holy One of God.

Kinsman Redeemer/Deliverer – Gâʼal

'Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger's family, after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him.

Leviticus 25:47-48

...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19

This important name of Christ is very clear and observable in the original Hebrew, but is a little hard to grasp using only English translations of the Bible. Although it takes some effort to fully understand this title, it is well worth it.

In the oriental law of kinship, the gâʼal (literally “next of kin”) was required to buy back a relative's lost property, marry his widow, rescue him from harm, or avenge his death. Abraham acted as Gâʼal when he rescued Lot and his family from the four mighty kings of the East with only 318 trained servants; and Boaz was Ruth's gâʼal, marrying her and restoring her land.

The role of the kinsman redeemer is well-established in the Hebrew scripture with the word gâʼal appearing 71 times. We miss this in English because there is no direct translation. Gâʼal sometimes is translated as redeem, redeemer, Kinsman, relative, close relative, deliverer and even six times as “avenger of blood.”

As a “friend that sticks closer than a brother,” the Lord Jesus has become our gâʼal. He is our Deliverer from the powers of the devil, sin, and death and  restores us to the close relationship with the God that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden. He redeemed us from the slavery and self-destruction of sin and adopted us into the family of God. As Kinsman-Redeemer, Christ sought us, bought us, and fought for us. He is our Gâʼal. 

Worthy of more Glory than Moses

For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.

Hebrews 3:3

Even today Moses holds a unique place in the hearts and minds of the Jewish people. He was their deliverer and principal figure in the foundation of Israel as a nation. However, although this man of God was great in all he did, he pales in comparison to Jesus Christ, who is Worthy of more glory than Moses.

Moses 1.     Name mentioned 797 times in the Bible. 2.     Law of Moses (Joshua 8:31) called law of sin and death (Romans 8:2) 3.     Mediator of the First covenant (Exodus 34:27). 4.     Moses’ face reflected glory of God (Exodus 34:29). 5.     A prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10) 6.     Led the children of Israel out of bondage from Egypt (Exodus 13:3) 7.     Built the foundation of the house of Israel (Hebrews 3:3-4)

Jesus 1.     Name mentioned 983 times in the New Testament 2.     Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) called law of Spirit of life (Romans 8:2). 3.     Mediator of a Better covenant (Hebrews 8:6) 4.     The body of the glorified Christ shone (Revelation 1:14-16) 5.     The Prophet (John 6:14) 6.     Delivered the world out of the bondage of sin (Galatians 1:4)  7.     Built the foundation of the church (1 Corinthians 3:11)

In the very least Jesus Christ is Worthy of more Glory than Moses, but on a much grander scale. He is worthy “to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). Praise and worship be to the Lamb!

Just One

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers.

Acts 7:52

          Who said it? Now, that’s an important question to ask when studying the titles of Christ. In this case, it was Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian church.

         

Stephen was the kind of young person that every youth group desires: energetic, servant’s heart, eloquent, and on fire for the Lord. The Sanhedrin had outlawed speaking about Jesus of Nazareth and there he was, right inside the temple, preaching about Christ and making points that no one could refute. He was hauled off to court and the book of Acts records his own defense. Stephen preaches a sermon detailing the history of Israel, pointing out that their ancestors had not only challenged Moses’ leadership, but the authority of every prophet God had sent. Then came the bottom-line: those assembled in that room had betrayed and murdered the Just One of God (a.k.a. the Messiah).

         

The truth hurts and convicting truth hurts a lot, so the courtroom turned into a mob bent on really hurting Stephen. They dragged him outside and threw heavy stones at him until his skull was crushed and he died.

         

There was another young religious zealot witnessing all this, but he belonged to the opposition. Saul of Tarsus would have thrown stones himself if he had the chance, but was outranked by the more hateful clerics. Saul did see the angel-like face of Stephen and the peace with which he died, but the phrase Just One probably was what disturbed him the most.

         

This was probably on his mind while Saul was on his way to Damascus to persecute the followers "of the Way" (Acts 9:2). He saw a blinding light from heaven, realized that Jesus of Nazareth was talking to him and was told that someone would come to him with instructions. That someone was an older believer named Ananias who told him “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth." (Acts 22:14). The same Just One that Stephen had preached about had now became Saul’s Lord.

Light of Men

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 1:4

          Most Americans aren’t into cartoons as they used to be. When I grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s, most homes subscribed to both a morning and afternoon newspaper. In the back of the last section would be forty or so different comic strips. It’s safe to say that the “funnies” were the how and why I learned to read. They also taught me how to recognize and interpret symbols.

         

If a comic strip character had smoke coming out of his ears, he was angry; if there was a series of Z’s over his head, then he was asleep. When there was a light bulb in a bubble over his head, it was clear that the figure had an idea.

         

Actually, I’ve seen this scenario played out in real life during my forty years as a teacher. Every now and then, I presented a lesson to a classroom of bored students, when someone actually got what I was teaching! It’s very noticeable. Their eyes lit up as if a light bulb turned on in their head. They were truly enlightened. There is even a term for this in pedagogy. It’s called an “Aha moment.”

         

The Lord Jesus Christ is the light of men in a world of spiritual darkness. Just as sightless people don’t have a clue about color or sunsets, the unregenerate are clueless about righteousness and judgment. The god of this age has blinded them who do not believe, so they can’t see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). However, that veil of deception can come down and the light of God’s holiness can come into even the darkest hearts. Through the years, I’ve seen many people come to know Christ as Lord and Savior and I can testify that there is no greater Aha moment then when someone realizes that their sins are forgiven and they have eternal life. A great spiritual light bulb turns on in their soul when the Light of Men comes into their lives.

Strength

The LORD is my rock and my fortress […]; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust…

Psalm 18:2*

King David never quite got over the experience of being a shepherd boy alone in the wilderness responsible for the lives of many sheep. As a young man in the desert, he faced wild animals that were stronger and faster than he. As sovereign of Israel, he was surrounded by enemies with bigger armies. Feeling weak served David well, because he ran to the LORD who armed him with strength and made his way perfect (Psalm 18:32).

The Prophet Daniel saw a vision of a Glorious Man who was “clothed in linen,” his face had “the appearance of lightening,” and “his eyes like torches of fire” (Daniel 10:5,6). Since the description is similar to Ezekiel’s view of the Glory of the LORD (Ezekiel 1:27,28) and the Apostle John’s encounter with the glorified Christ (Revelation 1:14,15), this vision is often interpreted as an appearance of the preincarnate Christ. Daniel describes a dialogue between the two of them: “And he said, ‘O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!’ So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me’" (Daniel 10:19).

The Lord Jesus is not only the personification of Strength, He is the source of strength for all those who are weak “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

The Lord Jesus declares in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'"

The weakness of God is stronger than Mankind at his prime (1 Corinthians 1:25). When people are at their weakest, there is no strength to overcome the stressfulness of life. Only with God’s help can one truly have victory. The apostle Paul understood that he could rely on the Savior’s strength. “… For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

*see also Isaiah 12:2, 25:4, 40:29; Revelation 5:12,12:10

Eternally Blessed God

...of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

Romans 9:5

The Apostle Paul was hurting when he wrote this section of Romans. He realized that the Jewish people were eternally lost because they had rejected their Messiah and he was grieving the loss. They could be saved if they repented of their denial of Christ and embraced Him as Lord, but for a huge number of those who heard the gospel, it wasn’t happening. How much more serious could it be? The man they had crucified was God incarnate, the Eternally Blessed God.

Herein lies the great irony. The Eternal God came to this world to be able to bless Adam’s sinful race with everlasting life. However, to reject this gift of the Savior’s sacrifice outright is to be cursed forever with separation from God. The saddest part of all is that many of the early Jewish leaders, who handed the Savior over for torture and death, did so thinking they were doing the work of God.

            As Paul preached the gospel in the pagan world, it wasn’t usually the polytheists who shouted him down, but the expatriate Jewish leaders living in the Greek speaking world. Again, they convinced themselves of their own righteousness and assumed they were doing the will of God. They were tragically wrong and sadly deceived, because they were following the direction of the god of this world and not the Eternally Blessed God.

Just like Paul, Christians should feel sad and burdened that the lost are going to hell, but they should be careful not to think it is not their fault that they made bad choices. Just like ol’ Pharaoh and Judas Iscariot, Christ rejecters don’t flip a coin and pick wrong. They go through life, refusing to acknowledge the sovereignty of God and respond repeatedly to their sinful desires even though they generally reap bad consequences from these choices. They have purposefully and methodically believed the "father of lies" throughout their lives and drown out the still small voice of God.

People are saved by agreeing with the Eternally Blessed God that they are hopeless sinners rather than trying to explain or justify their actions.

Living Bread

I am the living bread which came down from heaven…
John 6:51

Bread really isn’t alive. It dries out or gets moldy if you don’t take care of it; it’s a lot of work to make and you need an oven to bake it. Wouldn’t it be great if bread could just grow on trees?

Actually, breadfruit does exist and on paper is the perfect food. Its slightly yeasty odor and texture remind people of bread and it is actually very nutritious. It’s a good source of energy and high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. One tree can produce over 400 pounds of fruit a year, so it seems ideal. There is one problem, however; it’s almost tasteless. The food has never really caught on, so it fails as living bread.

After the Lord Jesus fed 5,000 people, they hung around until the next day wanting Him to provide breakfast and lunch. He left that place, so they searched for Him, but when they finally found Him, the eatery was closed. He wasn’t there to make bread; He came to the world to be bread, Living bread.

The bread He offered wasn’t the kind that filled men’s bellies; He came to feed their souls. Here again, there’s a problem with market appeal. People would rather feed their faces than satisfy a hunger and thirst for righteousness.

The fast-food and grocery industries have built  multi-billion dollar businesses counting on people to make poor nutrition decisions. Food high in fats, sugars, and chemicals will kill you, but that doesn’t matter as long as it tastes good.

People walked away from Jesus on the day He offered them living bread. They wanted the kind of bread that can dry out or get moldy, the kind of loaves that get eaten up today and need to be purchased again tomorrow.

Living bread satisfies the emptiness within a sin-sick soul. It costs no money, produces sustenance within the person, and keeps on satisfying. That’s a much better deal.

  

Stumbling Block

But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.
1 Corinthians 1:23

The word stumbling block occurs 11 times in scripture but only once does it refer to Christ. In the remaining ten verses, four times God’s people are told not to purposefully lay down obstacles for others, and six times were told that sin trips us up. The Lord Jesus is neither sinful or deliberately given to bring down the Jewish people, so, how is the Savior a Stumbling Block?

          The New Testament quotes five times from Psalm 118:22: “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” The fact that this verse was cited so many times emphasizes the importance of the teaching. The Jewish teachers of the law were those builders. Instead of embracing the Old Testament prophesy proclaiming the arrival of the Messiah, they rejected Him; they discarded the Holy One of Israel.

          Obeying the letter of the law became more important than honoring and having fellowship with God. Christ came to establish that fellowship much deeper than it had ever been before by becoming the mediator of a better covenant. The problem is that the rulers of the Jewish people had become comfortable with observing the rules and regulations they had added, and so rejected the King of the Jews.

          God, on the other hand, highly exalted Christ and gave Him a name that is above every name. Since the fourth century, the Jewish people have seen the rise of Christianity and many of this dispersed people has lived under the control of so-called Christian nations for centuries.

          To this day, most of the descendants of Israel still stumble and fall over the Key Stone that their ancestors threw away. Blessings have become few and anti-Semitism is on the rise all over the world. Yet, most of the Jewish people today don’t understand what is happening, because Christ is still their Stumbling Block rather than a Savior.

Rock

And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:4

Since the verse above is pulled out of context, it’s a little difficult to understand what it is talking about. The Apostle Paul was making a reference to the Old Testament story of Moses getting water from the rock. Actually, the miracle was performed on many occasions.

Rocks by nature aren’t very absorbent. There is no such thing as a soggy rock. Also a huge amount of water would be needed. Do the math. Most scholars agree that the Israelites numbered around 3 million people and probably had hundreds of thousands of heads of  livestock. They’d need at least 200,000 gallons of water per hour, 24-7 calculating a gallon of water per day per person with two gallons per day per animal, and that's not allowing for baths, washing clothes or spillage. Even if they got  that much water, it would have to be rationed.

In reality, the water coming out of the rock would have to be a small river that would constantly flow and allow for water seeping into desert sand. Once they found this kind of water source, they wouldn’t find another. But, they did leave it and then found another water-producing rock and then another and then another.

If the desert was full of these "gusher-rocks" then it wouldn’t be a desert. Truth is that God was performing a daily (hourly) miracle to provide His people with water and this miracle followed them as they wandered the wilderness for forty years. In the verse above, Paul tells us that it was actually Christ in His capacity of Creator that was producing the H₂O out of stone. It was the Second Person of the Trinity come down from heaven to follow His people and provide what they needed to live. This time He manifested Himself as the Rock.

Rock that is Higher than I

From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2

David cried out to God when he felt afraid. Yes, big bad David, the giant killer, felt overwhelmed at times, but He took comfort in something much bigger than himself.

As strange as it might seem, I totally get what David is saying here; been there, done  that. Many years ago, I had my own secret place that no one but God and I knew about. It was my own rock that is higher than I.

Sometime during my college years, I was walking along the Chagrin River in a park just east of Cleveland, Ohio when I came upon an interesting geological formation. A huge rock, maybe 25 feet high and at least that much wide, had broken off from the cliff face behind it. A space ranging from 3-6 feet was behind it. Front and backsides of the enclosure went straight up, giving the impression of a well-lit cave. I fell in love with the place as soon as I found it and since it was really hard to see that it was anything special, few would ever find it. I scooped up candy wrappers and cigarette butts from the floor so that I could pretend that no one else in the world knew about it and I gave it a name: “Castle Rock.”

It was really peaceful there. I could be alone with my God and just think and pray. At the end of summer, just before both my junior and senior years began, I was really stressed. College had become progressively more challenging and I was afraid that I wasn’t going to make it. I was overwhelmed, so I would go up to Castle Rock (I even took lunch once) to cry out to God and find peace.

The last time I visited there was almost 50 years ago. If I went back there, I know I’d find it again (assuming my knees would hold up on the trail). That monolith isn’t going anywhere and that’s why I felt so secure hiding behind it.

In the years that followed, I never found any other place that was quite as special, but I’ve had the same feeling of tranquility many times since then. Now, I just take shelter in Jesus. He’s my Rock that is higher than I.

Shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1

           This psalm might be the most well-known portion of the Old Testament. It is commonly read at funerals, quoted in greeting cards, and has been set to music. But to most, it is just a pretty poem that doesn’t fit the reality of their lives. It says, “I shall not want,” but they have plenty of wants: money, things, power, fame, pleasure, and if they do get those things they want even more; they are never satisfied.

          The problem is that most people can’t say, “The LORD is my shepherd.” To do so would be to admit that they were like sheep and they needed to follow someone who actually knew the way. The prophet Isaiah nailed it: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). A sheep that won’t follow the shepherd always gets lost, even if the shepherd brings it back to the fold. Sooner or later that sheep becomes wolf food. Sheep really can’t take care of themselves, especially the really dumb one who prides itself on its independence.  

        In 1868, Elizabeth Clephane wrote the following poem that later became a hymn: 
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

           The next three stanzas describe how the Shepherd searches and suffers to find the sheep until it cries out for help. The last verse concludes:

And all through the mountains, thunder-riv’n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav’n,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”

Noble

Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
James 2:7

 The apostle James overflowed with contempt towards rich Christians who flaunted their wealth and expected special seating in meetings of the church. He made a rhetorical question to the saints to make them realize what was going on: “Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?” (James 2:5). He concluded that such behavior blasphemed the noble name of Christ.

Often when we read in the gospels of Christ’s birth in a stable, or the fact that He didn’t even have a roof over His head, or that He was buried in a borrowed tomb, we envision the Savior in His humanity and forget that He is King of kings.

Jesus was of noble birth and could trace his lineage back to King David. His ancestry went back to Adam who at one point had dominion over all the earth (Luke 3:23-38). But His noble origin goes back further yet. He is God, so He is also Lord of lords, the blessed and only Potentate, and King of Glory.

The Lord came to this world to save sinners “and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:15). But of those whom He called there were “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble” (1 Corinthians 1:26). Yet it is the plan of the Savior that Christians hear “the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). In other words, He takes those whom the world esteems as lowly and brings them to share in His nobility. He elevates us to be joint heirs.

As a result, we are called on to shed the weak and beggarly elements of our human nature that we were born with and be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). The Apostle Paul admonishes believers: “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble […] meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). In doing that, we’ll never forget that the King of Righteousness is Noble.

Burnt Offering

And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Exodus 29:18*

“Holocaust” is a powerful word that evokes emotions and means “great destruction.” The most common use of the word today is to refer to the Nazi genocide of European Jewry in WWII. It is interesting to note that the word wasn't used in this manner until 1965 (20 years after WWII ended).

The word comes to English from the Greek word “holokauston” which means “a thing wholly burnt.” It was the word of choice for “burnt offering” when the Septuagint was translated from Hebrew in the 3^rd century BC.

The burnt offering was one of the three “sweet-smelling” sacrifices that were well-pleasing to the LORD. It was set apart from other oblations in three important ways:
         1. Voluntary – the offerer wanted to give this to God.
         2. Act of Worship – It was a gift to the Almighty to show appreciation.
         3. Totally Consumed – The entire animal was burnt to ash; nothing remained. 

The Jewish Holocaust fulfilled none of these criterion, but Christ's sacrifice on the cross fulfilled them all:

1. The Lamb of God volunteered to give His life to save the human race; no one made Him do it.
2. The Savior's sacrifice of love was clearly done to glorify God.
3. Jesus gave everything He had and held nothing back. He suffered the shame and the torment without saying a word. He was tortured and killed, but didn't resist.


God had no real pleasure when animals were burnt on altars in the Old Testament (Hebrews 10:6). However, He was thoroughly pleased when the Son of God gave Himself as a Burnt Offering.


*There are a total of 261 references to the burnt offering found throughout the Bible.

Sweet Smelling Sacrifice

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:2

Many Christians today are functionally illiterate when it comes to the Old Testament and practically clueless when it comes to understanding the concept of sacrifice. The stereotypes of an Old Testament offering is that of an entire lamb burnt on a bunch of rocks. Most people are unaware that there are five major categories of sacrifice, all of which are Types of the Lord Jesus Christ. The big groups can be broken down into sub-groups  depending on the occasion and what was actually burnt on the altar (even flour, oil, and wine were sometimes offered).

The five main offerings were actually sorted by God into two, the sweet-smelling sacrifices and the non-sweet-smelling sacrifices. The former included burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings; sin and trespass offerings fell into the second group, and although they were necessary, they were not something God delighted in.

The sweet-smelling sacrifices were always voluntary on the part of the offerer and were expressions of worship and devotion. These expressed fellowship not only with God, but also God’s people. This is an illustration of Christ willingly sacrificing Himself to bring us into fellowship.

The peace offering is the best example of this, because God, the priest, and the worshipper all share in the sacrifice. Here, God’s portion was the fat. It was sizzled on the altar where it smelled great. The priest received the right foreleg which he lifted up to God as a heave offering and then used the meat to feed his family. The rest of the animal (beef or mutton) was given to the offerer which he would eat in a communal meal.

The peace offering was a celebration with food, family, and friends, but God was invited to the party. For Him it was a Sweet-Smelling Sacrifice. When Christ died on the cross, He offered to both God and Man a Sweet-Smelling Sacrifice.