A Daily Devotional

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Atonement


“Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch” (Genesis 6:14).

It may be surprising to learn that God’s instructions to Noah concerning the ark’s design contain the first reference in the Bible to the great doctrine of atonement. The Hebrew word used here for pitch (kaphar) is the same word translated “atonement” in many other places in the Old Testament.

While the New Testament word “atonement” implies reconciliation, the Old Testament “atonement” was merely a covering (with many applications). As the pitch was to make the ark watertight, keeping the judgment waters of the Flood from reaching those inside, so, on the sacrificial altar, “it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11), keeping the fires of God’s wrath away from the sinner for whom the sacrifice was substituted and slain. The pitch was a covering for the ark, and the blood was a covering for the soul, the first assuring physical deliverance; the second, spiritual salvation.

However, not even the shed blood on the altar could really produce salvation. It could assure it through faith in God’s promises on the part of the sinner who offered it, but “the blood of bulls and of goats” could never “take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Both the covering pitch and animal blood were mere symbols of the substituting death of Jesus Christ, “whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:25). Through faith in Christ, our sins are “covered” under the blood, forgiven by God and replaced by His own perfect righteousness, by all of which we become finally and fully reconciled to God.

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Speak To The Rock


“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28).

Not long after the people of Israel had left Egypt, they stopped at Rephidim (Exodus 17:1). There they found no water, and spoke bitterly against Moses. When Moses appealed to God, God commanded him to strike a rock with his rod, and water flowed from the rock (Exodus 17:6). Later, at Kadesh, the people again railed against Moses (Numbers 20:1–5), and God commanded Moses to take his rod and to speak to the rock that lay before them at Kadesh. Moses, in his anger at the people, struck the rock twice with his rod, rather than speaking to it. Water did flow from the rock, but because of Moses’ disobedience, God told him that he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.

This may seem to be harsh punishment for a moment of disobedience, but God had a very special reason for such severity. The rock represents Christ, who was struck once for our iniquities, and extends forgiveness, pardon, and eternal life to all who call upon God in His name. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:10–12). “For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). Similar passages are found in Romans 6:9,10 and Hebrews 9:25–28. Unfortunately, some Christians believe they must offer, again and again, the body and blood of Christ as a sacrifice. But praise God, since Christ has already fulfilled the Law, we now only need to speak to the Rock.

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He

“And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His mercy endureth for ever” (I Chronicles 16:41).

Children today seem to be quite taken with He-Man, the self-proclaimed “master of the universe.” He is a human, possessing supernatural powers and tools. He is portrayed as everything a man should be or could be. Of course, the Christian parent today finds many unbiblical themes in this cartoon, for this is humanism in its extreme, with a liberal touch of the occult thrown in. Strongly expressed is a self reliance on human abilities and plans, with extra-natural powers coming from non-godly sources. This stands in stark contrast to submissive worship of and service to the true Master of the universe.

In our text, we find another He-Man, named Heman. In contrast to the cartoon hero, Heman is involved in work which is truly great, and no doubt deserved eternal rewards. When King David returned to Jerusalem with the Ark of the Covenant, “he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel” (v.4). Heman was one of those chosen to serve the Lord in this fashion. He was “to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD” (v.40). He was further equipped with “trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God” (v.42).

May God grant us children, like Heman, who are occupied with things that truly count, devoting themselves to acts of true greatness in service of the one and only Master, as well as Creator and Redeemer of the universe.

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Here A Little, There A Little


“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line; line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).

The setting of this unusual passage is most sobering. Both the people and their priests in Israel’s northern kingdom (personified by “Ephraim”) were in gross rebellion and drunken disobedience to the Lord. They were even ridiculing God’s prophets who were trying to call them back, complaining that they were being treated like school children. In effect, they were saying: “Are you presuming to teach us as you would freshly weaned infants, going line by line, with rule after rule?”

Whereupon, God replied that He would use people of another tongue to come in and teach them what they refused to learn from Him. These precepts He had been trying to teach them should have provided true rest and refreshment, but now learning these lessons would prove to be their undoing. What should have been a blessing to them would become their condemnation.

How desperately do modern Christians need to heed these same words! They profess to believe God’s Word, but they study it only superficially, compromise its doctrines, and disobey its instructions. “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12). Most Christians of today, like the Corinthians of old, are still “babes in Christ” (I Corinthians 3:1). Thus, it really is necessary for their teachers to bring the Word of God to them “precept upon precept, line upon line, little by little.” “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God” (Hebrews 6:1).

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The Watchers


“I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven” (Daniel 4:13).

It is only in this chapter of Daniel (see also verses 17 and 23) that certain angelic beings called “watchers” are mentioned. Whether the term applies to all God’s holy angels or only to a certain order of angels has not been revealed in Scripture.

However, we do know that at least some of the angels, if not all of them, are intensely occupied with observing events among humans here on earth. For example, Paul said that he and the other apostles had been made “a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men” (I Corinthians 4:9).

The word “spectacle” in this verse is actually theatre, and is so translated the only other time it is used in the New Testament (Acts 19:29,31). It is sobering, as well as surprising, to realize that Christians—especially Christian leaders—are on a stage, as it were, being carefully watched by an audience which even includes the angels. Paul also cautioned Christian women to maintain a covering on their heads “because of the angels” (I Corinthians 11:10). Perhaps the watching angels are also included in the great “cloud of witnesses” who observe us as we “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

But why should these mighty angels, these “holy ones,” these heavenly “watchers,” have such a “desire to look into” these things here on earth? (I Peter 1:12). Perhaps they are anxious, like us, to “see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:9,10).

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Jehovah


“And, thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:10).

The primary name for God in Scripture is the majestic name Jehovah, occurring nearly seven thousand times. The early Jews were reluctant to use that name, for fear of using it lightly (Exodus 20:7), and substituted the word adonai (meaning master or Lord) in its place. Our English versions have followed suit, using the term “LORD” for Jehovah (all caps to distinguish it from adonai, or Lord). Thus the name Jehovah appears only four times in the King James, and causes us at times to miss the full impact of the passage.

This is especially true in the New Testament passages quoting from Old Testament passages which used the name “Jehovah,” for which “LORD” has been substituted. Now, in the English versions, the name “Lord” appears. If “Jehovah” (i.e., deity) were read, instead, much richer meaning would be gathered, and it would prove beyond a doubt the full deity of Christ. Consider two examples:

First, our text quotes from Psalm 102:25–27. The entire psalm consists of praise to Jehovah, and here in Hebrews it addresses the Son. If we read “thou, Jehovah, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth,” and realize that Jesus is the subject of the passage, we recognize that Jesus can be none other than the Creator God.

Also, in Matthew 3:3, where John the Baptist fulfilled his prophesied role by teaching, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord,” quoting from Isaiah 40:3, we see Jesus equated with the Jehovah of the Old Testament, for Isaiah uses the term LORD, or Jehovah.

In these and many other examples, we see Christ as the Jehovah Jesus, and that the God of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.

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Instruction Contrary To Knowledge



“Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 19:27).

One of the saddest realities in the modern world is that many of the leaders of evolutionary and humanistic thought were raised in Christian homes, where from an early age they were exposed to the truths of Scripture. Testimonies without number have been chronicled of Christian students going to universities where they were taught to doubt and then to disbelieve the faith of their parents. Perhaps all these students ever knew of Christianity was a set of rules; maybe they never understood the reasons their parents held certain views nor the basis for these beliefs. Certainly the foundational teaching of creation has been missing in many Christian homes and churches.

Our primary goal as parents should be to establish a godly heritage—to teach the truths of God in such a way as will be believed and cherished by our children, so that they will “keep that which is committed to (their) trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called” (I Timothy 6:20).

Certainly a more effective way of teaching is to continually point the child or student back to foundational principles, rather than to list a set of do’s and don’ts. We must teach those under our influence to to be grounded in the Word, so that they can make sound judgments when away from our watchful eyes. No greater aid to serious study; no better primer in careful reasoning exists than in Scripture. Using it and other supportive materials, a child can learn to think carefully and critically. Not only will they learn information, but here they can learn wisdom and knowledge and understanding. “For the LORD giveth wisdom: and out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).

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The Father Of Spirits


“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?” (Hebrews 12:9).

Human parents transmit physical characteristics to their offspring, but our spiritual attributes come from God, for He is “the Father of spirits.” Paul recognized that all men are “the offspring of God” (Acts 17:29), and that each man is still “the image and glory of God” (I Corinthians 11:7).

Thus our spirit/soul nature, as distinct from our body of physical/mental flesh, has come from God who created it and united it with our body, evidently at the moment of physical conception in the womb. It is obvious that the “image of God,” man’s spirit/soul nature, could not be transmitted genetically via the “genetic code” and the DNA molecules, for these are simply complex chemicals programed to transmit only the physical and mental attributes of the ancestors to the children. Nevertheless, the spirit/soul attributes of each person also seem to be associated inseparably with the body from conception onwards, continuing so until separated again at death, when the spirit goes “to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:.

In the meantime, however, the “image of God” in man is marred by its incorporation in man’s “sinful flesh,” for “the body is dead because of sin” (Romans 8:3,10). By this union of flesh and spirit, man inherits Adam’s fallen nature as well as his mortal body, and both are in need of salvation. Christ “gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity” (Titus 2:14). Therefore, we, like Paul, can pray that our “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).

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Job And Adam

“If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom: . . .” (Job 31:33).

The patriarch Job lived long before Moses and the writing of the Pentateuch, yet he knew about Adam and his fall and likewise about God’s curse on the world because of Adam’s sin. Note the following references in the book of Job to death and the curse:

“Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1; compare Genesis 3:16). “All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust” (Job 34:15; note Genesis 3:19). Evidently Job still had access to the records of primeval history, either by verbal tradition from his ancestors or perhaps through actual written records of the ancient patriarchs handed down from Adam to Moses.

There are also a number of references in Job to man’s original creation. After speaking first of the beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, Job asks: “Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:9,10). Note also Elihu’s testimony: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4).

The book of Job was almost certainly the first written of all the books of the Bible, and it testifies abundantly that the knowledge of the true God and His creation was still the common heritage of mankind at that time. Job knew the Lord, and never tried to hide anything from Him, as Adam had done. His ancient testimony is still true today. Quoting what must have been an early revelation from God, he wrote: “And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).

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Submission

“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:21).

Normally, in today’s world, we are told to strive for the top. Desire to be “Number 1” overshadows the Biblical injunction of submission. But when we are truly in a right relationship with God, we will be submitting to one another. Christ taught that servanthood was of much greater value in the eyes of God than mastery.

We all know too many examples of churches which have been split by conflicts arising from selfishness among the believers or an unwillingness to serve. “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1). A Spirit-filled Christian (Ephesians 5:18) desires to submit and serve, rather than to assert and rule. The same thought is reflected throughout Scripture: “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (I Peter 5:5). “Obey them (i.e., spiritual leaders) that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls” (Hebrews 13:17). We must also submit to “every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” (I Peter 2:13).

The word “submit” is a translation of two Greek words meaning “to line up under.” It usually reflects a military hierarchy, “to rank lower than.” Our goal, therefore, should be to place others above ourselves and to be in submission to and in service of them. This attitude, of course, was the attitude that Christ exhibited as He left Heaven to come and serve, and die, who “took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7,8).

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The Son Of God


“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).

The opening verses of Paul’s epistle to the Romans stressed that the gospel of Christ was actually the fulfillment of that “which He had promised afore by His prophets in the holy Scriptures” (Romans 1:2). This promise was centered in God’s eternal Son, who had promised to redeem the world from sin and death.

To do this, He must become a man, “made of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), yet He also must be sinless in both nature and practice before He could become God’s perfect sacrifice for sin. He must be perfect man—man as God intended man to be. He must be a “second Adam,” created without sin, yet He must not fail as did the first Adam, being “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

He must, therefore, be miraculously conceived. “A body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5)—a perfect body unblemished either by inherited mutations or by a sin-nature genetically inherited from his parents. Then, for nine months, His body would grow, finally to be born of the virgin and to live a life “holy, harmless, undefiled” until that perfect, sinless Man could be made “one Sacrifice for sins for ever” (Hebrews 7:26; 10:12).

But how would the world ever know that all of this was really true? How could lost sinners be assured that their Creator had now become their Redeemer?

By His resurrection from the dead—that’s how! He has been “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead.” Jesus Christ is “that Man whom He hath ordained;” and of this we can be sure, because “He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

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After The Flood

“Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth” (Job 12:15).

The great flood of the Bible was such a traumatic global cataclysm, practically all the people groups that developed from its survivors kept its memory alive in their traditions and legends. The Bible itself, of course, has the only completely accurate record (Genesis 6–9). In addition, the ancient book of Job, written only a few centuries after the flood, reflects the still-fresh memories of the awful deluge. Job knew, for example, that the flood had literally “overturned the earth,” eroding away the pre-flood mountains and depositing their debris to form new mountains after the flood.

Job’s friend, Eliphaz, said: “Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood” (Job 22:15,16). Referring to God’s promise after the flood, Job said: “He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end” (Job 26:10). In the climactic 38th chapter of Job, God Himself recalls this promise:

“Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? . . . And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” (Job 38:8,11).

The general atmosphere of the entire book of Job seems to reflect the conditions shortly after the flood. Modern skeptics deny that such a flood ever occurred, but it was a real and terrible event to those whose immediate ancestors had gone through it! Today, its testimony is preserved not only in the Bible and ancient traditions, but also in the flood sediments themselves, now seen everywhere as the fossil-bearing rocks of the earth’s crust.

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Victory Verbs

“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5,6).

The three verbs, “loved,” “washed,” and “made,” reveal the personal, victorious aspects of Christ’s work for us. The same three verbs are also found in Titus 3:4–7: “The love of God our Savior toward man appeared . . . the washing of regeneration . . . that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs.” May we ever marvel at what Christ has done! He loved us. There is no reason for God to love us. Sinners deserve nothing but eternal damnation; yet God loved us! “We love Him, because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). His love is best seen in the sending of Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). He washed us. Our sins are gone because of Christ’s blood. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12). “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). “Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:9). Praise God! We are cleansed by, and only by the blood! He made us. Christ not only loved us and washed us, He made us kings and priests. In the Old Testament, a king could never be a priest. Those who tried (Saul, Uzziah) were judged; but the New Testament believer is made both by Christ’s death. “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests” (Revelation 5:10).

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Things Worth Knowing

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2).

Although the book of I John is well known for its use of the word “love,” various words, such as “know,” “perceive,” and “behold,” occur almost as often.

Several of these words refer to the work of Christ in salvation. “And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins” (I John 3:5). “We know that we have passed from death unto life” (I John 3:14), and “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us” (I John 3:16). This knowledge brings great assurance: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (I John 5:13).

This knowledge should bring us into a life of submission and service: “But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him” (I John 2:5). Similarly, “and he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us” (I John 3:24; see also I John 4:13).

This gives us confidence in prayer: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, . . . if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (I John 5:14,15). The culmination of a life marked by salvation, assurance, empowering, and victory will be that we will be with Him and be like Him. “Behold [same word as know], what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (I John 3:1).

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Jesus Christ Is Lord

“And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).

Throughout the New Testament, we find there are three names used primarily for the Son of God: Jesus, Christ, and Lord. The name Jesus, meaning “Jehovah is the Savior,” is His human name, linking Him with humanity, whom He came to save. Christ, meaning “anointed,” is His Messianic name, linking Him with the prophecy which He came to fulfill. The New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew word “Jehovah” is the word Lord, linking Him with deity, whom He came to represent and reveal, and to whom is due homage.

These three names have a chronological emphasis, for until His crucifixion, He was known primarily as “Jesus,” but after His resurrection and ascension, He was preeminent as “Christ.” When He returns, it will be as “Lord,” to reign. To be sure, there is overlap, for He is simultaneously all three, and has been throughout history. But the general pattern is clear. The three names also indicate His three-fold office and work. “Jesus” suggests His career as a prophet, teaching men the truth, while “Christ” suggests His priesthood, atoning for sin, and “Lord,” His kingship, ruling over men. Mankind’s relationship and responsibility to Him follow this same pattern: obedience to Him as Prophet; faith in Him as Priest; surrender to Him as King.

There is no effort on the part of the Scripture writers to separate these names into different individuals, for on many if not most occasions, two or three of the names are combined, showing that these three names reference one and the same person. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).