Sunday November 1
Truth in Symbols
Scripture is exceedingly rich in symbols. All kinds abound, and in most cases, they represent truths greater than themselves.
Read Genesis 4:3-7.
4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
What do their two different sacrifices symbolize?
Very early in the Bible we can see the difference between the attempt to work one's way to heaven (in the offering of Cain) and the realization that salvation is by grace alone, made available to us only through the merits of a crucified Savior (the offering of Abel).
Amen, salvation is made available to us only through the merits of a crucified Savior. But, unless we do something, we shall not be saved. I understand that we are saved by grace, but to say it is by grace alone encourages too many to believe they can be saved without doing anything, and that is a great lie that has been widely taught throughout Christendom and in our church. Our good works will not save us, but there is something we must do in order that we be converted and after conversion by doing good works our characters are strengthened to more perfectly reflect our Savior. I think James explains this rather well.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent [them] out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Read Numbers 21:4-9.
21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
What was the symbolism of the bronze serpent uplifted on the pole? (See also John 12:32.)
12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.
"The Israelites saved their lives by looking upon the uplifted serpent. That look implied faith. They lived because they believed God's word, and trusted in the means provided for their recovery."-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 431.
Amen!! After 30 years of Sabbath School lessons we finally see this lesson taught. Praise God!!! But, there is more to this lesson than "implied faith".
How does Jesus draw us to Him? There are many ways, but what is being taught in the words spoken to Nicodemus? Remember the question I asked about how it is that we are saved? What did Jesus tell Nicodemus he must do in order to be born again? Let's look at what Jesus said to Nicodemus after he was reproved and told he was not converted and needed to born of the Spirit. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14,15.
What must Nicodemus do in order to live? Jesus is drawing, but we must respond to that drawing. He gets our attention and tells us to come to Him. What does it mean to come to Him? It means that we find out who He is. It means that we learn of Him. Jesus tells us to "eat His flesh and to "drink His blood". As we feed upon Jesus, by beholding Him we become changed in character (converted). We must behold His grace in order to receive it. And, once we are converted, if we wish to stay converted, this must be a daily work of beholding Jesus. For it is by looking we are saved. That is the work we must do in order to be saved by grace. God's part is immeasurably large, our part is immeasurably small. But, without our part of beholding, we shall be forever lost. It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour a day feeding upon Jesus.
All through the Old Testament, the earthly sanctuary service served as the most detailed symbolic representation of the plan of salvation. How much the Israelites understood about the meaning of all the rituals has been an open question for millennia though no doubt many did grasp the most important of all truths taught there: substitutionary atonement, the idea that in order for their sins to be forgiven a substitute had to die in their stead (see 1 Cor. 5:7).
Let's consider what we know for sure about how much they understood or did not, especially about the need of Christ's righteousness in order to have eternal life.
We start with the first instance we know of as the nation Israel was about to leave their Egyptian captivity. How much did they know about the Savior and His future death for their sins? They were slaves, little better than brute beasts for the most part. They had lost a knowledge of the sacrificial offerings. It was so they could make offerings that God had told the Pharaoh to let His people go. And, when Moses received the law, he also received the plans for the sanctuary and its services. It was then at Sinai that God made what Paul called the "old covenant" with Israel. This covenant was not the "everlasting covenant" where God promised upon conditions that He would write His law in their hearts. No, it was just "obey and live". The better covenant, the "new covenant" was based on the better promise of a new heart. But, the people were not ready for it, for they trusted in themselves and did not know the plan of salvation or God. The sanctuary and its services were to instruct them in regards to both.
Here is how much they knew about the symbol of the Lamb whom their father Abraham had offered. From Exodus:
19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine:
19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
From their response we see that they did not know of Christ and their need of Him. They did not understand the symbol of the Lamb. Thus, when Moses was on the mount they were sinning.
Let's move further along in the history of Israel. Israel wanted a king, so God allowed them to have kings. How much did they understand the symbols of the Lamb and the sanctuary services? If they made idols to worship, would that reveal ignorance about the sanctuary and its symbols? Yes, it would. From 2 Chronicles:
33:1 Manasseh [was] twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:
33:2 But did [that which was] evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
33:3 For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
33:4 Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.
33:5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
33:7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:
We remember that Solomon also brought idol worship into the nation.
Lastly, let's go to the time when the fulfillment of the ceremonies took place, when types and shadows met the reality. The most glaring revelation of ignorance comes just before the Lamb is to be sacrificed. When all, especially those who had spent 3 1/2 years bring taught by God Himself, ought to know about that which all of the symbols pointed to was about to take place. Jesus was with His disciples on their last trip to Jerusalem where He would be crucified for the sins of the world. Did the disciples know the Lamb had to die? "Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Matthew 16:20-23.
Imagine after being with Jesus for 3 1/2 years, and even Jesus telling them He was going to Jerusalem to die, the disciples did not know Jesus was the Lamb that was to be sacrificed for their sins!
In fact, through the sanctuary service, we have been given symbols not only of the death of Jesus but also of His high priestly ministry in heaven, the pre-Advent judgment, and the final disposition of sin at the end of the age
Yes, WE have been given these symbols with instruction on what much of them mean. Yet, how many steadfastly refuse to believe what they mean? Take the pre-Advent judgment, how many really believe we are going to be judged when the books of heaven are opened? Very few indeed. How was Israel so ignorant of the truth? Their leaders led them astray. So it is today. The seminary is now teaching we are to bring homosexuals into church membership. As with Israel, those entrusted with the education of the ministry and the people have perverted the teachings of the sanctuary and its services, the very foundation of of our faith.
What other biblical symbols of the plan of salvation can you think of? Which ones especially speak to you about God's saving grace and the hope we can derive from it?
Amen, Share with us and your Sabbath School class one of the symbols that means a lot to you. Here is the one that has blessed me greatly. It was at first a mystery that now is the most beautiful symbol I know of. It is Abraham. Yes, Abraham was used of God as a symbol of grace, of His most precious love. Remember the story of Abraham being asked to take his son, his son of promise, and sacrifice him? Let's look at it for a moment. I pray you will blessed as I have been when the mystery of why God would ask a father to kill his son was revealed.
22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering?
22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.
22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.
22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
What is the great lesson in asking a father to slay his son? Yes, it is a type of the death of Jesus for our sins. But, this symbol that is at the heart of this lesson is not the Lamb, but Abraham. What does Abraham represent?
Stay with me. If you were in Abraham's position, how would you feel about taking the life of your son or daughter? Imagine the feeling, yes the feeling that Abraham felt as he journeyed to the mount. Imagine how he felt when Isaac asked him were was the sacrifice. Imagine how he felt when he took Isaac from his mother knowing he was going to kill him. Now, as Abraham lifts the knife, how would you feel at that moment? Think about it. As the heart of Abraham is breaking, God stops him. At the very same moment, Abraham sees the ram caught in the thicket. Unlike Peter who was trying to stop Jesus from going to His death, Abraham understood the meaning of the sacrifice. He knew the ram was to die that it might reveal the love that God has for the sinner, that the ram represented the Son of God who was to die because of Abraham's sins.
The Holy Spirit at that moment revealed to Abraham something he had never felt before, the pain that he had experienced was a very faint shadow of the pain that God would feel when the knife would not be held back from slaying His only begotten Son. Abraham's pain gave him an insight into what the sacrifice of Christ was all about. It is called grace, the unmerited love that our heavenly Father has for us. That He would send His Son to this dark spot in the universe, a helpless babe subject the weaknesses of humanity, to suffer and die for us while we were yet sinners, what a God! Wonder O heavens and be astonished O earth. Herein is love!