TWO GOATS---ONE SACRIFICE

Three Hebrew words are found to be translated 'pardon' or 'forgive' in the KJV of of the Old Testament. Those words are 'kipper,' [which means to cover] 'nasa,' [which means to lift up or to take away] and 'salach.' [Which means to let go.]  These three words all have reference in some fashion to the mercy seat of the Tabernacle and to the idea of the atonement. 


They are all three a metaphorical reference to the removal of sin. Sin is seen to be 'covered' [mercy seat] so that there is no longer a barrier to sinful man approaching and relating to holy God. Then it is seen to be 'carried away' [The Scape-Goat] so that there is no hindering offense that separates the offender from the offended One. Finally, it is 'forgiven' [The Lord's goat] so that there is no longer any wrath and death awaiting sinful man.  All of these together create a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work in picture form in the Old Testament as declared in Hebrews 9. What a picture it is.

Leviticus 16:7-10 is where the scape goat and the Lord's goat show vividly that picture just referenced. Aaron was to take a bullock and kill it to sprinkle blood for his and his sons purification. That was a personal thing for Aaron. But then there was the taking of two goats and a lot was cast making one the scape goat, to carry away the sins of the people, and the other was the Lord's goat, to die for the people. It is good to remember, however, that both were to be seen as ONE offering. 


This is important to understand as some have tried to identify the scape goat as Satan and the sacrificed goat as the Lord. It is true the Lord's goat was slain and it's blood sprinkled on the mercy seat for the sins of the people and then the scape goat had hands laid on it as the sins of the people were confessed and the animal was released in the wilderness. But the scape goat pictures our Lord as our sins were IMPUTED to Him and were "carried away" from us as He bore them on our behalf. Our sin has been lifted from us and carried away to be remembered against us no more.

Remember that the first goat had already been killed and it's blood had been taken and sprinkled upon the mercy seat for the sins of the people. Thus the penalty was paid. After all, the wages of sin IS death. God cannot simply send our sins away without a just consequence being seen. Death. 


It is a double picture then as the scape goat reveals that the Lord Jesus carried our sin away but the Lord's goat pictures the Lord Jesus dying on our behalf. Sin IS removed from us but it is at a high cost to Someone and we know who that Someone is don't we!!


 So the blood, having been sprinkled on the mercy seat enabled sinful man to approach holy God because their sins have been covered, [kipper] and the scape goat shows that any barrier those sins might have created had been taken away. [nasa]  On top of all that their failure was not remembered against them any more.  [salach]  That is to be REALLY forgiven.

So we can now forget the rituals, the sacrifices, the animals, the tabernacle or the Temple, as those were only pictures. We can now speak and sing of our LORD JESUS CHRIST who is the revealed truth about our sin being covered, lifted up, and carried away. All of the Old covenant was the message of the New Covenant in picture form. That picture is now reality in our Lord. 

Just another picture of our Lord from the Old Testament. They just keep pointing us to Him don't they!!

Paul B. 

RAISING CAIN

The promise of a coming Savior was given early on in the drama of the temptation and sin thing that happened with Adam and Eve. Interestingly, the first promise of help was given in the context of a curse being put upon the offending serpent. It reads this way..."And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between her seed and thy seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." [ Genesis 3:14-15]  


This is not simply a statement of some kind of hostility that would exist between snakes and people but does, albeit in cryptic language, speak of a strife that will be between Christ and Satan and a final triumph of the former over the latter.

How much Adam and Eve understood of it all may be up for discussion to be sure, but that there was a measure of comprehension is clear from the language in the following verses. It is pointed out by James P. Boyce in his work entitled "Abstract of Systematic Theology" that Eve, at least, associated Jehovah and His promise with the birth of Cain. Boyce says this, "Now the record taken in it's strictest grammatical interpretation teaches not only that the promised seed had become a ground of hope for the woman, but that she had learned to associate with him who was to be the antagonist of the serpent the name of Jehovah Himself." [P-260] 

 Boice then gives an elaborate and interesting word study that winds up with his showing that Eve thought Cain was, in fact, that Jehovah man-child as he gives a well researched documentation of the language that shows her statement was a statement that said, "I have obtained a man JEHOVAH." In other words, she thought her child Cain was Jehovah come in human form. He wasn't. But that child did ultimately come and the heel-bruising of the seed of woman and head-crushing of the seed of the serpent did occur. We know it as the work of the Cross on our behalf.

I think interpretive honesty and our knowledge of Christ allows us to admit that Eve was incorrect in her assumption that Cain WAS that seed promised. But nothing in the language of scripture ever states that she was correct in that assumption either. Her belief that the promised seed would be Jehovah in human form doing battle on her behalf against sin and it's sources and consequences was ultimately brought to pass however. As stated before, it is the work of the Christ of the Cross and that is the message of the gospel.

This is another simple view of Christ presented in the Old Testament much as we saw last time that He can be seen in the garments worn by the High Priest, Aaron, and his sons, the priests. 

I love to reflect on how the whole of scripture is a tale of Christ and His accomplishing the work of redemption.

Paul B.

A COAT WORTH WEARING

When Adam and Eve sinned God did a gracious thing for them immediately.  Genesis 3:21 says it this way, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." The word 'coats' is "Kethoneths" which has a double meaning of "to cover or to hide." Adam had already tried to do both on his own when he and Eve sewed fig leaves together and hid from God in the bushes. You see, Adam and Eve had a duel problem of guilt and shame but couldn't take care of their problem by self effort any more than can we.


 But God graciously did the necessary hiding and covering of their guilt and shame with the "coats of skins" according to Gen. 3:21. It is significant to remember that the word "skins" in the KJV is plural, but in the original it was singular. This is important, perhaps, because, as C. W. Slemming says, "This suggests that one sacrifice was sufficient for both." 


It is also significant to remember that this is the first example of a" Kethoneth" needed to cover man's sin and to hide man's shame. It wasn't a Botany 500 [the best suit back in my day of buying suits] that Adam now wore, but it sure was a fine garment of a totally different nature for both he and his wife.

The first High Priest for Israel was another example of wearing a wonderful garment. It was a "coat" [there's that word kethoneth again] made of "fine linen" according to Exodus 18:39. Aaron, the High Priest, wore it as an inner garment but his sons, the Priests, wore it as their only garment. [Plus the Priestly girdle, bonnet etc.]  

With this coat the High Priest and the Priests were sufficiently covered so they could minister in the Tabernacle itself. Then, on that wonderful day of Atonement, the High Priest would by himself, take in the blood of the lamb, sprinkle it on the mercy seat, which covered the law that was in the Ark of the covenant, and sinful man had an audience with God. More than an audience...man had relationship with God.

We know the blood speaks of His sacrifice for us on the Cross. He gave His life on our behalf. But often forgotten is the righteousness that is His which is imputed to us by Grace. You see that "coat of linen" speaks of our guilt and shame being hidden once and for all. Isaiah foretold of it with these words, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God: for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness..." [Isaiah 61:10] 

I'm sure we all agree that Righteousness was the foundation of everything Christ was and did. But our claim to being righteous is of a different nature. It is not our own. It is a righteousness given to us by Him. So our High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is righteous in His very character, [As shown by the inner garment of the High Priest]  is willing that His righteousness become imputed to us. [As shown by the outer garment of the Priests.]  All this so that we are, in fact, clothed with His Righteousness, because we are washed in His blood, and as Adam pictured, we are free from EVER being seen in our guilt and shame. 

Not a botany 500 by any means. Far better than that. Our garment is a permanent covering. THAT, my friend, is GRACE.


Paul B.

MINISTERING TOGETHER

Without question, every believer, regardless of age or gender, is a priest and has something to offer in service to our Lord.


F.F. Bruce says it this way...“Christianity is sacrificial through and through; it is founded on the one self-offering of Christ, and the offering of His people’s praise and property, of their service and their lives, and all are caught up into the perfection of His acceptable sacrifice, and are accepted in Him.” 


So no one has any reason to doubt that they have been called to a ministry in the body of Christ. To every believer grace has been given for service to the Lord. The scripture says it this way, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” (Eph. 4:7)

In Christ, every Christian is a son or daughter of God, clothed in Christ’s righteousness, and all Christians come to God the Father directly. As a royal priesthood, we then serve God in gratitude for our salvation all of our life. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit and we are to function in the body under Christ as our Prophet, Priest and King. 

This means that all Christians are free from any tyranny or bondage of any mediating priest, minister, pastor, reverend, bishop, or spouse.  We are to recognize Jesus Christ alone as our Mediator and High Priest whose sacrifice alone has ushered us into God’s presence. 

Sacrificial service to God then comes from an enlightenment we get from a studied Scripture and we all are empowered by the Holy Spirit to minister within and for the good of the whole of Christ’s Church. Such is the great ministry of every believer within the Church.


I think it may be time that we admit as Baptists that the ministry of the church is not a "one-man ministry" or even a "man" ministry. Everyone is a priest. Everyone is graced. Everyone is gifted. And  everyone is to serve out of that gifting and grace. 

A New Testament congregation may be like the orchestras Mary and I saw this past year in the Edmond Culture Center that made such beautiful music. Each orchestra was made up of many instruments and in the warmups when each was warming up with little or no regard for the others and it was a cacophony of confusion and disorder. But let the Conductor step to the podium and raise his baton and begin his leading and what beautiful music was heard.

Similarly, a local congregation can be one characterized by confusion and disorder when left to each one with no regard for the others. Our mistake, however, is in thinking order comes by elevating one man [a pastor] or one group [deacons or men only] into the conducting of affairs of the church with no real regard for all the others. 

The resulting tragedy is that the typical congregation finds itself robbed of "each one ministering" as they are gifted to help build up the body and the majority of the members wind up being spectators. Or...they are consigned to working in an organization with little or no ability to impact anyone other than an assigned small group based on age and gender. 

Don't hear me knocking present day Christianity with a negative spirit or condescending attitude. You would be mistaken on both counts. I love and appreciate people where they are and I also minister among those people that I love and appreciate multiple times a year in conferences and meetings as well as in my own local fellowship.

My words here are not the ravings of an angry and frustrated preacher or Christian. They are the honest words of evaluation about us all and a stated longing for what could be in the Body of Christ if we were willing and able to yield to the Holy Spirit in fresh ways with a greater desire for something that cannot be explained in terms of human control, manipulation, or methods born out of pragmatism. 

Think about what would happen if the Holy Spirit were really free to raise His baton and make music through any person He chose to in harmony with all the others in a congregation. 

I think the resulting spiritual music would likely be far from the institutional and organizational chaos and deadness that we wind up with generally because of our fear of being "out of control" of where things might go if no one person or group is in charge. 


It is this loss of the reality of the Spirit's life and direction that plagues us in the modern day church IMHO. The ultimate result is the loss of the giftedness of men and women from whom the whole body would benefit. 


As a royal priesthood, then, it is my fervent prayer that we will learn to live and serve together with no regard to age or gender under the true leadership of the Spirit. What music we could make together


Paul B.