March 19- The To Do List

March 19, 2011

Scripture Readings:
Numbers 28:16-29:40; Luke 3:23-38;
Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 11:18-19

Numbers 28:16-29:40

When the kids were in high school I volunteered in many capacities at their private high school .  One year I was the vice president of events.  That meant that I coordinated the committees that ran events like the senior graduation dinner, the activites around the Spring musical, and the Christmas mother's dessert.  It probably will not surprise you to know that I had a calendar of all of the celebrations and notebooks with details on each event.  As we clicked off events in the school year, I marked time by what we had celebrated.

Today in our reading Moses clicks off the calendar of festivals designed to commemorate what God will do in the future through Jesus Christ.  He is reminding the Jewish people that it is their responsibility, once he (Moses) passes away, to remember these festivals as the Lord has commanded. Let's review the Jewish Festival Calendar:

• Passover- celebrated in the Spring
• Festival of First Fruits or Harvest - when the first grain is harvested
• Festival of Trumpets- in early autumn
• The Day of Atonement - ten days after first fruits
• Festival of Shelters or Festival of Booths- five days later

These celebrations do not commemorate something that has already happened like a birthday or an anniversary.  They are pictures of what Jesus would be and what Jesus would do for the whole world in the future.  They point to the coming Messiah.  As we have studied before, some of these festivals point to future events of the end times. Because he has come and done the work on the cross these celebrations no longer are celebrated by those who believe in Jesus as Messiah. The festivals that deal with the end times specifically represent Israel's role and her relationship to her Messiah at his Second Coming. Associated with these festivals are sweet offerings and savory offerings.  The sweet offerings speak of who Jesus was, the perfect sinless Savior.  The savory offerings speak of what Jesus did.  He died for your sins and mine.  He was our savory offering to God. 

God offers a beautiful picture of who His Son is, and His Son's work in our lives.  This calendar points to him.

Can you take a moment to thank Christ for being completely consumed for your sins?  What about his death, even though he had never wronged anyone in His whole life?  Have you prayed a prayer of appreciation for his humility and love?

Luke 3:23-28

You will remember that in the book of Matthew, Matthew gives a genealogy of Jesus from the side of Joseph tracing Jesus' lineage to King David starting with Abraham.  Matthew's goal was to prove that Jesus had legal rights to the throne of David through Joseph.  By the way, Joseph was related to King David through Solomon.  Luke, who is concerned with showing that Jesus is the Perfect Man, traces Jesus' lineage though his mother, Mary, back to King David and then all the way back to Adam.  This proves that Jesus has a blood right, as well as a legal right, to the throne of King David.  Mary is related to King David through his son, Nathan.  Both Mary and Joseph come from the royal line.

Note that Adam is called the son of God in Luke's genealogy. The term son of God is a term that indicates being directly created by God. Indeed, Adam was the first son of God who fell away because of sin.  Jesus is the last Son of God who is sinless and righteous.  Remember the whole "The first shall be last and the last shall be first" pattern that we see throughout the Bible?  This is the reason for all of those pictures in the Bible.  All the other incidents of this principle (Cain and Seth, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and all of his brothers, Israel and the Gentile nations) are designed to remind us that the first man, Adam, sinned.  The last man, Jesus, saves the world from sin. This theme is central to God's story.  Every life and incident in this world has a purpose that God has designed.  His ways are higher than our ways.  We can only bow in awe at the feet of our Creator.

Do you marvel at how God has woven His story through history?  Do you trust His Words to be true in your life?  How does that change your attitudes and behavior?

Psalm 62:1-12

I love the first verse of this psalm. "I wait quietly before God, for my salvation comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken."

Do you need a fortress to hide away in today?  God can be there for you.  Trust Him and find shelter for your soul.

Proverbs 11:18-19

Godly people find life; evil people find death.

What did you see today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton
© 2011