Choose Your Pasta...

I wanted to get some additional thoughts about the 24th chapter of Joshua out while they were still fairly fresh in my mind and before we turn our attention more directly to 2nd Corinthians.

Joshua kind of "threw it down" to the people of Israel in the final chapter of the book.  He knew his days on earth were numbered, and I guess that when the curtain is about to come down, you tend to "just say it."  Joshua was very direct in chapter 24 and he did some of those things we have seen throughout the book to try and make his words stick- things like re-write parts of the covenant in the Book of the Law of God, (v. 26) and setting a large stone out as a "witness" to all that had been said that day, (v. 26-27).  Both are very "Joshua-like" things to do.

As we leave this book, there are some things I think are worth considering about this challenge that Joshua issued in chapter 24.  Here they are in list form... sort of:

1. The Integrity of the Mediator

Joshua was not perfect, but he was certainly a man of God.  At the end of the chapter he is referred to as "Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the Lord"  That title, "servant of the Lord", had only been used in conjunction with Moses up to this point.  My point here is this- this challenge placed before the people came from someone of great integrity and faith.   The source of the challenge is important here.  This is not just bible Joe Schmoe talking.  If Joshua says these things, the people would do well to listen.

It is not any different for us.  In fact, the challenge we have as "modern day Christians" was / is issued from the Author of Salvation- from the very epitome of integrity- from Jesus Christ Himself.  We dare not pass off the challenge of living a Godly life, if for no other reason, than just for the fact that it was/is Jesus Himself who issues the challenge.

2. The Matter of Choice:

We talked about it.  Pure allegiance to God can only be by personal choice.  Of course He is powerful enough to MAKE us love Him, but what kind of love would that be?  When my children, (Christian and Sarah), were small there were two ways I could get a hug from them.  I could MAKE them do it.  I was bigger, stronger, faster... I could force them to hug me.  And it would mean nothing.  The only hugs that really meant anything were the ones that were voluntary.  "...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve..."  Choice makes all the difference.

3. The Necessity of Choice

In speaking about the matter of accepting Christ, I heard someone say once, "Not to decide is to decide."  This whole issue of what we do with God in our lives is not something that can be "tabled for later consideration".  For the people of Israel, to put off the decision was to choose against God.  We live in an age of grace, (and its a good thing we do!), and there is such thing as deferred judgement and there are "second chances", but still, not to decide is to decide.  We, and the world, either choose God or we don't.  We don't get to "sit this one out."

4. The Extent of the Conditions

Joshua told the people to get rid of all false gods several times in chapter 24.  This choice he laid out before the people had to be an all-enveloping choice.  There could be no remnant of foreign gods.  Those gods were designed by man to "rule" over specific circumstances at specific times.  With the God we know there is none of that.  God is not different for the young or the old.  God is not different for the wealthy or the poor.  God is not different for the man or the woman or the desperate or the "secure".  He is God.  To every extent.  In every circumstance.  There is no need for anyone or anything else.  And this complete devotion is what God desires.

5. The Peril of Engagement

If we humans are fallible and fickle, and God demands and desires such complete devotion, would it not be better for us not to enter this "arrangement"?  Because, after all, we know we are going to fail!  Well, that is a pickle isn't it.?  Or it would be were it not for the blood of Christ and the Grace of God.  I think we all would join our voices together to say "Praise God for the gift of forgiveness and salvation!"  But there is still this truth- especially pertinent any new convert to Christ or anyone contemplating that initial "leap of faith"-  the stakes are high.  To the new Christian, entering into this arrangement with God  seems to place much at risk- our very soul.  But as we live with God we learn that any risk or cost extended by us is guaranteed countless times over by the Creator of the universe.

6. The Serious Nature of Acceptance

Closely related to the previous item, when one enters a covenant with God, it is different than any other agreement that we will ever make and it should be treated as so.  It is alarming to see how many treat their own promises.  It seems we often say whatever is functional at the time with no real thought to the "follow through" that is required.  We dare not treat our discourse with God in this manner.  When we speak with God and we pronounce our intention to be faithful, we must not casually pass off our words at a later time.

7. The Nearness of Consequence

Time seems to drag on and on to us.  Because we do not reap the consequence for sin "immediately" we begin to think there will be no consequence.  We do it on many levels.  We do it as individuals, we do it as communities, and we certainly do it as a nation.  We tend to forget that it is what we do this day that makes the biggest difference.  To paraphrase a C.S. Lewis quote, the present is that part of time that comes the closest to touching eternity.  The past cannot be changed, the future has not come, so it is what we do now that makes the most difference.

Well there it is.  Ideas and thoughts that I stumbled upon as I prepared our discussion of Joshua 24.  Hope you find them thought provoking and encouraging!

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon

Promised Land Pasta...

Last Sunday we discussed an overall view of the book of Joshua with an emphasis on thinking about the symbolism of the book.  Joshua obviously tells the "next chapter" in the history of God's people, but it stands for much more than that.  We see God's character continually revealed as we study the scripture, and in this case we see the fulfillment of God's promise to deliver His people to the promised land.  We see in this particular book that God finished what he started so many years ago by safely delivering His people into the land of Canaan.

Some say that the whole idea of crossing the Jordan and moving on to the promised land represents heaven and our own crossing at the end of our lives.  I can see why they say that and I don't have any big objection to that kind of analogy.  But I see some other applications of the book as well.

As Christians, we are called to a different kind of life.  A life with God.  We could go on and on about exactly what that means- "a life with God"- but for now let us just say that it is a calling to a higher standard than the world and it is a calling to be set apart.  In a very real sense, the crossing of the Jordan, I think, represents making that choice- the choice to pursue that life with God with your whole heart.  As the Israelites came through the waters of the Jordan in order to live in the place God intended, so we come through the waters of baptism to live in a spiritual "promised land" with God.

After the Joshua and the people crossed into the promised land, the work was not done.  There was opposition on all sides and there was difficulty and war and conquest and struggle...  it was not like the "retiring to live the good life" picture that we sometimes get in our minds.  There was still work to do and there were still opposing forces to deal with and the people could not let their guard down, lest they be influenced by other cultures that were not God-fearing.  The same is true for us.  When we make the choice to align ourselves with God we live in the wonderful reassurance of our salvation.  But the work is not done and we are not immune to the influence of this world.  It is our task to live in this "promised land", given by God, in obedience to His word.

When you read through Joshua 3 and 4, there are a few things that stand out:

The first words of Joshua 3 are "Early in the morning..."  I don't know if this is what God intended for use to get from little things like Joshua 3:1, but I cannot help but think that leaders have to do the extra work.  Joshua was committed to being "God's man" and wanted to lead the people- not for his own glory, but for God's glory.  I think that anyone who aspires to that kind of leadership has to realize that extra work is a part of it.  It means getting up early.  It means staying up late.  It means pouring out extra effort for the sake of God's kingdom.  The good news here is that we strive with all of "His" energy toward that end, (Col. 1:29)

Note that the passing from the west bank of the Jordan to the east bank was a daunting thing.  You have to think that very few, if any of the people who saw the parting of the Red Sea were still alive.  This was a new generation, and although I am sure they had heard the story, there were not there to see God roll back the waters of the Red Sea.  Now, here they were at the edge of the Jordan river, (at flood stage), and they had to get across.  Millions of people had to get across.  That was God's plan.  Go.  Cross.  So you know they had to be thinking, "How are we gonna pull this off?"  I think it is safe to say that it was a challenge to their faith.  So what do we learn from all of this?  If nothing else, there is this: the path of obedience often leads through challenge.  Now that thought is probably not news to most of us, but it is good for us to see that it has always been that way- God leads His people through challenge.

This is certainly not the only time, but in Joshua we see God's tendency to have His people establish a system of remembrance.  Joshua was instructed to build an alter in order to remind future generations of what God did in that place.  We do well when we do the same for our families and our descendants now.  When we develop our own "God-based" traditions in our own families, we build "altars" that serve as a reminder of God's faithfulness.

Well, there are a few thoughts about Joshua 3 and 4.  Now its time to move on!  Joshua 5 and 6 coming this Sunday!


Just Keep Swimming.....

Jon

Hard Pasta...

The thoughts of our discussion this morning (1/16) are fresh in my mind and so I felt the need and the desire to write some things down right now. Hebrews 6:4-8 is indeed a hard passage, but I do not want it to be one that causes us to doubt or to be afraid- I do not think that is the author's intention or the Author's intention.

First I would like to re-emphasize this, (I think we mentioned it somewhere in the course of our discussion); when the NIV uses the phrase "fallen away" in verse 6, it is referring to apostasy. Just so we are clear, let me pass along the words of bible commentator Matthew Henry:

"But the falling away here mentioned, is an open and avowed renouncing of Christ, from enmity of heart against him, his cause, and people, by men approving in their minds the deeds of his murderers, and all this after they have received the knowledge of the truth, and tasted some of its comforts."

So, we see that the falling away mentioned in Hebrews 6 is a willful, knowing rejection of the person and the ministry of Jesus Christ. It does not refer to our human failings and our temporary digressions from the "straight and narrow". The book of 1 John stresses the habitual pattern of our lives and reassures us that the temporary diversions into sin that are a result of our weakness do not cost us our salvation. Rather it is the what we intend in our lives that is critical. We must assess what it is that we are trying to do with our lives. If we strive to live our lives as an appropriate response to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, then we can live with every confidence.

And speaking of confidence...

One of the things that we must do with any difficult passage is examine it in the context of the whole of scripture. We have to look at over-arching biblical truths and themes and interpret a given passage within that kind of context. Now it is easy to look at Heb. 6:4-8 and conclude that our salvation is "not sure". But that is in contradiction with what we know is a firm biblical truth, the assurance of our salvation. Consider...

2 Tim. 1: 12

¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.


Heb. 10:22

²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

1 John 3:19-20

¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Eph. 1:13-14

¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.


The scripture teaches that our salvation is secured through the work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. So, any interpretation of Hebrews 6 has to take that truth into consideration. We cannot and should not live our lives constantly worrying about whether we have "crossed the line". (That kind of outlook is not consistent with scripture either since scripture teaches us to strain toward what is ahead- Phil. 3:13)

Having said that, it sure seems that if we "apostatize", then we are in danger.

There are some who say that this passage, (Heb. 6), is not about salvation at all. Rather the thought is that what is at stake is reward and earthly discipline. If we "fall away" after coming to Christ then we lose reward we might have had.

There are some who say that anyone who falls away could never have been a true believer in the first place, and so salvation is very much at stake.

Some even say that the argument is hypothetical. That is, they say "If a believer were to fall away in this manner, then they would be in trouble, but it can't happen, so it's on we go."

And I should mention this- there is a school of thought that says that this scripture was prompted by the problem of people in this "church" sliding back into Old Testament, Traditional Jewish, Law of Moses rituals. They say that there must have been converted Jews who came to a belief in Jesus Christ, but as time marched on, they began to slip back into their old ways- rituals, sacrifices etc. Now remember, "righteousness" in the old testament was obtained through sacrifice, (bulls, calves, doves...). The thought here is that the Hebrew writer meant that if a believer has slipped back into those "old ways", then those "old sacrifices" are powerless to restore the errant believer.

I don't know that we can ever presume to say that we know exactly what God intended with this scripture. But there are a few things I fall back on.

I fall back on the fact that God will not make a wrong decision- ever. We can be assured all eternal rewards will be appropriately dispensed.

I fall back on 1 John, which tells me that what I need to pay attention to is the habitual pattern of my life and that I need to be concerned with the intention of my life. My lapses do not make me happy, but neither do they cost me my salvation.

I fall back on the teaching of the scripture that tells me that my salvation is sure. Jesus has done everything necessary to secure my salvation, and apart from a willful, intentional rejection and renouncing of Jesus, I cannot lose it.

There are many more things that come to my mind as I think about this passage, but I do not want this to turn into a thesis. But I do have this one final thought. We do not like to think of there being a "point of no return". That is an uncomfortable idea for us. And I do not know if there is or is not. (This scripture kind of makes it sound like there is...) But if there is a point of no return, I know this- I am going to stay the heck away from it. In the end, as much as I love many people, I can only be responsible for myself. And I can make choices. And I can stay as far away as possible from anything that looks like apostasy- which is what is in question here.

Pasta for thought...

Just Keep Swiming....

Jon

Pasta for Thought...

Last Sunday we set out to discuss the three Messianic symbols found in Numbers- the water from the rock, (20:7-11), the bronze snake, (21:6-9), and the Cities of Refuge, (Ch. 35). It should come as no surprise that we did not make it through all three. We had a good discussion about the first two, but did not get to the Cities of Refuge. So, now, let's explore that image briefly.

To get a full picture of the story of the Cities of Refuge you should read all of chapter 35. But for now, let me summarize the main idea. As the nation of Israel was preparing to enter into the promised land, God instructed Moses to set up six cities that would be designated as cities of refuge. The cities were to serve as a safe haven for anyone who committed murder unintentionally. The chapter spells out more detail about which offenses were covered and which were not, but the main idea was that anyone who had killed someone accidentally could flee to one of the cities of refuge and there they would find protection from the "Avenger"- (sounds like a Marvel comic). From what I could gather, the role of the avenger was filled by the nearest family member who felt strongly enough to do it, and that the avenger had the right to track down those guilty of murder and exact punishment. And back then, punishment was life for life.

These cities kept their gates open and manned at all times. Twenty-four hours a day. The cities were open to the Jew and the "alien", so even if someone was not a member of the nation of Israel, they could find sanctuary in the cities of refuge. The cities were all built in hill country or on plateaus, so that they were "up high" and were very visible by anyone in the area.

The person guilty of unintentional murder would be protected as long as they stayed within the walls of the city. They were to stay in the city of refuge until the current High Priest died, then they were declared free and allowed to return to their inherited land without guilt or punishment.

So let's summarize some of the notable characteristics of these cities:

1. Intention was key- anyone who intentionally murdered would not find any protection in the city of refuge, but if someone accidentally transgressed, they were protected.
2. The cities were always open.
3. The cities were open to anyone.
4. The cities were "up high" and easy to see.
5. Protection lasted until the High Priest died and then freedom was granted without guilt.

Is it just me or are the Jesus images piling up like last night's dishes???

I don't think any one of us gets out of bed in the morning and sets out to sin on purpose. But we still do it. We don't want to, we don't mean to. But we are weak and we are flawed, and while it is not our intention to violate the principles of scripture, we do it anyway. We are just the kind of people for whom the cities were made. Guilt is not the question. We are guilty. We don't even have an argument. But I think that we can all honestly say that we do not intend to violate God's law. That is one thing I love so much about the book of 1 John. A significant part of the theme of 1 John is our habitual life style- what we are trying to do with our lives. The book challenges us to think about what our intentions are in our lives.

The city gates were always open- ready to accept the refugee at any time. Jesus is the same. I don't know how you feel about "death bed confessions"... I am not even sure how I feel about them. But I do believe this with all my heart- Jesus will accept anyone who comes to Him sincerely and accepts Him, whether they do so when they are 8 or 80. The gate is always open.

The cities were for everyone- the Jew and the "alien". Here we see a foreshadowing of what would happen after Jesus' resurrection and with the spread of the church. There is no one who is excluded from the refuge of Jesus Christ if they are willing to accept Him.

In Moses' time I am guessing that if someone found themselves in need of the city of refuge, they hightailed it to the nearest one. They had to find it quickly and get there. That is why God arranged for them to be up high- in visible places. Well, I have to say, for all of the "lostness" of this world, it is not because Jesus is hard to find. If anyone really wants to find Jesus, its not hard. At least not in the United States. Knowing Jesus and learning about Him in our country is laid out free for the taking. Even so, we bear the responsibility of making sure people who need the refuge of Jesus know how to find Him. We have been given that task. We have to point the way to the city of refuge- Jesus Christ, (read Matthew 5:14- we have to be sure the "city on a hill" is not hidden.)

And then there is the death of the High Priest... wow. The death of the priest brought freedom and the removal of all guilt from the refugee. And in the same way, the death of the One High Priest, Jesus Christ, has washed away our sin and given us the right to return to our inheritance- a life with God. Both now and forevermore.

And so, the establishment of the cities of refuge in the book of Numbers once again gives us a peek at the Messiah to come, and ties together the scripture as the consistent, coherent testament of God. And I love reading it.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon

A Return to Pasta...

I could spend many words on explaining the long gap between posts. Suffice it to say that in the last 8 months I have been jolicated.... (that's my new verb- "jolicated". Its etymological root is with the name "Jolie Cate" and linguists have traced its origins to late January of 2010.)

Anyway, where were we?

This past Sunday we discussed Numbers 11-14 which tells to story of the nation of Israel leaving the foot of Mt. Sinai and moving to the border of the Promised Land.

And in the Promised Land, it's gonna be so grand
We'll have our fill from the grill,
As much as we can stand
It'll be so great, oh we can hardly wait
'Cause we're goin' to the Promised Land!

Sorry. Veggie Tales muscled its way into my brain. That was the blog equivalent of bursting into song.

Many of us have heard the the story from childhood about how the twelve spies were sent into the land to "scope it out", and how ten of them gave a dismal report full of negativity and pessimism, while only Joshua and Caleb expressed faith and confidence in what God could do. As is too often true, the negative report had more of an effect than the positive, and the whole nation began to plot their return to Egypt, (Num. 14:1-4)

On Sunday we discussed that phenomenon of wanting to go "back to how it was". It is a pretty universal thing. And even though we look at the narrative in the book of Numbers and wonder how in the WORLD these people could want to go back to slavery and hardship and Egypt, we are not so different ourselves. We forget about how bad things were once they are over, and something unknown in the future can become more of an issue than most anything in the past- even if that thing in the past was a great evil.

And so, the nation grumbled against God, and their grumbling was costly. This faithless report of the ten spies and the reaction of the people was a sort of last straw, and God was angry. God pronounces His judgment in Numbers 14:10-12

But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? ¹² I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."

Then Moses does what I consider to be a pretty remarkable thing. He goes to bat for the people! He intercedes on their behalf! He tries to talk God down from His anger! I don't know, if it had been me I would have probably said something like, "I hear ya, God. They're a bunch of whiners! Always griping. Always complaining. Can't say that I blame you on the whole "plague" thing." But that is not what he does! He intercedes on behalf of the people, and, I think, does it in an interesting way.

It is good to remember here that Moses himself certainly felt the frustration of dealing with these people. Look back at Numbers 11:14-15...

I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."

Moses says "I can't handle these people and their problems- if this is how you are going to treat me just kill me now."

So, Moses was no stranger to the exasperation caused by these people. But still he went to bat for them and pleaded with God to forgive them.

Let's look briefly at how he did it...

The first thing Moses does is say to God, "If you wipe these people out, then think of what the Egyptians will say about you! They will say you were not able to deliver your people!" Moses' first course of action was not to speak about the people, but to appeal to the character of God Himself. In a way, Moses reminded God of who He is. Now, that is a very loose way of saying it- I don't think that God really had forgotten Himself, nor did He need any reminder of his own character. But that is how Moses approached it. And I think that we see here a component of intercessory prayer that is worth remembering. When we set to the task of praying hard for others, we can appeal to the very character of God Himself! Like Moses, we can pray, "God show your strength for all to see! Show yourself to be the powerful and loving God you are!" I think that we sometimes shy away from praying with these kinds of words because we do not want to sound like we are "manipulating" God. But you know, I don't think we need to worry about that. I get the feeling that God is not one to be manipulated by anyone. And if His glory is what we are really after, then He will not mind us bringing it up.

The one other thing that I find interesting about the way that Moses interceded was the fact that he did it at all. These were people who were never happy! These were people who would try the patience of Mother Theresa. If it had been me I would have said to God, "Can I watch while you blow them away?"

Even now we are faced with a similar challenge. We have talked about this before. When we look around and see what people are doing in the world, we can react a couple of ways. We can, as I do most of the time, just shake our heads and say, "Boy do you people have a big surprise coming. When Jesus comes back...... hooo boy are you gonna get it....." Or, we could be more like Moses and we could plead with God for the forgiveness of people, even when we are dead certain that they do not "deserve" it, and even when we don't really like them all that much. Just because we want the world to see the glory of the Lord and know the love of God. That's what Moses did.

I think it is important to note that even though Moses went to bat for these people, God did not let their disobedience go unpunished. In the final verses of Numbers 14 we see the people come to their senses, but too late. They decided that perhaps they will go into the promised land after all, but God does not go with them and many of them died by the sword. The lesson here is that punishment is not delayed forever. And we live in that era in which we cannot know the exact date or time of the Lord's return. So, I think, the lesson is, obey now while there is time. There will come a day when the opportunity is past.

Just Keep Swimming....

Jon

Is That Pasta Floating in the Red Sea....?

Ah, the scene by the Red Sea. Charlton Heston... faky special effects... gotta love it.

But what a scene it must have been. When we read about things like this in the scripture we often just kind of fly by and read the story and move on. We have read it before and its not really new, and its really cool and all that, but, let's face it- nothing new. But when we think about the whole event on a little deeper level, we find that it must have been quite a scene. Can you imagine? Standing there on the edge of the sea- walls of water on either side- and your leader says, "Wagons Ho!!!" I have to admit, I would have been hesitant to walk out there in the middle of that sea basin. But what a show. I hope we get to see the replay when we get to heaven.

We also see the concept of a hard heart play out in this scene. Here are Pharaoh and his whole army standing at the edge of the sea, seeing their economic well being walk away. And now you are faced with a choice. Do you go after that economic security or do you come to the point of saying, "enough- let it go." Remember that God had already made it painfully clear that He was fighting for Israel. Many of the Egyptians even said so. But even with all that had gone before, Pharaoh chose to pursue. And here we see how a hard heart dulls perception. It seems pretty clear to us that the old "Rope a Dope" is in play here. God is drawing them in just to spring His trap. But, that is the insanity of sin. When we are buried deep in our sin and our obsessions, we do not think clearly or logically. And such was the case for Pharaoh.

I do like the part that tells of how God caused the Egyptian army to fall into confusion- in part by making the wheels come off of their chariots. The HAS to be where we get the term, "the wheels came off". How may times have we heard it on SportsCenter- "And then we come to the third quarter and that is where the wheels came off for the Pacers" Well, OK, the Pacers don't have their wheels on this year period.

The other aspect of this passage, (Ex. 13-14), that is so meaningful to me is that idea we find in Ex 14:13 when we read,

¹³ Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Wow. It says so much.

When God saves, He saves completely. The Egyptian army embodied everything that had worked against Israel for the last 430 years. Slavery, oppression, hardship, pain, loss of identity.. it is all tied up in the nation of Egypt. But God says in this passage, (paraphrasing), "Once I am done with what I am about to do, you will NEVER be bothered by this adversary again." That is not to say that the nation of Israel was problem free or sin free for the rest of their existence, because they were not. But, any other difficulty that came their way came by the choices they made. They brought on their own trouble, as do we.

I think that what we see by the sea is still true today. We find ourselves slaves to our routines and habits and customs and societies and choices and sins. If we are willing to allow God to perform His rescue by his design, and not interfere, and trust, and be still, then we can leave our adversaries behind, never to be seen again.

That sounds pretty cool.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon

Passover Pasta...

I have put down the camera long enough to try to write a bit of a blog post. Nothing like a new baby to rejuvenate your photography habit.

Really not a whole lot to add tonight- the interruptions to the sleep routine are having their effects on the thinking processes. On Sunday we had a bit of a discussion about the tenth and final plague- the plague of the first born. The lasting symbolism is not lost on us- this is another prototype of the messiah, the sacrificial lamb. But, as we discussed on Sunday, there are some other good tidbits that come from the account.

This plague is the final blow to Pharaoh's resistance, and a final judgment upon the gods of Egypt. Here, once again, we see God saying, "I am the one true God." Not only did this display of power show the Egyptians that their man-made gods were impotent, but the it also showed the people of Israel that the God of Abraham is the all powerful God. There need not be any doubt about God's sovereignty. And the same it true now. Can you imagine the day that is coming when God shows His power in ways that will make the plagues look mild? There are a lot of folks walking around thinking that God has moved on to other things because they don't see Him in action. But there is a day coming. A day on which everyone will see the power of God. Like those days in Egypt.

Another interesting aspect of the first born plague, at least to me, is that God made the provision for others, (gentiles), to be saved from the avenger and to partake in the Passover that was established. We know from the book of Exodus that some Egyptians went with the Israelites when they left. Any "outsider" had to be circumcised to take part in the Passover, but there was a means by which the grace of God could come to all who were willing to respond. It is no longer about circumcision, but there has been provision made for all to experience the grace of God. Jesus Christ, the passover lamb, has "opened the life gate that all may go in." Grace was offered through the blood of the lamb on that night in Egypt. Grace is offered through the blood of the lamb now.

Through all of the plagues and especially in this last plague we see the character of God. He shows grace to those who obey. He punishes those who continue in their defiance. He provides for those He chooses. He is above all man-made gods. And He can part the sea. Which, by the way, will be our next stop.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon