29 - We Can Endure -The Word is not Bound!

2 Timothy 2:8–10 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

I saw three things in this passage that got me excited, so I will mention each of them briefly:

1. The Gospel in Few Words

Paul has a tremendous gift for distilling the Gospel into just a few words, and he does it here in verse 8: “Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, offspring of David.”  That is just 9 words, but this is not a random formula. Look at Romans 1:3-4 and you will find the same ideas in Paul’s summary of the Gospel. Obviously, the elements in this statement do not say everything that might be mentioned as components of the Gospel, but I think it is fair to assume that the most important aspects are contained in the Name of Jesus, in His Resurrection and His descent from David

• Jesus Christ. We unpacked this in a recent discussion on a WhatsApp Group. “Jesus” means “Yahweh is Salvation”. “Christ” means “Anointed, which in turn points to His offices as The Prophet (the Living Word, speaking to us on behalf of God), The Great High Priest (our eternal Intercessor, speaking to God on our behalf and offering the once-for-all sacrifice to reconcile us to God) and The King (to reign over us in an everlasting kingdom). In all these offices He fulfills the types and shadows God gave in the Old Covenant - all the prophets, all the priests and especially the high priest, all the sacrifices and all the kings descending from David.
• Risen from the dead. We thought about this over the Easter season. Death comes through sin. Jesus had no sin of his own. Therefore, His death on the cross had to be because of the sin of others, laid to His account. His resurrection could only happen if He had no sin credited to Him any more, so it shows that all those sins were fully discharged.
• Offspring of David.  God promised David that He would build a house for him and that one of his own descendants would become an Everlasting King (2 Samuel 7). This Descendant would be a Son to God as well as to David, and would perfectly accomplish what all the others called or implicitly “Son of God” (Adam, Abraham, Israel, David and the kings of Judah in his line) had failed to do, to some degree (walking in God’s ways, keeping His covenant, etc.). Jesus is "Great David's Greater Son!"

If we put these elements together, and get our minds around all that is condensed into these very meaningful terms, we do indeed have the gospel!

2. The Gospel with Much Power

Paul rejoices that although he is bound in chains (verse 9), the Word of God is not bound at all! Indeed, it is so powerful that it is impossible to prevent its spread!

• This same gospel that Paul has just described to Timothy he calls “The power of God to save everyone who believes” in Romans 1:16. 
• God indicates that His Word that He sends forth will never return to Him empty, but will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11). 
• The writer to the Hebrews indicates that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). 
• Paul rejoices that, even when there are those who preach the gospel to try and make trouble for him, still it is the gospel of God’s power they proclaim, and still God uses it to accomplish His plans (Philippians 1:15–18)
• When Paul is put under house arrest in Rome, the gospel advances because the whole of Caesar’s imperial guard hears the gospel - Paul had them as a “captive audience!”
• It has always been this way in the history of the church - whenever men have tried to stamp out the gospel by persecution and by killing the followers of Christ, the church has in fact thrived, so that the saying came into being, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
• I love this quote from Spurgeon in a sermon from 1886, “Suppose a number of persons were to take it into their heads that they had to defend a lion, full-grown king of beasts! There he is in the cage, and here come all the soldiers of the army to fight for him. Well, I should suggest to them, if they would not object, and feel that it was humbling to them, that they should kindly stand back, and open the door, and let the lion out! I believe that would be the best way of defending him, for he would take care of himself; and the best 'apology' for the gospel is to let the gospel out.”

3. The Gospel Through Which We Endure

As Paul reflects on the gospel and on its awesome power, he finds the strength to endure for the sake of those who are being saved through the power of the Gospel. It makes a difference, doesn’t it, if we know for sure that God is on our side and that the weapons He has given us are truly powerful to bring His eternal purposes to pass without fail? If we feel the gospel is just something for here and now, to give warm fuzzy thoughts, but having no everlasting consequences, how much would we be willing to suffer for it?

I will leave you to put all these pieces together as we are confined in our homes during the coronavirus lockdown (though admittedly not suffering for the faith as Paul was). Still, the gospel in our days is as  full of God’s power as ever; the Word of God is not bound. We have ways to continue to proclaim it, and knowing its Divine Power should give us strength, comfort and courage to endure this time for His glory!

28 - The Shepherd Who Carries Us

Psalm 28:8–9 The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

As I read these words, I was drawn to the thought of our Good Shepherd, and particularly to a favorite verse on this topic:

Isaiah 40:11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

The idea of the shepherd carries with it one of care: feeding, watering, protecting, guiding, correcting. The tenderness that comes through in the verse in Isaiah is amazing - that the shepherd gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in his bosom.  These seem to be clear signs of affection and of special care for those that are most vulnerable and weak. He will defend his flock against enemies. He will go in search of any that wander away and bring them back to safety so that none is lost.
Note, though, that the references to the tender mercies of God as our Shepherd are set against a backdrop in which His strength and power are clearly in view:

• In Psalm 28, David begins with a cry to God (since He is David’s rock) and a plea that He would hear him. He reviews the character of his enemies and appeals to God to do something about them. Then in confidence he asserts that God has heard him and that he has been helped because God is his strength and shield. Accordingly, David rejoices. He closes by saying that God is not just his strength and refuge, but that of His people as well. And having said all this about the strength and the power of God, we run into verse 9 (see above). Here is an appeal to the tender mercy of God as Shepherd - a plea that He would intervene and save His people precisely because they are weak and vulnerable.
• In Isaiah 40, the greatness of God once again is set alongside His mercy. From the opening cry of God to His people that they should take comfort, He quickly describes His purposes to send a Savior (v 3-5) and indicates that His purposes cannot be thwarted nor His word overturned - it stands forever (v 6-8), In v 9-10, He says He is coming, but with might and power. And from v 12 onwards He talks about how incomparable He is - how wise, how infinite, how incomprehensible, how vast, how powerful, how inexhaustible. And nestling in the middle of this description of the awesome God and His purposes to comfort and save His people, we have v 11 (see above), where He condescends to liken Himself to a shepherd for His people, and One Who is tenderhearted to them, but especially to the weak and the vulnerable. Just when we might question whether a God of such power could ever be moved with compassion for the weak and for the disadvantaged, He assures us that this is indeed the case!

We have the great advantage and blessing of looking back at these passages with the additional light provided from the New Testament days, in which Jesus tells us that He is The Good Shepherd (John 10:11–16) - the One spoken of in the Old Testament prophecies. We know that His love for the sheep is such that He laid down His life for them, to defend them from the wolves. We have heard His very words that He will lose none of those the Father has given Him.

There is so much comfort and encouragement in these verses:

• First, that our God is kind-hearted to us. He doesn’t break the bruised reed or snuff out the smoldering wick. He doesn’t abandon the sick and the weak but gathers them into His bosom. He feeds them, waters them, defends them, leads, guides and corrects them and will not lose a single one. Remember, too, that Jesus is described to us as a High Priest Who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities - tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
• Second, that He backs up His compassion for us with His infinite might. It is one thing to express an intention to do something to help but if we do not possess the ability and the willingness, such words are empty and useless.  However, there can be no doubt of the ability and the willingness of our God and Savior to save to the uttermost all those who come in faith to Him!
• Finally, the very weakness of God’s people seems to be a potent argument for Him to help us when we come to Him in time of need. It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but the sick. When we realize how feeble we are, and how foolish, and we come and confess that to God from our hearts, that is when He will move. “Lord, we are weak, but Your power is made perfect in weakness!” It is not until we have reached the end of our ingenuity and our plans and the totally ineffectual efforts we make in our own strength and wisdom that we can expect to see the beginning of the Right Hand of our God!

These thoughts should be especially helpful to us in the present situation. The Lord hasn’t changed at all - He is still the tender-hearted Good Shepherd, abounding in compassion for His sheep. At the same time, He is still the One through Whom the whole creation came into being, and Who has defeated sin and Satan, death and hell, almighty to rule and command, and infinitely powerful to save!

27 - What’s on Your Bucket List?

Psalm 27:4 - One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

A “Bucket List” is a relatively new term, as I understand it. It is a list of things someone wants to get done or to experience before they die. It was made popular in a movie of the same name, where a wealthy but terminally ill man set about completing his “bucket list” in the time he had left, and found a friend to help him out with his quest.

Such a list is really a window on a person’s heart, isn’t it? We can say many good and uplifting things to those around us about our desires and aspirations, but in the end it is what we most want to do, or even actually do if we are able (as in the bucket list) that speaks more loudly about who we are. At least, I think that has to be the case.

I read this Psalm this morning, and these verses stood out to me. David had more than his share of close scrapes during his life. At one level, he could have woken up on many mornings and wondered if it would be his last day alive on the earth. And in a way, the verse above is a bit like his bucket list. “David, what is the single most important thing you desire from the Lord, the thing you ask for above everything else before you die?”  you ask  - and he answers you in verse 4 above - it is to dwell in God’s house and to gaze upon His beauty. In other words, to be as close to the Lord as possible, to admire Him, adore Him and to seek after Him.

He realized, he tells us in the rest of the psalm, that if he had this, he would have courage, safety, joy, gladness, guidance, patience and hope. In other words, by having God as his God and putting him first, he would receive many, many blessings in addition to the one he sought.

Solomon discovered the same thing when he asked not for long life, wealth or victory over his enemies, but rather for wisdom to govern God’s people. God gave Him what he asked for but added all the other things to them as well (1 Kings 3:7–14)

Our God is generous and lavish towards us! Here are a couple of New Testament verses that seem to establish this as a pattern for the way God deals with His children:

Matthew 6:31–33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Romans 8:31–32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Of course, we have to desire the Giver here, and not simply the gift. We can’t seek after God with the primary motive to get what we can from Him! David just wanted to be near Him and to adore Him. But God is no man’s debtor, and so he received far more abundantly beyond all he could have asked or imagined (Eph 3:20).

So now let me ask all of us what is on our bucket list - whether the deepest desires we have are for our own pleasure and satisfaction, or whether we can say with David, from the depths of our hearts, and with lives that show it is true “I want to be near to God and to adore Him in His house”?

26 - Eternity in Our Hearts

Ecclesiastes 3:9–15 - What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

The writer continues to review the situation of mankind “under the sun”, or (as he says at the beginning of this chapter), “under heaven”. In verses 2-8 he seems to return to the inevitability that he began the book with (where he looked at the repeated cycles of the sun, the water and the wind). Here, though, he seems to come closer and look at specific but opposite events that are common in man's life, such as birth and death, killing and healing, weeping and laughing, loving and hating, being at war and being at peace. At the end of this review, he repeats the question in verses 9-10 that he had asked in chapter 1 in verses 3 and 13, which boils down to this, “What’s the point?”

And now we come to verse 11 above, which is where I think the writer introduces a hint of the reason for the pointlessness of life seen from this “under the sun” viewpoint. The writer reminds us that things were not this way from the beginning, when “God made everything beautiful in its time”. But now, instead, there is a time for things that are here only because of our sin against God: death, uprooting, killing, breaking down, weeping, mourning, losing, casting away, tearing, hating and making war (3:2-8). In addition, in the core of our beings we have an understanding, in the face of all these time-bound events that surround us, that there is an eternal being, and that we were made for greater things than these.

How many people who deny God’s existence are still trying to find a way back to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, bypassing the cherubim and their flaming swords? Why do people spend so much time and money on trying to look younger than they are? Why is there such a focus in biological science in eradicating death? Why have wealthy people historically had themselves preserved in some way in the hope of cheating death and being brought back into the world when their lives can be extended? It’s because we have eternity in our hearts.

The trouble is that the eternity in our hearts effectively mocks us while we are “under the sun,” because it is not within our power to change the situation, nor to understand the purposes of God from beginning to end - life is a big, nonsensical question mark for us (verse 11). The writer can only suggest that we find joy in the situations where God has placed us, in the common grace that He generously bestows on all mankind, and that we seek to do good as long as we live.  God is in control of all things and we cannot add to His plans or take away from them, and for those who are under the sun, there is nothing new. This is a bleak perspective, for sure!

It’s when we get into the shoes of those who live in this world without God and without hope that we appreciate the Gospel all the more. How different are our circumstances as children of the heavenly King!

While we are in this world, He dramatically overturns our experiences compared with those who are “under the sun,” because now for each of these things there is a glorious spiritual meaning. For example, if there is a time to be born, then for the believer there is a time to be born again. If there is a time to die, Christ has taken the sting out of death and it is now a gift to us and precious in His sight - our gateway to eternal bliss with Him. Take another look at Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 and think about how all of these events now have a glorious spiritual viewpoint for us In Christ! Now we have a felt experience of eternity in our hearts, as His Spirit dwells within us! It’s not a mocking emptiness but a new and living reality!

And while His providence in our lives is still often a mystery to us, the fact that we know Him and love Him as such a good and gracious Father, and the fact that He has promised us so many blessings in Christ, turn even the most difficult of times into opportunities for genuine joy and thankfulness, because He knows what He is doing, and what He is doing for us is nothing but the best!

I travel by plane quite a lot and I never tire of that moment when, after taking off in gray skies and heavy rain, you break up through the cloud layer into blue skies and dazzling sunshine. Spiritually speaking, that’s a bit like coming to the Lord after being “under the sun” in this world!

Whate'er my God ordains is right:

his holy will abideth;

I will be still, whate'er he doth,

and follow where he guideth.

He is my God; though dark my road,

he holds me that I shall not fall:

wherefore to him I leave it all.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:

he never will deceive me;

he leads me by the proper path;

I know he will not leave me.

I take, content, what he hath sent;

his hand can turn my griefs away,

and patiently I wait his day.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:

though now this cup, in drinking,

may bitter seem to my faint heart,

I take it, all unshrinking.

My God is true; each morn anew

sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,

and pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:

here shall my stand be taken;

though sorrow, need, or death be mine,

yet am I not forsaken.

My Father's care is round me there;

he holds me that I shall not fall:

and so to him I leave it all.

25 - Time to Get Fit!

1 Timothy 4:7–8 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I began yesterday’s meditation with a Biblical proverb, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Another saying comes to mind as I begin this one - “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good.”
The effects of the current pandemic on the economy in general are huge. I saw a headline today that some believe the fallout globally will be worse than that from the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Yet in the midst of these very trying circumstances, business is going very well for some. I searched online for a web camera the other day, visiting the sites of the major online retailers, but almost all the models were sold out. People want to be in touch and video chatting is about the best option in days of social distancing. Likewise, though I haven’t done the searching, I believe that it is practically impossible to get gym equipment these days. Gyms are closed down, and those who want to stay fit have bought their own equipment so they can work out at home.

Paul’s perspective on personal fitness training is interesting in this context as he writes to the young pastor, Timothy. Our Bible versions differ in the way they translate what he says in the first part of 1 Tim 4:8:

New American Standard Bible (1995)	for bodily discipline is only of little profit
King James Version (1900)	For bodily exercise profiteth little
English Standard Version	for while bodily training is of some value
New International Version (1984)	For physical training is of some value
New King James Version	For bodily exercise profits a little
American Standard Version (1901)	for bodily exercise is profitable for a little

So, depending which version we use, the translations tell us that physical training is either of “little value” or “a little value.” It is outside the scope of this meditation to argue for one emphasis or another. What is relevant here is that Paul is talking from a relative perspective, as the remainder of the verse makes clear (and in which all of our versions are in close agreement). What he is saying is that compared with training ourselves for godliness, training for physical fitness is of far less value. This is because whatever the benefits may be of physical training, we receive them only in our earthly bodies and for the time we are in this world. Godliness, in comparison, is something that has value both in this life and that which is to come.

Paul is writing under divine inspiration, so we know that his logic and his reasoning here are perfectly correct. That being the case, it follows that believers should prioritize their training to be godly, to receive an imperishable wreath (as Paul says in 1 Cor 9:24-27), compared with their training to be physically fit (one could apply this to other hobbies and pastimes, too). I wonder if we are heavenly-minded like this when it comes to fitness, or whether we may have come to place too high a value in our physical training?

What does godliness training look like? It looks like reading and meditating on God’s Word, hearing it preached, spending time in prayer and in true fellowship with fellow believers, singing God’s praises, reflecting on His great and precious promises - having our hearts and minds taken up by heavenly ideas and themes.

Please understand that I am not saying we should neglect our bodies and seek to become super-spiritual gurus living up a tree or in a cave somewhere (as attractive as that may be!) God makes it clear that He expects us to be good stewards of all that He has given us - including having the form of love for our bodies that feeds them and takes good care of them:

Ephesians 5:28–29 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,

Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so we must not abuse them:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This all implies that getting some exercise and maintaining some level of fitness is good and right for Christians. However, if we rush through our time with the Lord in 5-10 minutes every day so we can get to the gym for a 2 hour session, it’s possible that our priorities need re-evaluation.

A couple of additional thoughts here. First, beware the spirit of self-righteousness or of legalism in our godliness training which puffs us up because of our superior dedication and commitment to spiritual activities. It’s possible that you already have all the “reward” you will get if you take that kind of approach, but it isn’t the “value” Paul speaks of in our text.


And that leads to the final point. Done in the right spirit and with the right attitude (hungering and thirsting for Christ), there is real and lasting value (profit) in training to be godly. Here are just a few aspects of the “profit” we will gain from this training: a closer walk with God, His Spirit more at work in our lives through the Word, being more conscious of His leading in our daily circumstances, and (as Paul implies in the text) having a firmer confidence of our interest in all the promises God has made for His children, and His utter reliability to keep them for us in this life and the life to come

24 - Nothing New Under The Sun

Ecclesiastes 1:9 - What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

One of the sayings from the Bible that has passed into everyday usage is found in the verse above - “There’s nothing new under the sun!” In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon (the wisest man that ever lived, with the exception of Jesus Christ) gives us his assessment of things, having used all the wisdom that he possessed to try to understand life in the world.

For those who have read, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” this is essentially the same as trying to find the answer to “life, the universe and everything” but from a point of view where the correct question is unknown.

Solomon’s answer is rather more solemn than the “42” that is calculated by the computer in The Hitchhiker's Guide: it is “meaningless” (vanity)! In other words, looked at from this “under the sun” perspective which Solomon adopts, everything that happens in the world has no point and no purpose.

In the first chapter of his book, Solomon considers human generations (which come and go), the sun (which goes round and around the earth), wind (which blows in one direction, then another, then back to the first, over and over again) and the water in the oceans (which evaporates, falls on the land and runs back into the sea, over and over again). “It’s all full of weariness,” he says, in summary, “there is nothing new in any of these things” and nothing that can truly satisfy our itching ears and our longing eyes. What happens today has happened before and will happen again. There is nothing of which one can truly say “this is new!” So Solomon’s great wisdom actually brought great sorrow as long as he was taking this “under the sun” point of view.

And that is what we find today, too, isn’t it? The things in the world that we think will satisfy are a complete let-down if we actually manage to get them - recognition, wealth, belongings, fame, popularity. That is why some of the wealthiest people are the least happy, and why there is a sad, self-destructive end to the lives of many lottery winners.

But you have to come to Ecclesiastes understanding that Solomon is looking at the world “under the sun.” He is looking at life through a lens in which man has no relationship with God - or at least one in which that relationship is not one of love, joy and peace. The “here and now” is all there is to live for - let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die - and it’s pointless.

How different is the perspective of the believer! We belong to a God Who loves us and has given a staggering demonstration of the extent of that love, as we have just been considering at Easter. In Christ, we are lifted above the world and its tunnel vision “under the sun”. Our eyes are opened to see the unseen spiritual realm and we understand that these things are the eternal, worthwhile ones, whereas the here and now does not last. The world deceives us and cheats us. In Christ alone there is abundant life - life with purpose here, and a hope and a glorious future to come!

There is nothing new under the sun - not even a pandemic. But we belong to a God and a Savior Who has purposed to make all things truly new, to eradicate all the effects of sin in His creation and to save to the uttermost (to all eternity) all who come to Him through faith!

Revelation 21:55 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

23 - The Life is the Blood; the Blood is the Life

Leviticus 17:10–14 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. 13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.

I was particularly struck today by the way verse 14 is worded, and even though it is different in other Bible versions, the essential meaning is the same - the life of a creature is in its blood and hence the blood represents the life.

It was that way from the beginning. When Cain slew his brother, Abel, God said that Abel’s blood was crying to Him from the ground, which had opened its mouth to receive it from Cain’s hand (Genesis 4:10-11). After the flood, God explains to Noah that he and his family are “not to eat the flesh with its life, that is, its  blood” and begins to lay out the understanding that blood must be shed as a reckoning when there has been a shedding of man’s blood, since man is made in the image of God (Genesis 9:4-6). When Israel entered the land of Canaan, the Lord set apart cities to which someone could flee if he accidentally killed someone (Numbers 35:9-29), so that he would find a refuge from the Avenger of Blood who could otherwise  justly take their lives.

It was also understood that the rebellion of Adam and Eve brought about their death spiritually. All their offspring were also brought into bondage to the same rebellion and to sin that leads to death. That meant spiritually and eventually physically, so Paul could write that the wages we receive on account of our sins is death (Romans 6:23).

When God redeemed His people from Egypt, the price paid for their safety from His wrath was the blood of a spotless lamb for each household - a life forfeit so their lives would be spared. And when God came to dwell among His people in the tabernacle and then later in the temple, the sins they had committed had to be atoned for - there had to be lives given up in payment for sin so that God would not break out against them in fierce anger and destroy them. And so morning and evening throughout the year, the blood of animals was shed, and especially so at the three feasts each year, chief among which was the Day of Atonement.

The writer to the Hebrews explains, though, that while the blood of all these sacrifices did make Israel outwardly clean, it did nothing to solve the root cause of the problem which was the heart of the people. And because their hearts were still wrong, they kept sinning and therefore kept needing sacrifices to make them outwardly clean. All these animals forfeiting their lives to make atonement for the sins of the people, but doing nothing to get to the heart of the problem, pointed forward to the great need for a Sacrifice that would cleanse consciences (Hebrews 9:13–14). In addition, a high priest, who had to offer sacrifice for his own sin and then for that of the people, and who had to be replaced when he died on account of his own sins, also pointed to a need.  A greater High Priest was required, who had no sin of His own to atone for, and who was therefore not liable to death and could perform an everlasting ministry.

The genius of the Gospel is that the spotless Lamb Whose blood can cleanse the consciences of His people, and the High Priest Who can make lasting atonement with that blood and conduct an eternal ministry are one and the same person - Jesus Christ!

I am often struck when we take the Lord’s Supper (and I long for the time when we will be able to gather again to do that!) by the fact that the emblems of Christ’s flesh (the bread) and of His blood (the wine/juice) are separated. It is also clear in some of the gospel accounts that before they received the cup from Jesus, it was poured out into the cup (Luke 22:20). Since the life is in the blood and the blood represents the life, this becomes a vivid picture. Body and blood (life) are only separated in this way at death. Wine (standing for blood/life) poured out also speaks of death but pouring it out in this way seems reminiscent of sacrifice - the way the blood of the animals under the Old Covenant would be poured out at the base of the altar.

The blood of Jesus availed where all the blood of bulls and goats could not - in cleansing the conscience of the worshipers and in crediting to them Christ’s spotless righteousness. Accordingly, there is no continuing felt-need for blood sacrifice and therefore Jesus’ death put an end for all time to the Old Covenant sacrificial system!

In addition, although the death of Jesus was unjust, as was that of Abel, the appeal made to God by the blood of these two men is very different. From what we have seen about the life and the blood, and the Avenger of Blood, we understand that Abel’s blood cried out to God for vengeance. In contrast, the writer to the Hebrews assures us that the blood of Christ speaks a better word than this - it cries out for our acquittal, our pardon, our reconciliation to God! And Resurrection Day assures us that His sacrifice has been accepted as sufficient to completely cleanse the consciences of all God’s children!

Hebrews 12:22–24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Grace and life eternal in that blood I find, 

Blest be His compassion, infinitely kind