Numbers (Program #26) – Fighting (5)

Forty years of wandering, of fighting against enemies and of learning to live by depending on God are near an end.  God’s people Israel are about to enter the land that He has promised to their fathers.  By this time Jehovah God had prepared the people and everything they would need to go in and possess this land.  But it is here, at this critical juncture that He comes to them to remind them not of their need but of His need.  From His people, God requires something that He will not provide for Himself – food.   Hard to imagine isn’t it?  God needs to be fed.  He can only be fed by His people.  Quite a story we have before us.

Hebrews (Program #21) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (4)

Hebrews chapter 6 contains a severe and solemn warning. Christians for centuries have struggled with how to apply this word of righteousness and who to apply it to. The revelation of the divine speaking on this portion will be a word you would not want to miss on today’s life study of the Bible.

Another marvelous message today dealing with the matter of Sabbath rest.  To review just a little what we’ve seen regarding the Sabbath; it really is not relate to whether or not we observe this day or another day, but this altogether deals with God being satisfied in His expression.

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Hebrews (Program #20) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (3)

We mustn’t just dream about the oneness that God desires. For Him to have a full Sabbath rest there is much more than just being saved by His grace. There must be some growing believers who could enter into the rest that is spoken of in Hebrews chapter 4. The Sabbath is a rest or satisfaction for God and man. But God can never rest in the heavens nor just with the angels, His resting place is the earth and with man. We will see three stages of the remaining Sabbath rest on today’s life study of the Bible.

Why the initial Sabbath came directly after God created man?   What is the connection between man and the Sabbath? In all of God’s creation man is unique. Man has to do with the earth. All the items of creation up to the creation of man were brought into being by means of His word, that is, calling things not being as being through the Word. In the first five days of His creation work, God did not use any kind of material substance. But with the creation of man, because God’s interest is in the earth, God first had a conference among Himself (among the Godhead) where there was a decision, “…let Us make man”. Then God at this time used a certain material – the dust of the ground – to create man. more…

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Numbers (Program #25) – Fighting (5)

For more than forty years the children of Israel follow one clear leadership.  Despite the occasional challenge to his leadership, Moses was the undeniable selection of Jehovah; as the unique one that was to lead them through the wilderness and to the good land.  But at 120 years of age, the Lord came to Moses to let him know that he was about to be gathered to his people and that he will not be entering into the land with the people.  We might think especially with all of things that Moses had done with and for the Lord, his concern would have been why he was being denied the opportunity to gain an entrance for himself.  But to the contrary, his only concern and care was for the people.  Who would be there to go in and come out before the people?  This is the story of a man according to God’s heart and it is an inspiring story for us to consider, as we will on this life study from the book of Numbers.

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Numbers (Program #24) – Fighting (5)

In the Old Testament, inheritance is based on genealogy, according to family and tribe.   It was also ordained by God that only males could inherit the property and possession of one who die.  So what happen when a man die and had no male heir or successor to the family name?  In Numbers chapter 27, this question was raised to Moses and ultimately to Jehovah by five daughters of a man named Zelophehad.  The Lord’s consideration of their request has a major application even for us, as we will see today.

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Hebrews (Program #19) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (2)

After six days of His creating work, God rested. The Sabbath has been a topic of intense interest to some Christians and widely ignored and misunderstood by others. But to see the Sabbath in the clear revelation of God’s purpose is truly marvelous. We’ll focus again today on the real Sabbath rest for God and for man on the life study of the Bible.

What is meant by this term “the corporate Christ”?   In the Gospels, what we see is the individual Christ but this individual Christ, this wonderful Person whom we love, He passed through death and He entered into resurrection. And in resurrection, He produced the Body of Christ. Now, when we talk about the corporate Christ, we’re referring to the Christ that we see in the Epistles after Christ’s resurrection. This Christ is the corporate Christ. In resurrection, He became the Head of the Body. Also the New Testament shows us that Christ is not only the Head of the Body, He is the Body of the Head. more…

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Hebrews (Program #18) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (1)

Today we come in Hebrews to the matter of the Sabbath rest. How does a Christian enter in to the Sabbath rest? This is the subject of today’s life study.

Hebrews 4:9 says, “So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” Many Christians debate whether our Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday or some other time period yet in the future. What is the New Testament revelation on this topic and how critical it is for us as Christians?

The New Testament doesn’t say too much about this issue but I guess it’s fitting that it is addressed in this book of Hebrews. There are several different views of the importance or the interpretation of the Sabbath in the New Testament. The Sabbath here in Hebrews has a very particular meaning and interpretation. There is a debate among some Christians whether to keep the Saturday or Sunday as the Sabbath. more…

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Numbers (Program #23) – Fighting (4)

Numbers is a book that records many wonderful items related to God’s people Israel and their journey through the wilderness on their way to the good land.  But it also records some of their greatest failures.  Perhaps the greatest among these was that spoken of in chapter 25 where many among Israel committed fornication and adultery with some of the idolatrous and pagan people dwelling in the land.  This brought in God’s judgment as seen by the plague that fell upon Israel consuming 24,000.  But this judgment served as kind of purifying of the people and it enabled them eventually to go in and possess the land that they have been 40 years journeying toward.  The renumbering of God’s people for the possession of the good land is our topic today.

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Hebrews (Program #17) – The Good Land for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose

The good land typified in the Old Testament is profoundly related to God’s eternal purpose to have a corporate expression. Hebrews 2:5 says, “For it was not to angels that He subjected the coming inhabited earth concerning which we speak.” Though we may long for heaven, it is the earth, the land, the good land that has occupied God from the ages for His purpose. We will see all this land typified in today’s life study of Bible.

Though we’re in the midst of the life study of Hebrews, today we’re going to touch many points that we first touched in the life study of Genesis for those that were with us at that time. What is the basis or the ground to draw upon the pictures that were presented in Genesis in order to help us with the book of Hebrews?

As we will soon see this particular message connects as the Bible does the matters of the land, Christ and God’s chosen people. In Genesis 1, we have these three matters either stated or implied. The land is obviously signified by the dry land that emerged from the dead waters on the third day. This dry land, the sphere for the living of the human beings created by God typifies Christ in resurrection. Significantly as Genesis 2:7 reveals, humankind was created from the dust of this land. more…

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Numbers (Program #22) – Fighting (3)

In the Old Testament book of Numbers there is the story of a gentile prophet named Balaam.  The Moabite king Balak had hired him to curse and prophesy against God’s people Israel, who Balak the king greatly feared.  Yet at each instance, as much as Balaam desire to please the king, whatever he spoke concerning Israel turned out not to be a curse but a blessing.  These parables recorded in Numbers 22 through 24 had a greater impact than just the Lord’s frustration of a heathen king with an evil intention towards God’s people.  These parables actually revealed how God views His people, whether the nation of Israel in the Old Testament or the church in this age despite the failures and weaknesses.  God sees the church as glorious, victorious and beautiful.  How can this be?  it’s because He sees the church, the believers, in Christ.

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