The Joy of Glory

Leviticus 25 (click here)
“And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.”

“You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.”

“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: [40] he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. [41] Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. [42] For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. [43] You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.”

“For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 25:10, 17, 39-43 and 55)

Reflection
What is Cruciform Community?

Cruciform simply means cross-shaped. A community that believes, declares, and demonstrates the sacrificial love of the crucified Christ to one another and the world… that is a cross-shaped, a Cruciform Community.

God’s people have always been called to sacrificial love for one another and the world. The year of Jubilee outlined in Leviticus 25 puts this beautifully on display.

God put in place protections against oppression and injustice. The Israelites were to treat one another as family, not as economic resources to be abused for one another’s gain. The rich were not to be ruthless, but sacrificially caring toward the poor. No one could “own” anyone, because were “owned” by the Lord!

God constantly holds up himself as the pattern for his people. Through sacrifice, he redeemed them from slavery… thus, they are to be commited to one another’s redemption and freedom no matter the sacrifice! In fact, they should JUBILANTLY sacrifice for the good of each other. And, this year of Jubilie should stand as a witness to the world of the redeeming God these people serve.

There was no society like this in the ancient world, and for that matter, there is no society like it today!

But there should be.

The church looks to the cross of Christ in the same way the people of Israel looked to the Exodus. Upon the cross, Christ instituted a new Exodus for his people. Through sacrifice he led us out of slavery to sin, redeemed us and set us free.

Now, we put that sacrificial love on display toward one another. Jesus says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

And, through loving one another with a sacrificial love that reflects the cross of Christ, the world begins to catch a glimpse of what the cross looks like. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

When people look at our community, do they see a love that reminds them of the love of Christ on the cross. Does our community take on the very shape of the cross? Is our community cruciform?

 
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Leviticus 16:15-22 (click here)
“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.”

“And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.” (Leviticus 16:15 and 21)

Reflection
The day of atonement.

The high-holy day that came once a year for the people of Israel. This was the day when all the sins of the people from the past year would be dealt with through propitiation and done away with through expiation.

There were two goats used in the main sacrificial ceremony of this day. Once was sacrificed on behalf of the people. The rightful punishment for sin, death, was placed upon this substituted and the righteous wrath of God toward sin was propitiated.

The second goat lived, but was kicked out of camp. Symbolically carrying away the sins of the people into the wilderness… never to return. Their sins had been expiated.

However, the day of atonement had to happen again… the next year… and the next year… and the next year. It was never final. Why? “Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4)

A goat could never actually represent the people of God. A human can only represent humans. But in order for our the penalty of the peoples sin to be paid by this substitute… you would need a human with no sin of their own! The only one with no sin of their own is God himself!

God alone can pay the price for our sin, but humans alone deserve to pay it! We need a God-man! We need Jesus!

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:11-12)

Wrath propitiated.

Sin expiated.

Forever!

For his people! We often miss that! Yes, Jesus died for you as an individual, but even deeper than that, he died for his people! Christ loved his bride, the church, and gave himself up for her!

Don’t miss the cruciform community aspect of the day of atonement and the Gospel… through the sacrifice of Christ, we are bound together as a community of sinners first. Sinners who see their need for a savior. And then, we are gloriously redeemed as the people of God! We become, together, a community of saints!

The cross binds us together as the bride of Christ! Have you embraced all that the sacrifice of Christ purchased for you? Not just personal propitiation and expiation, but communal participation?

 
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Each day of the Lenten season, I will be emailing out a devotional to many of the members of SVCC. I will also be sharing these devos via blogging. Hopefully, I will post first thing each morning, but definitely by 12pm. The first devotional may be found below. These are designed to accompany the SVCC Lenten reading guide which may be found here: 2017 Lenten Reading Guide.

In these devotionals I will give a link that will take you to the entire reading for the day. I will also include a few of the verses upon which I will focus my reflections. In the reflection section I will make a few brief comments which I hope will spur your own thinking and prayers.

Lent is meant to be a season of repentance and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting reminds us that we are not in need of the things this world offers, but in desperate need of Jesus.  So the point of Lent is that we need Jesus…we need Easter. It is my prayer that these daily devotionals will simply help remind us daily of our need for Christ.

Genesis 45 (click here)
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:4-5)

Reflection
Have you ever been hurt? Have you ever been wronged? Have you ever been betrayed?

If you live long enough, the answer to all of these questions will eventually, inevitably be “yes.” We are all broken people, and when broken people live in close proximity to one another we should not be surprised that brokenness is multiplied.

Joseph experienced betrayal on a deeper level than most of us can even imagine. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers.

Through many difficult years in Egypt, he would eventually be used by God to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and he would be providentially elevated to second in command as a famine struck the land. Through God-given wisdom, Joseph saved the people of Egypt from starvation… but not just Egypt.

In search of food, his own family ended up on his doorstep. What would he do?

Joseph forgave them.

How?

Not even his brothers were able to understand his actions. Was he simply letting them off the hook? No. Genesis 45:4, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom YOU sold into Egypt.” He held them responsible for their evil actions, but he forgave them anyway… how?

Genesis 45:5, “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because YOU sold me here, for GOD sent me before you to preserve life.”

Joseph has a rock-solid faith in the sovereignty of God which empowers his forgiveness! What a witness this must have been before the watching world as the community of God’s people were held together by the glue of supernatural forgiveness!

What about you… and me?

When we are betrayed by those closest to our heart… do we believe that God is sovereignly ruling, even over the evil we experience, to work it all according to the counsel of his will for our good and his glory… even when we can’t see it?

Unforgiveness is rooted in a lack of faith that God is sovereignly in control to work all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

Unforgiveness gives those who wound us too much credit… for it acts as if they are in control and they have won.

That’s a lie.

God is in control and he always wins… look to the cross. Upon that tree Christ forgave his executioners for he knew, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Christ’s eyes were set on the sovereign charge of his Father and his sovereign authority to carry it out. He knew the plan and the purpose. He knew that all the evil efforts of man would only serve the perfect plan of God!

When we are wronged, we have this confidence, that God reigns over all for his glory and our good! Such faith empowers supernatural forgiveness which acts as the glue that holds together the supernatural community of God’s people, the church… and when a watching world sees a people who forgive like that… well… those people look like the cross… they look like a cruciform community.
 

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.