Audio Archive

Transcript

it's a very great honor for sister ann and myself to be with you and we bring of course the greetings of our only cliche from warley in england and of many other brethren and sisters who are known to you and who have you in their thoughts and affections

i'd like to begin this morning with a question

what is it in nature

that particularly impresses you

is it

the magnificent hues

of a majestic sunset

is it the thunderous roar of a waterfall spewing out its foam

is it the

intricate beauty and fragrance

of a flower blue

is it the

sinewy strength of a big cat's paw

or is it the purity

and the perfect symmetry of a falling snowflake

whatever it is brethren and sisters it wasn't made for its own sake

now i i don't want in any way to minimize the glory of god in creation or to belittle at all the creator's handiwork

those things are wonderful they are marvelous

they beggar description

but none of them was made for its own sake

it's a little bit like

the law which paul mentioned thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn and he says doth god take care for oxen or seth he is all together for our sex for our sex no doubt this was written

now it's a little bit like that with creation

as a matter of fact god does take care for oxen but the apostles point is that that wasn't the reason for the law

however much care god has for oxen the point of the law was a spiritual principle which the apostle paul under inspiration draws out for us

and in the same way with the things that god has made even though there is not a sparrow falls to the ground without your heavenly father says the lord that is without god knowing about it

creation is not about birds

even though the lilies of the field were so glorious that even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them still

creation is not about flowers

is it

there's something more brethren and sisters to creation than these things

and we need to think for a few moments as to what it is

there is a spiritual dimension

to the things that we're being told in genesis chapter one

can i ask you to turn just for a moment to the second letter of the apostle paul to the corinthians and chapter four

just by way of illustration of this fact

2 corinthians chapter 4

where the apostle paul clearly has the creation of light in mind from genesis 1.

this is what he says words that are well enough known to us 2 corinthians 4 and verse 6

for god who commanded the light to shine out of darkness

hath shined in our hearts

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god

in the face of jesus christ

god

who in genesis said let there be light

has shined in our hearts that's what the apostle is saying he's picking up on genesis in that way god who who said let there be light light has shined in our hearts to give the light

of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ that's the light

when god said let there be light this is what it was about paul is saying

not he's not saying here's another example of god making light he's saying that's what the light is

when god said let there be light

it was the light of truth

that spiritually was involved

and although of course god literally made the light and all the other things that are there recorded for us in genesis chapter 1 there is a spiritual dimension to all of these things brethren and sisters we have to think a little wider

than simply the page in genesis chapter one

so here it is

god has created the light of the knowledge of his glory

in the face of jesus christ

and has beamed that by his grace

into the hearts of each of us

now come back to genesis chapter 1

and you can see how when we begin to read genesis 1 in that way

it gives rise it almost invites us to make that wider application to see the the wider purpose of god here in these things genesis chapter 1

verse 2

the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of god moved upon the face of the waters and god said let there be light and there was light

and god saw the light

that it was good

and the light of truth brethren and sisters is good god saw the light the light that it was good

there was something special about it that impressed even god

he was glad that he had made the light

and you notice what he does immediately

verse 4 god saw the light that it was good and god divided the light from the darkness god said my light is is going to have nothing to do with the darkness the earth was covered in darkness it was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep

and god divided he separated his light from that darkness

and you can see can't you the wider purpose of god here light has nothing to do with darkness and never was intended to have

they're diametrically opposed to one another aren't they they are opposites as the apostle says again in second corinthians chapter six he comes back to that same theme there in his letter to the corinthians

what has light to do with darkness he says what has the temple of god to do with idols it it's the light of knowledge again it's it's the light of the truth

paul is giving these words in genesis that application

he's thinking in spiritual terms in in wider terms than merely the words on the page here in genesis 1.

and as we've said it's like that with the whole of creation brethren and scissors we could had we time to go all the way through genesis chapter one looking at it in in that kind of way and perhaps already some of you will have done that in your bible classes you know how that god made the dry land to appear and you know how that very often in the old testament that word land is the word used for israel the land of israel

and it's as though god were making israel to appear out of the sea of the nations

and again he there's an act of separation he separates his people from the sea of the other nations around

there's a a wider purpose in all that god is doing here

but as we said we we haven't time to look in detail those things

perhaps that suggests though that

although of course god created all things in genesis chapter one in six days as the chapter itself tells us

that there was in this wider purpose of god a creation that was unfolding itself down the ages too the creation of israel would not actually take place until some years later

the dry land would appear from the sea of the nations

the great light high in the firmament when the sun of righteousness would arise with healing in his beams would be for later years still

the wider purpose of god was unfolding itself in a creation going on down through the ages which is still not yet complete is it not until the lord comes and takes his people to himself

i suppose brethren and sisters that begs the question as to what was god's purpose in creation

and here in genesis chapter 1 creation is is working towards a marvelous climax

it's working towards the climax of the creation of the man

and what god does in chapter one and in the amplification of of the affairs of chapter one here in genesis 2 is to create a man

and with that man his bride

and god puts them in a perfect environment he places them in the garden of eden a perfect environment

and they enjoy his company

there is the opportunity at least for fellowship with god

and there is the commandment to be fruitful to bring forth for the glory of god

that's the climax of creation here in genesis brethren and sisters isn't it and you can see can't you the implication of those things again thinking more widely thinking spiritually this is about the creation of the man the man christ jesus and his bride and the perfect environment and the fellowship when god will will dwell will tabernacle with men as revelations tells us

and there will be fruit

the right kind of fruit this time there will be well there will be fruit produced to the glory of god

when the man is united with his bride the ecclesia of christ then that brethren and sisters is the first time when there will be real fruit for the glory of god

christ and his ecclesia will be productive in the age of the kingdom

producing the right kind of fruit

i have to be very careful brethren and sisters what i say at this point i'm very anxious that i should not be misunderstood

but it does seem to me that

god in his foreknowledge

must have been aware that

the fulfillment of these things in genesis 1 was for want of a better phrase a two-stage process

now i'm pleased i'm not by any means suggesting that god made man sin that of course is wrong

absolutely and utterly wrong isn't it

there is there is no way that god planned the fall it wasn't his failure

it was man's failure entirely man's failure i don't want anyone pleased to think that i'm suggesting that that god in any way engineered the fall or or planned the fall or was in any way responsible for man's sin

that would certainly not be the case

but god was not unaware of the fall the failure of man didn't take god by surprise did it brethren and sisters he didn't suddenly have to think of a salvation plan and swing into operation with it god in his foreknowledge knew exactly what adam and eve would do

and he'd already taken that on board

and there is therefore perhaps a way in which

let us make man in our image was fulfilled

by the creation of adam

in a physical and a mental way

man was a physical and a mental creature

but there is perhaps also in those words let us make man in our image and after our likeness something prophetic

again of the making the creation of the man

and his bride

not now a physical mental creature but a moral and a spiritual creature

and surely the purpose of god always intended

that image of himself the moral the spiritual which because of adam's sin would have to be a two-stage process

in his foreknowledge god knew all about it brethren and sisters

but

it had to wait its time

and it seems that because of the failure of man

the climax of god's creation was deferred perhaps

now again we're treading on difficult ground here and

i don't want to be dogmatic in what i'm suggesting this morning i'm really throwing out ideas for you to think about to try and help us to to change gear as it were to think more spiritually to to try and begin to see these things from god's point of view that's what's so important about scripture isn't it i'm sure i've said that from from platforms at the eastern bible school many times before

we're here brethren and sisters to try and identify with god that's what scripture is all about

to help us see things from his standpoint from his point of view to bring our lives into line our wills into subjection

to his will

god had created the man

given him his bride placed him in that perfect environment so that they might have the fellowship of the elohim so that they might brethren and sisters enjoy the rest

that to which god was looking forward

on the seventh day

when we read

and god rested

and the rest of our bibles

seem to indicate that men couldn't handle it

that in some way man wasn't prepared for the rest or didn't wish to enter into fellowship with god or refused to enjoy the benefits the blessings the privileges that god was holding out to him

and throughout scripture you will be aware how time and time again and and i really mean that though it is time and time and time again our bible picks up on creation language

and on language of the fall

now i'm indebted to one of our brethren in the northeast of england who's done a great deal of extensive research into this particular facet of bible teaching

and the instances of far far too numerous to mention in a week of talks here at bible school but just just one very obvious example turn over to genesis chapter 8 please

here is just one very obvious occasion where

the language of creation is repeated and the language of the fall too

genesis 8 and verse 1 god remembered noah and every living thing and all the cattle that was with him in the ark and god made a wind to pass over the earth

and the waters are saged

now the word wind of course is that word breath or spirit it's the ruach

and this is genesis one brother and sisters isn't it the spirit of god moved upon the face of the waters here it is happening again isn't it the wind passed across the face of the waters and the waters are saged it's exactly genesis 1

again isn't it it's creation language coming back

here after the flood

coming to chapter 9 and and see again how the language of genesis 1 and 2 is is recalled for us verse 6 of genesis 9

the end of the verse

for in the image of god made he man

there's again another powerful reminder of genesis 1 let us make man in our image who so sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed for in the image of god made he man

verse 3

every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you even as the green herb have i given you all things so god gives them dietary instructions

he says what they can eat

just as he did in eden

of all the trees of the garden thou mayest freely eat

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die and so here in verse four there's another restriction placed exactly as as was the case in genesis 2

genesis 9 and verse 4 but flesh with the life thereof which is the blood thereof shall he not eat

so there are freedoms and dietary instructions and there are restrictions again

and you see brethren and sisters in verse seven

and you be fruitful and multiply bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply therein

creation language again isn't it the commandment given to adam and eve long before the fall as we'll see in a moment

and then you come to the end of chapter nine and you see again a fall i suppose it's not surprising here is it because this is the new earth after the flood

perhaps it's not surprising i i i readily acknowledge that this is the easiest perhaps of the examples that i'm setting before you but but by no means is it isolated brethren this is this kind of language and these kind of examples come back again and again in scripture

here at the end of chapter 9 is is the language of the fall verse 20.

sorry yes verse 20. and noah began to be a husbandman he planted a vineyard so instead of a garden of eden now we have a vineyard very similar isn't it

and he sinned in verse 21 he drank of the wine and was drunken he partook of the fruit of his vineyard exactly as adam and eve partaking of the fruit of the garden of eden that was forbidden to them that forbidden fruit the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil so noah though it wasn't forbidden him took unwisely

of the fruit of his vineyard and was drunken as a result

in verse 22

he was naked

exactly as adam and eve became aware of their nakedness in the garden when they had sinned

and just as for them god provided a covering though they saw the need and covered themselves making themselves aprons from fig leaves

so here brethren and sisters in verse 23

noah is covered

by two of his sons who have much more respect for him than did ham

and they walk backwards and cover their father with a garment that his nakedness should not be seen now those are remarkable things aren't they they're not there by coincidence one of them we might have allowed maybe even two we might have said

but not all those brethren and sisters those verses that come back time and again throughout our bibles are not there by chance are they

they're there surely amongst other things perhaps to tell us that that man couldn't handle the rest that god had in store for him

that his failure was a failure which because of his nature would be repeated time and time again it's been repeated brethren and sisters in this man i can tell you

the same

fall has dogged my steps as dog adams

every one of us is a sinner before god

and surely that's the reason therefore that that scripture invites us no more than that scripture tells us that god

is looking forward

to a new creation

come for example to psalm 102

these are well-known words

but i wonder if you've noticed brethren and sisters how that the new creation spoken of in these verses and i think

in almost every occasion when the new creation is mentioned are not about the birds and the flowers again they're not about the genesis creation

they're about a people creation they're about a spiritual aspect a wider purpose that god always had always had in mind psalm 102 and the end of that psalm verse 25

old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens of the work of thy hands they shall perish but thou shalt endure ye all of them shall wax old like a garment as a vesture shall thou change them and they shall be changed

but thou art the same

thy year shall have no end

the children of thy servants shall continue and their seed shall be established before thee

now i know that the apostle paul if it is paul in hebrews relates those words to

the new covenant the creation in christ jesus

and that's what those words are about the apostle to the hebrews tells us

but brethren and sisters

do you see that it's a people that's involved

the the outcome of that is that the outcome of the new covenant is that the seed shall continue they shall be established the children of thy servants shall continue their siege shall be established before thee

this is a people creation

ex isaiah chapter 65

just another illustration of of the same thing isaiah 65 and verse 17.

for behold i create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind but be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which i create for behold i create jerusalem rejoicing and her people a joy

and i will rejoice in jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying it's a people creation isn't it

the place that god has chosen to to place his name there the the new jerusalem that descends from god out of heaven at the end of the apocalypse brethren and sisters is not a city made of stone and timber is it like the old jerusalem it's a city made up of people it's a people city it's a people in whom god's name is established

and it's a people in whom god desires to rest

the climax of creation was the creation of the man

and his bride

in a perfect environment that when god ceased from his labors to rest

he might enjoy that rest with them

and that rest therefore is not again a physical thing is it

the rest of genesis 2 brethren and sisters is is not so much a physical thing as again thinking wider about the purpose of god it's it's got a spiritual dimension to it it's the idea of god ceasing from his labors in order that he might rejoice in his people

and have the joy of fellowship

with those whom he had created ultimately in his own moral and spiritual image not just physical and mental beings

i suppose that in a sense

genesis chapter 2 presents us with a problem on the literal plane doesn't it

and god rested the seventh day

but god doesn't need rest

he doesn't get tired

isaiah 40 tells us that very plainly it says that he which keepeth israel neither slumbers nor sleeps

isaiah 14 verse 23 you needn't turn to it just now but i'll quote the words for you isaiah 14 verse 23

says that god is the one who neither slumbers nor sleeps he keeps israel

he looks after israel

there is

sorry it's verse 28 i beg you pardon i can't read my own writing verse 28

hast thou not known hast thou not heard that the everlasting god the lord the creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not neither is weary

there is no searching of his understanding

interesting isn't it that in that very verse that tells us that god is not weary it mentions him again as creator

he wasn't weary when he created when he'd finished creating he didn't need the rest

you might be tempted to say ah yes but of course

the elohim were involved in creation and and the angels have limitations and perhaps they were tired perhaps they needed a rest we know that that angels are limited in their power their strength their abilities

well that is so brethren and sisters but it really won't do again you needn't turn to it now we shall have occasion to look at it later in the week god willing but exodus 31 and 17 says this the sabbath is a sign between me and the children of israel forever for in six days the lord that is yahweh jehovah

made heaven and earth

and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed

so it won't do to say well it was the angels who needed the rest the elohim required refreshment

here the sabbath is enjoined upon the nation of israel because yahweh or jehovah rested and was refreshed

at the end of his labors in six days

there upon the seventh

so there is brethren and sisters clearly arrest which god seeks of a spiritual dimension

and again if you're still in isaiah come to chapter 66 for a moment

and see there how god describes his desire for rest once again as being in a people

god is looking for a resting place

in men and women isaiah 66 thus saith the lord the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool where is the house that ye build unto me and where is the place of my rest

for all these things hath mine handmade and all these things have been saith the lord but to this man will i look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word

there's the place of god's rest

what what place will you build for me says god where is the place of my rest i've made all these things temples don't contain me heaven and earth don't restrict me says god but here's the place of my rest i'll tell you

it's the contrite heart

it's the humble and the contrite spirit

it's the man who trembles at my word there

will i be pleased to dwell

says the lord

that's marvelous isn't it brethren and sisters

here is god's rest

in a people who love him

a people who know his word and tremble because of it

not because they are fearful of their god

but because they rejoice

in his greatness

and willingly humble themselves

beforehand

can we come back then to genesis chapter 2 for a moment

and just look at the implications of what we've said

here in genesis 2.

now again i don't want to be dogmatic about this dogmatism here brethren and sisters is entirely out of place i want you to know that and to be aware that i know that too

but it does appear and i'll put it no stronger than that it does appear that god never enjoyed his rest

here in genesis 2.

ultimately we know that that's the case

the issue perhaps is for how long god rested

we have read genesis chapter 2 thus the heavens and the earth were finished and the host of them and on the seventh day god ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made

i'd like to suggest you brethren and sisters and i've made this suggestion before and i haven't found a single individual who agreed with me so i shan't be in the least disappointed least bit disappointed if you all want to disagree and i'm sure you will but but think about it it seems to me that there is every likelihood that adam and eve sinned

on that very first sabbath

now i know we're not used to to we're not accustomed to thinking that we generally imagined that they were some period of indeterminate length in the garden of eden but that they were there for a time and that may still be right please that might still be the case i'm not insisting on on anything different

but it must it seems to me have been a fairly a relatively short period

for a number of reasons and i think scripture hints

one or two reasons why that might have been the case

in the first place you would expect it to be a short time because

procreation had not taken place

prior to their eviction from the garden of eden

procreation was not something that that

came about

as the result of the fall

god had commanded adam and eve before their sin be fruitful and multiply and replenish or fill the earth

but they had not done so

and i imagine brethren and sisters that if they had been a very long period then they would have done so in circumstances where nakedness was not ashamed to them they had no guilt they had no shame

it would have been unusual if they had not procreated

over a long time and clearly they had not because at the time of their eviction from the garden of eden then it was that god said to eve thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee

and seed was conceived only after

they were ejected from the presence of god

but there are reasons that suggest that it it might have been a very short time because well for one thing brethren and sisters if god enjoyed a rest

there on the seventh day and extending beyond that

as the conditions of the garden of eden continued

over a period however long

if god enjoyed and went on enjoying that rest and the presence of the man and woman prior to their sin prior to their disobedience

well for me i think that takes something off the edge

of the rest that is to come

what then is the point of there remaineth a rest to the people of god which god willing will examine later this week

if god has rested surely it takes something away does it not from the rest that god yet intends and the fellowship to which god is clearly desperately looking forward

with the those whom he has created those who tremble at his word

those with whom he will find a perfect rest

in due time

if god has rested already then it seems to me it's to take something away from the prospect

of that rest which is to come

another reason is genesis 2 verse 2

and god bless the seventh day

sorry and on the seventh day god ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made

and the the greek version of the old testament the septuagint

has there a phrase

all the work which he began

to make

or which he began to do it's the same verb

to do or to make

and that sounds rather like acts chapter one doesn't it you remember how luke commences the work of the lord jesus christ working through the apostles there in acts chapter one

he says that he'd made the former treatise

theophilus it is he's writing to of all that jesus began both to do and teach and now he's writing acts to continue the story

the gospel was all that jesus began to do

and genesis is the record of all that god began to do in creation that's how the septuagint puts it now that that may be wrong that may be at fault maybe the translators into greek misunderstood what genesis was about

but it it's interesting it's fascinating isn't it all that god began to do

and if that's a valid translation brethren and sisters if that's a valid understanding of genesis 2 and verse 2

then i wonder if luke is is drawing a comparison with that or if he's not more properly not drawing a comparison but displaying a fulfillment of genesis 2.

for all that god began to do in genesis is now to be completed fulfilled

brought to its climax

in the work of jesus christ

in the gospel

all that jesus began to do

to complete and to fulfill and to fill up the measure

of creation

as god always intended it the man

and his bride

that perfect environment and the fruit that would ensue

and i wonder too brethren and sisters

if we have really taken on board fully the implications of our lord's words in john chapter 5.

do you recall how that after he had healed upon the sabbath

the jews as was so often the case in their hard-heartedness rounded upon jesus and condemned him for what they saw as being sabbath-breaking

and jesus says in john 5.

john 5 and verse 16

therefore did the jews persecute jesus and sought to slay him because he done these things on the sabbath day but jesus answered them my father worketh hitherto

and i work now just think about the force of those words brother and sisters my father worketh he's the two so far

god had to go back to work almost immediately it seems to me adam and eve sinned and god had to go straight back to work and he's been working ever since says jesus god never enjoyed his rest he never had a sabbath to speak of

however long or short a period it was my father my father worketh hitherto right until now says jesus all down the ages from the beginning of time god has been working for the redemption of man for his reconciliation with his maker and i work for that same aim says the lord

well brethren and sisters whether god rested and to what extent he rested we cannot be certain as we have said we do know

that we have a work to do ourselves if we are to enjoy that rest with him

we ourselves need to be changed into the same image of his son

we need to be influenced by this word we need to think spiritually we need to change gear we need to see the wider purpose of god so that we might be cooperating with him

working upon our natures that we may be changed into the image of his son

so that when he appears we shall know him and recognize him

israel brethren and sisters missed their messiah they were looking for the wrong things

they did not see him when he appeared

we must not make that mistake

when the scripture says the law was a schoolmaster to bring them to christ it's not talking about the types and the shadows you know

they're a small part of it

but the law was a school master to bring israel to the christ life

to bring israel to be christ-like so that when he came they would recognize him they would be able to see him and say

that's the man just look at him he's he's an embodiment of the whole of the word of god that that's how i've been trying to live i've been trying to be that man and the flesh has been dragging me back and holding me down and i couldn't do it but i can see now

that's the man that's that's the word of god in a person the living word

by the same token brethren and sisters we need to be working at this

that we may be like him

that when he comes

by the grace of god

we may know him

as he is

heavenly father

almighty creator

we thank thee for thy mercy to us

bless us that we may cooperate with thee

in the great work which thou art about

and by thy grace in christ jesus our lord

may be found at his coming

with some likeness of him

and received into thy glory

in his name

amen

Transcript

making bricks

is back-breaking work

the sun that dried the clay brethren and sisters dried the soul of israel

every muscle

was weary

every limb ached

there was no pay of course there was no strength to go on doing the work

humanly speaking there was no hope

of the situation ever being any different there was no future

there was only one continual round of toil and labor and sweat

and the whip

if one should dare to stop

that's what egypt was like until god with mercy looked upon the affliction of his people

until

the appointed time came

the fullness of time for god to intervene

the acceptable year so far as he was concerned for the redemption of his people

when israel was a child then i loved him and called my son out of egypt

and so in exodus chapter 4 similarly thou shalt say unto pharaoh thus saith the lord israel is my son even my firstborn and i say unto thee let my son go

that he may serve me

notice that brethren sisters that 23rd verse of exodus 4

not just let my son go full stop

but let my son go that he may serve me

that's why israel was to be released

it is the same with us we are not our own the apostle reminds us we are bought with a price we are not brought to a freedom

we are brought to freedom in christ

which is vastly different we are not free to please ourselves therefore we are the lords and whatever we do we are his servants

so israel in their redemption from egypt were not being bought out of out of slavery rescued redeemed full stop

they were being bought with a price

not the precious blood of the lamb without spartan without blemish which was to come

but with a price nonetheless

the price being god's intervention in egypt

the plagues that he would send the ruining of the social and economic fabric of egyptian life which god would do for israel's sake

therefore

they were his people

obliged to serve him

and because when he destroyed the firstborn of egypt he spared their firstborn those firstborn were in some peculiar and special way

his children his

people for that reason

god commanded israel to observe

the sabbath

because they were his

he had a claim over them they were obliged to hearken to him and god enjoined upon them the keeping of a sabbath

a rest each week

we saw yesterday from genesis chapter 2

and verse 3 how that god blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it he had rested from all his work which god created and made

god blessed the seventh day and sanctified it

we didn't have occasion yesterday to pause and consider what those words actually meant but what do they mean brethren and sisters

in what way was the seventh day blessed was no different from the other days

although the record makes it a little different as we shall see later god willing

it was a day in which the moon waned and the sun rose

and it was really no different from the other days of itself the day wasn't blessed for its own sake god didn't sanctify that day per se

the blessing lay in keeping it

it was israel who would be blessed

by their observance of it the day was sanctified in as much as israel were sanctified when they obeyed the commandment of god and kept it making it in their lives different from the other days

just as

what's so special about israel isn't israel

there's nothing special about israel themselves brethren and sisters perhaps we sometimes mistakenly think so there's nothing special about israel themselves they weren't more numerous they weren't more strong they weren't more righteous than any other nation the record tells us what was special about israel was the fact that god specially chose them that's what makes them special

it wasn't anything of themselves

it was something that god made of them

by choosing them and similarly with abraham it was nothing special about abraham of himself though he was indeed a very faithful man and i don't want in any way to minimize his faith which is streets and streets ahead of my veteran sisters that's for sure but he wasn't he wasn't special of himself there was nothing intrinsically worthy about abraham that demanded that he should be saved any more than you or me

he didn't deserve salvation he couldn't earn eternal life any more than you or i can

what was special about abraham was that god specially chose him and made to him the promises

and so what was special about that seventh day was the fact that god blessed and sanctified not the day itself but it was no different from the other six of itself but blessed and sanctified those who in obedience to his commandment would keep it

come then please to exodus 31

a small portion of which we've just read together and see there how that these verses testify to that very fact exodus chapter 31

we began reading at verse 12

and if we look for a moment there at verses 13 and the beginning of 14 the lord spoke to moses saying speak thou also unto the children of israel saying verily my sabbath ye shall keep it for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that ye may know that i am the lord that doth sanctify you

that's where the sanctification of the sabbath day comes in that the lord may sanctify you keep the sabbath that you may be sanctified in the keeping thereof

ye shall keep the sabbath therefore for it is holy unto you

notice the emphasis in these verses breton and sisters

verily

my sabbaths

god's sabbath

ye

shall keep

and the lord will sanctify

you in the middle of verse 14

it shall be holy unto you

the lord will sanctify you you will be holy the sabbath will be holy unto you

but it is my god's sabbath

and it's a sign notice that it's a sign

verily my sabbath shall keep for because it is a sign

between me and you throughout your generations so that you may know that i am the lord that doth sanctify you

just as the lights were set in the heavens for times and seasons and days and years

so the sabbath

the seventh

the day of rest for god was also a sign

it wasn't that god needs times and seasons or days and years god is outside of time brethren and sisters the invention of times and seasons and days and years is is fascinating isn't it why should god involve himself in those things unless it were for man's sake unless it were that god knew that we have need of a limited objective we have need continually of a new start again and again just imagine that there was nothing like that

no night following day or day following night

no new week

no months

no years

that time just stretched interminably before us wouldn't that be awful imagine just facing life in that way we need that limited objective don't we and god in his mercy was aware of our need for times and seasons and days and years when we might start again when we might be refreshed when we might turn over a new leaf and try again continually we need those things but god has no need of those things and god had no need of rest as we we discovered and said yesterday

he had no need of the seventh day for rest and refreshment and yet he was refreshed

he ceased from his labors he rested in that sense this was his sabbath his ceasing from his labor and it was a sigh

sign of what

a sign of god's purpose

a sign of the final rest

a sign of final redemption

again it was to teach israel wasn't it that seventh day was there as a sign that there was a sabbath to come way down the line brethren and sisters god

had a sabbath

my sabbath

and the weekly sabbath was a sign a shadow a pointer a pattern to that which is to come a sign of the final redemption that god had prepared for his people

that's why in the end of verse 14

and the verses that follow

because the sabbath is a sign of god's purpose

god's eternal purpose of that which he intends to do

it is so serious a matter if man should treat it with contempt

the middle of verse 14

everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death for whosoever doeth any work therein that soul shall be cut off from among his people six days may work be done but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest holy to the lord whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day he shall surely be put to death

this is a serious matter

contempt for the sabbath is contempt for the whole purpose of god

contempt for the sabbath is like siding with adam and eve it's like siding with the sinner it's like demonstrating that we're on the side of the sinner who disturbed god's rest as we saw yesterday who disturbed that first sabbath

anyone who shows contempt for my sabbath says god is on the side of the sinner

they are demonstrating that disturbing my rest was right and fair

that soul will be cut off that soul will die

can you see then how the contempt for the sabbath was a serious issue not because the day itself was in some way

holy or significant

except in this way that it was the sign of final redemption and contempt for the sabbath was contempt for all that god had purposed and demonstrated before his people

now did you notice how that in those verses there

the word any in the phrase any work is in italics

it is so in verse 14

whosoever doeth work therein that soul shall be cut off and similarly in verse 15 whosoever doeth work in the sabbath the word any isn't actually there

and it's not any work

in a way our translators have have misled us in that

the sabbath was never never ever intended brethren and sisters to be a time of idleness

that wasn't its purpose at all

it was a day of work

the work that was forbidden to israel wasn't any work it was work for oneself

work for selfish ends

work for profit remuneration sustenance support

work which in any shape or form was for oneself but work for god was not excluded it was his sabbath

now i don't think that as a community we have always understood that

i sometimes hear and i'm sure you do brethren and sisters lamenting the fact that the sabbath was supposed to be a day of rest and and sunday is my busiest day of all well it ought to be that's fine that's no problem there are two faults with that brethren and sisters one is that sunday is not the sabbath

and the seventh day observant societies frequently confuse that the sunday is the first day of the week the sabbath was the seventh so sunday has nothing whatsoever to do with the sabbath in the first place but in the second place it is right that sunday be the busiest day of the work week and it's right that the sabbath was the busiest day of the week for god

shouldn't be a day of being busy for ourselves

but never did god prohibit work for him that's why jesus was not a sabbath breaker

he fulfilled the sabbath he understood its purpose that which he wrought on the sabbath day was the work of god and it was absolutely right we should never say that jesus broke the sabbath he never did

come to isaiah 58 for a moment you may know that isaiah 58 tells us the same truth

just one verse isaiah 58 towards the end of that chapter

verse 13

isaiah 58 13 if thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day see the emphasis doing thy pleasure you could do god's pleasure on god's holy day no problem

but if you turn away your foot from the sabbath and from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the sabbath to delight the holy of the lord honorable and shall honor him not doing thine own ways

nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thy words thine own words the authorized version translators have supplied again the word isn't there but it's correct this time isn't it you can read it not doing thine own pleasure nor speaking words

it's clear isn't it that it's your own words not doing your own pleasure or speaking words of your own making

then verse 14 then shalt thou delight thyself in the lord and i will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth

you see it was work for oneself that was forbidden it was one's own pleasure one's own prosperity and benefit

which seeking was a sin the day therefore was never a day of idleness in the mind of god it was a day rather for service

and you can see here from isaiah 58 13

how that israel were commanded to rejoice in the lord they were to make the sabbath a delight it was not to be irksome they weren't to moan and to murmur that no we can't go out to work today you know terrible in there

it was to be a delight

they were to resort to the priest and the prophet for instruction

and the faithful in israel did that they used the sabbath in that way

perhaps you hadn't thought of that what did they do on the sabbath well they went to listen to the word of god

it has just a little hint of that now and again in scriptures one of them is in second kings 4 and 23 you needn't turn it up you will recall it it's when the shunammite woman's son was sick and she says saddle me the ass and i'll ride to the man of god and her husband says what for it's not not the new moon or the sabbath so you see it was the habit to go and and seek the man of god on the sabbath day and her husband couldn't understand why she wanted to go if it wasn't the sabbath so that's what they did on the sabbath that's that's one of the customs they went to seek the man of god to to listen to the instruction just as we use our first day of the week our sunday to come to the meetings it's right that it should be busy in those right things and it's right that we should use it to delight in the lord and to rejoice in the lord

perhaps i might just take a minute brethren and sisters to comment on that phrase rejoice in the lord because that also is a little misunderstood sometimes sadly in our own midst isn't it

so often it seems to me i hear it said by brethren and sisters who ought to know better that we're not a very joyful community you know our hymns aren't very joyful and we we need a bit more gladness and so on in our in our worship and well all right that's fine

but the rejoicing in scripture is nothing to do with wearing a permanent smile and going about you know all frothy and jolly and as though life was some great big joke

rejoicing in the lord is what it says

it's rejoicing in the lord

in other words it's what we were talking about yesterday it's identifying with god it's bringing our wills our feelings into line with gods

so that we rejoice in whatever makes god happy we rejoice in whatever he rejoices in we're glad and we're joyful in whatever god brings about in his will and the fulfillment of his will we rejoice to see his purpose unfolding and taking place and and finding its place in our world

sometimes brethren and sisters that purpose of god will result in trouble for us in times of great distress in times of temptation or evil in tremendous problems and difficulties but we shall rejoice in the lord whatever our circumstances we still rejoice in the lord

confident that this is his way

and it will ultimately prove to be right because god is right he is righteous

we shall rejoice in the lord

even in the sufferings of jesus christ we might have thought there was little cause for rejoicing in all that jesus suffered veteran and sisters and indeed in one sense there isn't is that no one would would rejoice to be nailed upon the stake

and yet we do rejoice

it pleased the lord to bruise him not that god was glad to see jesus on the stake but that god

was prepared to do that it's the word the use of the word pleased in the old english if you please if you will it was god's will god was willing to see that and jesus for the joy set before him was able to endure the cross count the shame as nothing despise it as a little thing as a nonsense to rejoice in the purpose of god being fulfilled and going forward stage by stage

that's our rejoicing brethren and sisters nothing to do with with laughing and being jolly all the time though of course there's a place for that as well

but rejoicing in the lord is a far more deep rooted deep-seated thing rejoicing in what god has done what god has shown us and what by his grace he is doing and will do with us and for us if we will allow him

so the sabbath was was a cause of rejoicing a cause of delight in god

now i suspect that moses well knew that even back in egypt come back to exodus

we looked at chapter four

where moses was sent to plead with pharaoh let my son go israel is my son my firstborn let my son go that he may serve me and it looks brethren and sisters as though the next thing that moses did and we can't be absolutely certain about that but here's a fascinating possibility it looks rather from exodus five as though what moses did was to introduce the sabbath into the life of israel in egypt

now if that's the case that's a fantastic thing isn't it can you imagine what pharaoh thought about that

he already thought that moses was a troublemaker

but here he was like a trade union leader i suppose standing up for the rights of israel championing the cause of the slaves you know and making them rest one day a week can you believe it

they're gonna stop work now one in every seventh day that's it down tools chaps no bricks today it's amazing isn't it how pharaoh must have seen moses in that light

that's what the record seems to suggest brother and sisters exodus 5 and verse 5

pharaoh said behold the people of the land now are many and ye make them rest the word is sabbath you make them sabbath from their burdens what right of you pharaoh is saying to tell israel to rest one day a week

if it doesn't mean that and we can't be certain that it does but if it doesn't mean that if if moses hadn't introduced the sabbath one day a week into israel's life here in egypt then what does it mean

does it mean that moses demanded they should have a five-minute coffee break each morning

hardly think so brethren and sisters do you pharaoh says that moses was making them rest sabbath from their burdens what does it mean well i put it to you the most likely thing that it can mean is that moses had introduced the sabbath into the life of israel who would an idolatrous people at this time remember they weren't serving god and i suspect they weren't keeping sabbath

and moses recognizing the importance of that introduced it perhaps into the life of israel here in egypt

certainly when we get to exodus 16 we find the sabbath in operation there

exodus 16 is the record of of the provision of manner and you know that in that provision of manner there was commandment given that they were to gather on the sixth day double rations

because they wouldn't find the manner on the seventh and some wickedly went out to find it on the sabbath and of course it wasn't there

so in exodus 16 the sabbath appears to be an established routine you find it mentioned in verses 23 26 29 and 30 at least four times there in exodus 16 the sabbath is mentioned we shall look at those for reasons of time and that's why when we come to exodus 20 if we can turn now to exodus 20

the ten commandments note that exodus 16

was prior to the ten commandments the commandment to keep the sabbath has not yet been given that's the point about exodus 16 that the sabbath is in operation before the ten commandments were given when we come to the ten commandments in exodus 20 the commandment there is verse eight remember

remember the sabbath day

that again makes it sound as though it's already established doesn't it it's not keep the sabbath day it's remember to keep the sabbath day

remember the sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord thy god in it thou shalt do that shall not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy manservant nor thy maidservant nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates for in six days the lord made heaven and earth the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it

that's extraordinary isn't it really

remember

a deliberate act

of remembrance

here is enjoined upon israel

it's not remember because you might forget it if you've got a bad memory is it it's it's do it

keep on going over it

remember it operate it it's not remembering something is it it's something that's a part of your life it's remembered in that sense as a deliberate act but why

why

well we've read the reason in verses 9

to 11

because god created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh but why

what possible reason is their brethren and sisters to tie israel's working week to creation

why what logical reason can you think of for that there's no reason is there really why should the working week be tied to creation

why

what's it got to do with it

why in the sabbath were israel being commanded to think about creation

what's it got to do with creation

you will rest on the sabbath god is saying on the seventh day because god made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh and you will think about that you will remember that you will remember creation why

what has that to do with the working week

we've tended to accept that i think without questioning it but what sense does it make when you think about it

why link the working week to creation unless brethren and sisters god is saying here that you will not work

because god stopped work

for you

is that what it's saying is there an implication here that that you won't work because because god didn't work for your sake so the least you can do is to stop work for him is that is that the logic is that what this commandment is saying god worked for six days and then he ceased and you will do the same thing god ceased for you do you remember how we saw that yesterday didn't we god was looking forward to the refreshment

of fellowship

he wanted the company of the man whom he'd made

and the sabbath was about looking forward to that time when the man and his bride would be in that perfect environment bringing forth fruit for god

enjoying fellowship with his maker

and maybe just maybe that's the implication here you will work for six days and you will stop

that's the least you can do for god because god worked six days and stopped for you

he wanted your fellowship

and the minimum that you can give him is your attention and your affection

and yourself

on that seventh day you will give that day to god

and we can extend that can't we brethren and sisters

it's it was to teach them to look forward then to the final redemption we've seen already in exodus 31 that it was a sign of those things so it was to teach them to look forward to that it was to teach them not just that they were resting then for the day but that there was something greater that god desired and that therefore they should desire

and even more than that it was to teach them surely

that their time was

god's their time belonged to god

their time was his

they were to share their time with god

in recognition in acknowledgment that it belonged to him

this was his desire for their rest and their fellowship and their time was god's time

their times were in his hands

so ceasing to do their own work devoting their time to him was a recognition of that fact

can you see then the seriousness of not doing it

i don't think brethren and sisters this has sunk in with us has it it has of course with the seventh-day adventists

and i don't want to suggest they're right they're not they're very wrong in the way that they look at the sabbath and carry it forward as something which has to be kept today but they are right in the sense that at least they've seen the seriousness of it brethren and sisters i wonder if we have we're sometimes so taken up with the fact that the sabbath does not apply as a day to be kept today and indeed it does not

in the new testament

jesus fulfilled the sabbath as we shall see later this week god willing he is the sabbath he's fulfilled it

and now like all the rest of the law of moses that jesus talks so much further we are to make every day holy unto the lord not just one out of seven not just one per week every day is holy to him

the seventh-day adventist is wrong in that regard

but he's right brethren and sisters to appreciate the seriousness of it this is one of the ten commandments

have you thought about that not keeping the sabbath day ranks with murder

or adultery

or idolatry

turning the back on god

not keeping the sabbath is as important as those things it ranks with those doesn't it it's one of the ten commandments just like thou shalt worship the lord thy god and him only shalt thou serve thou shalt have no other gods before me thou shalt not kill remember the sabbath day to keep it holy do you see how vitally important in the life of israel this commandment is

and how breaking it is a cardinal sin and offense before god

so brethren and sisters was expressed for israel god's desire for them in bringing them out of egypt in wanting to give them rest

the sabbath was the sign of god's desire of god's intention of god's purpose it was the sign of their ultimate their final redemption

and israel

didn't want to leave

tragic isn't it

come back again to the earlier chapters of exodus exodus 4

see how here in exodus 4 it sounds fine no problem exodus 4 and verse 31

the people believed

aaron spake all the words that the lord had spoken unto moses and did the signs in the sight of the people and the people believed and when they had heard that the lord had visited the children of israel and that he had looked upon their affliction they bowed their heads and worshiped fine

god had visited them looked upon their affliction they accepted that god was come to redeem them

but how quickly that changed chapter 5

verse 21

children of israel said unto moses and aaron the lord look upon you and judge because you've made our savior to be aboard in the eyes of pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hand to slay us and moses returned unto the lord and the lord said wherefore hast thou s and said lord wherefore hast thou so evil and treated this people why is it that has sent me for since i came to pharaoh to speak in thy name he hath done evil to this people neither hast thou delivered thy people at all

now things were not running so smoothly and the attitude was beginning to change and to harden chapter 6 and verse 7

i will take you to me for a people i will be to you a god and ye shall know that i am the lord your god which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the egyptians

verse 9 and moses spake so unto the children of israel but they hearken not unto moses for anguish of spirit

and for cruel bondage

they weren't able to lift up the head

their spirit was bowed down

the sun that dried the clay had dried the soul of israel and baked it hard

egypt had cunningly dealt with israel and so demoralized the nation brethren and sisters that

they could not see their emancipation they could not believe in freedom they could not lift up the head

and bring themselves to appreciate the sense of relief that the promise of god should have brought chapter 14

and verse 12.

as the egyptians pursued them towards the shores of the red sea is not this the word that we did tell thee in egypt saying let us alone that we may serve the egyptians for it had been better for us to serve the egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness they had said that to moses previously apparently let us alone that we may serve the egyptian we told you so we said that while we were there we were better off in egypt as slaves

isn't that a tragedy brethren and sisters

the fullness of time had come

in a measure the acceptable year of the lord had come the appointed time for god looking upon their affliction and rescuing them

but they were so entrenched in their bondage

they couldn't believe it

cruelty was so burnt into their consciousness

that they felt

no relief

the sabbath brethren and sisters was a reminder of that

when they came out of egypt deuteronomy chapter 5

moses says this

he gives one further reason for keeping the sabbath in addition to those that we've examined already this morning and he says deuteronomy 5 15

remember that there was a servant a bond servant in the land of egypt and that the lord thy god brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm

therefore

the lord thy god commanded thee to keep the sabbath day do you see again how it's related then isn't it to this rest from egypt

remember that that was to bond man in the land of egypt and god brought you out

therefore he commanded you to keep the sabbath day

even the exodus brethren and sisters

the sabbath commemorated

the sabbath was a sign of their final redemption of which the exodus was a foretaste an earnest

of that much greater redemption yet to come

therefore

the lord thy god commanded thee to keep the sabbath day

remember

remember the sabbath day to keep it remember that there was to bond men in the land of egypt

god had afforded them rest

there's a powerful word of excitation in those words brethren and sisters isn't there for us

the truth

is not a matter of theory

our baptism is not a matter of theology or eschatology

not at all

our egypt whatever our background brethren and sisters whether we grew up in a christadelphian home or not our egypt was as real

our slavery our bondage to sin was as wretched and as miserable as ever could be

maybe we haven't always appreciated that but it is the case

and god

has afforded you rest

god

has afforded me

rest

god has loved us

and called us

and he commands us

remember that

remember that you were abundant

remember that you have been bought with a price

remember what that price

remember the rest

that god has given

and israel didn't

and even when god took them forward to the land they didn't god's desire brethren and sisters was to bring them into the land to give them the rest that he prepared for them in the land that he had chosen to place his name there his earnest desire was for their fellowship that they should be unto him a kingdom of priests and and holy nation in his land that he might dwell with them in some measure there

and israel was not willing

they treated with contempt the promise he had made

and they brought forth his wrath

and therefore

says the psalm

he swear in his wrath

they shall not enter into my rest

where do you stand brother

sister

in relation

to that which god has promised us

our heavenly father

forgive our foolish ways

teach us thy way

help us to appreciate the enormity of thy work

the salvation thou hast wrought in christ jesus on our behalf

thy love toward us

and no more

heedless through the world to rome

but to seek that eternal home and rest

which thou dost offer

in christ jesus our lord

in whom we ask this and all things

amen

Transcript

there

are at least two good reasons why joshua might have been inclined to disobey

the word of god to him that we have just read

moses my servant is dead now therefore arise go over this jordan thou and all this people unto the land which i do give to them even to the children of israel

one reason was that

it was inconvenient

can you imagine a more difficult time to go over jordan than now

when the record explicitly tells us it was in flood

the river that normally was contained within fairly narrow banks was now i don't know how wide brethren sisters

and this congregation consisted not just of fighting men but of women and of children and of herds of cattle

why on earth make all those people struggle through the flood waters of jordan fast flowing as presumably they must have been with all the attendant dangers and difficulties that that involved

when there was no reason why they couldn't wait a couple of months until the jordan had shrunk back to its normal width

and the passage would have been so much easier

it didn't make sense why now

why not wait

why involve the whole congregation in such a a difficult and dangerous escapade unnecessarily

the second reason

equally valid

was the fact brethren and sisters that

joshua had had a pretty busy time lately

in fact it's amazing how how little time there is to fit in all the events of of these few chapters the book of deuteronomy begins by telling us that moses spake all the words of deuteronomy beginning on the first day of the 11th month of that 40th year

so there was a bare two months to the end of moses 40th year sorry moses 120th year the 40th out of egypt

and yet

they mourned 30 days for moses there's one complete month of that time

the spies were sent out to jericho however long that took and when they were let down by the the rope

from rahab's house they hid for three days before they came back

the congregation were three days sanctifying themselves and preparing themselves to cross the jordan

they crossed it and was circumcised at gilgal and waited until the men were healed which must have been at least seven or eight days there

and they kept the passover on the 14th day of the first month

that's a lot of things to happen in that short period of time

and in that short period of time brethren and sisters particularly with the mourning for moses and all the other things that joshua had on his plate now as he took over a successor to moses he had no time to prepare his strategies his battle plans

he wasn't ready

and the moment he crossed the jordan well it was like throwing down the gauntlet wasn't it it was a challenge to the nations of the land they would immediately attack him and he wasn't prepared he hadn't got his strategies and his battle plans worked out

surely far better to stay on the east of jordan

sit down and think out the strategies work out the plans think about it carefully systematically how he was going to approach canaan whether it was going to be north or south or all at once or whatever and then when he was ready then to cross the jordan

the very act of which as we said represented a challenge to the nations of the land

so there were at least two excellent reasons why joshua might have been inclined to disobey god to his eternal credit he did not

he accepted the word of god he accepted the urgency of the commandment of god and he crossed jordan as quickly as israel were able to prepare for it and cross it

sometimes brother and sisters we find those things very hard to accept don't we

my ways are not your ways says god

the very things that sometimes seem to us to be absurd

seem to do all the wrong things

are just those which god uses

and in which he can work

and the glory be

to his name

and so it still was when they had crossed the jordan

come to joshua chapter 5.

joshua was a fighting man

he was a trained soldier

undoubtedly he hadn't been so to begin with but you remember that newly out of egypt israel were attacked by amalek and moses instructed joshua to run through the host and put together a fighting force

untrained undisciplined men who'd never faced battle before

joshua somehow was able to weld them together to make an army out of them and recently under god's good hand that army had seen enormous success in fighting against ogg

and sihon

so joshua naturally would want once he crossed the jordan to be up and at him so to speak

he'd not want further delays surprise

is always the best form of attack

joshua would want to get on with the job quickly

and now that they had crossed the natural barrier of the jordan and nothing stood physically between them and the nations the cities of canaan joshua would want to begin seeking to dispatch them as quickly as ever it was possible to do

but there were delays

some of which we've mentioned already joshua chapter 5 it came to pass when all the kings of the amorites which were on the side of jordan westward and all the kings of the canaanites which were by the sea heard that the lord had dried up the waters of jordan from before the children of israel until we were passed over that their heart melted neither was their spirit in them anymore because of the children of israel and the time was just ripe for attack and they were all scared stiff and and joshua was all ready to pounce

at that time the lord said unto joshua make these sharp knives and circumcise again the children of israel the second time

he didn't say

go on then get on with it and go to battle

he made him wait

for some reason circumcision had not been practiced in the wilderness we don't know exactly why but the generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised perhaps there was good reason perhaps israel recognized that they themselves had proved unfaithful to the covenant and the sign of the covenant was of no avail without the covenant conditions themselves being kept

perhaps that generation who were turned back into the wilderness because of their faith last nas saw no point in the token the sign of the covenant and rightly so

or perhaps it was just simply that without thinking about it circumcision had fallen into disuse and had not been practiced whatever the reason brethren and sisters it had to be undertaken now

god could not work with his people unless they were in covenant relationship with him and there had to be again that cutting off of the flesh which symbolized the willingness to cut off the flesh and all that it represented all that it stood for from one's life

and that was a vitally important lesson for israel

before ever they could approach the enemies in the land

they had first of all to be aware

of the need to overcome enemy number one

it's ourselves first and foremost brethren and sisters isn't it who foul our own path

the greatest enemy we have is not an external force

it's the enemy within

and israel and joshua the head of israel had to learn again that lesson and these delays which to a captain like joshua must have seemed in many ways extremely frustrating

were necessary

the virulence of that enemy number one was plain enough a little later brethren and sisters when jericho fell

and it proved to be the case that enemy number one had not been overcome despite all the preparations in which god had made them indulge for acan

took of the spoil of jericho

jericho was the first fruits of the land the first fruits of victory to be dedicated and devoted holy to god

and they can in his actions though no doubt in his heart he reasoned that he wasn't hurting anyone he wasn't stealing from anyone stole from god

and they can and those others who dissembled with him for it was not just aiken we sometimes hear it said that the whole nation suffered on his account and that's not right brethren and sisters god does not make the congregation suffer for the wickedness of one

just as he doesn't make the children suffer for the wickedness of the fathers

israel dissembled god said to joshua israel have dissembled they they were

aware of what akan had done some of them

and it was like receiving stolen goods they kept quiet they said nothing about it

and you can be sure that if akan had got away with it then others would have tried it the next time

others would have thought that god had not seen

so it was important that they can be dealt with and those who dissembled with him

so that proved the

virulence of that number one enemy

and even when they had circumcised the flesh and shone again their willingness to cut it off from their lives and reminded themselves of the covenant that god had established with them and the relationship in which they stood to god

still they weren't ready

verse

8

it came to pass when they had done circumcising all the people that they are burdened their place in the camp till they were whole and the lord said unto joshua this day have i ruled away the reproach of egypt from our few wherefore the name of the place is called gilgal unto this day and the children of israel encamped in gilgal and kept the passover on the 14th day of the month and even in the plains of jericho

so there were further delays

it was yet more difficult a test of faith for joshua

still he couldn't get on with his program his schedule in the land

still he had to wait

feast of passover and the seven days of unleavened bread and another week ticked by

these were testing times brethren and sisters for joshua were they not

but again seeing from god's point of view how essential this was

and what a tremendous comfort and encouragement it must have been to many in the camp of israel all those under 20

at the exodus would remember the first passover

and this was only the third

they kept passover just once before after the exodus at mount sinai

and they had not kept it again in all their wilderness journeys

this was the third passover and therefore in the minds of those who had been young and impressionable at the time of the exodus this would mean something special wouldn't it to to be re-taking redoing the passover after so long a time would bring back precious memories just as the anniversary of the bible school has for some of you this year

in the minds of those young impressionable people at the exodus there would be an association of ideas between

passover

crossing the red sea

and the destruction of the egyptian host

as god threw the horses and their riders into the sea and they were washed up upon the shore

and what an assurance that must have given us now they kept passover

and crossed the jordan

and god was giving them a guarantee

of victory over their enemies the destruction

of the nations of canaan in just the same way that the egyptian host had been destroyed god was inviting them to make the comparisons to be assured to receive comfort and encouragement from these very things

again the delay was vitally important in god's book

and just as we have been reminded already this week on one occasion from behind this desk

here was another time when israel looked back and looked forward

they were looking back to the exodus

in the keeping of this passover

but forward to the conquest of the land

the reality of the kingdom of god

the rest that god had promised the acceptable year of the lord when now they should become in reality his kingdom his people settled in his land

so it is for us brethren and sisters at the breaking of bread isn't it

we look back

and we look forward

and we have the privilege unlike

israel all through the remainder of their history

who looked back to the passover only in commemoration of an historical event in which they had not participated

we look back

as being the people who personally have come from egypt

the people who

each individually were delivered

by god

through jesus christ

our breaking of bread is so much more

than the commemoration of the passover

could ever be

so at last israel and joshua were prepared verse 13 of joshua 5 it came to pass when joshua was by jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand and joshua went unto him and said unto him thou for us or for our adversaries

and he said nay but as captain of the host of the lord am i now come

what kind of an answer is that brethren

sisters my wife gets most frustrated with me when she says to me sometime or used to do you want tea or coffee the moment i'm not drinking either do you want tea or coffee and i'd say yes

she'd say shall i mix them up do you want both i said you didn't offer me both you offered me tea or coffee i'm quite happy with either

and that's the kind of answer the angel gives here isn't it joshua says are you for us all for our enemies and the angel says no

now just a minute hang on are you for us or for our enemies no

i've come as captain of the lord's host

it's a sort of you tell me joshua

am i for you or for your enemies it all depends

it all depends on you

i am captain of the lord's host if israel is with the lord i'm for you

if israel is not with the lord

then i shall be against you

that surely brethren and sisters is the message isn't it of the angel here

he'd come as captain of the lord's host and whether he fought for israel and with israel or against them as on some occasions later in their history the angel of the lord would be obliged to do depended on them on whether they were ready whether they were prepared whether they were with god

the lord is with thee

if you are with him

said the prophet later to asa

and on many other occasions similar phrases to those occur through our scriptures

so the angel of god was sent to accompany joshua if joshua and israel would go with him and that's really the way round of it isn't it not the angel with them but they with the angel

to overcome the canaanites to obtain the rest in the land

it's interesting isn't it that god had quite definitely promised them rest come back for a moment to exodus chapter 33

this is the occasion when israel had sinned and moses pleaded for the congregation though god would have destroyed them and made of moses a great nation

moses pleads with god for god still to go with the congregation and he asked that he might see

the glory of god

and he's shown that glory in the goodness and the character of god exodus 33 and verse 14 where moses has begun his pleadings

and god said my presence shall go with thee and i will give thee

rest

that's moses personally i will give the rest that's not the whole of israel not the whole nation that's moses himself i will give thee rest

but rest was promised to the whole nation too

come to deuteronomy 25

close to the end of moses speech and very close to the end of his life there in moses 25 and verse 19.

therefore it shall be

when the lord thy god hath given thee rest this is the nation now as a whole given the rest from all thine enemies round about in the land which the lord thy god giveth thee for inheritance to possess it that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of amalek from under heaven thou shalt not forget it when the lord thy god hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about so rest was clearly promised it was something that israel were looking forward to and were to attend to

by the strength and power of god

and so they did

come back into the book of joshua brethren and sisters and see how intent is the writer of this book whoever he was that we should know that the promises of god did not fail

nothing of what god had promised failed israel joshua 11 first of all here's just a little series of verses a little run of verses that really tell us the same story over and over again it's interesting to see how often the writer emphasizes and underlines this point joshua 11 and verse 23

so joshua took the whole land according to all that the lord said unto moses and joshua gave it for an inheritance unto israel according to their divisions by their tribes and the land rested from war

now that's very plain isn't it joshua took the whole land

exactly as god had promised moses it came to pass nothing failed and the land rested from war

come over to chapter 14.

joshua 14 and verse 15.

here we're concerned with caleb and the inheritance of caleb in particular verse 15 and the name of hebron before was kiryathaba which arbor was a great man among the anakims

the land had rest

from wall

so there it is again the writer underlining that point so that we're not in any doubt about it chapter 21

the end of the chapter verse 44.

joshua 21 44

here again very explicit and the lord gave them rest round about according to all that he swear unto their fathers and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them the lord delivered all their enemies into their hand unmistakable isn't it brethren and sisters there wasn't a man able to stand before them all their enemies were delivered into the hand exactly again as god had promised as god had sworn to the fathers he gave them rest

in chapter 22

just a couple of verses over chapter 22

and verse 4

and now the lord your god hath given rest unto your brethren this is to the two and a half tribes now who are to return to their possession on the east of jordan now the lord your god hath given rest unto your brethren as he promised them therefore now return ye and get you unto your tents and unto the land of your possession which moses the servant of the lord gave you on the other side of jordan the lord has given your brethren rest again exactly as he promised nothing failed of what god had

said how is it then brethren and sisters that when we come to hebrews 4 and you needn't turn to it you know the words well enough the writer to the hebrews says in chapter 4 and verse 8

for if joshua had given them rest then would he not afterward have spoken of another day

this writer to the hebrews is saying plainly that joshua did not give them rest

if jesus

it's joshua of course it's the same name jesus is the greek form of the same hebrew word if joshua the old testament jesus had given them rest

so obviously he didn't

then would not god afterward have spoken of another day there have been no need still to speak of another day of rest later and god did

he did speak about rest later he would not afterward have spoken

says this verse in hebrews he would not afterward have spoken of another day by afterward he's referring back to an earlier verse in hebrews 4 where he's quoted from psalm 95

psalm 95 11. again you needn't turn to it this morning psalm 95 11

says as i have sworn in my wrath if they shall enter into my rest or they shall not enter into my rest

and in as much the writer to the hebrews is saying inasmuch as that is in the psalm

and the psalm is a psalm of david

it's clear the writer of the hebrews is saying that in the days of david israel had still not attained their rest

in the days of david god was saying

they won't enter into my rest

so clearly the rest was still future they will not enter into my rest

clearly the rest was still ahead of david future from the days of david it was spoken of afterwards after the days of joshua david talked about it and obviously israel had not attained it even in david's days that's the point that the writer to the hebrews is making if joshua had given them rest then would would he god not afterward in the days of david have spoken of another rest it wouldn't have been necessary

he wouldn't have spoken of another day another day of rest there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of god is this writer's conclusion

conclusion be it noted

so how is it brethren and sisters that this writer can say that joshua didn't give them rest in the face of the verses we've looked at in joshua which clearly say that god was as good as his word nothing failed everything came true and they had their rest from wall

well can i take you to two further verses in joshua which also speak of this rest and i think which perhaps contain a clue to the answer to this conundrum joshua 23

and verses 1 to 5.

and it came to pass a long time after that the lord had given rest unto israel so there it is again from all their enemies round about that joshua waxed old and stricken in age and joshua called for all israel and for their elders and for their heads and for their judges and for their officers and said unto them i am old and stricken in age

and ye have seen all that the lord your god hath done unto all these nations because of you for the lord your god is he that hath fought for you behold i have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain to be an inheritance for your tribes from jordan with all the nations that i have cut off even under the great sea westward

and the lord your god he shall expel them from before you and drive them out drive them from out of your sight and ye shall possess their land as the lord your god hath promised unto you

now there's a passage which at one in the same time says in verse one a long time after that the lord had given them rest

and at the same time says in verse 5 the lord your god will expel these nations go and drive them out and you will possess their land

so clearly joshua saw no contradiction

in the circumstances of his day

no contradiction in what he was saying that through him god had given rest to israel in the land and he divided up all the land for them for their inheritance and now they were to go and possess it

there's no contradiction there somehow

let's just look at one more chapter 18

of joshua

just again the first three verses of this chapter joshua 18

and the whole congregation of the children of israel assembled together at shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there and the land was subdued before them

and they remained among the children of israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance and joshua said unto the children of israel how long are ye slack to go to possess the land which the lord god of your fathers hath given you get out there and get on with it joshua is saying and he's assembled the the elders of all the tribes at shiloh to give them this message

and again there's in the mind of joshua at least no contradiction here verse one tells us the land was subdued before them

but in verse 3 he's saying

go and get on and possess the land you've been given

i think those two last passages brethren and sisters joshua 23 and joshua 18 give us a clue to what was going on here

it seems that the occupation of the land of canaan had always been intended to be a two-stage process

if it was not so

then joshua was very remiss

as a leader and captain of israel

he was very remiss because if it had not been intended to be a two-stage process then what he'd done was simply overcome the nations of the land so quickly and in such a way that he allowed them to regroup

he must have underestimated their their ability to regroup and and to reoccupy the cities that had been taken from them

surely he ought to have secured his victories as israel went through the land

clearly he didn't do that

and clearly joshua was not remiss

in not doing that

joshua did his work and did it well brethren and sisters and is commended in scripture for it he

was used by god to give israel the land

and they had it exactly as god had sworn to their fathers

nothing failed

joshua did his job well

and if that's the case then the only conclusion we're left with is that

it was never joshua's part

to settle the nation in the land fully in that sense it was all was intended as we said to be a two-stage process there was joshua's part

and there was the part which belonged to the tribes

the nation as a whole in their separate tribes

joshua was not remiss

the nation had a part to play themselves

the tribes had a part to play

joshua's role was to go through the land and overcome those cities and it was israel's job in their tribes to occupy those cities

either to prevent the canaanites and the other six nations regrouping and retaking them or to possess those cities in such a way as to ensure that they secured them for themselves

you see the verses that we have looked at it seems to me make a distinction at least in the hebrew if not always in the english

between the words

inheritance

and

possession

we tend to read the record and regard those two things as being roughly one the same

in very different hebrew words they have very different meanings and i suggest they have very different connotations

inheritance has to do with something that is given

indeed the hebrew word comes from a word that means or the word that has to do with descent the idea of dissent it an inheritance is something that's passed down isn't it it's something that you you get whether you deserve it or not whether you work for it or not and the word means to divide to distribute it's got the idea of giving an inheritance is something that you receive you're given it

you may not deserve it you may not have done anything all you have to do to get an inheritance is to be there to be alive and the inheritance comes to you doesn't it

now possession is different

possession brethren and sisters has to be taken

and the hebrew word again seems to belie that the word means to seize to take hold of to fasten or to fasten on to

that's the idea behind the the word possession can you see the difference the inheritance was being given them god took joshua and israel into the land and he gave them the land he said here is your land this is it

but it was their responsibility to take it

joshua wiped out all the enemies there stood not a man before joshua not a man nothing failed of all that god promised god gave them exactly what he said he'd give them true to his word and the land had rest

but it was a two-stage operation

and the nation should then have taken possession of it seized it secured the cities occupied them prevented the regrouping of the nations who were there

made sure that they

got the rest that they were being given took hold of it seized it possessed the land

and that's what they didn't do

to tragedy brethren and sisters isn't it really and yet what a powerful exhibition it is again for us

god does not do for us what it is our work to do for ourselves

god has done immense things for us brethren and sisters he has wrought mightily through the lord jesus christ but he does not give us on a plate what it is our duty to do

god has given us the victory through christ

that's our inheritance as brethren and sisters in christ

but we need to take possession

we need to seize it to grasp it to hold on fast to it all those words that that form the the basis of the idea of possession

it's just the same in law today brethren insisted as we said you only need to be there to have an inheritance but possession has to be taken if you take possession of something you have physically to walk with the land or you have physically to enter a property in law in order to take possession of it to occupy it

it's just the same in spiritual things

god has given us a most marvelous victory but we need to work at it we need to subdue the enemies and especially enemy number one

the most virulent of them all

it's a two-stage process brethren and sisters

it's not one battle that has been fought and won as some of the churches around was ha would have us imagine

it's a whole campaign

you can't give up yet nor indeed at all until the master returns

one battle doesn't win the day does it

there is a series of battles to be fought again and again the flesh has to be overcome again and again still it it's dead but it won't lie down will it it rears its ugly head

we need to fight and go on fighting to do our part in working at our natures that we may take possession of the inheritance god has given us

that we may enter into his rest

that's exactly what the writer to the hebrews says

hebrews 4 and verse 11 he says

let us therefore labor

that we may enter into that rest

let us pray

our heavenly father

we thank thee

for that which thou hast wrought in jesus christ

and beseech thee that thou wilt speedily fulfill all that thou has promised

lord send jesus again

rend the heavens

and with the voice of the archangel and the trump of god

let him come with all the holy angels attendant upon him

to establish thy righteousness in the earth

but have mercy upon us o lord we pray

save us from this untoward generation in which we live strengthen us we pray thee for the strife and the conflict in which we must engage and by thy grace

grant us that we may overcome

to be partakers of thy divine nature

to enter into thy rest

whatever our struggles

and toil

might be here

for we commend ourselves unto thee

in the name of jesus christ our lord

amen

Transcript

the order of these talks was always going to be difficult and now i know i got it wrong

on tuesday we talked about moses

and the rest which god was offering to israel in the weekly sabbath under the law

and it seemed reasonable at that stage to go straight on to talk about joshua and the rest which god promised to israel in the land which we did yesterday today however we need to go back to the law to see how that the sabbath day had its counterpart in months and years as well

so that's perhaps why the order might seem a little strange and why in some to some extent we're backtracking a little bit today and tomorrow

the point is that the exodus was not just a rest

god brought his people out from egypt redeemed them from the house of bondage commanded that they should remember always that they had been bond men in egypt

not just to offer them rest from their burdens

but to offer them release from the bondage itself

that's what this sabbath year or seventh year is really about the seventh year was known as the year of release

so it's a rest

from their burdens

and release from bondage the release being a rest in greater measure as it were

we mentioned on tuesday that the weekly sabbath taught that man's time was god's time

and we suggested various ways in which the sabbath was a sign as god described it a sign of the purpose of god a sign of the final redemption which god had in mind had in store for his people if they would be obedient to him

the sabbath year went further than that it taught not only that man's time was god's time but that man himself was god's

that man belonged to god because as we have said earlier in this series he was bought with a price he was not his own

and so it was that the sabbath year was not just about time but about life

the man his life is god's

and we might like to think just for a moment or two as to what this would mean to the average servant in israel

not easy for us between sisters is it few if any of us have been in such a situation ever and those of us who have it wasn't really a situation quite akin to that which israel endured in the bondage of egypt

but let's do our best let's try and imagine that that we were a servant and and try to see how the servant would really look forward

to these opportunities of rest relaxation and ultimately release

first of all the weekly sabbath the one day in seven every seven days there was a day off

that's not just a wise precaution brethren sisters we saw again on tuesday how vital

that was

from god's point of view how important that it ranked with other of the ten commandments that we mentioned

but from the servant's point of view the slaves point of view once in every seven days

he was

to be allowed to rest

the mercy of god demanded it for him

god championed his cause whatever his master was like whether his master wanted him to rest or not

god had taken the part of the slave

god was concerned about his welfare god saw to it that he had something to look forward to in every week

god demanded not only that the israelites should rest on the sabbath but that neither their ox nor their ass nor their manservant nor their maidservant should be employed in their service

and then of course there was the feast of weeks

i'm sure this overhead won't be unfamiliar to you brethren and sisters but it does perhaps serve to remind us of the year of israel's calendar

our january is up here at the top where one o'clock would be on our daily clocks

and uh the passover of course was in the first month of israel's religious year the 14th day of the first month

and from the day after the passover they numbered seven weeks down to the feast of weeks or of pentecost

50 days after the waving of the first fruits here the day after passover the 15th day of the first month the 14th day of this third month sorry the sixth day of this third month was the the feast of weeks only one day

but again a day of rest

a day of great rejoicing

just come to deuteronomy chapter 16 for a moment

15 we read from but deuteronomy 16 first of all

and there in verse 10

thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the lord thy god with a tribute of a free will offering of thine hand which thou shalt give unto the lord thy god according as the lord thy god hath blessed thee and thou shalt rejoice before the lord thy god thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manservant and thy maidservant and the levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow that are among you in the place which the lord thy god hath chosen to place his name there

and thou shalt remember that thou was to bond men in egypt and thou shalt observe and do these statutes

so there was the next thing which the the servant the slave might look forward to a day's rest at the feast of weeks and a time of rejoicing

but then particularly in the seventh month the feast of tabernacles

and here there was a week-long feast again rather like passover here in the the seventh month the beginning of israel's political year here

and once again the manservant and the maidservant were commanded to be allowed to rest

and they were to enjoy this week-long holiday an annual holiday with the children of israel deuteronomy 16 again verse 12 we've just read ignore the paragraph marker at verse 13 see again how this commandment also is linked with the memory of israel's slavery in egypt verse 12 thou shalt remember that thou wast abundment in egypt and thou shalt observe and do these statutes thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manservant and thy maidservant and the levite the stranger and the fatherless and the widow that are within thy gates

seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the lord thy god in the place which the lord shall choose

so there again very plainly something for the servant to look forward to and here particularly with a week off the drudgery of his daily life the slave would indeed rejoice at the time of the feast of tabernacles

tempting isn't it to think that if we'd been in israel

we'd have been looking forward to our holiday and anxious to leave the slave to look after the house

who's going to take care of everything while you're away

what's the good of having a slave if he goes on holiday at the same time as you do

these in some measure brethren and sisters were very inconvenient things for israel

and they were so deliberately

israel was obliged

as a nation

to share their holiday with the slaves

they were not allowed to be selfish in this matter the slaves went with them on holiday

they were allowed the same rejoicing as everyone else

but how much more now do you suppose the slave looked forward

to the seventh year

how much more

would that year of release mean

here was not a temporary period of rest one day or even one week

here was his opportunity once more to be free

on the first day of the month the trumpet sounded and that happened on the first day of every month but on the first day of the seventh month the trumpet sounded intermittently all day long

a little bit like new year's day in some countries isn't it where the students go around in their cars all day long sanding the hooters

it would be that kind of thing wouldn't it from time to time throughout the day the priests blew the trumpet and the slave knew brethren and sisters that it was the first day of the seventh month this was not just the new moon and the trumpet being blown to herald the new moon this was the seventh month he'd lose count when he was about his daily activities

he hardly had time to lift his head it's hard for us to imagine his circumstances but it was one long round of chores there was no respite brethren and sisters you don't have a slave and do the job yourself just as you don't have a dog and bark yourself

the slave was there to work he'd been paid for usually

so he was made to work and he wouldn't have time to remember which month it was or to keep count

when he heard that trumpet sound throughout the day there were only 10 days to go

ten days and and he'd be free in the seventh year

this was the year of release

so he'd he'd know that and he'd know that come the day of atonement his release would be complete only 10 days to go

and that's quite remarkable isn't it brethren sisters really because he really must have looked forward to that and yet when it came to it

it wasn't a day of rejoicing at all

you would have thought wouldn't you that with all that anticipation the slave would walk out of the door on at the start of the of the tenth day of the seventh month and he'd say i'm free

but that was a day of mourning

it was a day of fasting

it was a day to afflict the soul

wasn't a day of rejoicing at all the rejoicing started on the following day didn't it and then there was the week-long rejoicing of the feast of tabernacles as we have said

but isn't that lovely really that that the slave looked forward to it so much brother and sisters and the first day wasn't a day to celebrate his release the fact that he was free it was the day to remember iniquity

it just drove home didn't it very forcibly that it was god

who'd brought about his release

he owed everything everything to god

the very first day of his freedom was not a day of rejoicing at all it was a day of national mourning of sorrow of confession of sin and of seeking earnestly the forgiveness of god through prayer and sacrifice and so it was that the released slave was not in a position to rejoice that day the next day would be different but first he must remember where his release had come from and in thankfulness and confession of his sin and his unworthiness to be free along with all the rest of israel he joined in the day of atonement

let's come then to deuteronomy chapter 15 a portion of which we've read together and have a look at some of the details of this year of release this seventh year let's go in first at verse 12

which

because we've talked about the mercy of god and the remembrance of his mercy in providing the release reminds us that israel too had to show mercy deuteronomy 15 and 12.

and if thy brother and hebrew marron or an hebrew woman be sold unto thee and serve these six years then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee

when thou sendest him out free from thee thou shalt not let him go away empty

thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock and out of thy floor and out of thy winepress that wherewith the lord thy god hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him

so the servant brethren and sisters was being rehabilitated wasn't he he wasn't just being given his freedom it wasn't a case of opening the door and saying off you go then oh no

no no you had to load him up with as many benefits as he could carry

sheep from the herd grain from the threshing floor

grapes from the wine press

you had to set him up

not set him up in business but set him up in life

you had to be merciful to him because you were god's representative

you were representing the mercy that god had shown to you when you were abandonment in egypt and now you were being obliged in your life to do a retake of that to remember that forcibly and to show the same kindness and mercy undeserved as it was

to the servant

it had to be done liberally he had to go out laden you were not just sending him away you were sending him away rich setting him up rehabilitating him it was clear brethren and sisters wasn't it from the very way that this was done that you were giving back the slave his life

not just his freedom you understand his life you were giving him life you were setting him up

you were inviting him to go and and live

and giving him a good start with the things that he was allowed to take from your house from your home

and so verse 15 of deuteronomy 15

you will send him away liberally he will not go away empty thou shalt furnish him and so on as we've read in verse 14 and then verse 15 thou shalt remember that thou was to bondman in the land of egypt and the lord thy god redeemed thee therefore i command thee this thing today.

always you see it came back to israel's circumstances in egypt and the mercy that god had shown to them just keep your finger in deuteronomy 15

for a moment or a bookmark and just flick over to exodus 23 which says more or less the same thing but there's just a phrase there brethren and sisters which i think is a very telling phrase exodus 23 and 9.

you are to remember that there was to bond men in egypt and therefore i command thee this thing today verse 8 of exodus 23 for connection thou shalt take no gift for the gift blindeth thee the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous also thou shalt not oppress a stranger for ye know the heart of a stranger

seeing ye were strangers in the land of egypt that's a very telling phrase i think isn't it you know the heart of a stranger you think about it and you know what it was like you went through it just remember that you know the heart of a strain you understand what it's like you know how it feels

and you will have that empathy that sympathy with your slave and you'll know how it feels and you'll know his heart and and you'll know what he longs for and and what is his anticipation and his joy and you'll enter into the spirit of that and you will send him away fully laden and glad to do so

because you know you felt it yourself you know the heart of a stranger back in deuteronomy 15 then brethren and sisters please and the first two verses of the chapter which again show that same kindness that israel were to demonstrate deuteronomy 15 at the end of every seven years thou should make a release and this is the manner of the release every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it he shall not exact it of his neighbor or of his brother because it is called the lord's

release

the revised version changes that slightly and perhaps is a little better it says because the lord's release hath been proclaimed

the trumpet has sounded

the release has been proclaimed by the priest god's representative this is god's release he has proclaimed it therefore you will show kindness

you will obey this proclamation

and

every debt was to be released as well not just the slave then but debt too were to be let go

we read verses 1 to 6 we needn't go over those again you know what's there let's just have a look at verses 7 to 10

if there be among you a poor man of of one of thy brethren with any any of thy gates in thy land which the lord thy god giveth thee thou shalt not harden thine heart nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth that means not what he asks you for it's wanteth in the sense of lacketh it's not what he wants he might have wanted the world you didn't have to give him the world but it's that which he lacks you had to supply his lack you had to supply his need and you had to be liberal and generous in so furnishing him you had to open wide the hand that's

an expression isn't it that shows there was nothing to be withheld you hadn't to clutch at things and say that's mine you can't have that keep off you had to open wide the hand as the pentateuch describes god opening wide his hand to bless israel nothing is withheld is it that's how god has acted towards us brethren and sisters

how shall he

not with him he who has opened wide his hand and given even his only begotten son how shall he not with him freely give us all things there's nothing withheld god's hand is open wide

nothing is is retained god has given everything for our redemption for our salvation everything that was needful

and so again the israelite was called upon to imitate god in that you will open your hand wide to lend to your brother to give to him verse 9 beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked hearts saying the seventh year the year of release is at hand and thine i be evil against thy poor brother and thou givest him naught and he cry unto the lord against thee and it be sin unto thee thou shalt surely give him and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him because that for this thing the lord thy god shall bless thee in all thy works and in all that thou put us thine hand unto

yes it was wickedness

to reason

well i'm not going to lend you my my mower this month i might not get it back you know it's the year release coming up and you know if i lend him the tractor murray you know he might hang on to it and i shall have to let it go

it would be a great tendency towards that sort of thing brethren and sisters wasn't there you know whatever it was you know joe comes along and he wants to borrow it and well hang on a minute we've only got a few weeks to go and well i want it back tomorrow then all right

once you get to the year of release you can't demand it

goes against the grain doesn't it goes against our human nature and the way we are brethren and sisters and of course it does deliberately so that's the whole point about it isn't it and surely that's the whole point about this this year of release not just were they to show kindness not just were they to be willing to lend without any grudging but by this very act brethren and sisters they were becoming involved in the freedom of the slave weren't they

they weren't just setting the man free as we said opening the door and saying okay off you go they weren't even just loading him up with benefits

they weren't even being not grudging and liberal and generous in this

it was more than all of those things

god was inviting israel if they would

to share in the freedom of the slave to be partakers of it to load him up with benefits and and share his joy you know the heart of a stranger then sharing his freedom to rejoice with him in his rejoicing

and you could do that by being involved in it hang on have one of these look i know you haven't got let me give you one of these i have this do you know it's all right i've i've got others you you have that one you know you could share in his joy you could be partaker with him of it

that was the opportunity brethren and sisters that this seventh year afforded to those who entered into the spirit of it and we're generous not just giving because they were obliged to give we've got to give you this so we better let you have that we're not having that because that's the best one you can have that one it's scratched and it's a bit damaged you know

it's not that is it bonuses here's an opportunity really to enter into it to be partaker with him that's

that brethren and sisters is what fellowship is

some of us have been saying at the meal table earlier this week

sadly we as a community have begun to fall into the era of some of the churches about us and to devalue that word fellowship quite dramatically and that's very sad

you hear brethren and sisters say very well meaning from the very best of motives well we've had a lovely time of fellowship here at bible school haven't we

when all we really mean is we've had a nice time together we felt good about it that's not fellowship brethren and sisters i'm sorry that is not fellowship

you can have the same feeling in a stamp club

or a photographic society fellowship is not an association of people with the same interests and i'm sure that some of you will have heard me say that before

fellowship is is an interdependence with one another it's an interrelation of our lives

it's not just associating with people it's participating in their lives

as israel we're being invited to do here

it's it's involvement veterans sisters in the sorrows and the sadnesses of one another and in the rejoicing of one another too the gladness

that here israel were invited to share with their slaves that's fellowship it's not feeling good it's not rubbing shoulders with people with the same interests or the same beliefs

fellowship is not an association with it's a participation in

and we need to get back much more i would suggest to participating in the lives of one another to becoming much more closely involved even even to the extent of intrusion it's sad isn't it that we now regard it as intrusion into the lives of one another but brethren and sisters the life of the church of god the ecclesia of god is intrusive inevitably so god always intended that it would be

we should not resent the intrusion of one another into our lives our lives are wrapped up with one another we are interdependent we are interrelated we are built up as living stones into the same building into the same body of christ we're members of one body

and we can't be that without some degree of intrusion into one another's lives if intrusion is what you want to call it we can't do it without fellowship

so that's what was involved in the life of israel that's exactly how this matter was for the slave and those who released slaves

now very clearly brethren and sisters that didn't always happen did it

in israel for a variety of reasons that year of release was not practiced we have very little if any evidence of a year of release at all we'll perhaps look at just one example tomorrow if the lord will

of course one reason was that the servant loved his master and wanted to stay and he had that option so the servant might elect not to be released not to go free

but there were other less noble reasons for example the master might have been cruel and refused to let the servant go and what could the slave do about it if that were the case

if the master was cruel and wouldn't release him

the slave could hardly run away

he'd have no means of support if he did

if his master wasn't prepared to release him if there were any hint of intimidation if he wanted release

then the slave would feel obliged to stay

and perhaps sometimes brethren and sisters it might even have been the case that the servant was afraid of being released

perhaps he was afraid of the unknown afraid to go he was comfortable where he was and he liked it there and though he didn't like being a slave and didn't particularly want to elect to stay forever

he just didn't want to go either

he couldn't face

what the world might have in store for him

i want us to spend our remaining few moments this morning just looking very briefly at those things deuteronomy 15

still first of all here is the first of those where the servant loved his master and the law prescribed for that

and of course as we read these verses we're to recognize that god is the perfect master deuteronomy 15 and verse 16

it shall be

if he the servant say unto thee i will not go away from thee because he loveth thee and thine house because he is well with thee then thou shalt take an all and thrust it through his ear unto the door and he shall be thy servant forever and also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise

so there was the opportunity for the servant to elect to stay because he loves you and he loves your house he's happy there you've treated him well and he's going to stay forever

six years was sufficient to make that decision

it

is clear isn't it brethren and sisters that

although our lord jesus christ was not a bond slave in any way his service was entirely willing and freely given

his devotion to his heavenly father fulfilled this to the letter

he might have gone free

he might have called 12 legions of angels to his assistants who would have rescued him had he so wished

but our lord jesus christ

loved

his master

his father

and elected to be obedient unto death

that's really what's involved here isn't it in he shall serve thee forever

the servant was electing to be obedient unto death

just as our lord jesus christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross as philippians 2 tells us

but then as we've said brethren and sisters there were those other less noble reasons why a servant might not be freed just come for a moment to jeremiah 34.

one illustration of the way in which israel certainly in later years

ignored the law

refused the provisions that god made and treated their servants cruelly and wickedly

jeremiah 34

8

this is the word that came unto jeremiah from the lord after that the king zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at jerusalem to proclaim liberty unto them that every man should let his manservant and every man his maidservant being in hebrew or in hebrews go free that none should serve himself of them to whit of a jew his brother

now when all the princes and all the people which had entered into the covenant heard that everyone should let his manservant and everyone his maidservant go free that none should serve themselves of them any more than they obeyed and let them go and they did so with a solemn covenant brethren and sisters rather like the covenant that god made with abraham in genesis 15 with a sacrifice divided in the middle and a solemn procession between the parts of the sacrifice later verses of this chapter tell us there was that solemn oath as they made the covenant to release their servants clearly they had not done it in a long time

and god responded to that covenant

the babylonians departed from jerusalem for a short time

and verse 11 here tells us

but afterward they turned and caused the servants and the handmaids whom they had let go free to return and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids

therefore the word of the lord came to jeremiah and the wrath of god was against them brethren and sisters for having committed two evils one for having denied the covenant that they had so recently made and proving unfaithful to that covenant that vow that solemn oath and secondly for taking again the servants whom they had no right to take

now this is a little different from the law because these are hebrew servants who should never have been bond servants in any case hebrews might be hired as paid servants under the law but could never be slaves

and here there is again a double wickedness in as much as israel have made slaves out of hebrews they're not hired servants these they're not paid these are bond servants but you see again the the principle the idea of release and the cruelty and wickedness in which israel indulged by not releasing them and even on that occasion when they had released them by re-engaging them and forcing them again to serve and you can imagine that the slave had little option brethren and sisters but

to go and serve again

so there's the the second example of how the greed of of israel was not prepared to give up a slave

and you can well understand can't you how how that would be again it would be most inconvenient wouldn't it you've just got a good slave and then he goes you know you've got to find another one now and they're hard to come by good servants aren't they you know trustworthy ones it jolly jolly side inconvenient this isn't it that's how the law was

and so often we suspect greed and selfishness and self-interest led israel to be disobedient to make capital out of others

and we can so easily fall into the same trap well you know it's only the world i mean these were these were foreigners that were to be the slaves it's only the world isn't it doesn't matter how we treat them does it really as long as we don't do that to our veteran

the world doesn't count

but brothers and sisters it does

all that we do is a witness

in all our behavior in every action of our lives

we are preaching

or not preaching as the case may be

like israel in this matter as we have seen so clearly there in deuteronomy we also are the representatives of our god

and we are never off duty brethren and sisters we are never off duty as the representatives of god always there is someone watching us

for whom we are a good witness or a bad one

well finally i'd like you to step outside the law for a moment because so far as i know there's no historical example of what we have in mind here but it does seem to me that there is a a powerful exhortation in the law that we've looked at and in the disobedience that israel clearly did show towards it

so i want to take a different example it's not an example of a bond servant at all but it is an example a scriptural example that illustrates the same lessons and the same exhortation

i want you to come just for a moment to genesis 19

and the story of lot

here if ever there was was a man in a very similar position to us brethren and sisters and that's why we're looking at lot

a man in a similar position to us in bondage

in a sense in the world in which he lived he was a free man as we are free men and women

but he lived in a world that was we suspect very like our world

and the sad thing is brethren and sisters that rather like israel in egypt whom we saw on tuesday who didn't want to leave it lot it appears did not want to leave sodom

some suggest that he was enjoying it and i don't think that's right i think that lot has had a bad press as far as that goes and i have some sympathy with the man

you will be well acquainted i'm sure with the way in which in chapter 13 lot lifts up his eyes and chooses the plane

of jordan which is well watered and where sodom and gomorrah are situated and he pitches his tent towards them and then how in chapter 14 we learn that he was living in sodom when that city was taken captive

then in chapter 19 when the angels visit sodom lot is sitting in the gate not in his deck chair there in the sunshine but as a ruler or a judge of the city of course a magistrate to some extent responsible for the works of that city

now we may you may be right those of you who think that that was his fault that there was a a downward progression there and that lot had put his feet on the slippery slope and down into sodom he went you may be right i suspect brethren and sisters that it wasn't quite like that

lot was a very righteous man our new testament tells us that he was a man who vexed his righteous soul from day to day he didn't like what he saw in sodom it distressed him and it distressed him daily

but he didn't move out

that was his mistake

quite sure that lot was a very righteous man the scripture itself tells us so we can't argue with that and i suspect that he was in sodom despite himself

he pitched his tent towards it

and then well you know tents are very inconvenient aren't they and mrs lott had seen this nice little house and it was only just inside the gate of sodom you understand and it would just be so much more convenient than the tent wouldn't it

so they put the tent in the loft or the basement

with the junk

and they took up a more settled existence

and they hadn't been there more than a few weeks when sodom was invaded and lot was carried off and by the grace of god abraham rescued lot and all sodom and abraham wouldn't take anything for that you know not from a thread to a shoe actually he wouldn't have anything that belonged to the king of sodom

but i wanted to do something for him i mean goodness me you know he'd been so marvelous in fetching them back and then they discovered that lot was related to him

well we'd better on a lot then hadn't we could make lot of free man of the city couldn't we we'll make him an alderman or whatever it is here in the states so that's what they did they made him a free man they made him a magistrate it wasn't that he sought it it wasn't that he wanted it brethren and sisters it was that he was pressed into it you know you well you couldn't throw their kindness in their face and say no could you i mean you couldn't say no thanks i don't want to be an alderman you know when they were offering you that it was so kind of them wasn't it and well perhaps if he was there he could have some influence in the running of the city and make it a better place and and he was pressed into it almost despite himself now i don't know that that's what it was like that none of us do do we but it might have been like that might didn't and that's so much more like our lives isn't it it isn't necessary that we deliberately set out to seek sodom brethren and sisters but so often it comes our way despite ourselves we're pressed into the mold aren't we the world pressures us and and we're not strong enough always to resist or it's not convenient or or it doesn't seem doesn't seem fair and and thankful to resist does it

so often that's exactly how it happens without happens with our young people isn't it in their work they're pressed to go up the ladder they don't they're not particularly ambitious they don't especially want to get on but the company forces it on them and you can hardly say no can you unless you want to be out on your ear

that's that's the kind of world in which we live

and i suspect brethren and sisters that's probably how it was with lot he just wasn't strong enough to get out he was a righteous man and he hated sodom

distressed him much

but he didn't move out

and so brethren and sisters it seems to me that that's very much a parallel with with our own lives and and perhaps a lot didn't move out because sodom provided him with some security and there's an element of that in all of us which is a grave danger

if he left sodom where would he

go back to the tent life well it was so works and wasn't it i know we managed but you know it ah i don't think i could face that again

once you've had the settled existence it's not easy going back to the nomadic way of life brethren sisters is it

and there was a security there he didn't want the unknown and none of us do we like what we're familiar with

most of you know that i'm not an englishman i'm a yorkshireman

and i come from a town called huddersfield and i have been heard to say that huddersfield is the best place on earth

and it is you should you should go and see

actually red and sisters if you were to back me against the wall and interrogate me i would have to admit that huddersfield is actually a dreadful place these days

it's a concrete jungle and it's got all the problems of any other modern town or city social housing and so on

but you see to me

it's home

i know it i know my way around i know the people i i know the dialect and the accents and i'm at home there

and there's a little bit of that in all of us isn't there we forget don't we we have here no continuing city at all we're not yorkshire or british or american or anything else are we

we're citizens of the kingdom of god

but we like

what we're familiar with there's a certain security in it that we don't want to give up for the unknown

and so brethren and sisters we find that even when the angels brought lot out of sodom

in the mercy of god they took hold of his of his hands and the hands of his wife and and his two daughters and they brought them out of sodom

and they say escape to the mountain

verse 19 of genesis 19 lot says behold now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight and thou sh magnified thy mercy which thou has showed unto me and was saving my life i can't escape to the mount unless some evil overtake me and i die

that's how illogical we are brethren and sisters how inconsistent it's no good pointing the finger at lot before we point it here is it

that's just how we are stupid isn't it a lot saying well thank you ever so much for saving my life i'm so grateful for your great mercy in saving my life i can't do what you say i might die

that's what he says isn't it you've shown great mercy in saving my life but i can't do what you suggest and go to the mountain i might die

so he goes to zore instead

and he's so afraid in zore that he has to leave zoro and go to live on the mountain

and he's taken all that mercy brethren says god has expended all that effort to get lot back to the mountain from where he started when he first left abraham

isn't that a salutary lesson

and aren't we sometimes just as foolish and just as illogical and just as inconsistent here brethren and sisters god has given us release

he's given us freedom he's given us more than that he's given us life

and we turn again to sodom

the weak and beggarly elements of the world

because there's a security there that we rather like

we've got jobs

and houses

and cars

and material possessions

the unknown there's no attractions does it

but it's that unknown that god demands that we seek

with our trust and confidence

firmly

in him

our father

forgive we beseech thee our foolish ways

and strengthen us and bless us we pray the earnestly that we may lead lives

that are a delight unto thee

that we may so live

that thou wilt take pleasure in us

that we may be a cause of rejoicing

unto thee

and unto one another

through jesus christ our lord

amen

Transcript

we spent our time together yesterday brethren and sisters by looking at the sabbath year

the year of release

but that seventh year was not only a year of release for slaves

but for the land as well that was something that we didn't mention yesterday we left it over to today because it fits in uh well with what we have to say about the jubilee

so yesterday we looked at the the impact of that sabbath year on men and women bond servants

if we come to the beginning of leviticus chapter 25 now we can see that there were obligations laid upon israel by god concerning the land also the land was to enjoy its sabbaths

so leviticus 25 and verse 1

the lord spake unto moses in mount sinai saying speak unto the children of israel and say unto them when you come into the land which i give you then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the lord

six years thou shalt sow thy field six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the lord a solemn rest

and again just like the sabbath in terms of human

keeping of the sabbath so here this was unto the lord it wasn't just refraining from doing something just as the sabbath wasn't refraining from work it was a day devoted unto the lord so here the land it wasn't just a question of the land not being tilled it was the question of the land being devoted to god in some way it was resting

being made separate in some kind of way for god

so verse 5 that which growth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed

it is a year of rest unto the land

the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you food for you for thee and for thy servant and for thy maid and for thy hired servant and for thy stranger that's adjourneth with thee

so there were the rules and regulations governing the sabbath year so far as the land was concerned

and we learn from that that the land was god's

we've seen already how that as far as israel men and women in israel were concerned their time was gods they themselves also were gods now we learned that the land was god's as well

then in verse eight we come to this matter of the jubilee

every seven times seven years

we've read verses eight to twelve thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee seven times seven years

and these are the verses

which tell us that the sabbath year and the year of jubilee began at the day of atonement and i mentioned that yesterday but gave you no evidence for that so here's the evidence leviticus 25 and verse 9

then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month in the day of atonement

so that's when the year started so far as this regulation is concerned

i think it's worth again just looking at the calendar for a moment although most of you are familiar with this um we are inclined to think of israel's year beginning here and that was of course the beginning of their religious year in what would be approximately our march april time that was the first month the month abib it was the month of the passover and it was at passover that god made that the first of the months this shall be the beginning of months unto you god said in exodus 12.

so very plainly that was the beginning of their year of their religious calendar

but it was the seventh month that was the beginning of what people call the political or the civil year

here in the seventh month is still israel's new year what we call rosh hashanah the rosh hashanah still takes place here round about our september october time as a rule israel's years are slightly shorter than our years

so there is the beginning of of that year but here was the beginning of the religious year six months difference between the two

it's noticeable that the religious year begins with harvest

begins with the barley harvest and if the barley harvest was not ready if the barley was not ripe then it was at that point that the law provided for an inter-calorie month to be slipped in there an additional month to bring the year which was based on the luna calendar back into line with the solar calendar our year is very much a solar year

israel's was a lunar year and the bali had to be ready for passover the day after passover when the first ripe chief of bali was waived before god so if it wasn't going to be ready then another month was slipped in there between the end of the year the beginning of the new year

but the political or civil year whatever you want to call it which began at rosh hashanah began on the first day of the seventh month is the beginning of the agricultural year

it begins with the plowing and the sowing of the seed

and that's when therefore the sabbath year and the jubilee begin halfway through the other year the normal religious year because the sabbath year and the jubilee year carry with them the regulations the commandments that say you will not sow your seed

or reap your harvest

so it's here that that year started and they were not to sow in this period here nor to reap in the beginning of the religious year

so here it is the day of atonement on the tenth day of this seventh month and it's it's there that the trumpet sounded and the sabbath year began and every 49

or 50 years the jubilee year began

now it's always a matter of some perplexity as to whether it was 49 or 50

years and i'm not certain i can resolve that problem brethren and sisters

i suspect it was the 50th year

but as you can see from the calendar that we've just talked about the year whether it was the seventh

or the jubilee year 49th or 50th it began halfway through the religious year anyway

so did it begin at six and a half years or seven and a half years

see the problem isn't confined to where the jubilee came is it the problem is just the same when we look at this sabbath year

and presumably since it says the seventh year it means the seventh occasion of sowing

which was not to be carried out

so if you begin the year at the seventh month the political or civil year whichever you want to call it and you take it around from there then there would be one year and that would only be half the religious year

two years

three four five six

and then on the seventh year there was to be no sowing but you're only six and a half years through the religious year

so the sabbath year in terms of the religious year in terms of the feasts of the jews beginning with passover and the barley harvest the sabbath year was overlapping sixth and seventh years

it began halfway through

one year and went to halfway through the next so six and a half years to seven and a half years

now the same will be true then of the jubilee wouldn't it and what leviticus 25 and verse 8 seems to be telling us is that they were to count seven times seven years

that's 49

and that's led some people to imagine that it was the 49th year

but it says notice verse 9

then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee so at the end of verse 8 it's and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto the forty and nine years then

and the word then in our bibles brethren and sisters carriage carries much more force than we normally give it we tend to use the word then in two different ways

it can be a measure of time you will do this and then you will do that and we use then to to mean afterwards

following on as a measure of time but we also use then in a very casual way in our language we use it almost as a space filler in a sentence it really serves very little purpose at all when we use the word then quite often we don't really mean then afterwards or then following on

we just throw it in as a sort of space filler in the sentence now the bible doesn't do that the bible uses it strictly i think in terms of measure so i think this is 49 years then after that following on from that in the 50th year then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound

but that 50th year would be 49 and a half years in terms of the religious years overlapping into the 50th

and so verse 10 now becomes more intelligible ye shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto the all the inhabitants thereof it shall be a jubilee unto you

and he shall return every man unto his possession

so that's what's different now about this year of jubilee

it's similar to the sabbath year it is again a year of release but whereas we've looked at the terms of in terms of the weekly sabbath being rest

the sabbath year being release the year of jubilee brethren and sisters is about restoration

so we have three things there now rest release and restoration

and that's what the jubilee is about particularly it's about the time when land was to be restored to the men and women of israel

interesting isn't it i wonder what people in israel made of that

just stop to think for a few moments about some of the implications of giving back land in that way

i imagine at different periods of their history there would be some considerable objection to that wouldn't there

how had people come to lose their land in the first place

well he was just downright lazy you know he deserved to lose it frankly he never did anything he never tilled it you know

well he got into debt it was his own stupid fault ran up a whole load of debts and had to sell his land in order to pay his way

but it really didn't matter brethren and sisters how a man or woman lost their land

how a family lost its land was immaterial

whether it was through idleness

whether it was through debts

whether it was through folly and stupidity made no difference

the land returned to them it had to be restored to them in the year of jubilee

so even though some in israel might have been inclined to say it wasn't fair it's not fair i've worked hard for my land and and kept it in good order

god delights in mercy

god is king

and because the land is god's he can do as he wills with it

and because he delights in mercy he decreed that it would be returned to the family whose inheritance it really was

the inheritance was given by god

and this was driving home again the lesson that god himself is their inheritance their heritage

just as they are god's heritage

notice from verse 9 here how that the year began as we said yesterday with the sound of the trumpet

thou shalt then then that shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month

so that was one of the the the features of the year the trumpet sounded to herald it not unique not suggesting it is but it's one of the features of this year

another of the things contained in the regulations here is that no oppression was to be carried out verse 14

if thou sell ought unto thy neighbor or by a sort of thy neighbor's hand ye shall not oppress one another there is to be no oppression no wrong doing no cheating of one another and and the same thing is underlined again in verse 17 ye shall not therefore oppress revised version wrong one another but thou shalt fear thy god for i am the lord your god

so there was to be no oppression god stresses that

look at verses 15 and 16.

this is something i remember mentioning at franklin pierce eight years ago i don't expect you to remember it brethren and sisters and there isn't a written test i promise you but uh for the sake of of uh

those of you who do remember and and you're feeling that i'm being repetitious i'll mention that it has been mentioned before

verses 15 and 16 are about land values

now in in britain we have two ways of disposing of land we have what we call freehold which is outright ownership and we have leasehold which means that you buy the land and you can put anything on it but you only have a lease of that land maybe 99 years might be 999 years might be well beyond your lifetime but you're still paying an annual ground rent for it and ultimately that land reverts to the original owner now i don't know whether you have exactly the same systems in the states

but that's how it was in israel all land in israel was sold leasehold you couldn't exchange land freehold and have outright ownership of it you sold it leasehold and though there wasn't a ground rent provision you didn't have to pay an annual rental for that land you only owned it until the year of jubilee all leases were for 49 years and in the 50th year the land reverted to the original owner

and consequently the value of land changed according to how long was left on the lease if you bought just after the year of jubilee and there was let's say 46 47 years to run then you paid a lot for the land because you were going to enjoy many harvests from that land the value of the land was very great

if the year of jubilee was close if it was coming up in a couple of years time some have suggested that 1997 or 8 is a year of jubilee i think it's very difficult to be dogmatic about that and to be certain about that it's a nice thought it may be so i don't think we can be certain about working out these years and times brethren sisters but it's interesting isn't it that certainly israel will have been in their land for in god's land for 50 years come 1998 if the lord hasn't returned first

but if there were only a couple of years to go like from now to 1998

you wouldn't pay very much for the land at all because you were only going to have two seasons harvests from it

96 and 97 or 97 in the start of 98

whatever depend on depending on when you bought it the value of the land was fixed

and there's a powerful exhibition in that brethren and sisters because just as the value of the land diminished the nearer you got towards the jubilee

so the things of this life are diminishing in value to us aren't they

the nearer we come to the kingdom brethren and sisters

of less value of less worth are the things of this life to us

the things that men and women set so much store by

material possessions

but other things as well things that you can't actually buy with money the career the education sometimes we we're rather like the world we get obsessed don't we with those things well it's important for the children to have a good education why

nobody asks why do they oh well they need a good job why

nobody asked why do they so they earn a lot of money why

if we really believe brethren and sisters that the coming of the lord is near

then why

the value of all these things is diminishing dramatically for us

the nearer we believe the kingdom to be of less value of less worth all these things by which the world puts so much store and we have already received one splendid exhibition from our brother alvin this morning to that effect haven't we

so there is a an exhibition a lesson again that arises from this this year of jubilee

and you can see from the provisions here the importance of these excitations again in verses 23 and 24 israel were reminded that the land was gods and that it was held in trust

that's why it had to revert they only had it on trust they were never outright owners verse 23 the land shall not be sold forever now we have to be careful how we read that some have read the land shall not be sold forever meaning you couldn't sell it at all that's not the case

this is saying the land shall not be sold forever that is the land shall not be sold in perpetuity

it won't be sold in perpetuity it will always revert it will always return for because the land is mine says god the land is mine ye are strangers and sojourners with me

you're only here says god because you're my people it's what we were saying earlier in the week isn't it there's nothing special about israel per se they're only special because they've been specially chosen your strangers and sojourners with me

and so verse 24

and in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land so that's the way it was that's the way it still is brethren and sisters that land is still god's

israel today still do not have an inalienable right to the land we should be very careful about that sometimes we we're at to get

a little bit excited about jewish things and perhaps give the impression that we're pro-israel in a political way

the land does not belong to israel by any inalienable right any more than it belongs to the arabs

it belongs to god

and god has promised that he will give it to israel to faithful israel present day israel won't have it

they won't have it they will be dispersed they will be evicted because they are not a godly nation by and large there are exceptions of course there will be as there has been in every generation a faithful remnant and god will save that faithful remnant and scripture ably shows us that but israel as a nation has yet to face unprecedented distress

brother frank was reminding us last night of some of those exciting prophecies like for example zechariah 14

which show that there is yet unprecedented distress for israel of the present day because they believe the land is theirs and they don't regard it as gods and they have therefore to be humbled nay humiliated in order that they might learn that lesson the land is mine says god you are strangers and sojourners with me

both the seventh the sabbath year and the fiftieth the year of jubilee

would provide many opportunities for the men and women of israel

i wonder if you've ever stopped to think what they did

what would you do

with a year off

now there's an invitation brethren and sisters think what you could do with a a year off work

splendid wouldn't it

would we squander it on our own selfish ends [Music]

the holiday of a lifetime

a 12-month long cruise

it's not that sort of thing that israel were able to indulge in is it

even though they were not sowing and and nurturing and harvesting and thrashing

they were nonetheless obliged of course still to care for their animals so the majority of them would still be very much at home wouldn't they on their small holdings

animals

don't rest and don't stop needing feeding do they so there'd still be some work of that kind to do not putting the animals to work note but feeding them and and caring for them as normal so that activity would still go on

but over and above that there would be tremendous opportunities for

receiving instruction from the levites

for learning of the ways of god

for study of the law

that's surely why these opportunities were provided by god

just like the weekly sabbath that had to be devoted to him brethren and sisters these years were no different were they

the seventh

and then the two together the 49th and 50th

the sabbath and the jubilee

would provide tremendous opportunities for those who were godly to utilize their time wisely in his service

and of course there would be leisure time too there would be time to practice cottage crafts and and industries all those little hobbies that you've always wanted the time to do and think you're going to do when you retire if you haven't already brethren and sisters

there'd be opportunity wouldn't there to take up some of those crafts perhaps for the benefit of one's friends and neighbors there'd be opportunity to visit to help one another but to receive instruction from the law and from the levites was paramount in god's consideration of this time here's a verse from deuteronomy 31 you needn't turn to it because we need to come back to leviticus 25 in a moment but deuteronomy 31 verses 10 to 12 i'll read to you

moses commanded them saying at the end of every seven years in the solemnity of the year of release in the feast of tabernacles when all israel has come to appear before the lord thy god in the place which he shall choose

thou shalt read this law before all israel in their hearing gather the people together men and women and children and thy stranger that is within thy gates that they may hear and that they may learn

and fear the lord your god and observe to do all the words of this law and that their children which have not known anything may hear and learn to fear the lord your god as long as you live in the land with the ego over jordan to possess it

so that was one of the provisions of the year of release the sabbath year and presumably of the year of jubilee ii

reading the law at the feast of tabernacles

and you can see how wise was the provision of once every seven years every child would hear that law at a time when they were impressionable wouldn't they seven years is just about right isn't it of course it is it's perfectly right isn't it it's god's ordinance brethren and sisters but even from the human point of view we can see that can't we if your child was 10 that was a wee bit young to take it in wasn't it but they'd get it again at 17.

if your child was 13 well

12 round about 12 is the age when most children there isn't such a thing as as the child is there they're all different but but most children begin to grasp spiritual concepts at the age of 12.

it's about the age of 12 that they begin to be able to appreciate types and and patterns and to think spiritually

so

somewhere in their teens every child would be hearing this law whenever the year of release came round at whatever age they were when the first year of release came into their life it would come back again somewhere during those impressionable years if it had been

longer than every seven years when it came round then that wouldn't have been as good would it but the time of course was exactly right

but what a test of faith there was attached to this this year of of release the seventh year and the jubilee year leviticus 25 again and this time verse 18.

wherefore you shall do my statutes and keep my judgments and do them and ye shall dwell in the land in safety and the land shall yield her fruit and you shall eat your fill and dwell therein in safety and if you shall say what shall we eat the seventh year

behold we shall not sow nor gather in our increase

then i will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year and it shall bring forth fruit for three years and he shall sow the eighth year

eat and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year until her fruits come in he shall eat of the old store

so god was demanding of his people ringing out of them brethren and sisters the faith that he desired from them

every sixth year would be a bumper harvest if they were faithful

quite sufficient to carry them through the seventh fallow year and into the next year

until again they sowed and were able to harvest

but it required faith didn't it

what if

that's our human reaction always isn't it ah yes but what if

the harvest fails

what if when we sow in that eighth year it's a bad year what if the weather turns bad

and when the seventh year turned out to be so beautiful as far as the weather was exactly right for sowing the absolutely the right conditions what a temptation that would be brethren and sisters wouldn't it to be back out in the fields doing what you'd done over the last six years

not only that but of course greed would enter into it too and especially when this law didn't apply to the stranger the foreigner living in the land he didn't have to have to let his fields lie follow there was no commandment no obligation laid upon him to rest

so he'd be able to sow and make money and israel would be quick to cry foul wouldn't they it's not fair he can do it and he can make money and why can't i

and very quickly men and women are drawn into temptation aren't they in that sort of way

so it demanded trust and confidence that god was everything he said he would be that he would provide that there would be food free to all and they weren't to harvest even what grew of itself we read that concerning the sabbath year in those first few verses of leviticus 25.

they weren't to harvest what grew of itself not even the grapes of the undressed vine

the vine that hadn't been pruned there would be sufficient store from the previous year to carry them through they weren't to take from the fields

the widows the orphans the fatherless who had no store

they might take from the fields

they could go and glean what grew of itself

but israel who had land were not allowed to harvest

even what grew on its own

that was strictly for those who had no land and no store

so again you can see the the opportunities that there were for abuse of that provision and human nature being what it is that provision was abused and we'll see in that in just a moment

there's another little feeling that we sometimes have there brethren and sisters as well isn't there that

that enters into the the reckoning here

it's the uncertainty

of the sabbath year

and especially when you got to the year of jubilee

if we're right that that was the 50th year and there was a sabbath year the 49th year and then the year of jubilee

wow what a test of faith that was

do you really think this harvest is know do you really think we've got enough there for uh three years

do you think we ought just to plant a little bit you know one corner of the field well you never know do you you know you you can't be certain about these things we don't like uncertainty brethren and sisters do we

uncertainty was part and parcel of the life of israel i don't know whether you've ever noticed that but even way back in the wilderness that was exactly the same with them always life was a a little bit uncertain god put in an element of of uncertainty into their lives it was there in the wilderness with the cloud

you remember the cloud over the tabernacle

and when israel were to move camp they knew because the cloud moved

it rose from above the tabernacle it moved on ahead and then they knew it was time to pack their belongings and their tents and follow the cloud

when the cloud rested they stopped and unpacked their belongings and directed their tents and stayed there but they never knew when it would move there's a little verse that says that as long as the cloud was on the tabernacle they rested whether it was a two days or a week or a month or two years it didn't matter however long it was that's how long they had to stay that was the directive that they received and that would be frustrating wouldn't it you and i would hate that well i would anyway brethren and sisters i can't judge for you can i i would hate that i i'd be saying to my wife you know i wish i knew how long i was staying here you know i i could plant a few vegetables or something and get it you know but you never know whether you're going to be here to harvest them dude it's a waste of time and money you might move on before that they're all ripe or you know or i could just put a few few flowers around the tent you know just make it look a bit nicer but you never knew

you know you could be here today and gone tomorrow or you you could be here several months and after several months you'd be saying i wish i knew i wish i'd known we were going to be here that long i could have done that i could have done that and you know too late now

it would be frustrating wouldn't it but you see god deliberately left their lives like that there was purpose in that and our life is like that brethren and sisters we're not waiting for a cloud to move from the tabernacle we're watching for the cloud to come aren't we

we're watching for the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and we don't know when it's going to be

but we have to be ready whenever it is

not tied down with this world's goods knowing the diminishing value of the things we have and the things that we want and tell ourselves that we need

we have to be aware that the cloud might come at any moment and we shall need any of them

there is that element of uncertainty of the unknown in the lives of all of us which is there deliberately at the behest of god brethren and sisters because what pleases god what honors god more than anything else is our trust and our confidence in him we can't need these things of the world

god has said we don't need them we don't need them now

he will take care of us he will provide

he has promised he is as good as his word

and that's

again one of the provisions of the sabbath year and especially of the year of jubilee that element of uncertainty well what if

and then brethren and sisters because sin is so deceitful isn't it this this heart is deceitful and desperately wicked isn't it we turn it round and we make it sound good and though quite honestly our real concern is is what are we going to eat and that's what the passage said indeed god god had prepared for that if you say what shall we eat well i'll provide for you i'll give you a bump of harvest said god but we we're not satisfied with that business we turn it around don't we and we well israel would i i suspect will be inclined to say not what shall we eat but well how are we going to keep the feasts

you see you give it a religious reason don't you you give it a religious colony and then that's all right it justifies the question doesn't it but it's the same same question it's the same concern dressed up isn't it well how are we going to keep the feast if there's no harvest we can't bring the first ripe sheaf can we

so we ought to plant something shouldn't we forgot you know not for ourselves you understand but for well of course we'll be able to eat it as well but you know you see how the human heart is brethren and sisters we i can't convey to you how desperately wicked we are and we don't believe it do we that that surely is the whole point of satan and the devil in our scripture if god had not put satan and the devil into our bibles and i know sometimes they're a problem in our preaching in in getting others to understand them but if they weren't there we just would not see sin

as so dreadful as it really is would we

god has given us this parable of of satan and the devil to help us understand how dreadful is our own human nature

to help us see it from a third third-party standpoint if god had just said well it's you and your heart we would never have accepted it would we we would never have believed it

and god helps us to see that it seems to me in the way that he has described that in scripture

so this lesson of trust of of confidence of faith in god and in his provision is just so important

now as we said the

fact is that in israel it was rarely practiced we suspect there was great oppression and covetousness you remember the story of ahab and nebosh vineyard micah and isaiah both speak about the covetousness of men who join house to house and field to field until there is no space left and they condemn israel for their wickedness in that regard amassing land and becoming great wealthy landowners exactly as we see today

in nehemiah there is some evidence that nehemiah tried to practice the seventh year and maybe the year of jubilee nehemiah 5 11 and 1031 and 818 all show nehemiah's attempts to bring in to bring back the legislation of the law of moses but malachi shows us that it was short-lived

but there was brethren and sisters a jubilee in hezekiah's day

now it may not have been a real jubilee it might have been an enforced similarity but just come to 2 kings 19

from where we took our

subject for this morning

2 kings 19

and verse 29

and this shall be a sign unto thee says isaiah to hezekiah in the midst of the assyrian onslaught against jerusalem this shall be a sign unto thee he shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves and in the second year that which springeth of the same and in the third year so ye and reap and plant vineyards and eat the fruits thereof so there's the same effect at least as a sabbath year or maybe a year of jubilee

certainly this was a year of release it was a seventh year in effect if not in reality if not chronologically turn to isaiah for a moment a whole series of little series of passages here which speak of the way in which the prophet

prophesied of this time of jubilee

by the restoration at the release of the captives and the restoration of israel's land to israel following the assyrian invasion isaiah 11 verse 12 talks about the return of the captives of the remnant from assyria and egypt and pathras and cush and verse 16 says there will be an highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left from assyria

we sometimes forget that there were actually more captives taken by the assyrians in the days of hezekiah than there were taken by the babylonians when the kingdom of judah came to its end for then most of judah were destroyed and slain

there were actually more captives dragged off to assyria and here isaiah prophesied their release now there isn't time to go through the verses i hope brethren and sisters because our time is almost at an end but i'll just list the references for you if you want to note them isaiah 27 and verse 13

refers to the trumpet the trumpet blown on the day of atonement to herald the sabbath or the or the sabbath year or the jubilee isaiah 35 is well known to us isn't it verses one and two and eight and ten speak of the return again of the people of the captives and the resulting prosperity of the land

isaiah 49 verses 8 to 10 speak of the acceptable time god's acceptable time this was his year when the captives were returned and the land returned to israel isaiah 55

the chapter that begins about um there being bread without money and without price verse 13 talks about the sign that we've seen mentioned in two kings 90.

and second chronicles 32 verses 27 to 29

talk about the great blessings that came to hezekiah after the assyrian invasion blessings that resulted from the the spoil that they had from the assyrians killed outside the gates of jerusalem blessings from the presence of the nations around that were brought to hezekiah and blessings of the jubilee the fact that god gave them this harvest which we saw mentioned in two kings 19

as he'd promised and made their land prosperous and there's a real sense of excitement brethren and sisters running through all these verses time and time again in isaiah we have this theme of rejoicing and of excitement because of this this release and restoration

rest release and restoration

and the fact is brethren and sisters that it's all going to happen again that's the really exciting part as far as we're concerned repent and be converted said peter to the men and women of his audience in acts repent and be converted the lord shall send times of refreshing

from the presence of the lord

and he said jesus has gone into heaven until the times of restitution or revised version restoration of all things

or again in speaking to his disciples in matthew 19 he says and in the regeneration

you shall sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of israel a time of restoration a time of regeneration when jesus comes back it's all going to happen again brethren and sisters our jubilee celebrations here this week marvelous though they are but the earnest aren't they the the foretaste of something far more marvelous to come

here is the sign that heralds the jubilee that heralds the kingdom that heralds the coming of our lord and savior jesus christ

more than anything else brethren and sisters we want not just the rest of the sabbath not even the release of the seventh year but the restoration when all things will be made new the conditions of the garden of eden restored

the earth filled with righteousness

to the glory of our heavenly father