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2 Samuel 1:13-16, Various

Blood on the head

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 14, 2023

When word reached David of Saul’s death, he tore his clothes and wept over the death of the Lord’s anointed as well as the death of his good friend Jonathan, Saul’s son. He called all those with him to mourn as well. We are somewhat surprised at David’s grief over Saul’s death. It’s not what one would expect, but David was a great example of how one should love his enemies as Jesus directed. As much as we were surprised at David’s response to the news from the Amalekite, imagine how surprised the Amalekite must have been. He had most likely lied to court favor from David, who would now be the new king of Israel. But in 1 Samuel 1:13-16, “David said to the young man who told him, ‘Where do you come from?’ And he answered, ‘I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.’ David said to him, ‘How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’ Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Go, execute him.’ And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, ‘Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

Saul may have been viewed as David’s enemy, but David knew that the real enemy was the Amalekite. David asked the man to confirm his nationality. He calls himself an Amalekite. As Bergen points out, “David had just conducted a holy war campaign against the Amalekites in fulfillment of Torah commands. Now when he learned that a member of the Amalekite nation had also played a direct role in the death of Israel’s king—’ the Lord’s anointed—David did not hesitate to execute judgment on him.” In Deuteronomy 25:17-19 we read, “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.” Bergen’s comment continues, “No doubt the Amalekite expected David to reward him. However, instead of crowning him with honor, David decreed that ‘your blood be on your head.’”[1]

This is an important phrase we often see in the Bible. It speaks of guilt before God. Just as Abel’s blood cries out to God for justice from the ground, so too the blood and death of Saul are bound up in the Amalekite. He is guilty of killing God’s anointed. We see the phrase again in the New Testament. In Matthew 27:24-25 we read where Pilate offered to release Jesus or Barabbas. The crowds clamored for Barabbas’ release and Jesus’ execution. The text says, “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ And all the people answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” It’s fascinating that on the way to Calvary when the women were weeping over him, he told them not to weep for him but to weep for themselves and for their children. The blood of Jesus will either save us from God’s wrath as faith in what Christ has done on the cross saves us from the blood guilt of our sins. Unbelievers will have his blood on their heads but in a different way. One writer says that these words “will haunt every unbeliever for all eternity, for those who reject the blood of Christ as their atonement will find it to be their accuser.”[2] Just like the Amalekite that David executed, the fate of unbelievers is on their own “head.”

[1] Bergen, Robert D. 1996. 1, 2 Samuel. Vol. 7. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Deffingbaugh, Robert. n.d. Leviticus Commentary.

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1 Samuel 1:4-5

Hannah The Hopeless!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 13, 2023

Let’s look at Samuel’s father for a minute. Elkanah took his family to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices during his annual pilgrimage to worship and offer sacrifices. Without commending his bigamy, it’s interesting to note that the love of his life was Hannah. Peninnah, his second wife, was taken because Hannah was barren. It was important to have sons and daughters, and God blessed Peninnah with those. 1 Samuel 1:4-5 tells us, “On the day Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah, his wife, and all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.” The Lord had blessed Elkanah with children through his second wife, and the “Lord” had closed the womb of Hannah. This situation was part of God’s plan to bring Samuel into the world and, through him, to anoint David as king of Israel. He was referred to earlier as “a certain man.” That’s not a very prominent endorsement. He was from the region around Bethlehem, and being of the line of Levi; he was from the priestly line. Samuel’s father, Elkanah, appears to be the subject of these verses. But as Phillips points out, “The primary focus in Samuel’s birth is not on his father, however, but on his mother, Hannah. We can often trace the faith of remarkable children to their remarkable mothers. So it is with this woman who presents one of the most striking feminine characters in the Bible.”[1]

The normal translation of this passage tells that Elkanah favored the wife of his youth over his child-bearing wife. He would give Hannah a double portion even though she had no children. But even the footnote in the English Standard Version acknowledges that the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) says, “And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion because the Lord had closed her womb.” But regardless of the proper translation, the storyline implies that there is a contrast in Elkanah’s affection for his wives. He definitely favored Hannah. Further, he didn’t blame Hannah for being childless. He recognized it as the will of God. It was God who “closed her womb.” Mackay says, “Not only is Hannah childless, but this condition is explicitly attributed to divine action. God kept Hannah from having children so that his sovereign purposes might be achieved by marking Samuel as a special child. Hannah’s trial also brings her closer to God by strengthening her faith and highlighting his gracious response to her plea for a child.”[2]

Greear explains Hannah’s circumstances well. He writes, “Women who bore a lot of children were, therefore, treated with honor. They were heroes. Women who were unable to bear children felt useless; they experienced shame rather than honor and were looked on with pity rather than respect. In biblical narratives, this theme comes up a lot. Barrenness ‘is an effective metaphor of hopelessness. There is no foreseeable future. There is no human power to invent a future’ (Brueggemann, Genesis, 116). Not many people think about children in this way today. We tend to put more value on the kind of job a person has, where a person went to school, or how a person looks. But think of this from Hannah’s perspective: in a culture that puts all of a woman’s significance and security in her children, she can’t have kids! Practically speaking, she has no significance, no life, and no hope!”[3] But our God is the God of the HOPELESS. He has the final say, just as He had at the grave of Lazarus.

[1] Phillips, Richard D. 2012. 1 Samuel. Edited by Philip Graham Ryken and Richard D. Phillips, Duguid Iain M. 1st ed. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

[2] Mackay, John L. 2019. “1-2 Samuel.” In 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles, edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, III:40. ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

[3] Greear, J. D., and Heath A. Thomas. 2016. Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.

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Ruth 1:6

The Bread of LIfe!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 12, 2023

Naomi and her husband had abandoned their inheritance in the promised land because of a famine. They moved to Moab, where the famine had not reached, and attempted to make a living there. In the course of time, her husband died, followed shortly by both of her male children. She was left with two daughters-in-law. Ruth 1:6 tells us that Naomi got good news about the promised land that she had left. The verse says, “Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.” It sounds as if Naomi and her two daughters-in-law were working the fields in Moab. It occurred to her that if she was to be a field hand anywhere, it should be in the promised land where she and her former husband had relatives. The message that Naomi received was that the famine in Israel was over, and the fields were producing food again. The news that Naomi heard was good news. The Lord had “visited,” meaning that he had acted to relieve the famine in the land to save His people. Notice that the news was not actually that the weather had changed or that conditions for growing crops were now favorable. This was true, but the news was that God had acted to save the people. Just as we had read at the beginning of the book of Ruth that the famine was from the Lord, so too do we see here that deliverance from the famine was from the Lord. Many preachers want prodigal believers to see in this that God will receive back repentant sinners as the father of the prodigal son welcomed home his penitent son. Gingrich sees it that way. He says, “As backslidden Christians, we must see the contrast between our present bankruptcy and our potential fullness in our Father’s house before we will arise and return to our Father’s house.”[1]

It might be true that Elimelech and Naomi were victims of little faith. If so, we see nothing but the wonderful grace of God extended to sinners. Most commentators suggest that when Elimelech left Israel, he did the wrong thing. For example, Prime says, “Elimelech’s decision to leave Judah had not been a good one. He and his family should have stuck out the famine, waiting for the Lord to come to their aid.”[2] Driesbach noticed this also and writes, “Some have viewed Elimelech’s move to Moab as a disobedient act because it involved leaving the Promised Land; in this case, his death is viewed as a divine judgment. God similarly judged Elimelech’s two sons. Abraham and Jacob’s sojourns in foreign lands are sometimes interpreted as a sign of lacking faith.”[3] But there was more to moving Naomi back to Bethlehem, the house of bread, than meets the eye. Block caught this and said, “The narrator’s eyes of faith undoubtedly recognized in this gift of food the grace of God. He does not explicitly speak about divine grace, but the absence of any hint of repentance on the part of Israel as a whole or Naomi, in particular, suggests that the motivation behind the lifting of the famine and the provision of food lies elsewhere. The reader will recognize here the providential hand of God, guiding natural and historical events for the fulfillment of his purpose and setting the stage for the ultimate emergence of David’s ancestor.”[4] God wanted to the birth of David, Ruth’s grandson, to be in Bethlehem as prophesied in the Old Testament. In the city, whose name means “House of Bread,” was born the line of David. His ancestor will be the “bread of life.”

[1] Gingrich, Roy E. 2006. The Books of Judges & Ruth. Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing.

[2] Prime, Jonathan. 2007. Opening up Ruth. Opening Up Commentary. Leominster: Day One Publications.

[3] Driesbach, Jason. 2012. “Ruth.” In Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, edited by Philip W. Comfort, 512. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

[4] Block, Daniel Isaac. 1999. Judges, Ruth. Vol. 6. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

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Judges 1:4

The Lord Gave Them…

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 11, 2023

God had commanded Moses and then Joshua to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid of the enemy occupying the land that was their promised inheritance. God had promised to be with them through the conflict and to give them success if they followed in His ways. When Judah’s clan was chosen as the lead army after Joshua’s death, we see some initial success. Judges 1:4 tells us, “Then Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek.”  Haddon Robinson once introduced one of his sermons by saying, “Normal people do not lose sleep over the Jebusites, the Canaanites, or the Perizzites, or even about what Abraham, Moses, or Paul has said or done. They lie awake wondering about grocery prices, crop failures, quarrels with a spouse, diagnosis of a malignancy, a frustrating sex life, or the rat race where only rats seem to win. If the sermon does not make much difference in that world, they wonder if it makes any difference at all.”

The applicable part of this verse that speaks to me is “the Lord gave them” into their hands. Judah did what God called him to do in faith. It resulted in God giving them success. They didn’t take the victory. God gave it to them. In the same way, we will see over and over again in the book of Judges that the various tribes didn’t lose the victory over their enemies. God gave them into the hands of their enemies. Over and over again in the book of Judges, we will read about the Israelites abandoning God to worship, in many different ways, the gods of the various different brands of Canaanites. This would end up reversing the phrase. In Judges 6:1, the phrase shows up, not giving their enemies into their hands, but giving them into the hands of the enemy. It says, “Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years.” The gods of Canaan promised something that they could never deliver, but their appeal was unmistakable. The values, morals, and practices of the pagans were so severe that Israel would throw away their faith in the God that saved them to worship or value the gods of the peoples of the land.

In keeping with Haddon Robinson’s plea, let me end with Wilcock’s words, “The gods have not changed, for human nature has not changed, and these are the gods that humanity regularly re-creates for itself. What does it want? If it is modest, security and comfort and reasonable enjoyment; if ambitious, power and wealth and unbridled self-indulgence. In every age, there are forces at work that promise to meet our desires—political programs, economic theories, philosophical movements, entertainment industries—all having one feature in common: they are big enough to do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves, yet at the same time amenable to our manipulating them so as to get from them what we want.”[1]

[1] Wilcock, Michael. 1992. The Message of Judges: Grace Abounding. Edited by J. A. Motyer and Derek Tidball. The Bible Speaks Today. England: Inter-Varsity Press.

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Joshua 1:5-6

Be Strong and Courageous!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 10, 2023

 Moses had passed away, leaving the nation in the capable hands of Joshua. Joshua lived through the plaques in Egypt. He witnessed the miracles God performed at the hand of Moses. He saw the enemy army drown in the Red Sea. He witnessed the quail and manna and the bitter water turning into fresh water. He saw the many miracles performed by God at the hand of Moses. In Joshua 1:5-6 God assures Joshua that he what he saw in Moses’ life will continue in his own life, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” John Calvin comments, “Joshua, therefore, is ordered to behold in the assistance given to Moses the future issue of the wars which he was to undertake under the same guidance and protection. For the series of favours is continued without interruption to the successor.”[1]

“Be strong and courageous” was the command that Moses gave to Joshua. It was the command that God gave to Joshua in this passage. It is also the command that Joshua gives to the people of Israel in Joshua 10:25, “And Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous.’” The preaching of this passage is probably well-known. Like Moses, Joshua, and the children of Israel, we are called to be “strong and courageous” as well. Redford challenges all of us with his comments, “God had given the order to advance and take the land of Canaan. That was reason enough to be strong and courageous. When God’s people are obeying his orders, there is no reason to be terrified of giants or to be discouraged by formidable city walls. When you are committed to his will, the Lord … will be with you wherever you go. The enemy may be too strong for you alone, but he cannot stand against you and the Lord.”[2]

There is another take on the understanding and application of this passage, I’d like to mention. Moses failed. Joshua could be said to have failed at times as well. The people of Israel surely failed to fulfill God’s call to occupy the land. Furthermore, throughout the Old Testament, we see how all of the Old Testament reproduces the failures of all of the heroes, including King David. There is only one who did not fail to be “strong and courageous” to the very end. That was Jesus, the true deliverer of failures. Gage puts it this way, “What is being suggested by the shadow in the typology of Joshua, who required seven challenges to be strong and courageous for the battle? When the reality of the type came in the great battle of Jesus, the Lord had to summon all His strength and courage to win the promised inheritance of all of God’s people. What was the nature of the struggle in the garden when the whole of redemptive history was ventured on the strength and courage of one man, in truth a God-man, but nonetheless an authentic man, who was commissioned to bear the weight of the sins of the world? The sins of finite man had aroused the wrath of an infinite God. Who would be able to stand in so great a battle? In the mystery of the incarnation the immortal God became a mortal man that finite man, who had offended an infinite God, might by His infinite sacrifice deliver us from eternal death through the mystery of God’s redemption. Such was the battle faced by Jesus, for which He must be strong and courageous like Joshua before Him.”[3]

[1] Calvin, John, and Henry Beveridge. 2010. Commentary on the Book of Joshua. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

[2] Redford, Douglas. 2008. The History of Israel. Vol. 2. Standard Reference Library: Old Testament. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing.

[3] Gage, Warren Austin. 2013. Gospel Typology in Joshua and Revelation: A Whore and Her Scarlet, Seven Trumpets Sound, A Great City Falls. Fort Lauderdale, FL: St. Andrews House.

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Deuteronomy 1:5-7

This Land Is Mine!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 9, 2023

“This land is mine,” croons Andy Williams in the song titled “The Exodus.” He sings, “This land is mine. God gave this land to me, this brave and ancient land, to me. And when the morning sun reveals her hills and plains, then I see a land where children can run free. So, take my hand and walk this land with me and walk this lovely land with me. Though I am just a man, when you are by my side with the help of God, I know I can be strong…To make this land our home. If I must fight, I will fight to make this land our own.” Although the song was written for the 1960 movie about the founding of the modern state of Israel starring Paul Newman, Pat Boone wrote the lyrics that were son by Andy Williams. The song fits well with the determination of the Zionist movement after World War II, along with the movement we read about in Deuteronomy about the determination to occupy that which had been promised by God to the former slaves coming out of Egypt after having spent 40 years in the wilderness homeless.

As God prepares His people to enter into their promised inheritance, He lays out the dimensions of what he had promised as their land. If our understanding of this short passage is correct, Israel never occupied all this land. Deuteronomy 1:5-7 says, “Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.’” Most commentators agree that this would cover nearly the whole middle east. The western boundary is the Mediterranean Sea. The eastern boundary is the River Euphrates. The southern boundary is the Arabian peninsula, and the northern border reaches Lebanon. Merrill writes, “The great extent of the land—’ as far as the great river, the Euphrates’—reflects the ideal inheritance that God had promised the patriarchal ancestors as part of the covenant pledge he had vouchsafed to. The fact that this territory was never, in its entirety, brought under Israelite control does not vitiate the promise, for its eschatological fulfillment lies yet ahead. That it was theirs by right and not by might” is clear from the verb used, which is better translated as “inheritance.” Merrill continues, “Yahweh the Great King owns all the earth, and it is his to bestow upon his peoples as he wishes. His people, therefore, were not about to take the land of other people but to receive the land as a gift from its divine owner, coming into their own rightful claim as vassals who work the royal estate of the Lord their God.”[1]

Throughout the history of the church, there have been preachers arguing that this is still the promise and that this land will be occupied by the descendants of Abraham. Some have taken this to include the church of Jesus Christ. This is seen as early as 150 AD. In the writings of Irenaeus. He said, “Thus did [Abraham] await patiently the promise of God and was unwilling to appear to receive from people what God had promised to give him, when he said again to him as follows, ‘I will give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt even to the great river Euphrates.’ If then, God promised him the inheritance of the land, yet he did not receive it during all the time of his sojourn there, it must be that together with his seed, that is, those who fear God and believe in him, he shall receive it at the resurrection of the just. For his seed is the church, which receives the adoption to God through the Lord, as John the Baptist said, ‘For God is able from the stones to raise up children to Abraham.’” (This is taken from “Against Heresies” by Irenaeus.)[2] If so, we too can sing, “This Land Is Mine!”

[1] Merrill, Eugene H. 1994. Deuteronomy. Vol. 4. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

[2] Martin, Francis, and Evan Smith, eds. 2006. Acts. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

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Numbers 1:4-15, Various

Names and Numbers

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 8, 2023

Moses, under God’s direction, named various persons from each tribe that would be there to assist him in taking the census of all the people of Israel. Only men are mentioned in this list because it was a census for war. The women did not go to war with the men. During my 27 years in the Navy, women did not serve in combat roles for the United States either. They were considered too valuable as the carriers of the next generation. This is one of the major issues that feminists have against the bible as a whole. They argue that the Bible is misogynistic. But you might just notice that the whole tribe of Levi is excluded here as well. They had a religious function. Their function was considered too valuable to go to war with the nation as well. Numbers 1:4-16 tells us, “And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur; from Simeon, Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, Nahshon, the son of Amminadab; from Issachar, Nethanel, the son of Zuar; from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; from Naphtali, Ahira, the son of Enan., These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.” Allen comments, “By having a representative from each tribe assist Moses and Aaron, not only would the task be made somewhat more manageable, but the resultant count would be regarded as legitimate by all. No tribe would have a reason to suggest it was under or over-represented in the census since a worthy man from each tribe was a partner with Moses and Aaron in accomplishing the task.”[1]

It is this passage, along with a few others like it, that gives the book of Numbers its name. Of all the thoughts that come from reading something like this is the thought that God knows us all by name. The world population has reached 8 billion recently, and it’s hard for us to see how God can know each one that intimately. Yet, David tells us in Psalm 147:4 of God, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.” Surely, if God can make them all, he knows them all. Jesus once told his disciples that God pays close attention to His creation. He pays closer attention to the people he creates. In Matthew 10:30-31, Jesus encourages us all to realize that truth. The fact that he not only knows everyone by name, but He also knows every sparrow and when one of them might fall to the ground dead. He tells his followers, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Each person is valuable to God. Their self-worth is not based on their view of themselves relative to other people but on God’s expressed love for them.

God’s promise to Abraham to make him the father of a great nation whose numbers will be like the stars at night or the grains of sand on a beach is fulfilled in many ways in the book of Numbers. We see that the first census taken in the book of Numbers and the second census taken before the nation moves into the promised land a generation later are nearly the same. I think Sakenfeld is right when she writes, “The narrator wants to emphasize God’s amazing sustaining of so many people under the difficult and dangerous wilderness conditions so that the second generation is the same size as the first. In a world where population stability (rather than growth) was the norm and where decimation by famine was well known, the very numbers of the census counts proclaim the power and grace of Israel’s God.”[2]

[1] Allen, Ronald B. 1990. “Numbers.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, 2:705. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

[2] Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob. 1995. Journeying with God: A Commentary on the Book of Numbers. International Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Edinburgh: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; Handsel Press Ltd.

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Leviticus 1:4, Hebrews 2:9

Acceptable to God!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
June 7, 2023

I’ve enjoyed watching the Tom Hanks movie, “The Terminal,” several times. He’s an eastern European whose country has been engrossed in a civil war. His visa and passport have been invalidated. He’s stuck in the terminal for about a year, according to the story. I hear it’s based on true events, but I’m not sure about that. One of the best scenes involves his daily reporting to the security desk to fill out an application for admission into the United States. The female security guard looks at his form and stamps it “Unacceptable.” She is astounded that he shows up day after day, even when she tells him that he will remain “unacceptable.” He points to the two stamps. The red one says “unacceptable,” and the green one says “acceptable.” He argues that every day he has a fifty-fifty chance of being accepted.

Leviticus gives us instructions regarding the sacrificial offerings the Israelites had to make to atone for their sin. Without the shedding of blood, there could be no forgiveness of sin. The sacrificial animal had to be brought to the priest, and the presenter would identify with the beast by laying his hands on its head, and that would make atonement for his sins. Leviticus 1:4 says, “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” In the book of Hebrews, we read that one of the purposes for the incarnation was to become the perfect offering that will make all those who believe in Him “acceptable” to God. Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Pentecost explains, “Jesus Christ became incarnate that He ‘might taste death for everyone.’ The penalty for man’s disobedience to God was spiritual death; that is, the separation of the soul from God. And before one who is dead can be restored to life, to fellowship with God, the penalty for his disobedience must be paid. Jesus Christ came to offer a payment to God on behalf of the sin of the human race. He came to offer Himself as the sinner’s substitute in death. And to be man’s substitute, He must be identified with man. Thus the Incarnation was necessary that Jesus might offer Himself an acceptable sacrifice to God on man’s behalf, as humankind’s substitute. Jesus Christ came into the world specifically that He might die.”[1] According to Leviticus, one could not offer a sacrifice that was not perfect in any way. Any marks, scars, broken bones, or any other deformity meant that the sacrifice would be stamped “unacceptable.” Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, was wrapped in swaddling clothes at his birth to ensure there was no damage to him. He lived the perfect life and was the only living being never to have sinned. One blogger observes, “A permanent sacrifice for sin is needed to deal permanently with our sin problem. The Levitical sacrifices could not deal permanently with our sins; however, the once-for-all perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross dealt with our sins permanently. There will never be a need for another sacrifice for sin. The blood of Jesus Christ wipes the record clean forever.”[2] With a clean record, we are now “acceptable” to God through faith in Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

[1] Pentecost, J. Dwight, and Ken Durham. 2000. Faith That Endures : A Practical Commentary on the Book of Hebrews. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

[2] http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/heb10v1-18jesusonlytruesacrificesin.html

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