Grace and Truth

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Tag Archives: new testament


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Purim – When the Enemy’s Plans are the Cause of His Downfall

It is the feast of Purim today.  Purim is from the book of Esther.

In the book of Esther, Haman (the enemy of Gods people) made gallows to hang Mordecai, but because of Esther’s intercession, he was hanged on his own gallows. So we see the plans of the enemy were the cause of his own downfall.

So now,as the people of God, as we rise up in intercession, the plans the enemy tries to use against us will be the cause of his ultimate defeat! Hallelujah to the Lamb!

”So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai…” Esther 7:10

Ultimately this is a picture that points to Christ. For where else is it so powerfully displayed that the means the enemy, Satan, tried to use to destroy the Son of God at the cross, was the place of his ultimate defeat, and of Christ’s complete victory over the powers of darkness?

We have nothing to fear brothers and sisters, even from the Coronavirus, for the Lord knows the way , even if we don’t. And as we stay close to Him we are safe and in the place of victory.

Blessings,

Belinda

The Man in the Gap – Acrylic on canvas
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The Tabernacle of Moses and the Cross

Continued from The Tabernacle of Moses and Jesus

The Tabernacle’s Position

Israel was a large group of people, divided into 12 different tribes. As God is a God of order, this large group of people had to be arranged orderly. God set up the camp as follows:

  • The Tabernacle was in the midst of the camp (Numbers 2:17)
  • On the East side the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulon camped
  • On the West side the tribes of Ephraim, Mannasseh and Benjamin camped
  • On the North side the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali camped
  • On the South side the tribes of Rueben, Simeon and Gad camped

Many experts believe that the view from heaven as God looked upon the camp was in the shape of a cross.

Chuck Missler explains: “The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun–collectively called the Camp of Judah–had to encamp east of the Levites. This poses a technical problem.  Notice that if the breadth of their camp was larger than that of the Levites, the excess would be southeast or northeast, not east. Therefore, their camp could only be as wide as the Levites, and they then had to extend eastward to obtain whatever space they required.

The camps of Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan had the same constraint on the south, west, and north, respectively. The length of each leg would be proportional to total in each camp.

If we assemble what we can infer from the Torah account, we can imagine what the camp of Israel looked like from above: the tabernacle and the Levites in the center, surrounded by the four faces of the tribal standards, and each of the four camps of Judah, Ephraim, Reuben, and Dan, stretching out in the four cardinal directions.”

Source:http://www.ldolphin.org/camp.html

 

God should be in the midst of the camp, in the midst of His people. Where Christ is in the centre of a believer’s life, or of a Church, then there is divine order. We see that God’s dealing with His people is always on the basis of the cross of Jesus Christ.

 

The Construction of the Tabernacle

The Tabernacle took nine months to build. It was built from materials which the Israelites willingly offered unto the Lord.

Christ was nine months in the womb of Mary. Mary willingly offered her life to God for His purposes.

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” Exodus 25:1-9

We see that when we willingly give to God our lives then He will use it for His purposes and bring forth divine life.

God bless!


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Moses : a Type of Christ

The Old Testament is all about Christ. It really is.Jesus2

 

Don’t listen to those who would put the OT down and say it is over with, it is past. Don’t listen to those who would say OT = “bad” but NT = “good”. It makes up 2/3’s of the Bible and it is all about Jesus.

“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7/Psalm 40:7.

Remember: The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.

 
The NT sheds light on the OT. And the NT is concealed in the shadows of the Old – it is hidden, but it is there for those who like to search for hidden treasure. Looking for the types and foreshadows of Christ in the OT is such a joy. I love discovering Him in the OT.

 

One example is Moses. Moses is such a wonderful type and picture of Christ. His life and ministry foreshadows Jesus in many ways. However One even greater than Moses is here now, in the Person of Jesus Christ. Let’s see how:

 

  • Moses was hidden away in Egypt as a baby for his own protection when Pharaoh decreed that all Hebrew baby boys were to be killed.
  • Jesus was hidden away in Egypt as a baby for his own protection when Herod sought to kill Him.

 

  • Moses, willingly left his royal home and high position in Pharaoh’s palace for the sake of his people.
  • Jesus, the royal Son of God, willingly left the glory of heaven to come to earth for the sake of His people.

 

  • In due course Moses came up out of Egypt and spent 40 years in the wilderness.
  • In due course Jesus also came up out of Egypt. He spent 40 days in the wilderness.moses

 

 

 

 

  • Moses was the deliverer of Israel out of the bondage and slavery of Egypt. He redeemed the Israelites from their hard-taskmasters with the blood of the Passover lamb.
  • Jesus is the deliverer of not only Israel but also of the Gentiles. He has delivered us from our bondage and slavery to sin. He has redeemed us from our hard-taskmaster (Satan) with His very own blood.

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

 

  • Moses interceded for the Israelites when they corrupted themselves and worshipped a golden calf. In Exodus 32:32 Moses offered his own life on behalf of the people. Such was his love for them that he was prepared to take their guilt upon himself and to die for them.
  • Jesus interceded for the whole of humankind, utterly corrupted and gone astray as we were.  Jesus actually did lay down His life on behalf of humankind. Such is His love for us that He did take our sin and guilt upon Himself and was offered to God in our place.

 

  • Moses was mediator of the Old Covenant of Law.
  • Jesus Christ is mediator of the New Covenant of Grace.

“For the law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

 

This barely skims the surface of the treasures of Christ that can be found in the life of Moses. Have a look for yourself and see what else you can find.

 

God bless!