December 13
Obad 1:1-21 | PS 132:1-18 | Prov 29:24-25 | Rev 4:1-11
It always amazes me when people state that they have read the Bible in the past. Meaning, they have read it, like any other book and they have got what they wanted from it. This past tense statement makes the assumption that there is nothing further to glean from it. But the Bible has levels of depth that we are only beginning to scratch the surface. When we read it, it is not like a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery. We should not be looking for some hidden alternative meaning. God's story as depicted in the pages of the Bible is simple. Yet as we read year after year, His story is affirmed, confirmed, and strengthened as we realize that Jesus has always been the central figure in God’s story of redemption. We must realize that a mystery in the Bible is not something which cannot be figured out like a whodunnit novel, but it is an Old Testament truth which was not previously understood or realized until it was revealed in the New Testament.
We read in Revelation 4:2-3, "Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald." At first glance this simply seems like a beautiful description of the heavenly throne. But these stones bring back to mind the breastplate worn by the high priest described back in Exodus 28. The first of the twelve stones represented the first son of Jacob, who was Reuben, depicted by the sardius stone. Reuben's name means, "Behold" or "See, a son". The twelfth stone in the breastplate was jasper, which represented Jacob’s son, Benjamin, which means, "Son of my right hand." Therefore the One who sits on the throne, as depicted by the precious stones, means, "Behold, the Son of My right hand". Lastly, don't miss the "appearance like an emerald". Emerald is the stone on the breastplate which depicts Judah, we know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is from the tribe of Judah, and is the Lion of Judah. As the scene in heaven continues, we read of a scroll, which is the title deed to the earth, which no one is able to open, until we get to Revelation 5:5, "But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." The story continues in 5:6, "And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." This Lion is also the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was slain for the sins of the world. Realize the number seven is the number of perfection. These reveal the omnipotence, the omniscience and the omnipresence of our Savior.
Is piecing this all together essential to coming to a saving knowledge in Jesus Christ? Maybe not. But there is a tendency to see our world spinning out of control in utter chaos. This perception lends itself to hopelessness. But God is not anxious and adjusting to the multitude of events occurring on earth. He has always been and always will be in absolute control. We read in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His story is unfolding along His timeline and will reach a conclusion when and how He already knows it will. The beautiful thing is that His story of redemption has never changed. It began all the way back in the garden after His creation, and when sin entered the world in Genesis 3. The very first prophecy in Scripture depicted the mission of the Savior in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." Throughout the pages of this amazing book flows this story of redemption, yes, even as depicted on the breastplate of the high priest back in Exodus 28. If we approach Scripture with a passion to deepen our walk with Him, as the layers of the story of redemption unfold, it only leads to a deeper love and admiration for Him who we worship. Everything confirms and affirms who He is, what He has already done, and what He will do in the future.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: