Author Archives: Randy Buchman

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About Randy Buchman

I live in Western Maryland, and among my too many pursuits and hobbies, I regularly feed multiple hungry blogs. I played college baseball, coached championship cross country teams at Williamsport (MD) High School, and have been a sportswriter for various publications and online venues. My main profession was as the lead pastor of a church in Hagerstown called Tri-State Fellowship for 28 years before retiring in 2022. I'm also active in Civil War history and work/serve at Antietam National Battlefield with the Antietam Battlefield Guides organization. Occasionally I sleep.

Isn’t It All Adam’s Fault? (Romans 5:12-19)

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It is no secret that I am committed to a conservative political agenda and that I have even been active in that realm to some extent behind the scenes in elected party politics and leadership (though I am no longer serving in such a capacity). Whether you agree or not with my perspectives is not the point of this illustration, but rather I simply mention this to say that someone of my bent has an oft difficult time in the very blue state of Maryland. My representatives – particularly on the national level – do not often vote and represent me in the manner that I would wish. And those who serve in state government in my place, though they do represent my viewpoints rather well, are most often snowed under by a massive opposition majority. It is difficult and annoying, to be quite honest.

But maybe that is how you feel about Adam – you know, Adam from Eden, Eve’s husband – that guy! Man, he had it all! He lived in paradise, had a perfect relationship with God, no weeds grew in his garden, it never rained or was nasty outside, and all he had to do was stay away from one tree and not eat the fruit of it. How hard is that to do? But he blew it; he really messed up big-time! And that is what this Romans passage today is all about – comparing how big is the mess that Adam made, but how grand is the fix that Christ secured for those who trust in it.

But again – thinking about Adam … maybe you are just totally annoyed with the way that he “voted” on your behalf! If you were there, you wouldn’t have done such a stupid thing. So why should you have to bear the consequences of his idiocy? Look again at the end of verse 12 – “because all sinned.”  Now don’t make me go explaining this to you right here right now, but, it is actually more than just Adam representing us (though that is true), we were actually sinning in him in an active way. Again – this is the stuff of books, not devotionals. But whatever, we are guilty.

This week we follow up from the sermon yesterday that taught about our next cross word – Imputation. This is a term that is like a banking word for the transferring of funds from one account to another. As was presented yesterday, there are three transfers/imputations: Adam’s sin to our account, our sin to Christ’s account, and Christ’s righteousness to our account.

The main sense of the passage today – which is admittedly very complicated sounding – is that though we had a huge debt of sin come into our account from Adam which results in a judgment of death, the righteousness of Christ that comes to our account upon faith and justification is a credit that is larger than the debt, and it leads to life.

If you really understand this, you really understand the very central idea of what salvation is about. Along with it, in my opinion, comes also the very best way to communicate what salvation entails. Everyone has had a bank account and knows about debits and credits. This presents a great picture for you to explain that we have the debt of sin (few will argue that) in our individual account, but that we cannot ever pay that debt with our deposits; and so we need the perfect deposit of Christ’s righteousness to pay our debt for us. So, stop trying to pay it off, and trust in the one who has done it for you.

Death through Adam, Life through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Cross Words for today (remember – all words will be released one week from today)…

Innocence – There is not much of this, apart from the perfection of God and the person of Christ. We think of infants as innocent, but the truth is that they too – from the moment of conception – have the imputed curse of Adam’s sin. The lamb sacrifice pictured innocence, but was of course an imperfect example of the perfection of Christ – our sacrifice.

Grace – This is more than a simple extension of mercy or someone choosing to be nice, which is how we might use the term. It is actually favor extended where wrath is deserved. It is getting mercy, when in fact, you fully deserved just the opposite. 

puzzle day 16

The Cross Words Puzzle Faced by the Prophets (1 Peter 1:3-20)

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We have been talking throughout this series about words – cross words – and having some fun with building puzzles and crisscrossing words in various ways. You see this in our written devotionals as well as with the stage set (which you can see in a picture on the online landing page, if you are among those following this from a distance like my son Jesse in France – “Hi Jesse!”).

We are able to know and understand these words and concepts from the perspective of a later time in history where we may look back at what has already happened. There yet remains a future fulfillment in the unveiling of the final completion of God’s work. We have this guarantee as a “living hope” in the resurrection of Christ – who lives and has given us through faith a new birth into an inheritance that cannot fade or be destroyed. But overall, we are blessed to possess God’s completed revelation in the Scriptures that detail for us what God has done, along with more than a few hints at what is still ahead.

We actually know way more than the prophets of the Old Testament knew. These great men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and Zechariah desperately longed to know the things that we now clearly understand. They desired clarity on the prophecies about which they themselves wrote, but they did not get it – all they knew is that what they penned would serve people at a later time. The original language (Greek) verbs for how the prophets were “… searching intently … trying to find out …” are terms that speak of an intensely thorough, turning everything upside down type of investigation to discover something. It even tells us that the angels of God “long to look into these things” – which is the translation of an original word picturing someone from the outside peering into or peeping within to get a view.

The Old Testament prophets were led to write about a Messiah to come. They not only wrote, they also read what other prophets before them had written. They tried to understand it all and put it together, because it was very confusing to them. They knew the coming Messiah would suffer, but they also knew and wrote of his victory and kingdom reign. When would it be? How could this be? The best illustration that I have used over the years is a picture of the Old Testament prophet as looking toward the future, where from his perspective were two mountaintops in the same view – with a cross on the nearer shorter hill, and a crown on the larger more distant mountain. From where he stood, all he could see is both of them at the same time, seemingly in the same place. We are in the valley between, and we have God’s Word to guide our view in both directions.

Today’s passage is immensely practical about what we should do with this advanced knowledge. We should live a different sort of life than the majority of others around us, recognizing we are responsible to God for what we do and how we live. This world should never really feel like home; it is a place where we serve out our time as foreigners – the ambassadors of another world. We are the purchased members of another eternal kingdom, having been redeemed by the payment of the blood of the eternal spotless lamb – Jesus Christ.

Gold is mentioned twice in this passage, and silver once. We are told in hundreds of commercials to invest in these metals as a protection against the uncertainties of varied global currencies. Yet in this Scripture, gold is spoken of as a perishable thing compared to the certainty of eternal life and our inheritance in Christ. As always, the values of this world and the values of eternity totally clash. This is why it is such a value for us to know of the “cross words” that make all of the difference!

1 Peter 1:3-20 – Praise to God for a Living Hope

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

Cross Word:

Deity – Salvation is totally a work of God. He takes the initiative and provides the perfect sacrifice … which has to, of necessity, be the divine Son of God. If Jesus is merely a good man, a great moral example, or whatever, we do not have a payment for sin and the opportunity for forgiveness and imputed righteousness. 

puzzle day 15

The Way it was; the Way it could have been; the Way it is! (Colossians 1:9-14)

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Being adopted is a weird sort of internal reality that is always with you. I can report this to be true from about 50 years of my own life experience. Yes, it was about 50 years ago at this exact time of year that I was told by what I knew as my parents, that they were actually NOT my birth parents at all. THAT.WAS.WEIRD!  I had never once considered that there was any other circumstance. The news hit me like a brick! I went into an immediate meltdown emotionally. This lasted, as I recall it, for about 60 seconds at the most. That is about how long it took for me to realize that, wow, what I had in reality – versus what could have been my reality – was a pretty sweet deal.

As I write this, I saw just today a picture someone had posted on Facebook. It was of a man who had written his date and location of birth, stating that he was searching for his birth parents – asking also for others to re-post his picture in hopes of locating his lost family. My heart went out to him. I knew about my birth parents – know one of them personally, as she is still alive. And I miraculously learned information about my father just this past year – a totally amazing story of even meeting a lost relative.

But spiritually speaking, there is no confusion about our past and where we have originated. We were by sin connected to the Kingdom of Darkness and enslaved to such. But in his love, the Lord has rescued us from that and brought us into a new kingdom – the Kingdom of Light – the Kingdom of His Son. The text today says that it is through the Son that we have REDEMPTION – the forgiveness of sin due to the payment that Jesus Christ has made. What a great cross word!

My own adoption set up an inheritance powder-keg with a 51-year-long fuse before it exploded. A certain part of the biological family of my adopted parents had never accepted the fact that I had been adopted and thereby did not believe I stood in line to receive the inheritance of my parents upon their death. Their inquiry into this was an exercise in futility, as the legal ground of the adoption and will was indisputable … and so it is for us spiritually speaking, as we will see this even more graphically expounded tomorrow.

The knowledge of these blessings should indeed fill us with a desire to more significantly know our adoptive Father and to live a fruitful life worthy of the love of someone who has reached out to rescue us from a horrible condition. Over the years I’ve looked around at the friends and families I have known who have traveled, in some cases, literally to the other side of the world to adopt a child. That little one was, in most circumstances, rescued from a desperate situation in an orphanage and civil system where their very life may have been lost. But someone they did not know and did not seek out came to get them and essentially rescue them out of a hopeless circumstance. THAT is exactly what Christ has done for us spiritually. This should lead us to know – in the words of today’s devotional – “joyful thanks.”

Colossians 1:9-14

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Cross Words:

Evil – the reality that Satan brought sin to mankind, and Satan worked in devious ways to attempt the destruction of Christ and his work on the cross.

Veil – the curtain that separated the most holy place from the rest of the tabernacle/temple.

Nails – (think “spikes”) the human objects that held Christ to the cross – though it was really love and obedience.

puzzle day 14

The Crossroads of the Cross Words (Romans 3:20-26)

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I was recently in Dallas, Texas and several times drove through what is one of the most amazing and confusing connections of roadways anywhere in America. There is an area to the southwest of downtown Dallas that has always been called “The Mixmaster.”  At this point Interstate Highways 30 and 35E join, along with a collection of other state roads and city street exits. It was a mess when I lived there in the late 70s and early 80s, and it has only gotten worse with the growing population of the past three decades. The Mixmaster received national notoriety and dubious distinction by being named as one of the top ten ‘Worst Commuting Bottlenecks’ in the nation by the American Automobile Association.mixmaster

You might feel a little bit like this when you read today’s passage and see the crossroads of a whole host of “cross words” in a stretch of but seven verses! It seems like there is a lot of theology and big terms coming together in a very small space! In fact, 13 of the 68 cross words on the final word search puzzle are used in this passage, and many others are inferred or illustrated by the material discussed. Books have been written on this paragraph, and future words and teachings in our series are a part of this reading.

I reference you back to the very first of this series of devotionals – “No Excuses for Mankind’s Situation” – where the reading was from Romans chapter one. Here Paul stated his theme – the righteousness (perfection) of God in Jesus Christ. This is the problem we have, due to sin:  To be right with God, we need to be perfect, but we aren’t … so we need to get perfect somehow, but we can’t! And so verse 20 today (from chapter 3) states that the Law could not make anyone perfect – it could only make a person aware of their destitute situation. However, there is a big BUT coming next (sorry if that phrase weirded you out a little bit!).

In verse 21, there is a righteousness out there that has been made known, being testified about in the Old Testament Scriptures, and is now revealed in Jesus Christ. This perfect standing may be given to all who believe through faith (this process is “imputation” and will be the cross word for this coming Sunday!).  It does not matter if you are Jew or Gentile, all have sinned, and all who trust are in the same way graciously justified (the word for the following Sunday!) – which means to be declared righteous – because the debt has been paid by Christ’s blood through his redemption (our word for this week!) that was an atoning sacrifice (the word for Good Friday!) for all the sins of all time. Wow – that’s a mixmaster of theology!

The final verse basically says that God did this because He could! Again, as we’ve seen before, God is both the one giving the payment and the one receiving the payment. That is amazing grace!

So, where is there any room for you or me to be at all angry with God – annoyed with him that he is maybe not seeming to do quite enough for us? Hey – when is enough, enough?  Not only has he given us salvation to be of benefit now, but there are all sorts of eternal inheritance benefits that accrue to us as well … and these will be detailed in the next several readings. Wow!

Romans 3:20-26

20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Cross Words to add to the puzzle:

Jesus – the puzzle had to have the name of the one who made it all possible!

Righteousness – a condition of perfection. This is the answer to the question: “What is the one thing you need to be saved?”

Nails – the human instrument hold Christ to the cross, though it was love and obedience that actually held him in place.

puzzle day 13

What is that in the Family Tree? (Ruth 4:1-12)

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There is a saying that “every family tree has some sap running through it!” Or another: that old so-and-so “is the nut that fell from the family tree.” If you’ve ever done genealogical research, let me tell you from experience that you may not like what you find out! The adopted/biological half of my background goes honorably back through Revolutionary War soldiers to certain founders of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. The biological half that I’ve only recently worked to uncover was more problematic – only got as far as a great-grandfather who appears to have been an orphan and then later a state prisoner … for what, I don’t know … maybe he assaulted a New York Yankees fan!

Today’s devotional reading involves a number of family tree types of considerations. Our selection is near the end of the story which encompasses the whole book of Ruth; and you almost need to read the preceding three chapters to fully appreciate this section. Briefly, it is the story of a Jewish husband and wife – Elimelek and Naomi, and their two sons Kilion and Mahlon – who during a time of famine leave Israel and go to the land of Moab. The sons both marry Moabite women, but before long all three men die and leave three widows. After a decade or so, Naomi determines to return to Israel, and her devoted daughter-in-law Ruth travels with her. Poor and destitute, Ruth (in the custom of care for the poor) gleans grain at the edge of the barley fields to eek out a living. This is done in the fields of Boaz – a relative of Elimelek. Through a series of Naomi-guided actions, Ruth is positioned to seek refuge from Boaz who would act as a “kinsman-redeemer.” This is in keeping with Old Testament law provision such as written in Deuteronomy 25:5-6, “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.”

Boaz was a just man and was willing to fulfill the role, but there was a closer relative. This fellow was at first willing, that is, until he heard that a Moabite woman was a part of the deal! You can almost see him slamming gears into reverse when he realizes this! As we read later in the Scriptures, Boaz and Ruth are the great-grandparents of David, and are therefore in the family tree of Jesus.ruth-to-jesus-family-tree

The theological significance of this is that Christ can be regarded as an example of a kinsman-redeemer, since he identified himself with us and redeemed us because of our need. As we have seen in passages in Hebrews that we have covered already in this series (2:11) – “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Jesus is not only our redeemer from sin, but as Hebrews 2:16-18 and 4:14-16 display, he is a kinsman to us and understands our human weakness and struggles. Thus he is able to help us in our times of need.

Ruth 4:1-12 – Boaz Marries Ruth

4:1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”

“I will redeem it,” he said.

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the[c] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”

6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”

7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)

8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.

9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”

11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

Cross Words:

Payment – the necessary deed to make redemption and all the cross words a reality.

Aloes – It says in John 19 about Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea – Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.  Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

puzzle day 12

Don’t ‘Pass Over’ Understanding This (Exodus 12:1-30)

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Last Tuesday was Passover – the first of the three major Jewish pilgrimage festivals (along with Pentecost and Tabernacles). It recalled the great event of the exodus of the children of Israel from 430 years in Egypt. The early chapters of the book of Exodus give us the story of Moses – his childhood, exile, and burning bush call of God to go back to Egypt and lead the nation to the Promised Land. The account records the reticence of Pharaoh to allow the working class slaves to depart, in spite of a series of plagues that fall severely upon the nation. A final tenth plague will finally result in the nation’s release – as the death angel will strike down the firstborn in every home in Egypt – from the palace and Pharaoh’s own son, to the child of the least family in the land, even extending to the cattle in the field. (It would be helpful to read also the 11th chapter of Exodus, as well as beyond the verses listed in today’s devotional reading.)

The Israelites would escape this judgment if they carefully followed the Lord’s commands. Each family was to take a lamb and sacrifice it, using the blood to apply upon the doorframes of their homes – that the death angel would pass over that residence. As well, they were to eat the lamb with their clothing prepared for a quick exit, and the bread without yeast for there would not be time for it to rise. This the Israelites did, and finally, Pharaoh commanded the people to leave.

Let me make a few observations …

The theological principle to understand – As with the Day of Atonement where blood was applied as a covering for the sin of the broken law, so also the blood applied to the doorframe was a covering to avert the judgment falling upon those under its application. And again, as Christ was the perfect and better sacrifice to make eternal atonement, he was similarly the perfect and better Passover lamb – giving his life at the Festival of Passover … and observing the Passover dinner with his disciples in the upper room just before his arrest and crucifixion.

Imagine being the oldest son in the family – “So dad, are you sure you put the blood on the doorframe? It is really clear, right? You DID use a lot of it so that it is very visible?”

The judgment of God also displayed God’s power over the gods of Egypt – All of the plagues in some way made a mockery of the varied “gods” of Egypt, displaying their futility.  Min – the Egyptian deity of reproduction, and Isis – the goddess deemed as the ideal mother and protector, were shown to be impotent to prevent this catastrophe.

Notice that the command to remember the event was established before the event itself even happened – This is so interesting that the Lord would be thinking not only of the moment itself, but of the generations to follow and the desire that they would all know and remember this atoning act of the Lord to save his people. And likewise, in the upper room and in advance of the death of Christ, the Lord tells his disciples to take the bread and cup and to observe a remembrance of the sacrifice for sin – the covering, the atonement. God’s heart for all people of all times is evident in these stories and should touch our lives deeply as we do remember him in thanksgiving for remembering us.

And finally, the song Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Whoa Baby, Let My People Go!” is very, very cool! – The final chorus says: “Well that’s the story of the stubborn goat. Pharaoh should’ve known that chariots don’t float. The lesson is simple, it’s easy to find, When God says, ‘GO!’ you had better mind!”  (Sorry – now this is going to go singing through your mind all day!)

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

17 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. 23 When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

Words for the Puzzle:

Sacrifice – one thing offered in place of another – the innocent and its life given for the guilty.

Lamb – the most common sacrifice. The lamb pictured purity and innocence. When the worshipper brought the best male lamb from his flock, he was not simply bringing the most symbolic picture, he was also bringing his future – as the genetics of that lamb was being sacrificed to God. In John chapter one, Jesus is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

puzzle day 11

What’s so Good about Good Friday? (Hebrews 9:11-28)

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I’ll admit that it seems odd that a day of somber remembrance of death bears the name of “good.”  What makes it good? You may have heard it said, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” Easter – the Resurrection is so big, it engulfs everything. We cannot think about the weekend without knowing the big picture. But beyond that, Good Friday is so good because, in terms of our studies in this series, this is THE DAY that the final payment for sin was made. The humiliation of Christ opens the door for the exaltation of our Savior, including all the benefits of his righteousness that accrue to all who trust and believe.good friday

So today’s reading has the writer to the Hebrews telling them that Christ was a priest beyond the order and function of any priest ever in Israel – beyond Moses and certainly beyond the current sinner occupying that position in Jerusalem at the time of his letter. Those guys went into an earthly tabernacle – appearing twice before the ark to sprinkle blood. They first had to atone for themselves, since they were sinners, and then a second time as representative of the people. Christ, however, made his appearance, not in some place of human construction, but before God himself. And he appeared once (since he was sinless), and he came not with animal blood, but with his own human blood as our perfect sacrifice for sin. There is an argument made here from the lesser to the greater. It is saying that, if the old system made the worshipper ceremonially clean on the outside (and it did!), then how much more will the blood of Christ make the worshipper clean all the way through (and it does!). The writer also again reiterates that Christ did this one time – not year after year after year. Indeed, it could be summarized by the use of actual “cross words” … IT IS FINISHED!

crossesThe middle section of the reading today might give you a bit of trouble (vss. 16-22). Let me illustrate this: I have once been the executor of a last will and testament – of my last surviving parent, my mother. Among the necessary documents for the will to be attested as true and able to be enforced was the actual certificate of death. This may seem very obvious, but, for any will or testament to go into effect, there must be the death of the one who made it. Even if we know we are written into someone’s will, we cannot go out and use those resources and claim them as our own – the person must first die. And so, for us to inherit and lay claim to the benefits of salvation, it was necessary for a death to take place … done of course by Christ, through which we become the beneficiaries – inheriting the cross words benefits of atonement, propitiation, expiation, redemption, reconciliation, etc.

So, for us this is a good day, though a very sobering one. We invite you to come worship with us tonight at 7:00 if you are in the Tri-State area.

Hebrews 9

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Cross Words:

Ransom – this is in our passage today in verse 15. There is a sense in which Christ has paid a ransom for sin. It may be said that our condition from the curse of sin thereby enslaves to it. A wrong way of the use of ransom is how some will teach that this is the summary of the death of Christ – that he was paying a ransom to Satan to release us. No… that is giving Satan way too much authority.

Noon and Eloi – At the death of Christ, darkness descended on the land for three hours as it says in this passage from Mark 15:33,34:  At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

puzzle day 10

Credit Card Salvation (Hebrews 9:1-10)

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I have really been afraid that in the recent days of this devotional writing project I’ve gone a bit too academic on everyone – I have somehow gained a reputation for that. So, to balance it out a little bit, let me begin today with a quote from my boys’ and my favorite movie of all time – “Dumb and Dumber.” We contend that there is a quote from that 1994 classic that fits just about every life scenario, so let me prove it today! Harry and Lloyd have come into possession of a briefcase filled with money, and over the course of the movie they spend it all, keeping track of it with slips of papers – I.O.U.’s.  And at the end, when the briefcase gets back to the rightful owner’s hands and he opens it to find nothing but hundreds of slips of paper, he says, “What is this? What is this? Where’s all the money?”  And Lloyd answers seriously, “That’s as good as money, sir. Those are I.O.U.’s. Go ahead and add it up, every cent’s accounted for. Look, see this? That’s a car. $275 thousand. Might wanna hang onto that one!”  

We have come to understand paying for things on credit. From Wimpy in the comic strip Popeye telling everyone “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today,” to our federal government running up a spending debt of $16,000,000,000,000.  Perhaps charging things to another account and another day is innate, as last week my three-year-old granddaughter quietly downloaded $380 worth of books on her mommy’s Kindle reader.

Credit cards are convenient; they work long enough to successfully purchase something in the short term, but a day of final payment is inevitably going to come.

The last three days we have read Leviticus chapter 16 which detailed the institution of the Day of Atonement. It was a single day of the year of salvation for the nation of Israel – as the blood of a goat was sprinkled over the broken law and the scapegoat was sent off to the wilderness to symbolize the removal of sin. But as we have already spoken of in this series of devotionals, a final payment to truly and fully forever remove sin would have to be made by one of the same substance – man … that the blood of bulls and goats was insufficient. In essence, the Old Testament payment was like a credit card charge – good for the moment, but ultimately in need of a final payment by the real thing.

So in today’s reading, the writer to the Hebrews begins to tell his readers how the work of Christ is greater than this long-standing Day of Atonement thing that had been going on year after year. In fact, his main point is that since it had been going on repeatedly, that very repetition illustrated that it was a weak system of credit … as it says in verse 9 “the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.”  And the following verse makes it clear that they were temporary things until a new order could be established – the new covenant in Christ, expressed in the message of the Gospel.

These readers of the book of Hebrews were mostly Jewish people who had come to recently trust in Christ; they were getting beat up for their faith; and they were beginning to doubt to the extent of going back to a system where at least they could see and talk to an earthly priest. And the writer is combating this by saying, “No, don’t go back to a lesser, temporary system. The new system has now come through the work of Christ. You have a better high priest who is in a better place – in God’s presence.” Understanding this helps us understand why the same writer said to the same people:  “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  (4:14-16)

Hebrews 9

9:1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp stand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

More “cross words” on the puzzle …

Sin – Yes, the issue that made the mess that made the cross necessary.

Truth – The message and work of the cross is the #1 truth in the world. That is why Christ is so hated and why the cross is such a symbol of fury to people around the world who are enslaved by Satan’s lies.

puzzle day 9

Being Made the Scapegoat (Leviticus 16:20-34)

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In this early portion of the “cross words” series, we have been talking about propitiation and atonement. I earlier wrote that I would bet that the word “propitiation” is not one that any of you use during normal daily conversation. However, our study today involves a word that is very commonly used, though I’d venture that the vast majority of people have no idea whatsoever that it comes from the Bible and from the book of Leviticus.

When we use the term scapegoat, we are usually saying that someone is having the blame for something quite unjustly placed upon them, rather than upon the person or people who should properly bear it. For example, I might use the term to say, “Tony Romo has become the scapegoat for the failure of the Dallas Cowboys in recent years.”  Though I am only very marginally a fan of football and of the Cowboys, whenever I watch them play, the poor guy is running for his life because the offensive line totally stinks! Okay – all you Ravens, Redskins, and Steelers fans – don’t get lost in the illustration … you get the point.

So, on the Day of Atonement there were two goats. Lots were cast, and one was chosen to be slain for the blood sprinkling we read about yesterday. The second goat had the high priest lay both hands on its head and confess the sins of the people onto it. Then, a cross country runner (possibly from the Tribe of Randy?) was given the task of taking the goat out to a distant and remote place of the wilderness and leaving it there. This symbolized the removal of sin from the nation.

The rest of the text today talks about the details of what is to become of the carcasses of the animals given for sacrifice. As well, there are details about the washing and cleansing of the priest, the scapegoat runner, and the guy who got rid of the carcasses by taking them outside the camp.

The passage also details that this annual day was to be a Sabbath rest – a time very much set aside by everyone. This ceremony is twice said to be remembered as a lasting ordinance in the nation. For those of you who recently tracked with us through the Deuteronomy “Revive” series, you will recall how many times Moses said that the Israelites were to remember and teach the rising generations about the Lord and His deeds. In like manner, this day was to have special significance that would be evident to all – especially the young. And it was to be forever celebrated and observed.

In our teaching series, we have introduced a second word – expiation – which is closely connected to the first word propitiation. You might think of both of them as speaking of satisfaction; but whereas propitiation is about the satisfaction achieved by God’s wrath being averted, expiation is the satisfaction because of the payment or taking away of sin. Propitiation is Godward and is the first goat, whereas expiation is manward and is the second goat. See, you can handle these big words! Maybe through them around in the office a bit this week!

Leviticus 16

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves[c] and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Remember the Good Friday Service at 7:00 – a study of the cross word “Atonement”

More words for the puzzle:

Mercy – This word is closely connected to all that we have talked about so far in terms of propitiation / satisfaction / the mercy seat on the top of the ark. It relates to the placation of God’s anger and the averting of His wrath that toward us results in mercy extended.

Favor – Similar to above, favor is the extension of grace and mercy where wrath is deserved.

puzzle day 8

Blood Splattered all over the Place! (Leviticus 16:11-19)

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I am not a hunter. I am not against it at all, and several of my boys are very much into the sport. I have a very conflicted relationship with the deer population. On one hand I see them as beautiful creatures of God’s creation; but on the other hand, given the 10+ family incidents of car collisions with these overgrown rodents, I applaud all efforts at herd control! My issue for not taking personal revenge against them with a Mossberg Deer Thugs .30-06 Bolt Action Rifle with Scope is that I don’t want to deal with the blood and guts! Gross! Major Yuck! That is disgusting!blood_spatter

So, I’d probably not do well as a priest in the Levitical system in Israel. There was blood all over the place … regular sacrifices and hunks of meat and innards, etc. Think also about the smells! And did I mention yet?… blood everywhere! Everything about the Old Testament system of sacrifice pictured the terrible cost of sin, along with the costly and bloody price of redemption.

Why blood? Why sacrifice? Why the innocent for the guilty? Well, it all goes back to the beginning. Adam and Eve needed to be clothed to cover their nakedness and sin. Where did the skins come from? Yes, from innocent animals – slain to provide cover for the guilty sinners. A principle was established – a theme was set that would carry throughout Scripture and find descriptive fulfillment in a series of “cross words.”

Today’s reading gives details as to the role of the High Priest on the annual Day of Atonement – the biggest day of the year in terms of sin being paid for by sacrifice. Aaron was to come into the most holy place and into the presence of the ark – over which was the Shekinah glory of the Lord that was the very presence of God amongst His people.

When Aaron entered behind the curtain the first time, he was to take a censor of hot coals (from the altar upon which the sacrifices were made outside the tent) and put incense upon it – the result being that this would make a cloud of smoke which would hide the Shekinah glory from being seen by Aaron, in which event he would die. And he was also to take blood from a slain bull and sprinkle it on the atonement cover of the ark. The idea here is that the blood provided a symbolic covering for debt of the broken law, which was contained in the ark.

On the next trip into the most holy place, Aaron was to take blood from the goat upon which the lot had fallen to be slain. Again the blood was sprinkled on behalf of the nation to provide an atonement for sin. As well, Aaron would put blood upon the various furnishings of the tabernacle structure and even the brazen altar – again, as a cleansing cover for sin.

This entire scene is ripe with significance and meaning that would find ultimate fulfillment in the work of Christ. We will go to Hebrews to detail that for Thursday and Friday devotionals … after reading and commenting upon the scapegoat tomorrow.

No matter how you look at it, paying for sin is costly. I have light-heartedly spoken of blood at the top of these thoughts today. But as we end, let us be much sobered by our own sin that has contributed to the price of our own individual redemption. As Peter wrote:  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Leviticus 16

11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.

15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

18 “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

Two more “cross words” for the puzzle:

Judgment – God’s justice demands that He judge sin. It cannot be in His presence. We need to be perfect to be with God – to have righteousness … which we don’t have. But we may gain Christ’s righteousness – the one who took the judgment of God on our behalf.

Blood – Life is in the blood, and the shedding of blood was the giving of life. Without the shedding of blood (the Scriptures say) there is no remission of sin.

puzzle day 7