Solomon built the temple…
1 Kings 11 – Solomon married many wives and began worshipping their gods.

• God raised up enemies against Solomon and he dies.
• Saul – Solomon – (1025 -925 BC)

1 Kings 12 – Divided Kingdom

• Judah (925 – 586 BC) – Southern Kingdom
• Israel (925 – 721 BC) – Northern Kingdom

 
Cause of the Division:

• King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, continued Solomon's policies of heavy taxation and forced labor, which led to discontent among the northern tribes.
• They refused to acknowledge Rehoboam's authority and formed their own kingdom under Jeroboam.

 
Northern Kingdom (Israel):

• This kingdom was made up of ten tribes and had its capital in Samaria.
• The Northern Kingdom was known for its idolatry and often clashed with the Southern Kingdom.

 
Southern Kingdom (Judah):

• This kingdom was composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as well as the Levites who served in the Temple in Jerusalem. Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty, with Jerusalem as its capital.

 
Consequences of the Division:

• The division led to decades of conflict between the two kingdoms.
• The Northern Kingdom eventually fell to the Assyrians in 722 BCE, while the Southern Kingdom lasted for another century before being conquered by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.

 
1 KINGS 17
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!”
2 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4 You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
5 So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6 The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he would drink from the wadi. 7 After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land. [1]

• Again, God raised up a prophet to announce what He would do.
• Evidently, Ahab's (King of Israel) apostasy had been going on for 14 years before God confronted the king with His prophetic challenge.
• Normally, God gives sinners an opportunity to judge themselves and repent before He sends judgment on them.

 
ELIJAH’S MESSAGE TO AHAB
1 KINGS 18:1-46
1 After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
The famine was severe in Samaria. 3 Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord 4 and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets. 5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.” 6 They divided the land between them in order to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him. When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “It is I,” he replied. “Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here!’ ”
9 But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.
11 “Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ 12 But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the Lord, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water. 14 Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ He will kill me!”
15 Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, today I will present myself to Ahab.”
16 Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?”
18 He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands and followed the Baals.

• Ahab had a problem finally believing that he was seeing Elijah similar to Obadiah's.
• He believed that Elijah was the cause of the famine.
• The real source of Israel's troubles was Ahab's disregard of the Mosaic Covenant and their preference for idolatry.

19 Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

• Obadiah was similar to many believers in Yahweh who were living in Israel at that time.
• They had divided allegiances, they had faith in Yahweh, they were fearful for their own safety, and they were slow to respond to God's word.
• Elijah saw beforehand, in Obadiah's response to him, how believers in Israel would respond to what he would soon do on Mount Carmel.
• Elijah would call on the people to do essentially what he had commanded Obadiah to do: obey the LORD's word through His prophet.

 
Prophet vs Non-Prophet

• As a non-prophet, I can’t help but experience life with me at the center of my universe.
• With my eyes I look out on the world.
• With my ears I hear what is going on.
• I can only feel, want, and experience what I am feeling, wanting, and experiencing.
• I naturally want the people around me to give up themselves and become what I want them to be.
• I prefer those close to me to think, feel, and act toward the world in the same way I do.
• I prefer the illusion of sameness when really we are very different from each other.
• I want other people’s worlds to be like mine.
• I even act the same way in my relationship with God, walking out my spirituality as if I am the center of the universe.
• For this reason, M. Scott Peck argues that we are all born narcissists and that learning to grow out of our narcissism is at the heart of the spiritual journey.[2]

 

• As for a prophet, their desire is God’s desire.
• This is what God has given them to share instead of their own feelings, wants, and experiences.
• It would be easy for pastors to place their own agendas in the middle of the message and express them as being Biblical or of God.

 
 
ELIJAH AT MOUNT CARMEL
20 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. 21 Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions?, If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The God who answers with fire, he is God.”
All the people answered, “That’s fine.”
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don’t light the fire.”
26 So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!” 28 They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them. 29 All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near me.” So all the people approached him. Then he repaired the Lord’s altar that had been torn down: 31 Elijah took twelve stones—according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel will be your name”--32 and he built an altar with the stones in the name of the Lord. Then he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold about four gallons., 33 Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood. He said, “Fill four water pots with water and pour it on the offering to be burned and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “A second time!” and they did it a second time. And then he said, “A third time!” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; he even filled the trench with water.

• The 12 large jars of water that he had poured on the sacrifice may also have represented Israel.
• Elijah may have obtained the water from a spring or perhaps from the Great (Mediterranean) Sea that is not far from some parts of Mount Carmel.
• The traditional site of this confrontation, however, is at the east end of the Carmel range of mountains, far from the sea.

36 At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and said, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that at your word I have done all these things. 37 Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, the Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.”
38 Then the Lord’s fire fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
40 Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let even one of them escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and slaughtered them there. 41 Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a rainstorm.”
42 So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the summit of Carmel. He bent down on the ground and put his face between his knees. 43 Then he said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.”
So he went up, looked, and said, “There’s nothing.”
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 On the seventh time, he reported, “There’s a cloud as small as a man’s hand coming up from the sea.”
Then Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Get your chariot ready and go down so the rain doesn’t stop you.’ ”
45 In a little while, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and there was a downpour. So Ahab got in his chariot and went to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord was on Elijah, and he tucked his mantle under his belt and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.[3]

• The story of Elijah places him as one of the main characters of the Old Covenant.
• To speak truth in a world of untruth is a hard life… unless you have God to back it up for you.

We have all sorts of miracles in this room… maybe not as big as ending a 3.5 year drought… but enough to prove that God is real, alive, and caring for us.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ki 17:1–7.
[2] Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 171–172.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ki 18:1–46.

David couldn’t build the Temple.

• Solomon’s Temple
• This building took seven years to complete (v. 38)

 
BUILDING THE TEMPLE
1 KINGS 6
1 Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.

• This verse is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament chronologically.
• The dates of Solomon's reign (971-931 B.C.) are quite certain.
• They rest on references that other ancient Near Eastern king lists confirm.
• Solomon began temple construction about 966 B.C.
• According to this verse the Exodus took place in 1445 or 1446 B.C.

2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was ninety feet long (30 yards), thirty feet wide (10 yards), and forty-five feet high. (football field picture) 3 The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple’s width, and fifteen feet deep in front of the temple. (2) 4 He also made windows with beveled frames for the temple. (3)
5 He then built a chambered structure along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around. 6 The lowest chamber was 7½ feet wide, the middle was 9 feet wide, and the third was 10½ feet wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7 The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
8 The door for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They went up a stairway to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. 9 When he finished building the temple, he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. 10 He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams; each story was 7½ feet high. (4)
11 The word of the Lord came to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building—if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them, I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David. 13 I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people Israel.”

• Note that this was a conditional promise based on obedience to the Mosaic Covenant.

14 When Solomon finished building the temple, 15 he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards. 16 Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling, and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place. 17 The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place, was sixty feet long. 18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant there. 20 The interior of the sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar. 21 Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary and overlaid it with gold. 22 So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar that belongs to the inner sanctuary.
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim 15 feet high out of olive wood. 24 One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip. 25 The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape. 26 The first cherub’s height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub’s. 27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing. 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings—cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms—in the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30 He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries. (5)
31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors. The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided. 32 The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. (6) 33 In the same way, he made four-sided olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. 34 The two doors were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. (7) 36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.
37 The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. 38 In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification. So he built it in seven years.[1]
 
SOLOMON’S PALACE COMPLEX
1 KINGS 7
1 Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction. 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. It was one hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. 3 It was paneled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row. 4 There were three rows of window frames, facing each other in three tiers., 5 All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other in three tiers. 6 He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars was in front of them. 7 He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge—the Hall of Judgment. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters. 8 Solomon’s own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife.
9 All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard. 10 The foundation was made of large, costly stones twelve and fifteen feet long. 11 Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood. 12 Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.
13 King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre. 14 He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
 
THE BRONZE PILLARS
15 He cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7½ feet was the height of the first capital, and 7½ feet was also the height of the second capital. 17 The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths made of chainwork—seven for the first capital and seven for the second.
18 He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital. 19 And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feet high. 20 The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates were in rows encircling each capital. 21 He set up the pillars at the portico of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin; then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz., 22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed. (8)
 
THE BASIN
23 He made the cast metal basin, 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference. 24 Ornamental gourds encircled it below the brim, ten every half yard, completely encircling the basin. The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 The basin was three inches thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held eleven thousand gallons. (9)
 
THE BRONZE WATER CARTS
27 Then he made ten bronze water carts., Each water cart was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4½ feet high. 28 This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces, 29 and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30 Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath. 31 And the water cart’s opening inside the crown on top was eighteen inches wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal twenty-seven inches wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round. 32 There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was twenty-seven inches tall. 33 The wheels’ design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. 34 Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart. 35 At the top of the cart was a band nine inches high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths. 37 In this way he made the ten water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.
 
BRONZE BASINS AND OTHER UTENSILS
38 Then he made ten bronze basins—each basin held 220 gallons and each was six feet wide—one basin for each of the ten water carts. 39 He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the basin near the right side of the temple toward the southeast. 40 Then Hiram made the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins. (10)
 
COMPLETION OF THE BRONZE WORKS
So Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on the Lord’s temple: 41 two pillars; bowls for the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars; 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars); 43 the ten water carts; the ten basins on the water carts; 44 the basin; the twelve oxen underneath the basin; 45 and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins. All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at the Lord’s temple were made of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.
 
COMPLETION OF THE GOLD FURNISHINGS
48 Solomon also made all the equipment in the Lord’s temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the Bread of the Presence was placed on; 49 the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; 50 the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles, and firepans; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the most holy place) and for the doors of the temple sanctuary.
51 So all the work King Solomon did in the Lord’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David—the silver, the gold, and the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple. [2]
 
SOLOMON’S DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE
1 KINGS 8
1 At that time Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the tribal heads and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David, that is Zion. 2 So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month, at the festival.
3 All the elders of Israel came, and the priests picked up the ark. 4 The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent. 5 King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered, because there were so many. 6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above. 8 The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are still there today. 9 Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10 When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple, 11 and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
12 Then Solomon said:
The Lord said that he would dwell in total darkness.
13 I have indeed built an exalted temple for you,
a place for your dwelling forever.
14 The king turned around and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. 15 He said:
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and he has fulfilled the promise by his power.
He said,
16 “Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that my name would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.”
17 My father David had his heart set
on building a temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
18 But the Lord said to my father David,
“Since your heart was set on building a temple for my name,
you have done well to have this desire.
19 Yet you are not the one to build it;
instead, your son, your own offspring,
will build it for my name.”
20 The Lord has fulfilled what he promised.
I have taken the place of my father David,
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised.
I have built the temple for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
21 I have provided a place there for the ark,
where the Lord’s covenant is
that he made with our ancestors
when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
 
SOLOMON’S PRAYER
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 23 He said:
Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like you
in heaven above or on earth below,
who keeps the gracious covenant
with your servants who walk before you
with all their heart.
24 You have kept what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him
and you fulfilled your promise by your power
as it is today.
25 Therefore, Lord God of Israel,
keep what you promised
to your servant, my father David:
You will never fail to have a man
to sit before me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons take care to walk before me
as you have walked before me.
26 Now Lord God of Israel,
please confirm what you promised
to your servant, my father David.
27 But will God indeed live on earth?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you,
much less this temple I have built.
28 Listen to your servant’s prayer and his petition,
Lord my God,
so that you may hear the cry and the prayer
that your servant prays before you today,
29 so that your eyes may watch over this temple night and day,
toward the place where you said,
“My name will be there,”
and so that you may hear the prayer
that your servant prays toward this place.
30 Hear the petition of your servant
and your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.
May you hear in your dwelling place in heaven.
May you hear and forgive.
31 When a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath,,
and he comes to take an oath
before your altar in this temple,
32 may you hear in heaven and act.
May you judge your servants,
condemning the wicked man by bringing
what he has done on his own head
and providing justice for the righteous
by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
33 When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against you,
and they return to you and praise your name,
and they pray and plead with you
for mercy in this temple,
34 may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your people Israel.
May you restore them to the land
you gave their ancestors.
35 When the skies are shut and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against you,
and they pray toward this place
and praise your name,
and they turn from their sins
because you are afflicting them,
36 may you hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of your servants
and your people Israel,
so that you may teach them to
walk on the good way.
May you send rain on your land
that you gave your people for an inheritance.
37 When there is famine in the land,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper,
when their enemy besieges them
in the land and its cities,
when there is any plague or illness,
38 every prayer or petition
that any person or that all your people Israel may have--
they each know their own affliction—,
as they spread out their hands toward this temple,
39 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and may you forgive, act, and give to everyone
according to all their ways, since you know each heart,
for you alone know every human heart,
40 so that they may fear you
all the days they live on the land
you gave our ancestors.
41 Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of your name--
42 for they will hear of your great name,
strong hand, and outstretched arm,
and will come and pray toward this temple--
43 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and do according to all the foreigner asks.
Then all peoples of earth will know your name,
to fear you as your people Israel do
and to know that this temple I have built
bears your name.
44 When your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever you send them,
and they pray to the Lord
in the direction of the city you have chosen
and the temple I have built for your name,
45 may you hear their prayer and petition in heaven
and uphold their cause.
46 When they sin against you--
for there is no one who does not sin--
and you are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them to the enemy’s country--
whether distant or nearby--
47 and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition you in their captors’ land:
“We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
48 and when they return to you with all their heart and all their soul
in the land of their enemies who took them captive,
and when they pray to you in the direction of their land
that you gave their ancestors,
the city you have chosen,
and the temple I have built for your name,
49 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.
50 May you forgive your people
who sinned against you
and all their rebellions against you,
and may you grant them compassion
before their captors,
so that they may treat them compassionately.
51 For they are your people and your inheritance;
you brought them out of Egypt,
out of the middle of an iron furnace.
52 May your eyes be open to your servant’s petition
and to the petition of your people Israel,
listening to them whenever they call to you.
53 For you, Lord God, have set them apart as your inheritance
from all peoples of the earth,
as you spoke through your servant Moses
when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.
 
SOLOMON’S BLESSING
54 When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven, 55 and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice: 56 “Blessed be the Lord! He has given rest to his people Israel according to all he has said. Not one of all the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us 58 so that he causes us to be devoted to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. 59 May my words with which I have made my petition before the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. May he uphold his servant’s cause and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires. 60 May all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord is God. There is no other! 61 Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.”
62 The king and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats. In this manner the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord’s temple.
64 On the same day, the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple because that was where he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, since the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to accommodate the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings.
65 Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath, to the Brook of Egypt—observed the festival at that time in the presence of the Lord our God, seven days, and seven more days—fourteen days., 66 On the fifteenth day he sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went to their homes rejoicing and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.[3]

• This dedication ceremony was the biggest event in Israel, in terms of its theological significance, since God gave Israel the Law at Mount Sinai.
• Israel was finally in the Promised Land with her God "enthroned" in a place of great honor.
• Now Israel was in position to fulfill her calling as a nation in the world as never before in her history (cf. Exod. 19:5-6).
• The significance of this chapter becomes clearer when we read the Prophets section of the Old Testament, because the writing prophets alluded to it often.

 
But Sunday is coming!

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ki 6:1–38.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ki 7:1–51.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ki 8:1–66.

Leviticus is the third book of the Bible and is part of the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch.

• It primarily focuses on the laws and regulations given by God to the Israelites through Moses.
• These laws were intended to guide the Israelites in their worship and daily living, setting them apart as God's holy people.

Sacrificial System:

• Leviticus begins with detailed instructions on various offerings and sacrifices, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-7).
• These sacrifices were a way for the Israelites to maintain their relationship with God and atone for their sins.

LEVITICUS 1:1-9
1 Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.
3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He will bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

• Substitute Sacrifice
• God accepts a substitute sacrifice on behalf of the one He loves.
• The precedent has been set.

5 He is to slaughter the bull before the Lord; Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and splatter it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6 Then he is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will prepare a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Aaron’s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat on top of the burning wood on the altar. 9 The offerer is to wash its entrails and legs with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.[1]
 
Priestly Duties:

• The book outlines the roles and responsibilities of the priests, particularly those from the tribe of Levi.
• It includes the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests and the regulations they must follow in their service (Leviticus 8-10).

 
Purity Laws:

• Leviticus contains laws concerning ritual purity, including dietary restrictions, laws about clean and unclean animals, and regulations for dealing with skin diseases and bodily discharges (Leviticus 11-15).
• These laws were meant to teach the Israelites about holiness and separation from impurity.

LEVITICUS 11:1-8
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals. 3 You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud. 4 But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these:
camels, though they chew the cud,
do not have divided hooves—they are unclean for you;
5 hyraxes, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
6 hares, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
7 pigs, though they have divided hooves,
do not chew the cud—they are unclean for you.
8 Do not eat any of their meat or touch their carcasses—they are unclean for you.[2]
Day of Atonement:

• One of the central events in Leviticus is the Day of Atonement, a yearly observance where the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16).
• This foreshadows the ultimate atonement made by Jesus Christ.

LEVITICUS 16:17-19
17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel. 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites’ impurities. [3]
 
Moral and Ethical Laws:

• The book includes various moral and ethical laws, such as those concerning sexual conduct, social justice, and interpersonal relationships (Leviticus 17-20).
• These laws emphasize the importance of living a life that reflects God's holiness.

LEVITICUS 17:10-12
10 “Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.[4]
 
Festivals and Sabbaths:

• Leviticus outlines the religious festivals and Sabbaths that the Israelites were to observe, including Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23-25).

LEVITICUS 23:1-3
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are my appointed times, the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.
3 “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. [5]
 
Blessings and Curses:
The book concludes with a section on the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, highlighting the covenant relationship between God and His people (Leviticus 26).
LEVITICUS 27:34
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai. [6]
Leviticus, while often seen as a book of laws, ultimately points to the holiness of God and the need for atonement and reconciliation.

• Themes that are fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.

 
There is often confusion about the role of the Old Testament Law and how it relates to Christians today.

• I believe the Levitical laws were just for the Jewish people.
• Others say they apply to everyone who would worship God.

 
First, let’s clarify some terms.

• The Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s twelve sons.
• Moses was of the tribe of Levi, and when God delivered the Law to him on Mount Sinai, He marked the Levites as the tribe responsible for the primary religious duties in the nation.
• They were made priests, singers, and caretakers in the worship of God.
• In calling it the Levitical Law, we acknowledge that God revealed the Law through Moses, a Levite, and that God appointed the Levites as the religious leaders of Israel.
• The same Law is sometimes called “Mosaic” because it was given through Moses, and it is also referred to as the “Old Covenant,” because it is part of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants.

To discover God’s purpose in the Law, we must first look at its inception, and the things God said to Moses about it.

• When Moses and the people arrived at Mount Sinai, God said,

EXODUS 19:5-6
5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” [7]

• The first mention of the Law to the nation was as a covenant—a legal agreement between God and the people He chose.
• The Israelites were required to obey it fully if they were to receive its benefits.

 
God began His introduction to the Law with the Ten Commandments, but the entire Law encompasses 613 commandments, as detailed in the rest of the books of Moses.

• Jesus summarized the Law as having two emphases: love for God and love for neighbors (Matthew 22:37–39).
• These emphases can be easily seen in the Ten Commandments: the first four commands focus on our relation to God, and the remainder focus on interpersonal relations.
• If we think that is the whole purpose of the Law, though, we miss an important element. Many of the individual commands give detailed instruction on how God was to be worshiped and how the people were to live their lives.
• It is in those fine details that love was either shown or withheld.

 
For hundreds of years, the Israelites lived under the Levitical Law, sometimes obeying it but more often failing to follow God’s commands.

• Much of Old Testament history deals with the punishments Israel received for their disobedience.
• When Jesus Christ came, He said that He did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets . . . but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
• In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took the Law to a higher level, applying it to the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• This perspective significantly diminishes our ability to keep the Law.

 
The apostle Paul gives us insight into God’s purpose for the Law in his letter to the Galatians.

• In Galatians 3:10 he says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’”
• The fine details show up again—if we don’t keep every command perfectly, we are condemned (see James 2:10).

GALATIANS 3:19-26
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power,, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.[8]

• The Law pointed out our sinfulness, proved our inability to keep our end of the covenant, made us prisoners in our guilt, and showed our need of a Savior.
• The purpose of the Law is also revealed:

ROMANS 3:20
20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.[9]

The Levitical Law did its job well, pointing out the sinfulness of mankind and condemning us for it.
HEBREWS 7:18-19
18 So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.[10]

• (for the law made nothing perfect).”
• The Law had no way of changing our sinful nature.
• We needed something better to accomplish that.

HEBREWS 10:1-4
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [11]
 
God’s desire has always been to have fellowship with mankind, but our sin prevented that.

• He gave the Law to set a standard of holiness—and, at the same time, to show that we could never meet that standard on our own.
• That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of our violating that same Law.

HEBREWS10:11-14
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God., 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[12]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 1:1–9.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 11:1–8.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 16:17–19.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 17:10–12.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 23:1–3.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 27:34.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 19:4–6.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 3:19–26.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ro 3:20.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 7:18–19.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:1–4.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:11–14.

ABRAHAM’S THREE VISITORS
GENESIS 18
1 The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him.

• The Angel of Yahweh and 2 other angels.

When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”
“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures of fine flour and make bread.” 7 Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then Abraham took curds and milk, as well as the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree.
 
SARAH LAUGHS
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

• Similar question he asked Adam & Eve.
• “Where are you?”
• “Where’s your brother Abel?” to Cain

“There, in the tent,” he answered.

• What does “in the tent” mean?

10 The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

• It doesn’t say that she was hiding.

11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?”

• Doubt?
• Cynical?
• Delight?
• Sarah denied that she had laughed either from fear of the LORD's power or from fear of offending Him.

13 But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord?

• Defending himself?
• Again, God built confidence in His word.
• If the LORD could read Sarah's thoughts, could He not also open her womb?
• Believers should never doubt God's promises, because nothing is impossible for Him.

At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”
15 Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.
But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”[1]

• Can you imagine that confrontation?

 
ABRAHAM’S PLEA FOR SODOM
16 The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. 17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? 18 Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what he promised him.”

• Words recorded by Moses

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”
22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?”
26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

• Just who is Abraham trying to save?
• The city? Or the righteous people?

27 Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord—even though I am dust and ashes--28 suppose the fifty righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Then he spoke to him again, “Suppose forty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it on account of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to my lord, suppose twenty are found there?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.”

• Evidently, Abraham was not trying to wear God down by pressuring Him.
• Instead, he sought clarification from God as to the extent of His mercy.
• He wanted to find out just how merciful God would be in judging Sodom.
• Why did Abraham stop with 10 righteous people?
• Perhaps he had learned that the LORD would be merciful regardless of the number.
• Perhaps he thought there would be at least 10 righteous people in Sodom.
• If so, he underestimated the wickedness of the Sodomites, and perhaps, he overestimated "righteous" Lot's influence over his neighbors.

33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed, and Abraham returned to his place. [2]
 
THE BIRTH OF ISAAC
GENESIS 21
1 The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him. 3 Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”, 7 She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him in his old age.” [3]
 
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
GENESIS 22
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!”

• The family test, when he had to leave his loved ones and step out to a new land.
• The famine test, when he went down into Egypt.
• The fellowship test, when Lot separated from him.
• The fight test, when he defeated the Mesopotamian kings.
• The fortune test, when he said no to Sodom's wealth.
• The fatherhood test, when Sarah got impatient with God.
• The farewell test, when Ishmael left him.

“Here I am,” he answered.
2 “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
3 So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac. In his hand he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them walked on together.
7 Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”
And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”
Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide, the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.
9 When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He replied, “Here I am.”
12 Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

• This is the first explicit mention in the Bible of the substitutionary sacrifice of one life for another.

14 And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the Lord’s mountain.”

• Same place as the Holy of Holies.
• Where the curtain was torn on Good Friday.

15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn,” this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,

• God did not withhold His only Son.

17 I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies. 18 And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command.”
19 Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba. [4]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 18:1–15.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 18:16–33.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 21:1–7.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ge 22:1–19.

• This is a summary of what has already been written.
• Wash, rinse & repeat!

THE PERFECT SACRIFICE
HEBREWS 10
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

• Shadow – outlines an object.
• They all knew something better was to come.
• What was to come? Jesus
• Good things to come – Jesus’ life, fulfilling the Law, death and His resurrection.
• Colossians 2:17 - These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.
• Colossians 2:20-23 - If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. 23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self(fleshly)-indulgence.[1]
• No one wants religion.
• They want the real person.
• Perfect – reach an end, finished or complete.
• What keeps us from God now? Our sin.
• Totally perfect in our person to access God.
• We have been made perfect and have access.

2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

• It never happened in the Old Covenant.
• This is where the battle happens today.
• The evil one accuses us and reminds of our sin.
• He even prompts us to work on our sin… the devil.
• Christ said, “It is finished.”
• We are to live our lives consciously free of sin.
• What does repentance look like?

 
3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

• Sins were not forgiven… only atoned… covered.
• Impossible!
• Bull blood for the High Priest (Lev 16:11)
• Goat blood for the people (Lev 16:15)
• Jeremiah 31:33 - “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin. [2]

5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:

• (Psalm 40:6-8)

You did not desire sacrifice and offering,
but you prepared a body for me.
6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 Then I said, “See-- it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, God.”
8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will.

• Sacrifices and offerings did not accomplish forgiveness.
• Prepared a body – Jesus, God’s son lived in the body.
• Jesus chose through faith to do His Father’s will and died for the sin of man.

He takes away the first to establish the second.

• God did not take away the Law… for the unredeemed.
• But it is taken away from the redeemed.
• The Old Covenant animal sacrifices were done away with when Jesus died for the New Covenant to be ushered in.
• The Old Covenant is now null and void.
• Review the circumstances the Hebrew Christians are under in their choice.
• Persecution or going back to the Old Covenant.
• Legalism or freedom?

10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

• Sanctified – to be made holy, set apart, made a saint.
• Not just declared to someday attain when we die.
• Not positional – we are holy but not holy.
• Sanctified in the Greek is in the perfect tense which communicates past completed action with a resulting state of being.
• We have been made forever holy.
• You can never be more holy than you are right now.
• It is not your behavior that makes you holy.
• It is only Jesus.

11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins.

• This was a lot of daily work for the priests.
• Constantly on their feet.

12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

• We are a forgiven people.
• We live in a state of forgiveness.
• All sin forever… all sin for mankind.
• It is through faith & repentance that one receives this forgiveness made available to all.

13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.

• Even though they have already been defeated at the cross… the footstool is yet to happen.

14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

• Perfected – past tense, completed action with a resulting state of being. We are perfected.
• Sanctified – present tense… it is happening now. An ongoing process.
• NIV says “who are being made holy.”
• What is being sanctified now? Our behavior.
• What you do is not who you are.
• Who you are has a great impact on what you do.
• Your soul & spirit have been perfected.
• Your behavior is being sanctified.
• Sanctified is in the passive voice meaning that it is God who will sanctify our behavior, not us.
• Believers were made perfect forever.
• It is impossible to lose our righteousness.
• Can you complete the race? Done deal.
• Perseverance… is about intimacy with God.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says:

• The Holy Spirit gets credit for speaking through Jeremiah.

16 This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds,
17 and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.[3]

• Forgiveness has occurred.
• Does God have a list of your sins? NO!
• Why would you continue with your sacrifices?
• Why do you keep asking for what you already have?
• This letter greatly impacted these Hebrew Christians.
• Not a single one of them perished in destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Col 2:17–23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Je 31:33–34). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 10:1–18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Let me reiterate what I said last week…
• The Old Covenant originated in the Old Testament…
• Do not disregard the Old Testament.
• Learn to distinguish Old Testament from Old Covenant.
• The non-believing Jews worshipped the system described in the Old Covenant. They did this in both the Old & New Testaments.
• Today we put more value on our local churches (systems) than we do our relationship with Jesus.

OLD COVENANT MINISTRY
HEBREWS 9
1 Now the first covenant also had regulations for ministry and an earthly sanctuary.

• Offerings & sacrifices in the tabernacle.

2 For a tabernacle was set up, and in the first room, which is called the holy place, were the lampstand, the table, and the presentation loaves.

• This was before Solomon’s & Herod’s temples.
• Descriptions can be found in Exodus 35-40.
• The outer court was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide.
• The court was 45 feet long and 15 feet wide.
• Holy Place was 30 feet long by 15 wide.

3 Behind the second curtain was a tent called the most holy place.

• Holy of Holies was 15 feet long and 15 feet wide and 15 feet high.

4 It had the gold altar of incense and the ark of the covenant, covered with gold on all sides, in which was a gold jar containing the manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.

• All three items represented Israel’s rebellion.

5 The cherubim of glory were above the ark overshadowing the mercy seat. It is not possible to speak about these things in detail right now.

• The Mercy Seat covered their acts of rebellion.
• The Mercy Seat was soon the place where sin was to be forgiven

6 With these things prepared like this, the priests enter the first room repeatedly, performing their ministry. 7 But the high priest alone enters the second room, and he does that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.

• General priests went in and out of the Holy Place performing duties.
• The High Priest went into the Holy of Holies at least twice on the Day of Atonement.
• Once to offer a sacrifice for his sins and a second time to offer a sacrifice for all other sin.
• Obvious sins could be dealt with any day of the year.
• “sins of ignorance” were covered on the Day of Atonement only.
• “sins of ignorance” – hidden sins or sins they had forgotten.

8 The Holy Spirit was making it clear that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed while the first tabernacle was still standing.

• The closest place a common Jew could get near to God was the outer court.
• Only the High Priest had access to God one day a year.
• They were limited to the access of God because their sins had only been covered and not forgiven.

9 This is a symbol for the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper’s conscience.

• Symbol – picture of the real thing. A copy.

10 They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of the new order.

• The covering only dealt with the outward behavior and not the problem that existed within.
• They still had a sinful nature.
• “Time of restoration” – to make right or correct.
• All the sins during the OT were dealt with at the cross.

 
NEW COVENANT MINISTRY
11 But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation),

• Jesus entered the tabernacle pitched by the Lord in Heaven.
• Ephesians 2:6 - He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,[1]
• Jesus has provided us access to God 24/7.

12 he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

• The high priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of bulls/calves for his own sin.
• He then reentered with the blood of goats for the people.
• Jesus entered one time with His own perfect blood.
• Jesus’ one time entry was for all eternity. (secure)

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

• Atonement was only for behavior

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?

• Christ’s blood & forgiveness was for the renewing of the soul, spirit and body.
• Our old sinful nature was removed and replaced with a new nature.
• Ezekiel 36:26 – I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.[2]
• We became saints who sometimes sin… and not lowly sinners saved by grace.
• Jesus did this through the Spirit… the same Spirit that lives in you and me.
• We have been empowered.

15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant,

• Mediator – one who intervenes between two parties to ratify a covenant or peace.

so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

• The OT believers were saved at this point.
• Saved through repentance and faith.
• They believed in the Messiah that was to come.
• They were credited righteousness. Genesis 15:6

16 Where a will exists, the death of the one who made it must be established.

• Whoever makes a will can change it as long as they are alive.
• But the will goes into effect when the person dies.
• It is binding, unalterable and irrevocable.
• Once again, we are secure.

17 For a will is valid only when people die, since it is never in effect while the one who made it is living. 18 That is why even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood.

• God established the covenant with blood.
• It was the animals that died, not the initiator.
• Why blood? – Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.[3]
• The life is in the blood.
• Blood is the symbol of death

19 For when every command had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll itself and all the people, 20 saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God has ordained for you. 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the articles of worship with blood. 22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

• Blood was the symbol of death… if it was just the blood, the animals would not have to die.
• Death had to occur.
• Old Covenant was sealed with blood of animals.
• New Covenant was sealed with blood of Jesus.
• Moses’ actions pointed to what Christ was to come and do in the future.
• Once the Old Covenant was sealed with blood, it could not be altered.
• The New Covenant made the Old Covenant obsolete.
• It took the death of a perfect man to remove the sin of man.

23 Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these.

• Why did the heavenly tabernacle need to be purified?
• Satan brought sin into heaven after he fell.
• He approached God in Job 1:6-7
• Revelation 12:10 says he is still accusing the brethren.

24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us.

• Jesus never entered into the Holy of Holies in the Temple (Herod’s) because He was not a high priest on earth.
• Now he represents all of God’s children in heaven.

25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.

• Jesus’s blood sacrifice made it final… “It is finished.”
• One time only!
• He sat down.

26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.

• Forgiveness occurred at one time.
• He doesn’t climb back up on the cross for any more sin.
• Sin is an issue that has already been dealt with and defeated.
• He died once… never to die again!

27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment--

• General statement – Lazarus died twice as well as others in the OT/NT that were raised from the dead.
• Enoch & Elijah never died at all.
• Judgment follows death
• Great White Throne Judgment for non-believers in Revelation 20:11-15.
• Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
• Romans 8:1 – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,[4]

28 so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.[5]

• When Jesus returns, He will not be dealing with the sin issue… He already did.
• When we see Jesus face to face… He will not mention one single sin to you.
• We live in a constant state of forgiveness.
• The High Priest always came out to the people with confirmation that their sacrifices had been received.
• When Jesus returns, it will be confirmation that the Father was pleased with His Son’s offering.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 2:6). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Eze 36:26). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Le 17:11–12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 8:1). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 9:1–28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

The author spends almost 2 chapters trying to convince the Christian believers outside of Jerusalem that Jesus is better than the angels.

• The author uses their shared common experience of the Old Testament to prove that Jesus is the one prophesied about.
• He is reflecting back on what they bought into to prove his point about the New Covenant.

 
Colts Fans:

• What year did we win the Super Bowl?
• Who was the MVP?
• Who did we beat?
• What was the score?
• Who were the 2 coaches?
• Who scored first?
• Where was it?
• What was the weather?

 

• The Jews believed that Moses received the Law through angels.
• Some Jews carried it further and worshipped angels.
• They thought angels completely controlled the universe.
• The writer of Hebrews knows the readers of this letter need more proof than these first 4 verses so He finishes this chapter and into the next convincing them of Jesus’ superiority.

 
THE SON SUPERIOR TO ANGELS
HEBREWS 1
5 For to which of the angels did he ever say,
You are my Son;
today I have become your Father, (Psalm 2:7)
or again,
I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son? (2 Sam 7:14)

• Scripture never refers to angels as God’s offspring, because God has never “begotten” and angel.
• Angels are created beings.
• Colossians 1:16 says Jesus created all things. So if he created the Angels He has to be greater than them.

6 Again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
And let all God’s angels worship him. (Psalm 97:7)

• “again” has to refer to His second coming.
• “firstborn” is not about time but position.
• “world” refers to inhabited earth not universe.
• Don’t the angels already worship Jesus?
• Not according to Paul & Peter… they are learning about the finished work of Jesus by watching the Church… us.

7 And about the angels he says:
He makes his angels winds,
and his servants a fiery flame, (Psalm 104:4)

• It is obvious the angels are under Jesus’ authority.

8 but to the Son:
Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice. (Psalm 45:6-7)

• The only place in Scripture where Jesus is referred to as God.
• His throne is forever.

9 You have loved righteousness
and hated lawlessness;
this is why God, your God,
has anointed you
with the oil of joy
beyond your companions.

• Angels were never anointed.
• Lucifer was anointed in Ezekiel, but he was a cherub.
• Angels were the lowest of three.
• Cherubim, seraphim and angels are still created beings.
• If we love righteousness and hate sin, the fruit of the Spirit will be manifested in our lives and the anointing on us will be clear to others.

10 And:
In the beginning, Lord,
you established the earth,
and the heavens are the works of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain.
They will all wear out like clothing; (Psalm 102:25-27)
12 you will roll them up like a cloak,
and they will be changed like clothing.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.

• Jesus never changes… even when things seem out of control.

13 Now to which of the angels has he ever said:
Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool? (Psalm 110:1)
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation?

• Jesus is sitting down next to God and the angels are running about ministering to believers.
• The writer is not demeaning angels or even their calling.
• It is that Jesus is to be worshipped and not the angels.

 
WARNING AGAINST NEGLECT
HEBREWS 2
1 For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.

• They have heard the New Covenant and encouraged not to go back to the Old Covenant.
• This is not about them losing their salvation.

2 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

• The Law (Moses) is doing its thing. If it is ignored, judgment comes (natural consequences).
• Romans 5:20 - The law came along to multiply the trespass.[1]
• 70 AD was coming… salvation is their only choice.
• Emperor worship was big under Nero
• Gentiles grew in number
• Nero burned Rome and blamed Christians.
• Jews took control of Jerusalem. (64-6 AD)
• “neglect” – set your gift on a shelf.

This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

• Spoken by Jesus but heard through others confirms that author was not original 11 or Paul.

4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.

• This is the Church today.

 
JESUS AND HUMANITY
5 For he has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about. 6 But someone somewhere has testified:
What is man that you remember him,
or the son of man that you care for him?
7 You made him lower than the angels
for a short time;

• Angels can approach the throne of God where man cannot at this point.

you crowned him with glory and honor
8 and subjected everything under his feet.
For in subjecting everything to him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him.

• God put Adam & Eve over everything, and they gave that up.
• Some day we will be subject over all things again… including angels.

9 But we do see Jesus--made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone--crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.

• Jesus became God man… and died for us… He experienced suffering to the greatest degree.
• He didn’t put us through anything that He didn’t go through Himself.

10 For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—for whom and through whom all things exist—should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

• The supreme sacrifice was appropriate.
• Christ will present all things to the Father.
• We have already been brought to glory through Jesus’ life.
• Bob Warren – Glory Video

11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,

• We have been sanctified… past tense.
• Our behavior is being sanctified.

12 saying:
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; (Psalm 22:22)
I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.,
13 Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me. (Isaiah 8:17-18)
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil--15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.

• Satan uses the fear of death as a terrible weapon to gain control over the lives of people.[2]
• Revelation 1:17-18 - When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18 and the Living One. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades.[3]

16 For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring.

• Jesus did not die for angels.
• Once angels fall, they cannot be redeemed.
• Jesus came to redeem man. Jesus is greater than the redeemed.
• Angels could not be redeemed. Jesus is greater than the angels.
• Jesus had to be an offspring of Abraham. He came to redeem the Jews.
• Leviticus 25:25 - If your brother becomes destitute and sells part of his property, his nearest relative may come and redeem what his brother has sold.[4]
• Jesus is to be worshipped because of the New Covenant being great than the Old Covenant.

17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement, for the sins of the people.

• Jesus had to become a male Jew – only male Jews could become priests.
• Jesus wasn’t always a priest, he became a priest at the time of the cross.
• “propitiation” – to appease, satisfy or to pardon.
• Jesus’ blood & death paid the price for man’s redemption.

18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.[5]

• Jesus was tempted as we are tempted.
• Jesus had to deal with the whole thought issue as we do.
• He knew what it was to be despised and rejected, to be lied about and falsely accused.[6]

My Savior, my God understands my suffering better than anyone.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 5:20). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 2:5). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Re 1:17–18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Le 25:25). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 1:5–2:18). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Heb 2:5). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

What is in the bottle?
We can clearly see the bottle and describe the bottle. But we struggle with knowing what is inside the bottle.
 
So it was and is with the Lord’s humanity. Men saw him tired, hungry, suffering, weeping, and thought he was only man. He was made in the likeness of men.
Yet He is divinely God over all, blessed forever. We have to taste and see that the Lord is good.
------------------------------------------------------------
Dogs are man’s best friends, so let’s assume that the dogs in your town have developed a problem that has them in deep distress and that only you can provide the help they need.
 
If it would help all the dogs to become more like men, would you be willing to become a dog? Would you put down your human nature, family, job, hobbies, and all else and choose—instead of intimate communion with your beloved—the poor substitute of looking into the beloved’s face and wagging your tail, unable to smile or speak?
 
When Christ became a man through the incarnation, he voluntarily limited what to him was the most precious thing in the world: unhampered, unhindered communion with the Father.[1]
 
Humanity of Jesus
Philippians 2:8 - He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.[2]
seen in

• 1) His birth
  • Galatians 4:4 - When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [3];
  • Luke 2:7 - Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.[4]
  • John 1:46 - “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. [5]
  • Hebrews 2:9 - But we do see Jesus--made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone--crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.[6]
• 2) His circumstances
  • Carpenter’s son
  • No home
  • Loved by some and hated by some
• 3) his reputation
  • Isaiah 53:2-9 – He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him.
    • He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
    • Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
    • But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.
    • We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.
    • He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.
    • He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;
he was struck because of my people’ rebellion.

• He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.[7]
  • Matthew 26:59 - The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,[8]
  • Matthew 26:67-68 - Then they spat in his face and beat him; others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?” [9]

• 4) His soul
  • Matthew 4:1–2 - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.[10]
  • Luke 22:44 - Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.[11]
  • Hebrews 2:17-18 - Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement, for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. [12]

Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.[13]

• 5) His death
  • Luke 23
  • John 19
  • Mark 15:24-25 - Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. 25 Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified him.[14]
• 6) and His burial
  • Isaiah 53:9 - He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.[15]
  • Matthew 27:57-60 - When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it be released. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, 60 and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb.[16]

His humiliation was necessary

• 1) to execute the purpose of God
  • Acts 2:23-24 - Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. 24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.[17]
• 2) fulfil the Old Testament types and prophecies
  • These cannot all come to pass by chance.
  • In 1969, Professor Peter Stoner took eight of those prophecies, eight of them...born in Bethlehem, preceded by a messenger, riding on a donkey, betrayed by a friend, sold for 30 pieces of silver, money used to buy a potter's field, silent as a lamb, hands and feet pieced.
  • Had his math students do a study of the science of probability. They came up with one chance in ten to the seventeenth power...that's one chance in ten with seventeen zeroes after it.
  • And interestingly enough, some years later his grandson went back to the problem and decided it was actually ten to the eighteenth power. I'm not sure where that distinction lies.
  • Cover Texas with silver dollars... have a blind man pick 1 pre-marked silver dollar out of the whole bunch.
• 3) satisfy the law in the room of the guilty and procure for them eternal redemption,
  • Hebrews 9:12, 15 - He entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption…
    • Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant,, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.[18]
• 4) and to show us an example.

 
Issues prevalent today:

• Acceptance
• Stress/Anxiety/Depression
  • Serious mental stress is a fact of life for many Americans.
  • Seven-in-ten teens say anxiety and depression are major problems among their peers
• Alcohol & Drugs
• Sexual Activity
• Cyber Addiction (Social Networking)
• Bullying & Cyberbullying
• Peer Pressure
• Desensitization
• Poverty
• Disrespect/Defiant Behaviors
• Trust
• Motivation

 
Divinity of Jesus
Birth

• Luke 1:35 - The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.[19]

 
Ministry through miracles – Works of God done by Christ

• Minimum 37 miracles in the Gospels.
• 3 Messianic miracles:
  • Healing a Jewish leper
  • Casting out demons from a mute
  • Healing of man that was born blind

 
Jesus forgave sins

• Matthew 9:1-7 - So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town. 2 Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”
• 3 At this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “He’s blaspheming!”
• 4 Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts? 5 For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” 7 So he got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men. [20]

 
Sacrifice for forgiveness

• Hebrews 9:24-26 - For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us. 25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. 26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.[21]
• Hebrew 10:10-14 - 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
• 11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God., 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[22]

 
Claimed the Ability to Give Rest to Anyone

• Matthew 11:28 - “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”[23]

 
Resurrection
 - Acts 1:3-8 – 3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
THE HOLY SPIRIT PROMISED
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[24]
 
Promise of His return

• John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.[25]
• Colossians 1:15-20 – 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
• For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--

all things have been created through him and for him.

• He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
• He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
• For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross[26]

• Matthew 12:38-42 - Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
• He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish, three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look—something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here. [27]
• Philippians 2:5-11 - Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.
•   The word “form” means “the outward expression of the inward nature.” This means that in eternity past, Jesus Christ was God. In fact, Paul states that He was “equal with God.”[28]
• Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.
• For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth--11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[29]

 
You can clearly see through history that Jesus was real.

• Jesus’ humanity is recorded in history
• Even the deity of Jesus has been recorded (His birth, ministry, death, burial and resurrection)
• But with all that proof… it still takes faith.
• Faith to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

[1] Green, M. P. (Ed.). (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Php 2:8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ga 4:4). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 2:7). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 1:46). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 2:9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Is 53:2-9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 26:59). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 26:67-68). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 4:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 22:44). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 2:17–18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 4:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[14] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mk 15:23–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Is 53:9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 27:57–60). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[17] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ac 2:23–24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[18] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 9:12,15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[19] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 1:35). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[20] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 9:1–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[21] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 9:24–26). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[22] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 10:10–14). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[23] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 11:28–30). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[24] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ac 1:3–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[25] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 1:1–5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[26] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Col 1:15–20). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[27] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 12:38–42). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[28] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 74). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[29] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Php 2:5–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Review
 - Jeremiah 7 & 19 – The Scribes purchased the exact land that had been cursed by Jeremiah.
​
Matthew 27:2, 11-14
JESUS HANDED OVER TO PILATE
1 When daybreak came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death. 2 After tying him up, they led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.[1]

• Refer to John 18:28

 
JESUS FACES PILATE
Mark 15:1-5
1 As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.[2]
 
JESUS FACES PILATE
Luke 23:1-5
1 Then their whole assembly rose up and brought him before Pilate. 2 They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”[3]
 
JESUS BEFORE PILATE
John 18:28-38
28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters (praetorium).
 - Probably previously built by Herod the Great in Jerusalem at the northwest corner of the city walls in the Upper City.
 - Pilate was Governor over the Jews from 26-36 AD.
 - Pilate hated the Jews.
 - Luke 13:1 - Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.[4]
It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

• Jesus had previously eaten the Paschal meal with His disciple
• Feast of the Unleavened Bread is also referred to as the Passover.
• Luke 22:1 - Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.[5]
• Leviticus 23 – Rules for the 7/8 Feasts

1) Sabbath
2) Passover
3) Unleavened Bread
4) First Fruits
5) Pentecost
6) Atonement
7) Tabernacle (Booths)

• The Feast of the Unleavened Bread lasted 7 days.
• Passover was seven days.
• So when referred to in the Scripture it could be talking about anytime during the 7 days and it we have to fit the moment into a timeline that works.
• Jesus had already eaten the Pashcal meal with His Disciples on Thursday.
• This passage has to refer to the Chagigah Meal eaten on Friday at 9 AM.
• Deuteronomy 16:2-3 - 2 Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have his name dwell. 3 Do not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship—because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.[6]
• “It” is in reference to the Chagigah sacrifice.
  
  

The Three Things (Edersheim)
We have already explained that according to the Rabbis, As specially applied to the Passover, This burnt-offering was to be taken only from ‘Cholin’ (or profane substance), that is, from such as did not otherwise belong to the Lord, either as tithes, firstlings, or things devoted, etc. might be twofold. The first Chagigah was offered on the 14th of Nisan, the day of the Paschal sacrifice, and formed afterwards part of the Paschal Supper. The second Chagigah was offered on the 15th of Nisan, or the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. It is this second Chagigah which the Jews were afraid they might be unable to eat, if they contracted defilement in the judgment-hall of Pilate. In reference to the first Chagigah, the Mishanah lays down the rule, that As in the case of all other peace-offerings, part of this Chagigah might be kept, though not for longer than one night and two days from its sacrifice. Being a voluntary offering, it was lawful to bring it from sacred things (such as tithes of the flock). But the Chagigah for the 15th of Nisan was obligatory, and had therefore to be brought from ‘Cholin.’ As stated in a previous chapter, all the twenty-four courses, into which the priests were arranged, ministered in the Temple on this, as on the other great festivals, and they distributed among themselves alike what fell to them of the festive sacrifices and the shewbread. But the course which, in its proper order, was on duty for the week, alone offered all votive, and voluntary, and the public sacrifices for the whole congregation, such as those of the morning and the evening.[7]
 

• They had already been cleansed for the Paschal sacrifice the night before.
• Now they are concerned about being cleansed for another sacrifice… the Chagigah sacrifice.
• Mishnah – “Dwelling places of gentiles [in the Land of Israel] are unclean.”[8]
• Leviticus 22:6 - 6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening and is not to eat from the holy offerings unless he has bathed his body with water.[9]
• Mishnah - 6:3       A. When does one [also] bring a [free will] festal offering with it [over and above the Passover offering]?
•    B. When [the Passover offering] is offered on an ordinary day, [with most people] in a state of cleanness, and [meat of the Passover offering] is not sufficient [for all registered for it].
•    C. But when it is offered on the Sabbath, and [meat] is abundant, and [most people are] in a state of uncleanness,
•    D. they do not bring with it a [free will] festal offering.[10]
• From a Jewish perspective, they had to remain cleansed for the next sacrificial offering that was to take place at 9 AM on Friday.
• It is the only way we can reconcile John 18:28

 
29 So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”

• Roman law demanded that a formal charge be brought before trial.
• Judas was dead.
• The charge during the “religious trial” was blasphemy.

30 They answered him, “If this man weren’t a criminal, we wouldn’t have handed him over to you.”

• They didn’t have a civil charge against Jesus.

31 Pilate told them, “You take him and judge him according to your law.”

• Pilate didn’t care for the Jews.

“It’s not legal for us to put anyone to death,” the Jews declared. 32 They said this so that Jesus’ words might be fulfilled indicating what kind of death he was going to die.

• Galatians – 3:13 -  13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. (Deuteronomy 21:23) [11]
• Babylonian Talmud -     If we should proposed that it is R. Yohanan ben Zakkai, did he ever sit in a sanhedrin [that tried a murder case]? And has it not been taught on Tannaite authority: The lifetime of R. Yohanan ben Zakkai was a hundred and twenty years. For forty years he engaged in trade, for forty years he studied [Torah], and for forty years he taught. And it has been taught on Tannaite authority: Forty years before the destruction of the Temple the sanhedrin went into exile and conducted its sessions in Hanut. And said R. Isaac bar Abodimi, “That is to say that the sanhedrin did not judge cases involving penalties.”[12]
• What about the fact that to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus was to be crucified, God took away the ability for the Jewish Sanhedrin to try capital cases?
• The exact same year that Jesus was to die.
• If the Jews would have tried and convicted Jesus, He would have been stoned.
• The only way he could be crucified on the cross was if the Romans convicted Him because that is how they put their criminals to death.[13]

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Mt 27:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Mk 15:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Lk 23:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Lk 13:1–2). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Lk 22:1). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Dt 16:2–3). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Edersheim, A. (1959). The Temple, its ministry and services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ. (pp. 218–219). London: James Clarke & Co.
[8] Neusner, J. (1988). The Mishnah : A new translation (p. 980). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Le 22:6). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Neusner, J. (1988). The Mishnah : A new translation (p. 240). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ga 3:13). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 16, p. 207). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 18:28–32). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.