MORNING MUSING 11th JANUARY 2008

“He came and preached peace”, now that is a wonderful phrase to muse on before the Lord on a cold, wet and dark January morning in England!  It comes from Ephesians chapter two. They are liberating words and most precious.  It is music to the ears that hear it and life to the soul.  In the Bible the word for peace (Shalom) includes much more than the ending of hostilities or maybe the tranquility which results from an end of disturbances.  Added to those meanings is the idea of sitting together and feasting celebrating joyfully with the very ones with whom there had been enmity!  Romans chapter five verse one tells us that ‘we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’.  Peace has come.  Peace with God, with whom we were formerly inveterate enemies.   

 

 The same chapter tells us that whilst we were enemies Christ died for us.  He has now come forth preaching peace to all, peace through the Lord Christ.  Of course, we can hardly believe it and God sends His Spirit to convince us through the gospel of its truth.  There are some beautiful symbolic representations of these things in the part of the Bible sometimes called the Old Testament.  Perhaps we should cease calling it by that name.  A better title would be the Former Testament.  God gave that testament and it was very precious to those who walked in its light.  However, He has given to us a better testament that we know as the New Testament.

 

 Both testaments were the actions of the God of grace stretching forth His arms of love.  The First Testament, the Former one was His overtures of peace to the nation of His choosing, namely Israel.  The Second Testament, the New manifests something better in every way, and among the many things in which it is better is that in it He reveals His offer of peace to all mankind not only to one nation.  Remember that heavenly host crying on the Bethlehem hills before the shepherds that night of the birth of Jesus?  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…….”  Some translations say “peace among those with whom He is pleased” and others say ‘peace and good will toward men’.  Let us emphasize the peace from Him!  His will to peace through His Son and His will that there be peace between men through His Son too.  It is accomplished through His Son, always we come back to this. 

 

Through Jesus, through His work, through His sacrifice, not through anything we have done.  In that Former Testament there were wonderful pictures of this sacrifice of His Son as I have mentioned above.  These pictures are usually called ‘types and shadows”  ( Hebrews 8v5 and 10 v1).  They are beautiful.  There were five basic offerings and these were called the burnt, the meal, the sin, the trespass and the peace offering.  In the order in which they were practiced the peace offering came last.  Peace as the result of the other four.  In the peace offering the sacrifices were quite large animals, no little birds were to be used as with some of the others.  An ox or a lamb or a goat was needed and in this case the offerer killed the sacrifice and some of it was burned on the altar to God, some was for the priest to eat and some the offerer and his companions was commanded to eat too. 

 

This is unique among the offerings.  In the others the offerer ate nothing. You can read about these things in that apparently dry book in the Former Testament called Leviticus!  Now, in this sacrifice, he sits at the table with God and with his fellow believers and shares in the peace that has been obtained through the offerings already offered.  Perhaps no bird could be offered in this sacrifice because it would not have been large enough to suffice for all to eat.  Also, in a bird there would have been no ‘fat’ and ‘fat’ was important in this sacrifice as that part which was to be burnt on the altar to God.  The fat was God’s portion, the fat surrounding the inward organs and in the large tail often present in those animals in the east.  This symbolized the richness of the inward life of Christ the true Peace Offering.  The priests ate the shoulder and the breast, these were waved before God and everyone present and symbolized the strength and carrying power of Christ and His heart of glorious affection finally the offerer shared with his friends in all the remainder and it had to be ate in the presence of God and the Priests in the tabernacle.

 

This was commanded, they had to eat, nothing optional here!  They were all to rejoice in the finished work of God with God!   I do not understand all these symbolisms as I should, there must be a hundred lessons here, but another interesting feature was that in this peace offering both a male or a female animal could be offered.  This was unique to this sacrifice.  In all the others it was only a male that could be offered.  What can this mean?  Is it focusing our attention in yet another way upon the ‘two made one’ that is first mentioned when Adam saw Eve for the first time.  Does it reinforce the message of peace between the sexes, the peaceful union and joyous agreement between God and man and man and woman?  You have doubtless heard the Hebrew greetings ‘Shalom’.  Peace, prosperity and joy, health and wholeness, the word has a wealth of meaning.  It is God’s word to us in these days for He has made peace, accomplishing the reconciliation of all things unto Himself, whether on earth or in heaven through the blood of His cross.  Let us respond to His overtures of love that call us to live in the good of this reconciliation with Him and with His will and with one another.

 

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