Numbers 29
At the end of Romans 13, Paul writes, “Besides this
you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The
night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the
works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly
as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual
immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to
gratify its desires.”
Do you know what the time is? People may over-drink to
amuse themselves. People may over-amuse themselves with entertainment
and sensuality in order to forget. But doesn't everyone know that
unlimited partying only leads to sickness and death?
“Mr. Bailey,” asks a man at the bar tenderly to his
friend George Bailey, “Why do you drink so much? Go home, Mr.
Bailey.”
In Proverbs 31, a mother pleads with her son who should
be a great man, “What are you doing, my son? What are you doing,
son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your
strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not
for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers
to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been
decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. Give strong
drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter
distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their
misery no more. Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all
who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the
rights of the poor and needy.”
But how does a person wake up? One way is to see that
God is the Lord of time, and to know that a Day of Judgment is
coming.
Jesus died in connection with the feast of Passover, the
first of the feasts in the Jewish calendar.
Jesus rose from the dead in connection with the feast of
firstfruits, the next feast.
The Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost,
the feast of Weeks, the great beginning of a harvest.
These events, the fulfillment of Passover, Firstfruits,
and Pentecost in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the pouring
out of the Holy Spirit upon the church, were the beginning of the
final era of history. Now, Peter says, writing in the first century
in 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand.” When Peter
preached at Pentecost, he quoted from Joel 2:28-32, which begins with
the future time marker “afterward.” But Peter says instead, “In
the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”
Joel's “afterward” is Peter's “last days.”
The person who lives to entertain himself with
sensuality or trivial pursuits needs to get a better sense of God's
timing. The ordering of the biblical Jewish festivals gives us one of
the best ways to do that.
Passover, Firstfruits, and Pentecost have already come.
The next feast on the list is the feast of trumpets. One day the
trumpet will sound.
In Numbers 28 and 29, the Israelites were told of the
sacrifices to be offered in connection with each festival. Christ has
offered the perfect sacrifice that has secured our life in the age of
resurrection. We need to wake up to God's timing. Paul says in Romans
13:11, “Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
One day the trumpet will sound.
What should we do now? Ephesians 4:13 says, “Awake, O
sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
We don't need to slay animals. We need to do what
Hebrews 13:15-16 tells us: “Through him then let us continually
offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips
that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share
what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” We need to
do what the Lord instructs through Paul in Romans 12: “By the
mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what
is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Once the trumpet sounds, the Day of Atonement will
swiftly come. Only the perfection of the Lord's sacrifice will carry
us through that day. By faith in Christ, we have been justified. By
the gift of the Holy Spirit we have the fruits that flow from His
righteousness.
What remains after that? We will tabernacle with the
Lord forever. He lived below for a few years. We will dwell with Him
in the new heavens and the new earth forever. It is fitting that in
the time of Old Testament preparation this final festival would be so
full of sacrifice and celebration. This was one of God's pictures of
eternal joy and fullness.
We need to wake up to God's timing. One day, the prophet
says in Joel 2:31, “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the
moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”
Come soon, Lord Jesus. We are awake to Your voice. We
will praise You. We will follow You.
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