Reading 1 - Lev 1:1,2
"The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock' " (Lev 1:1,2).
The offering was to be taken from the property of the individual. This was to be a fundamental principle: from his ordinary possessions, and out of his daily life, the worshiper was to find the means to give sacrifice and service to his God. God's worship was not to be an extraordinary thing, something done by an elite few for the benefit of others, or something performed by an entertainer -- for the amusement of onlookers. It was to be the regular devotion of the common man and woman -- an acknowledgment that their God was with them every day, a presence in all aspects of their lives. So out of the common furnishings, the common fabric and tools of that day-to-day existence, they were to set aside a portion to be given to Him.
Reading 2 - Psa 103:14
"...who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion" (Psa 103:4).
We are also redeemed FROM all iniquity (Tit 2:14), from transgressions (Heb 9:15), from the curse of the Law (Gal 3:13), and from the Law itself (Gal 4:5), from among men (Rev 14:3,4), and from all nations (Rev 5:9).
We are redeemed BY Christ (Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45; Heb 9:12; 1Ti 2:6) and by God (Luk 1:68; 1Co 1:30).
We are redeemed THROUGH Christ's life (Mat 20:28; Mar 10:45), his blood (1Pe 1:18,19; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14), and his death (Heb 9:15).
We are redeemed for ever (Heb 9:12), but only fully and truly and absolutely "redeemed" when Christ comes (Rom 8:23).
Reading 3 - 1Corinthians 11:26
"For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1Co 11:26).
"At the Breaking of Bread, there is as it were a door opened in Heaven. To the left, against a sombre background, the modern disciple sees his Lord, praying in Gethsemane, suffering in Golgotha. To the right he sees a great glory, the Kingdom of God set up upon the earth, when God's King reigns in righteousness, and His princes rule in judgment. In the centre he perceives two miniatures. The first is of a candidate for divine honour and immortality descending into the waters of baptism, over which waters there is this seal of the Spirit: 'For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.' The second miniature is of a table, on which are set bread and wine; all around is wilderness. Over the table the Spirit hath set this seal: 'For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come' " (JB Norris, "First Century Ecclesia" 172).
Comentários