"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Tag: Foreshadow

Foreshadowing.

MaryEllen Montville

“And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” –Nehemiah 8:10.

In Chapter Eight of Nehemiah, while reading from the Book of the Law of Moses, Ezra, the priest, reminds God’s people of the festival known as Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. A feast God commanded the Israelites to observe. A feast of which those Israelites who’d recently returned from Babylonian captivity had long forgotten.

Sukkot is over now, but just. It ended at sundown, October 16th. God’s divine will and timing caused this verse in Nehemiah to leap off its page as I read it. Why? Perhaps God wanted to remind us, Jew and gentile alike, to “remember and rejoice.” And if you have a personal relationship with Jesus, that’s all the reason you’ll ever need to do both!

Now is the time to remember—to reflect. To re-consider how your loving, merciful, patient God delivered you from your “Egypt.”

And then, dear brothers and sisters, rejoice, thanking God afresh, this day, for His election of you. Sincerely repent of having drifted away, certainly. Then let your tired hands take a fresh grip on your faith and press on—despite your past sins. “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees” –Hebrews 12:12. Wipe your eyes, rejoice that God has restored you like the prodigal and Israelites before you. Remember, too, that God’s hands continue to rest above and below you, hemming you in, Beloved. The Spotless Blood shed for you, protecting you now; you are loved with an unquenchable love. “You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” –Psalm 139:5-6.

Sukkot is a yearly feast God commanded all Israel to observe. It’s one of three “pilgrim feasts” Jewish people are commanded to celebrate, bringing their tithes and offerings to the Lord. Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you” –Deuteronomy 16:16.

Sukkot follows the Day of Atonement. A day when every observant Jewish person rests from their labors and all pleasurable activities. Instead, they wholeheartedly fast and pray, repenting of their sins before the Lord. It begins at sundown and concludes at sunset the following day. We read of its origin in Leviticus 16. And it’s in this same chapter that we learn of the term “scapegoat.” “Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat” –Leviticus 16:7-10.

No, this isn’t a lesson in Judaism or its feast days. And yes, I am going somewhere with this.

We’re headed straight to the foot of the Cross, to Jesus, that Spotless Lamb of God. Jesus, our Advocate, seated at the Right Hand of the Father. God’s own Son, who put an end, once, for all, to any further need for scapegoats, animal sacrifices, and feast days. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” –1 John 2:1-2.

Jesus has always been. From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, we see Jesus. The Alpha and the Omega, beginning and the end.

The foreshadowing of Jesus’ death, the shedding of His innocent, atoning Blood, understood in the imagery of the animal’s God slew in the garden. Innocent blood, shed—their bodies broken, stripped to cover Adam and Eve after they’d sinned. “The LORD God made tunics of [animal] skins for Adam and his wife and clothed them” –Genesis 3:21. God has always had a plan. From the time of man’s fall, before, really, somewhere in eternity past, Jesus was at the ready.

And as “way too big as that is for our limited, finite minds to fully take in,” God surely foreknew every detail of every life that ever has or ever will exist. He knows our every sin, thought, the decisions we’ll make, every word we’ll speak, well before we speak them!

My point? I have a couple.

Firstly, as one who has felt the weight of their sin, been convicted by God’s Holy Spirit for allowing myself to stray from my Father.  I empathize with why those Israelites began to weep when Ezra read from God’s Word. The reality of their desperate state had seeped into their hearts and minds; God’s Word ought to cause true repentance to pierce the heart of those who hear it. Remember, the Israelites knew God. They’d once walked in His ways, obeyed His commandments. Yet they’d drifted from Him. Instead of clinging to God, holding fast to His commands, they’d instead taken on the world’s ways—the pagan practices of their captors. They’d become almost indistinguishable from them. God’s people had become so immersed in the culture and comforts of Babylon that many decided to stay put—leaving God and Israel far behind them. Why?

Because leaving behind the world and all it had come to mean to them would have required sacrifice—and sacrificing their comfort, what had become familiar, was a price they simply weren’t willing to pay.

Secondly, I understand why those Israelites began to weep when Ezra read from God’s Word. They had been restored, forgiven, were home now, returned to the land God had promised their ancestor, Abraham. Covenant had been restored. Not that God had or could ever break it. Man alone does the breaking; God alone restores. Those Israelites gathered before Ezra had repented of their sins, and God, merciful Father He is, had washed them white as snow—a foreshadowing. I, too, have experienced this with God, at least partly—the washing as white as snow. Like so many of you, my brothers, and sisters, I’m still waiting. I’m hoping, looking forward to walking into my promised land. An eternity spent worshiping Jesus, that Spotless Lamb of God I spoke of earlier. Soon and very soon, like the Israelites before me, I will once again and forever be at home with my Lord, my Savior, my Great Love.

Dear reader, I understand that for one who does not yet know and love Jesus in the way I’ve spoken, asking you to ask Him into your heart as Lord and Savior might seem a strange request. But I’ll ask it of you, nevertheless. Why? Because I know Jesus loves you. Not like people you’ve known, who’ve loved and hurt you. Jesus’s love is pure and good. It restores and washes clean. Jesus’s love gives you hope and joy, and freedom. I know this not because I write about it but because I experience it, daily.

Jesus loves you. He wants to have a relationship with you. I pray you’d want that, too. Don’t stay stuck in the ways of the world. Come home to Jesus instead. How? By being born again. “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” –Romans 10:8-11.

Nets & Fruit. John 21:6

And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”

Okay, so what do nets, and fruit have in common? And where-on-earth is she going with this? I’m delighted you asked! Why don’t you grab your coffee, settle in, and allow me to explain? Ready? I’ll start with the answer to your question, then dig-in from there. So, it turns out that the answer to what connects nets and fruit is twofold—a mirror image. The cornerstone of their relationship is obedience & connection! Let’s continue, and we’ll see where this twofold relationship leads us

The heart of scripture—a very large part of it at least—is steeped in this one foundational and eternal Truth found in 1 Samuel 15:22. God wants our love (heart, mind, soul, and strength), our obedience, over some gift or service we might offer Him.  “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

But why? Why are obedience and connection so important to God? I believe scripture bears out that the answer to this is, in part, triune. Its first strand, the life-giving heartbeat of obedience, is a genuine love for our Beloved. Thus, our love of God compelling us to obey Him. Obedience’s very breath—surrender. Its thoughts, the sole joy its meekness offers our beloved. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” –1 John 5:3. And the second strand, faithfulness, comes then, and, wrapping itself around such a love says, “I too love deeply and seek only to remain bound to my beloved.” “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”—1 John 2:3-6. And, then, lastly, obedience’s’ final and most reflective quality is that of honor. And the eyes of honor cast their light in such a way that only the beloved is illumined in their stare. “And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.…”–Colossians 1:18. These triune strands perpetually interlocking, one with the other—resilient. Fixed in their fidelity and devotion, a bond fashioned by their common cause, obedience. Their fibers fixed, yet flexible, always seeking to accommodate each new command of the Beloved—His every desire.

And, when they’re cast then, where the Lover of our soul’s bids us cast them, His blessings inevitably flow—our nets overflowing then, receiving from His never-ending source. “Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the Lord your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.” –Deuteronomy 30:9-10.” In plain speak: obedience will cause your nets to become so full they’ll be bulging at the seams! And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.” –John 21:6.

Now, alongside the fundamental lesson obedience teaches in today’s verse, ever generous, it goes further still by introducing us to connection, its sacred companion. And, as a result of this one introduction, our souls will soon be thusly fortified. The question posed this day, soon answered. Obedience will have succeeded in pointing us towards the mysterious, life-giving consequence of having a connection with the Beloved.

In today’s verse, we witness the bountiful catch the disciples shared when they obeyed Jesus’ command. Certainly, our Father delights in blessing His children in numerous ways—material blessings, much like this catch, being but one of them. The disciple’s nets would never have been filled so had they not listened to—been connected to, obeyed the One who instructed them exactly where to cast those nets. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” –John 21:3. There’s a lesson in this verse for each believer. For every pastor and evangelist and teacher and prophet. We are not our own. We have been bought with a great price. And nothing—not one thing we do will ever have an eternal impact—aid in helping to escort one soul from death to life, if it’s us deciding where it is we’ll go, and what it is we’re willing to do. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” –John 15:1. We must be wise and guard our heart’s friends. We must be ever mindful of our motives for seeking after God. May our obedience to, and our desire for, our Beloved, never spring-up, like some unruly weed, from a place of self-seeking. Obeying Him simply because we might somehow be rewarded. Remember this, we serve El Roi—the God who sees me—who knows my heart, and its every desire. May our obedience then, my obedience, be born from a genuine desire to draw ever closer to the One from who all blessings flow…

And, as with obedience so too connection. We are reminded throughout Scripture of the supreme importance—the intrinsic necessity of remaining connected—joined—united—intertwined with, a literal part of, our Beloved. Quite literally infused with His very essence. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5.

He tells us quite clearly that without this connection to Him, in Him, with Him—outside of this life-giving union—we can do nothing. Not one thing of eternal value that is. We can do plenty in terms of being selfish and destructive. Just ask Adam and Eve. They can tell you firsthand about what happens to a soul that chooses to break its connection with its source—with El Roi. “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” –Genesis 3:17-19. And in Matthew 7, we hear Jesus share His heart on the absolute, paramount importance of our maintaining our connection with Him. Equally, however, He makes crystal clear the eternally, terrifying consequences of our having deluded ourselves into thinking that we are in fact connected—have this relationship—are grafted into Him simply because we’ve served on a few committees. Went on a missions trip or two. Or have prayed for the sick and lost even. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”—Matthew 7:21-23.

If we were paying attention to what happened in the Garden right before Adam and Eve were banished for their disobedience, then we witnessed the Father’s eternal connectedness to His creation on loving display. (This Messiah who came, and will come again, that all men might have access to a connection with Him—made possible through the obedient sacrifice of Jesus Christ, by the Blood He shed on His Cross for all mankind, putting an end to death and the grave once, for all.) Even here, amid Adam and Eve’s dis-obedience, their deliberate dis-connect, we witnessed this God that so loved the world making a way for us, His children, to be able to return back to Him. In the thick of man’s rejecting their Divine connection, in the very epicenter of man’s disobedience, we witnessed God’s, unfathomable love. His redemptive plan, even then, to offer Jesus to this sin-full, dis-obedient, world on display—so that you and me and him and her might be able to come home again. He shed blood. A foreshadowing of Christ. Putting to death animals that He might wrap Adam and Eve in their bloody skins. “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”–Hebrews 9:22.

God did this so that you and I, if we’ll but obey and slip-on Christ’s Bloodied sacrifice, His Righteousness, might be re-connected eternally, back to the Father.

Friend, if anything you’ve read here today has touched your heart, know that it’s because God loves you and is offering Himself to you. Asking you to connect with Him directly—sincerely, as your Lord and Savior. I pray that you’ll obey. I’d love nothing more than to meet you soon and very soon when we have all been gathered up in Him. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” –Romans 10:9-10.

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