Geology in Scripture - Rocks and Water
So, now I am going to step on a few theological toes here.
The other night, we were singing a song about the blood of Jesus. Of course, in the context of the redemption of man, it an excellent theme.
However, I have
noticed that in singing and prayers, we often call on the blood of Yeshua to
constantly cleanse us. We pray the blood
of Yeshua over any number of conflicts in our life. But is this what we should do?
My last post dealt
with the punishment of Moses when he struck the rock the second time, instead
of simply speaking to it. The meaning is
that the Rock (Yeshua) only had to be struck once. In other words, His blood was shed once for
all to atone for our sin. Once we have
applied it to our lives, we are justified.
It’s a done deal. No more blood needed.
When the Roman
centurion plunged the spear into Yeshua, who was already dead, out flowed both
blood and water. The blood represents
our justification, which happens as a one-time event: when we turn to Him in faith. The water, however, represents our sanctification…
the process of our lives being cleaned up as we live for Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
This same pattern can be
seen in the the tabernacle and also the feasts (both of which are rarely mentioned
in the church). Each is made up of seven
parts (seven represents completeness), and it is amazing how they line up with each other!
The first element of
the tabernacle is the altar; a picture of redemption, which is also called
justification. The first feast,
Passover, is also a picture of that redemption/justification with the sacrifice
of the Passover Lamb. Justification is a one-time deal... our redemptive price is paid in full.
The second element
of the tabernacle is the laver; a basin of water that represents the cleaning
up our lives. After the sacrifice of the lamb on the altar, the priests would need to clean up. Sacrifice is messy! Likewise, we came to the altar
flawed and sinful, and we were accepted as we were. But in the same way, there is a lot of cleanup to do!
God loves us too much to leave us messy at the altar;
thus the laver - which gives us a picture of our sanctification. As a parallel, the second feast (of the seven )is
Unleavened Bread. Leaven in scripture
symbolizes sin, and the seven day feast of Unleavened Bread is another picture of our
sanctification, which takes place over the course of the rest of our lives (the seven days demonstrating that completeness).
I have often heard
“the blood of Jesus” prayed over a situation with a believer that really calls
for the cleansing, living water instead.
The blood was already shed, and there is no need to strike that Rock
again. Yeshua was raised from the dead,
no longer mortal flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 15:50 says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God). The
Living Water flows constantly, purifying and cleansing us as we walk out our
sanctification, serving our risen King!
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