And when he hath made an end of reconciling

{16:1} And the LORD spake unto Moses after the deathof the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before theLORD, and died;
{16:2} And the LORD said unto Moses,Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all timesinto the holy [place] within the vail before the mercy seat,which [is] upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear inthe cloud upon the mercy seat.
{16:3} Thus shall Aaroncome into the holy [place:] with a young bullock for a sinoffering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
{16:4} He shall puton the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breechesupon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, andwith the linen mitre shall he be attired: these [are] holygarments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and[so] put them on.
{16:5} And he shall take of thecongregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goatsfor a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
Year - 1844 ******* (Then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed) The cleansing of the Sanctuary took place one day a year- the Day of Atonement. Sacrifices were made every day- a morning and evening sacrifice but one day a year on the Day of Atonement the Sanctuary would be cleansed.
Recap- The High Priest when He goes into the Most Holy Place (within veil) won't do so often but when He does He has to prepare.
He has to be clothed in pure holy garments (Christ's Righteousness) after he bathes (Washed in the Blood of the Lamb made pure).
{16:6}And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which[is] for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and forhis house.
Recap- The High Priest offers the bull for a sin offering for himself and for his house. (Altar - Cross)
{16:7} And he shall take the two goats, andpresent them before the LORD [at] the door of thetabernacle of the congregation.
Recap- the two goat will be presented before the Lord to the Holy Place. (The sin problem good (Lord's) and evil (Satan's) standing before God)
{16:8} And Aaron shall castlots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the otherlot for the scapegoat. {16:9} And Aaron shall bring the goatupon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him [for] a sinoffering.
Recap- The goat of the Lord is offered as a sin offering (Jesus died for us sinners)
{16:10} But the goat, on which the lot fell to bethe scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, tomake an atonement with him, [and] to let him go for ascapegoat into the wilderness.
Recap- The goat of Satan was kept alive and would be sent into the wilderness. (Satan will bear the sins of all, getting back all that he evil caused)
{16:11} And Aaron shallbring the bullock of the sin offering, which [is] for himself,and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house,and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which [is] forhimself:
Recap- The High Priest kills the bull making an atonement for himself and his people. (Jesus died to save us. Without that Sacrifice we could never have been saved- never. Jesus made Himself an acceptable Sacrifice.)
{16:12} And he shall take a censer full of burningcoals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and hishands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring [it]within the vail:
Recap- After the sacrifice the High Priest will take a censer full of burning coals (purifying from sin) from the altar in the Holy Place and He will take incense (prayers) and He goes into the Most Holy Place. The purifying begins as the prayers are offered.
{16:13} And he shall put the incense uponthe fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense maycover the mercy seat that [is] upon the testimony, that he dienot:
Recap- The prayers (incense) will go upon the purifying fire (burning coals) before the Mercy Seat bringing that which is acceptable to God because He is worthy. Only with by the mercy and grace of the Lord, only through His sacrifice are the prayers and purfying possible.
{16:14} And he shall take of the blood of the bullock,and sprinkle [it] with his finger upon the mercy seateastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of theblood with his finger seven times.
Recap- Taking the blood of the sacrfice for Himself and His family it is sprinkled on the mercy seat. His sacrifice is acceptable.
{16:15} Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that[is] for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, anddo with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock,and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercyseat: {16:16} And he shall make an atonement for the holy[place,] because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel,and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and soshall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, thatremaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Recap- The goat chosen to be the Lord's goat will be killed and the blood taken into the Most Holy Place and the blood like the blood for the sacrifice for Himself and His family is sprinkled on the mercy seat- this blood is for those not in the High Priest's immediate family but for those who are God's children nonetheless.
Also He will use the blood for the Holy Place, getting rid of the sin throughout the Sanctuary, that which makes up the House of God.
{16:17} And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of thecongregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in theholy [place,] until he come out, and have made anatonement for himself, and for his household, and for all thecongregation of Israel.
Recap- Alone He offers up these sacrifices to God.
Year 1980******* (Times of the Gentiles Fulfilled- corporately the children of God have been cleansed those who are God's truly are now being called out of the corporate guilt so that they won't be found wanting with those who turned their back on God's truth, just as the Jews did in Jesus' day. The truth left them and went to the Gentiles, and now that the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled all that is left is the 'reconciling of all that has been done' and those who are found guilty will be guilty still, and those who have been found just will be just still.
{16:18} And he shall go out unto thealtar that [is] before the LORD, and make an atonement forit; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of theblood of the goat, and put [it] upon the horns of the altarround about.
Recap- He shall finally go out to the altar in the court before the Holy place and offer the blood there.
{16:19} And he shall sprinkle of the bloodupon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, andhallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
{16:20} And when he hath made an end of reconciling theholy [place,] and the tabernacle of the congregation, and thealtar, he shall bring the live goat:
Recap- WHEN (SOON) He makes an end of reconciling the Most Holy place, the Holy place and the Court...only then will the live goat be brought into play.
{16:21} And Aaron shalllay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, andconfess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel,and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting themupon the head of the goat, and shall send [him] away by thehand of a fit man into the wilderness: {16:22} And the goatshall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land notinhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
Recap- Satan recieves ALL the sins taken from the forgiven and then is taken out of power for 1000 years to wander about the earth with no one to deceive a wilderness far, far removed from the children of God, until the 1000 years is over and the rest of the dead (those not dead in Christ who have been taken to heaven) will live again and he's loosed from his prison of circumstances to deceive them one last time.
Rev. {20:1} And I saw an angel come down from heaven,having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in hishand. {20:2} And he laid hold on the dragon, that oldserpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him athousand years, {20:3} And cast him into the bottomless pit,and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he shoulddeceive the nations no more, till the thousand years shouldbe fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev. {20:6} Blessed and holy [is] hethat hath part in the first resurrection: on such the seconddeath hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and ofChrist, and shall reign with him a thousand years
Rev. {20:7}And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall beloosed out of his prison, {20:8} And shall go out to deceivethe nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gogand Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number ofwhom [is] as the sand of the sea. {20:9} And they went upon the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of thesaints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down fromGod out of heaven, and devoured them.

Melody in your heart to the Lord

Eph.
{5:19} Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
{5:20} Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
{5:21} Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
When was the last time you spoke to anyone in a psalm, or a hymn, or a spiritual song? When was the last time you made a melody in your heart to the Lord?
That last question is fairly easy to answer right? We sing all the time, or some of us do. I know I do, I love the various Christian songs out there and almost everytime I'm in the car I have the radio on and I sing along. My heart is making melody to the Lord and often- but do we speak in psalms and hymns, spiritual songs?
Would we even know how to speak in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs? It's a question I think that bears considering.
No, I'm not saying we start going around singing at each other, but there is an element in what is being encouraged that needs to be incorporated into our lives. Uplifting one another is important and all too often we're more about what is depressing and makes our lives anxious not what uplifts. We'll more often than not have unhappy things to speak about and it does give us something to talk about, in fact some peoples lives are most active when they're engaging in discussing things that aren't so pleasant.
Spiritual songs, singing, making melody in our hearts to the Lord.
Giving thanks always....
How often?
Always.
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Giving thanks for all things.
We can't understand all things, we just can't. But we can trust that our lack of understanding won't change God's love for us. We want to believe that God stops loving us when horrible things happen to us. Satan wants us to think that, it's his way of maligning God and gaining more and more to Him. But wait, we don't like to think like that. We don't like to believe that there are only two sides. We want to believe there are many sides and if we linger on those sides close to God then we are going to be Gods. Unfortunately, that's not true it's something we've made up so we can soothe our conscience and make excuses for our bad behavior.
Whenever we are upset by life's hardships- and there are tons of them- we have to cry out to God but not in such a way that put doubts to His love for us.
Giving thanks always even when we don't understand.
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Do we do that? It would make us subservient right? Who wants to be subservient? We grow up being taught to stand up for ourselves, to be those who have others *working* for us, not us working for them. Rich means having housekeepers, having servants. Yet Christ wants us to be servants to all. The greatest is the one who is servant to all. The greatest is the least. It's no wonder that Satan has us mostly believing that the least is the worst. The servant is the lowest. That submitting ourselves ont to another, not for our own glory, but in the fear of God. Out of reference for God. We do it because it is God's will that we serve and submit that we are those who give and aren't those who just take. Love is giving. Love is graciously accepting.
Love is God and if we are to be God's we need to be loving knowing that sin isn't something God enjoys, that He never intended things to be how they are and yet rather than give up on us and wipe us out of existence he's allowed us to live and made a way for redemption in Him through the greatest sacrifice of all - His Son.
May God bless and keep us, may we learn to make melodies in our hearts to the Lord and give thanks always, and to submit ourselves to one another. By the will and grace of our Lord now and forever.
Amen.

Spiritual Darkness - Spiritual Light

Eph. {5:14} Whereforehe saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,and Christ shall give thee light.
* If we wake from our sleep and rouse ourselves from our course of life leading only to death-- Christ will give us light. We have a new life in Christ.
Matthew. {25:1} Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened untoten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meetthe bridegroom. {25:2} And five of them were wise, andfive [were] foolish. {25:3} They that [were] foolish tooktheir lamps, and took no oil with them: {25:4} But the wisetook oil in their vessels with their lamps. {25:5} While thebridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. {25:6}And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, theKing James Bible Matthew Page 568bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. {25:7} Then allthose virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. {25:8} Andthe foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for ourlamps are gone out. {25:9} But the wise answered, saying,[Not so;] lest there be not enough for us and you: but go yerather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. {25:10}And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and theythat were ready went in with him to the marriage: and thedoor was shut. {25:11} Afterward came also the othervirgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. {25:12} But heanswered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.{25:13} Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day northe hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
*All will sleep but some will sleep prepared, others will sleep and they won't be prepared for the Lord's return. All will wake up but for some it will be too late. Some will want to take the preparations made by the wise but the wise will tell them no, they have to go get their own because no one is saved or made ready by another- Christ alone prepares us with His light, His righteousness.
Heb. {1:9} Thou hast loved righteousness, and hatediniquity; therefore God, [even] thy God, hath anointed theewith the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
*We need the oil of gladness in our lives, we need to love righteousness and hate sin...HATE SIN...not make excuses for it, but loathe it completely. Not accept it, but detest it. Not condone it as our lot, but despise that it is our lot.
Rev. {4:5} And outof the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings andvoices: and [there were] seven lamps of fire burning beforethe throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
*Lamps burn before the thrown. Lamp which are the seven Spirits of God. Lamps in a parable are what the wise will have and have extra oil for. We need the Spirit of God in us, we need to be ready to constantly accept the Spirit of God as it leads us in paths of Christ's righteousness. There is one unforgivable sin and that is ultimately- dying without having heeded the Spirit of God.
Zech. {4:1} And the angel that talked with me came again, andwaked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, {4:2}And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I havelooked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold, with a bowlupon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and sevenpipes to the seven lamps, which [are] upon the top thereof:{4:3} And two olive trees by it, one upon the right [side] ofthe bowl, and the other upon the left [side] thereof. {4:4} SoI answered and spake to the angel that talked with me,saying, What [are] these, my lord? {4:5} Then the angelthat talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowestthou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. {4:6}Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] theword of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might,nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.{4:7} Who [art] thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel[thou shalt become] a plain: and he shall bring forth theheadstone [thereof with] shoutings, [crying,] Grace, graceunto it. {4:8} Moreover the word of the LORD came untome, saying, {4:9} The hands of Zerubbabel have laid thefoundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; andthou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me untoyou. {4:10} For who hath despised the day of small things?for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the handof Zerubbabel [with] those seven; they [are] the eyes of theLORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.{4:11} Then answered I, and said unto him, What [are]these two olive trees upon the right [side] of the candlestickand upon the left [side] thereof? {4:12} And I answeredagain, and said unto him, What [be these] two olivebranches which through the two golden pipes empty thegolden [oil] out of themselves? {4:13} And he answered meand said, Knowest thou not what these [be?] And I said, No,my lord. {4:14} Then said he, These [are] the two anointedones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.
*This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Not by might, not by power, but by GOD'S Spirit!
Christ promised to send us a comforter. No, He could not physically remain with us, His work as our High Priest demanded that He minister the blood He shed, the sacrifice He made in the Heavenly Sanctuary not made with hands. That the work of our redemption including not only the forgiveness of sin but of the cleansing of it once and for all be made by Him. So Christ promised to send us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit to be a reality to us here and now in our lives guiding us, lighting our way to Christ and His righteousness. The Spirit of God, the light of the world, our Comforter. We HAVE to live with the Holy Spirit as a reality in our lives, as with us just as Christ would be with us guiding us.
The Light of the Lord is real and it is a light we can keep out of our lives if we choose. We are not forced to have the light, we can choose to live in darkness. We make the choice and we make it all the time...all the time.
Can we choose to physically live in darkness? Yes. We can. Would most people ever do so? No. Why wouldn't they? For one thing you can't see anything in darkness. Even those who are blind and we can say live in darkness don't physically live in the dark. Would it be detrimental to live in the darkness? Yes. Health-wise it's proven that for the majority of people complete darkness isn't good for us physically. Yes, some could argue there are people allergic to the sunlight, people sensitive to it, for them darkness is good, but if they don't get enough sunlight can their be deficiencies in their health? Yes there can be and often deficiencies can be made up with vitamins and getting what the sun gives in another manner.
We can go back and forth on this and yet in the end most people would choose to live in light, not in darkness if they were given a choice. Even those blind will often long to see, some will go to great lengths to have a chance at seeing again.
Note I said most people, because you'll always have a few that defy the rest with good intentions or not.
Light is equated with goodness, darkness with evil.
And this is in a spiritual sense.
Odd isn't it how most people will want to live in spiritual darkness- the complete opposite of the physical light where most want to live with light in their lives.
If a light is too bright it hurts.
If a light is present it's hard to hide things.
If light pushes away the darkness it's not allowing us to hide in the cloak of darkness, it's revealing us.
Spiritual light reveals us for what we are, it reveals our sin-filled state and our sinful actions.
When we sin we shouldn't like it but we have to see that we sin and for that we need the light of Christ to show us, the Spiritual light needs to shine on us to show us the sin. So is it any wonder that people wish to remain in spiritual darkness, they don't want their sins revealed for what they are. They want to live in their sins without any reprimanding, without any reproving. When we don't see that we are covered in filth then we can fool ourselves into believing that we are clean. When we don't associate with those who can see we are covered in filth then it can't be pointed out to us. We like the darkness, we like our filthiness hidden from us.
It is my prayer, my earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit illuminates us all! That we will see the filthiness of our sinfilled selves and be drawn to the only One who can cleanse us of the filth, Christ Jesus. May the Holy Spirit shine all around us, may the darkness in our lives be exposed to the light of the Holy Spirit, may we see...and no longer be blind so that we may run to the foot of the cross and beg forgiveness for our sinfulness and choose to walk with Christ in the light now and forever.
Amen.

Walk circumspectly, not as fools,

Eph. {5:14} Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. {5:15} See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, {5:16} Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. {5:17} Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is. ]

Christ shall give thee light.

One we are awakened from our sleep of ignorance, once we rise up from the life that only leads to death, we are filled with the light of Christ.

When we awake to new life in Christ we have to walk in that new life.

Walk circumspectly- not as fools but as wise. That’s straight forward enough isn’t it. Walking circumspectly. Surely we don’t honestly expect a follower of Christ to walk any other way, do we?

Dict. cir·cum·spect (sûr¹kem-spèkt´) adjective
Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent.

Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences. We know that our actions have consequences. When we turn to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we know that our actions have consequences. The greatest of these being the death of one who was completely innocent and deserved not even the smallest of punishments let alone death.

We feel outrage when we’re watching tv shows depicting the death of innocents. It’s even worse when we know the star of the show is innocent and yet framed for the crimes of another. We may even see them be put to death. No, they aren’t crucified, but seeing them laid flat out on a table with tubes around them and needles going into their body as they are pumped full of chemicals to induce death, it outrageous’ us to watch and we might even scream at our tvs that it’s wrong! They’re innocent! That feeling there of outrage is deserved right? An innocent put to death. But wait… we aren’t really fully innocent are we? Unlike Christ we are not sin-free. While that person might be innocent of that particular crime they’re put to death for they’re not totally innocent. Our outrage over the death of Christ should be so much greater, outrage turned into the knowledge that He allowed it to happen so He could save our lives, so He could give us life eternal, so we could be found worthy through Him and only through Him to be saved.

The consequences of our actions - watching for potential consequences- walking and living that way means we’re aware of what our actions bring forth. We’re aware that there is right and wrong and that Jesus would have us walk as He walked, in the light of life, not foolishly. We know don’t we? We know how Jesus walked and how He wants us to walk and when we aren’t walking that way we know we’re flirting with death eternal.

Eph. {5:14} Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. {5:15} See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, {5:16} Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. {5:17} Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is. ]


Redeeming the time because the days are evil.

How well we know that. The days are evil. We have to redeem the time because the days are evil.

Only through the redemption of Christ can life be anything but evil. We have to live in Christ this is emphasized over and over again. We are to be transformed from the evil that would overtake us and live as Jesus would have us live in Him.

Be not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

What is the will of the Lord?

John {17:24} Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. {17:25} O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. {17:26} And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare [it:] that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

This is Christ’s will.

Titus {3:1} Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, {3:2} To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, [but] gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. {3:3} For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, [and] hating one another. {3:4} But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, {3:5} Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; {3:6} Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; {3:7} That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. {3:8} [This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. {3:9} But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings
about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. {3:10} A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; {3:11} Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Eph. {5:14} Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. {5:15} See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, {5:16} Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. {5:17} Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord [is. ]

We know don’t we? We know. We might try to fool ourselves into believing we don’t know what Christ will in us, but we do. We know and when we turn away from the will of Christ in us we are walking on very dangerous ground.

Rev. {3:14} And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; {3:15} I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. {3:16} So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. {3:17} Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: {3:18} I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. {3:19} As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. {3:20}
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. {3:21} To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. {3:22} He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

This is a message to us, Christ’s people living in the last time before His return.

We think we are rich and don’t need anything, but Christ knows otherwise. We have nothing in and of ourselves that merits righteousness, that makes us rich in the only way we need to be rich in Christ.

May the Lord’s mercy fill our hearts and souls, may His grace wash over each of us fully and may we walk circumspectly redeeming the time knowing that we live surrounded by evil that would ensnare us so completely that we won’t even realize it why? Because we think we are rich. Let us recognize our wretched state, let us understand how truly poor we are and know that it is only by the will, by the mercy, by the sacrifice of our Savior that we can hope to live at all.

In His holy name now and forever,
Amen.

Oil for Our Lamps

Eph. {5:14} Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Matt. {25:1} Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. {25:2} And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish. {25:3} They that [were] foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: {25:4} But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. {25:5} While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. {25:6} And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. {25:7} Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. {25:8} And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. {25:9} But the wise answered, saying, [Not so;] lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. {25:10} And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. {25:11} Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. {25:12} But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. {25:13} Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.


While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

We think that Jesus tarries don't we? Every single day that goes by we think that. We want Him to come, we want Him to take us home with Him. We long for this and yet we sleep.

ALL slumber and sleep.

In this parable there isn't one who is waiting for Christ to come that isn't sleeping. Reminescent of the disciples falling asleep when Christ himself asked them to stay awake with him isn't it? They fell asleep not once but twice...three times... does it matter the number of times? They were asked to stay awake and they didn't. Is it because they didn't want to? Is it because they thought so little of their master's request that they felt it was easier to sleep than it was to stay awake? Have you ever wanted desperately to stay awake and been unable to do so? Have you ever pushed through that desperate need to sleep and some how remained awake? You've most likely done both, I know I have. Sometimes we fall asleep when it's the very last thing we want to do. We are made that way our bodies are, we are made to need sleep as well as other things. Being made to need sleep it's a natural thing so fighting it seems pointless. Yet one surety with sleep is the fact we wake from sleep. We wake refreshed and we don't need any sleep, at least not until we're run down and get tired again.

Jesus gives us a parable on those waiting right before He returns. All those waiting fall asleep. Yet some fall asleep with extra oil while others fall asleep without any extra oil.

The question here is do we have extra oil?

What is oil?

How do we get the oil?

Is it as easy as buying oil from somewhere to keep in our lamps, to have extra by oursides?

Eph. {5:14} Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

We want light in our lamps, we want extra oil to keep the light there so we're well supplied and ready for Christ.

Christ will give us this light, we have to wake up and get it. Arise from our dead, sluggish, states that aren't waiting, that aren't ready. We have a role to play and anyone who thinks we don't are sadly mistaken. Those who think we have nothing to do but wait won't have extra oil, they'll think they have enough but they won't. There are going to be many that don't have oil and they're going to want ours. They're going to ask us for ours and we can't give it to them because then we won't have enough, but we tell them where to get their own oil. It'll be too late then, but we can risk not having enough oil an not meeting Christ.

Let us awake, let us find the oil and have it with us, the extra oil. May God bless us and help us to find oil and a lot of it so we have extra. By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever.

Amen.

Light of God

I'm studying the word ‘light’ as I seek a deeper understanding of its meaning to me.

I posted on one blog but not any others about a strange occurrence in my life recently.

The short version is that my hubby in the darkness of our bedroom as he came to bed where I was already sleeping went to put his hand in mind and stopped when he saw a light in my hand. He tried to figure out where it was coming from but couldn’t. It was so odd that he remarked on it to me the next day and since then has reaffirmed that it was something ‘he’d never seen before’.

I didn’t see the light, I had no part in producing the light, I was sleeping.
I don’t understand the why of it and I could just blow it off as nothing, but it’s not everyday you get told something like that, right?

Since then I’ve been studying, talking to various people, praying, studying, talking to more people, more studying just trying to understand.

There has been the mention of ‘healing’ an idea that came about from someone who uses laying on of hands healing. There has been mention of enlightenment and spiritual growth. There’s been mention also of spreading the word, the truth.

I don’t feel compelled towards ‘healing’ simply because I just wouldn’t know what to do or how. I’ve been told I could try to heal someone and then likewise told that if it doesn’t work it could be my lack of faith or maybe it’s that God doesn’t always heal all those that are treated that way for reasons of his own. So it would seem like trying to heal someone is scary business- it would bring my own faith into question, and it would possibly leave me floundering more because if God doesn’t heal all by those He gives the gift of healing to, how do we know if any of it is really really? How do we know a person wouldn’t have been healed naturally? How do we know it’s not a psychological healing? So many questions.

I was told by someone that a very devout person once warned that seeking to perform miracles in the last days is dangerous because the devil will be using miracles as his tools of deception so widely that it could be a trap for those who would otherwise be God’s. Meaning that the devil is going about seeking to devour whom he may and he will deceive ALL but the very elect.

That is scary stuff there. We have to be rooted and grounded in Christ so completely that we aren’t deceived.

This light in my hand, this inexplicable light has thrown me into a bit of confusion but I’m not going to let it confuse me to the point I get lost in it all and lose my way with Christ, I can’t.

Is it for healing? Is it for spreading the word of God? Does it mean anything at all? I’m going to continue to study for a bit, but after awhile I will just let it all go and wait for something more if God wants me to know more, if this is to mean something He will show me I have to have faith in that, in Him.

Here now is a bit of study on the word light—courtesy of the internet.


*******

LIGHT
lit ('or, ma'or; phos; many other words):

The creation of light was the initial step in the creation of life. "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) was the first word of God spoken after His creative Spirit "moved" upon the primary material out of which He created the heavens and the earth, and which lay, until the utterance of that word, in the chaos of darkness and desolation. Something akin, possibly, to the all-pervasive electro-magnetic activity of the aurora borealis penetrated the chaotic night of the world. The ultimate focusing of light (on the 4th day of creation, Genesis 1:14) in suns, stars, and solar systems brought the initial creative process to completion, as the essential condition of all organic life. The origin of light thus finds its explanation in the purpose and very nature of God whom John defines as not only the Author of light but, in an all-inclusive sense, as light itself:

"God is light" (1John 1:5).

{1:5} This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is
no darkness at all.

2. A Comprehensive Term:

The word "light" is Divinely rich in its comprehensiveness and meaning. Its material splendor is used throughout the Scriptures as the symbol and synonym of all that is luminous and radiant in the mental, moral and spiritual life of men and angels; while the eternal God, because of His holiness and moral perfection, is pictured as "dwelling in light unapproachable" (1 Timothy 6:16). Every phase of the word, from the original light in the natural world to the spiritual glory of the celestial, is found in Holy Writ.

{6:14} That thou keep [this] commandment
without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ: {6:15} Which in his times he shall shew, [who
is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords; {6:16} Who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man
hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power
everlasting. Amen.

(1) Natural Light.

The light of day (Genesis 1:5);

{1:5} And God
called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And
the evening and the morning were the first day.

of sun, moon and stars; "lights in the firmament" (Genesis 1:14-18;

{1:14} And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament
of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
{1:15} And let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. {1:16}
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the
day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars
also. {1:17} And God set them in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth, {1:18} And to rule over
the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness: and God saw that [it was] good.

Psalms 74:16;

{74:16} The day [is] thine, the night also [is] thine: thou hast
prepared the light and the sun.

Ps. 136:7;

{136:7} To him that made great lights: for his mercy [endureth] for
ever:

Ps. 148:3;

{148:3} Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Ecclesiastes 12:2;

{12:2} While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars,
be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

Revelation 22:5)

{22:5} And there
shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and
they shall reign for ever and ever.

Its characteristics are beauty, radiance, utility. It "rejoiceth the heart" (Proverbs 15:30);

{15:30} The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart:
[and] a good report maketh the bones fat

"Truly the light is sweet" (Ecclesiastes 11:7

{11:7} Truly the light [is] sweet, and a pleasant [thing it
is] for the eyes to behold the sun:

without it men stumble and are helpless (John 11:9,10)

{11:9} Jesus answered, Are
there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the
day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this
world. {11:10} But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth,
because there is no light in him.

; it is something for which they wait with inexpressible longing (Job 30:26;

{30:26}
When I looked for good, then evil came [unto me:] and
when I waited for light, there came darkness.

compare Psalms 130:6).

{130:6} My soul [waiteth] for the Lord more than they that watch for
the morning: [I say, more than] they that watch for the morning.

Life, joy, activity and all blessings are dependent upon light.

Light and life are almost synonymous to the inhabitants of Palestine, and in the same way darkness and death. Theirs is the land of sunshine. When they go to other lands of clouded skies their only thought is to return to the brightness and sunshine of their native land. In Palestine there is hardly a day in the whole year when the sun does not shine for some part of it, while for five months of the year there is scarcely an interruption of the sunshine. Time is reckoned from sunset to sunset. The day's labor closes with the coming of darkness. "Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening" (Psalms 104:23).

The suddenness of the change from darkness to light with the rising sun and the disappearance of the sun in the evening is more striking than in more northern countries, and it is not strange that in the ancient days there should have arisen a worship of the sun as the giver of light and happiness, and that Job should mention the enticement of sun-worship when he "beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness" (Job 31:26). The severest plague in Egypt next to the slaying of the firstborn was the plague of darkness which fell upon the Egyptians (Exodus 10:23). This love of light finds expression in both Old Testament and New Testament in a very extensive use of the word to express those things which are most to be desired and most helpful to man, and in this connection we find some of the most beautiful figures in the Bible.

(2) Artificial Light.

When natural light fails, man by discovery or invention provides himself with some temporary substitute, however dim and inadequate. The ancient Hebrews had "oil for the light" (Exodus 25:6; 35:8; Leviticus 24:2) and lamps (Exodus 35:14; Matthew 5:15).

{5:13} Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under
foot of men. {5:14} Ye are the light of the world. A city that
is set on an hill cannot be hid. {5:15} Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house. {5:16} Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

"There were many lights. (lampas) in the upper chamber" at Troas, where Paul preached until midnight (Acts 20:8); so Jeremiah 25:10 the Revised Version (British and American), "light of the lamp;" the King James Version, "candle."

(3) Miraculous Light.

When the appalling plague of "thick darkness," for three days, enveloped the Egyptians, terrified and rendered them helpless, "all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings" (Exodus 10:23). Whether the darkness was due to a Divinely-ordered natural cause or the light was the natural light of day, the process that preserved the interspersed Israelites from the encompassing darkness was supernatural. Miraculous, also, even though through natural agency, was the "pillar of fire" that gave light to the Israelites escaping from Pharaoh (Exodus 13:21; 14:20; Psalms 78:14), "He led them .... all the night with a light of fire." Supernatural was the effulgence at Christ's transfiguration that made "his garments .... white as the light" (Matthew 17:2). Under the same category Paul classifies `the great light' that `suddenly shone round about him from heaven' on the way to Damascus (Acts 22:6; compare Acts 9:3).

{22:6} And
it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come
nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from
heaven a great light round about me.

{9:3} And as he journeyed, he came near
Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a
light from heaven:

In these rare instances the supernatural light was not only symbolic of an inner spiritual light, but instrumental, in part at least, in revealing or preparing the way for it.

(4) Mental, Moral, Spiritual Light.

The phenomena of natural light have their counterpart in the inner life of man. Few words lend themselves with such beauty and appropriateness to the experiences, conditions, and radiance of the spiritual life. For this reason the Scriptures use "light" largely in the figurative sense. Borrowed from the natural world, it is, nevertheless, inherently suited to portray spiritual realities. In secular life a distinct line of demarcation is drawn between intellectual and spiritual knowledge and illumination.

Education that enlightens the mind may leave the moral man untouched.

This distinction rarely obtains in the Bible, which deals with man as a spiritual being and looks upon his faculties as interdependent in their action.

(a) A few passages, however, refer to the light that comes chiefly to the intellect or mind through Divine instruction, e.g. Psalms 119:130,

{119:130} The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth
understanding unto the simple.

"The opening of thy words giveth light"; so Proverbs 6:23, "The law is light." Even here the instruction includes moral as well as mental enlightenment.

{6:23} For the commandment [is] a lamp;
and the law [is] light; and reproofs of instruction [are] the
way of life:

(b) Moral:

Job 24:13,16 has to do exclusively with man's moral attitude to truth: "rebel against the light"; "know not the light." Isaiah 5:20 describes a moral confusion and blindness, which cannot distinguish light from darkness.

(c) For the most part, however, light and life go together. It is the product of salvation:

"Yahweh is my light and my salvation" (Psalms 27:1). "Light," figuratively used, has to do preeminently with spiritual life, including also the illumination that floods all the faculties of the soul: intellect, conscience, reason, will. In the moral realm the enlightenment of these faculties is dependent wholly on the renewal of the spirit. "In thy light .... we see light" (Psalms 36:9); "The life was the light of men" (John 1:4).

Light is an attribute of holiness, and thus a personal quality. It is the outshining of Deity.

3. An Attribute of Holiness:

(1) God.

"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1John 1:5). Darkness is the universal symbol and condition of sin and death; light the symbol and expression of holiness. "The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame" (Isaiah 10:17). God, by His presence and grace, is to us a "marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). The glory of His holiness and presence is the "everlasting light" of the redeemed in heaven (Isaiah 60:19,20; Revelation 21:23,14; 22:5).

(2) Christ.

Christ, the eternal Word (logos, John 1:1), who said "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), is Himself the "effulgence of (God's) glory" (Hebrews 1:3), "the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world" (John 1:9) (compare the statements concerning Wisdom in The Wisdom of Solomon 7:25 f and concerning Christ in Hebrews 1:3; and see CREEDS; LOGOS; JOHANNINE THEOLOGY; WISDOM). As the predicted Messiah, He was to be "for alight of the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6). His birth was the fulfillment of this prophecy (Luke 2:32). Jesus called Himself "the light of the world" (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46); As light He was "God .... manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16 the King James Version). "The Word was God" (John 1:1). Jesus as logos is the eternal expression of God as a word is the expression of a thought. In the threefold essence of His being God is Life (zoe) (John 5:26; 6:57); God is Love (agape) (1John 4:8); God is Light (phos) (1John 1:5). Thus Christ, the logos, manifesting the three aspects of the Divine Nature, is Life, Love and Light, and these three are inseparable and constitute the glory. which the disciples beheld in Him, "glory as of the only begotten from the Father" (John 1:14). In revealing and giving life, Christ becomes "the light of men" (John 1:4). God gives "the light of the knowledge of (his) glory in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6), and this salvation is called "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Christ is thus the Teacher, Enlightener ("Christ shall give thee light," Ephesians 5:14 the King James Version), Guide, Saviour of men.

{5:14} Wherefore
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.

(3) Christians.

All who catch and reflect the light of God and of Christ are called "light," "lights."

(a) John the Baptist:

"a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35 the King James Version). It is significant that this pre-Christian prophet was termed luchnos, while the disciples of the new dispensation are called phos (Matthew 5:14): "Ye are the light of the world."

(b) Henceforth Christians and saints were called "children of light" (Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8), and were expected to be "seen as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).

(c) The Jew who possessed the law mistakenly supposed he was "a light of them that are in darkness" (Romans 2:19).

(4) The Church.

Zion was to "shine" because her `light had come' (Isaiah 60:1). The Gentiles were to come to her light (Isaiah 60:3). Her mission as the enlightener of the world was symbolized in the ornamentations of her priesthood. The Urim of the high priest's breastplate signified light, and the name itself is but the plural form of the Hebrew 'or. It stood for revelation, and thummim for truth. The church of the Christian dispensation was to be even more radiant with the light of God and of Christ. The seven churches of Asia were revealed to John, by the Spirit, as seven golden candlesticks, and her ministers as seven stars, both luminous with the light of the Gospel revelation. In Ephesians, Christ, who is the Light of the world, is the Head of the church, the latter being His body through which His glory is to be manifested to the world, "to make all men see," etc. (Ephesians 3:9,10). "Unto him be the glory in the church" (Ephesians 3:21), the church bringing glory to God, by revealing His glory to men through its reproduction of the life and light of Christ.

4. Symbolism:

Light symbolizes:

(1) the eye, "The light of the body is the eye" (Matthew 6:22, the King James Version; Luke 11:34);

(2) watchfulhess, "Let your lights (the Revised Version (British and American) "lamps") be burning," the figure being taken from the parable of the Virgins;

(3) protection, "armor (Romans 13:12), the garment of a holy and Christ-like life;

(4) the sphere of the Christian's daily walk, "inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12);

(5) heaven, for the inheritance just referred to includes the world above in which "the Lamb is the light thereof"

(6) prosperity, relief (Esther 8:16; Job 30:26), in contrast with the calamities of the wicked whose "light .... shall be put out" (Job 18:5);

(7) joy and gladness (Job 3:20; Psalms 97:11; 112:4);

(8) God's favor, the light of thy countenance" (Psalms 4:6; 44:3; 89:15), and a king's favor (Proverbs 16:15);

(9) life (Psalms 13:3; 49:19; John 1:4).

5. Expressive Terms:

Expressive terms are:

(1) "fruit of the light" (Ephesians 5:9), i.e. goodness, righteousness, truth;

(2) "light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8), indicating the source of light (compare Isaiah 2:5);

(3) "inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12), a present experience issuing in heaven;

(4) "Father of lights" (James 1:17), signifying the Creator of the heavenly bodies;

(5) "marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9), the light of God's presence and fellowship;

(6) "Walk in the light" (1John 1:7), in the light of God's teaching and companionship;

(7) "abideth in the light" (1John 2:10), in love, Divine and fraternal;

(8) "Light of the glorious gospel of Christ "; "light of the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4,6 the King James Version).

Dwight M. Pratt
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Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available from Crosswire Software.

Ephesians

{5:7} Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. {5:8} For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as
children of light: {5:9} (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness and righteousness and truth;) {5:10} Proving what
is acceptable unto the Lord. {5:11} And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
[them. ]{5:12} For it is a shame even to speak of those
things which are done of them in secret. {5:13} But all
things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for
whatsoever doth make manifest is light. {5:14} Wherefore
he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.


By the Grace of God may I awake from my sleep, may I arouse my spiritual deadness and receive the light from Christ.

Amen.

Faith Love

Parental love.
Love of the long waited for.
Love of a dream come true.
Have you ever had a goal in life one you had to work towards? The goal coming into sight is an amazing thing isn't it? Something ordinary often isn't as cherished as much as something out of the ordinary. By nature the unexpected happiness, the unexpected reward, the dream come true after feeling that it never would and yet always hoping, is something remarkable and treated as such. A man working all his life to own a brand new car finally able to buy it years and years later will generally cherish it above a man who gets a new car every year.
For parents wishing and hoping for a child only to never have it happen brings a certain resignation after the nature of life takes the chance of it happening away from them.
Then suddenly having that child, just how cherished do you imagine that child would be? Come on we can imagine it.
Talk about being loved.
Gen. {22:1} And it came to pass after these things, that God didtempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said,Behold, [here] I [am. ]{22:2} And he said, Take now thyson, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get theeinto the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burntoffering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
'Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest'
Our brains want to cease to comprehend this request from a loving God.
Sure we know the story, we know the outcome already before we continue but tell the story to one who doesn't and see what they think of a God that would ask someone to make a human sacrifice of their beloved son, heck, even if they'd been asked to sacrifice an unloved son just think how outrageous it is to our sense of right and wrong.
In some cultures human sacrifice was the norm, but this wasn't one of them.
Yes, since the beginning of man's sin God required a living sacrifice because the wages of sinning can be nothing other than death. Animals were sacrificed animals we had to recognize were dying in place of us so that our sinfulness didn't keep us from God. So if animals were always sacrificed and acceptable to God, why would he now ask for a child to be sacrificed?
We have so many questions we don't hesitate to cry out to God asking him why this, why that, or why not this and that. We question God at every turn. We get to a situation where something is just too hard for us to do and we tell God it's too hard and we expect Him to understand our weakness, to forgive us our inability to rise to the task. We can't comprehend all that God may want of us and we tell ourselves a *loving* God wouldn't ask anything too hard for us to do- and that's true. So if God asks us to do something we know it's not too hard, we are choosing not to do it for whatever weakness exists in us. I suppose the fact that God doesn't *talk* with us as He did with Abraham might be a good thing if we realize just how weak we really are, how faithless.
What made Abraham so faithful? He trusted God without doubt. There wasn't any great discourse of doubt, no pleading to God to change things, to ask something else. Abraham trusted God implicitly.
Hebrews {11:17} By faith Abraham,when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that hadreceived the promises offered up his only begotten [son,]{11:18} Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seedbe called: {11:19} Accounting that God [was] able to raise[him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he receivedhim in a figure
To Abraham God's asking him to do this thing wasn't crazy. Abraham instantly looked beyond the act and held fast to the promises of God. He held fast to God's greatness. He'd walked with God for many, many years and God had never steered Him wrong. God may have said things that confused him, but just because Abraham's timeline wasn't the same as God's didn't make God's words to be lying words. It would have been easy to assume such because the natural order of things needed to be suspended for God's promise to come true. Who more apt to suspend the natural order than God though? The Creator of all things has all things in His hands to do with as He pleases.
Abraham witnessed the miracle of Isaac's birth. An old dried up womb was brought back to life to birth Isaac. A miracle and nothing short of it. For a man who witnessed such a thing by the promise of God, being asked to sacrifice that same miracle child by God could only mean one thing- God had different plans, His ways were past understanding and yet to be followed regardless. Abraham by faith knew God promised an innumerable amount of offspring through Isaac and that if Isaac's death was required to accomplish this then God knew what He was doing. There was no doubt. Abraham didn't have to understand. He hadn't understood God's waiting to give Sarah the promise child so why should he understand this next thing? Some how, some way God would do as He promised and Abraham knew it wasn't for him to have to comprehend or question, just believe.
Faith.
Pure faith.
Loving a child and being asked to kill that child- we call crazy, insane, ludicrous and with good reason when we live in a world of insanity, with child murderers often claiming God told them to do this same thing.
The difference here being, God asked Abraham to do so and God ONLY did so as a test. God would NEVER demand the life of a child, God does not find the sacrificing of humans acceptable. The ONLY sacrifice He finds pleasing is a contrite spirit...
Psalms {51:17} The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and acontrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Isaiah {66:2}For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those[things] have been, saith the LORD: but to this [man] will Ilook, [even] to [him that is] poor and of a contrite spirit, andtrembleth at my word. {66:3} He that killeth an ox [is as if]he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, [as if] he cut off adog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, [as if he offered]swine's blood; he that burneth incense, [as if] he blessed anidol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their souldelighteth in their abominations. {66:4} I also will choosetheir delusions, and will bring their fears upon them;because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, theydid not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose[that] in which I delighted not.
Death was never something God enjoyed, never something He wanted to happen. Yes, it was necessary, but it was not in and of itself pleasing to God. What was pleasing to God was the spirit in which a sacrifice was made and any spirit that delights in the killing for the killing's sake wasn't pleasing to Him at all.
Abraham's faith enabled him to please God.
Faith can be tested in ways we can't imagine.
It is my prayer that God strengthen me, strengthens us, to pass any test of faith we might come up against. My faith is weak. I believe and yet I need help with my unbelief. May the Lord's grace and mercy be mine as promised by faith through no strength of my own, but through my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.