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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Marriage of the Lamb, #11
Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1)
It is the Lord's way to wound us and then heal us.
Many of the Lord's people of today need to understand that the Lord brings judgment on us. It is happening to them and they cannot understand the reason for it. The false prophets of our day are teaching that if the believer is not healthy and prosperous, he is out of the Lord's will. According to this false teaching, the believer has two problems: the fact of his suffering, and then the guilt of displeasing the Lord (so he imagines).
It appears that many Christian people are passing through Divine judgment without any idea of what is taking place in their lives. They do not know whether they are backsliding, or Satan is attacking them, or just what is happening. They could profit more from the Lord's chastening if they understood that all whom the Lord receives must undergo prolonged chastening before they receive the peace and righteousness they are seeking (Hebrews 12:5-11).
The reconciliation stage is set forth in type in the Old Testament Day of Atonement (Leviticus, Chapter 16).
After the feast of Pentecost there were three final feasts celebrated in one month (see Leviticus, Chapter 23 for the seven feasts of the Lord):
The blowing of Trumpets.
The Day of Atonement.
The feast of Tabernacles.
The feasts of the Lord speak of Christ, of the kingdom-wide acts of God, and also of the work of redemption in the individual believer. In terms of the individual believer, the memorial of blowing of Trumpets portrays the coming of the King, Christ, to wage war against the rebellion and lawlessness that are part of the human personality.
The Day of Atonement speaks of the removal of all rebellion and lawlessness from us, the reconciling of us to the Lord God of Heaven.
The final feast, the feast of Tabernacles, typifies the union stage of the marriage of the Lamb, that is, the Father and the Son entering us in complete union, in untroubled rest. This is the "rest" of God spoken of in the fourth chapter of the Book of Hebrews.
Back now to the Day of Atonement, for we are speaking of the second stage of the marriage of the Lamb, that is, the stage of reconciliation.
During the annual Day of Atonement, as described in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus, the sins of Israel were forgiven and then placed on the scapegoat and removed from the Presence of the Lord's people.
The initial act of salvation in our lives, as portrayed in the first feast, the feast of Passover, is a blood-shield over us as the Lord brings judgment on the gods of Egypt (the world).
When we come to the Day of Atonement (Day of Reconciliation), our rebellion and lawlessness are made manifest at the Judgment Seat of Christ and our sins are dealt with through the authority of the blood of the Lamb and the power of the Spirit of God.
The term atonement means covering, and also reconciliation. At first God covers our sins under the blood of the cross. Later in our experience, after we have received the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Pentecost, God reveals our sinful personality to us and helps us get rid of what is displeasing to the Lord.
To be continued.