June 27

None among the hearers, and not even the speaker himself, discerned the import of these words, "the Lamb of God." Upon Mount Moriah, Abraham had heard the question of his son, "My father, . . . where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" The father answered, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Gen. 22:7, 8. And in the ram divinely provided in the place of Isaac, Abraham saw a symbol of Him who was to die for the sins of men. The Holy Spirit through Isaiah, taking up the illustration, prophesied of the Saviour, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter," "and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:7, 6); but the people of Israel had not understood the lesson. Many of them regarded the sacrificial offerings much as the heathen looked upon their sacrifices,--as gifts by which they themselves might propitiate the Deity. God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.

          Desire of Ages, page 113 from the chapter, 'The baptism'

         I watched a film some years ago where a volcano was due to blow up. The primitive islanders knew the danger they were in and sought to offer a sacrifice to calm down the god of the volcano. That process is called appeasement. You provide your own gift and you soothe the anger of the god so that you will be safe. We would call that salvation by works.

     There is a similar principle at work these days. Some people feel that when they do something wrong they should do something sacrificial to get back on God’s good books. The principle is extended to think that if we just behave ourselves we’ll never get in the bad books of God.

     There is a simple Bible text to answer this. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

     God realises that we can’t provide our own sacrifices and that we can’t live to the standard even we might want to attain. He does it all. God provides the lamb.

     I can’t just stop there. The last few words are significant. “God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.” God’s provisions are not simply to effect legal righteousness. God isn’t just out to get the books in order. God provides the lamb Himself to let us know that we are called to a family relationship with Him.

     When you pray for the Holy Spirit to enter your life today you might express your request to Daddy, Father.

     Bryn continues the theme behind our reading with his choice for a song. The Ledbetters sing, “Jesus signed my pardon”. Thanks Bryn for some more Bluegrass. Please click on the picture to listen to the selection