devotions and reflections

I have had a great time studying this week’s lesson. Perhaps the most wonderful story ever told is the Redemption story.  But I’m just thinking that I can never really appreciate or even grasp the idea of being atoned unless I experience it in a real-life situation. But to illustrate it I’d like to make up a situation. I was in a no-jaywalking road but since there were no cars passing by and no police on sight I crossed to the other side. Up popped the policeman and I was asked to pay penalty and to work for 3 hours cleaning the council house. But out of nowhere a good samaratin, a savior came to my rescue and told the policeman that he would pay for my penalty and do the H work for me. He was gonna do it because he was my friend. I haven’t done anything to deserve such treatment from him but he wants to do it anyway. No, he is not going to bail me out in monetary terms. Instead he was going to get the punishment and let me go free as if I had done nothing wrong. Such a beautiful feeling, isn’t it?

Our story of redemption is even better than this. We are bound to perish because of our sinfulness and that’s it. When we die, it’s the end of everything. But no, such is not going to be the case. Because even before it happens God had already planned for a redemption. And it was not a dignified type of redemption. In fact it was the most humiliating one. For our sacrifice had to die a shameful death, stripped of his robe. Can we even dare to look at him? No. But he did it for us. Such was the price Jesus paid to atone us from our deadly sinfulness.

Thank you Jesus for all these things you have done for us.

Right after God appeared to the Israelite at Mt. Sinai they soon forgot what they had just promised the Lord to worship and obey His law. As Moses tarried on the mount with God the people back in the camp urged Aaron to make them a god to worship. How easily could they turn away from their covenant with God.

Of course this enraged God and was ready to wipe them had Moses not interceded for them. God is long-suffering and merciful but He just can’t tolerate sin. Anyway, His everlasting love still persists and He spared the people. Moses’ intercession couldn’t be worthy enough to atone for the wickedness of the Israelite. But as their leader who had borne with their stubbornness he felt he had done so much for them to lose them. But I’d like to look at it this way. If Moses cared enough for them how much more God did and still does for us today.

He cared enough for us to gave up His life that we might live. He became poor that we might be rich. What a wonderful savior!

Genesis 22:13 “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram ^[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provide.”

Today’s lesson is how God renewed His covenant with Abraham. When God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, the great patriarch did not hesitate to obey Him who promised to multiply his descendants. Although Abraham didn’t prove himself blameless in his past but this time he had a stronger grip on God’s covenant. When Isaac asked where the lamb to be offered was, Abraham’s reply was “God will provide.” Remarkably, Isaac didn’t witheld himself from being offered to God. And as the patriarch raised the knife to kill Isaac, an angel stopped him and God indeed provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac. Right there and then God pronouced His renewed covenant to bless Abraham and multiply his offsprings.

In connection with this week’s topic “Atonement” here again God provided a ram as a sacrifice in place of Isaac. It emphasizes the Substitution of a sacrificial offering so that the subject will go free. How wonderful God’s love is!