“in Him we live and move and have our being …”
(Acts 17:28, NKJV)
From the last few teaching we have learnt that the festivals are “the example and shadow of heavenly things, … the pattern” (Heb 8:5). They were merely “a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things … which … (would) make the comers thereunto perfect” (Heb 10:1). In Jesus the festivals had come to fulfilment, and no strict adherence to these festivals make a difference to our walk with God. The feasts offer us the opportunity of remembering how God’s plan of redemption had played out with what had happened with the Israelites, and what had happened to US, TO YOU AND I, when he took us from the fiery furnace of the world system to which we had been enslaved. We would thus take care to celebrate our freedom, not allow ourselves to again be enslaved by that from which we had broken away from. “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” (Col 2:20-23). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor 3:17).
Let’s illustrate this matter by an example, which I admit is somewhat banal, but does bring the point across J: Let’s take a young man who meets a beautiful girl and decides he would like to get to know her better. He calls her varsity residence to ask her out but she is not home, and he leaves a message asking her to call him back. She is so excited about this that she keeps the piece of paper on which the message was eternalised. He does the same with the bill of the first cup of coffee they had together, which he safely cherishes. She of course keeps his letter to her, proclaiming his love, in his memory is engraved the first time he ever kissed her. Then there is of course the invitation to their engagement party, and their wedding invitation, which they kept and still took out to nostalgically reminisce at times, commemorating the events. They were eventually married. All this memorabilia and the thoughts of those special times were still considered special later in their lives, but they were merely shadows of that which had been longed for – to actually get married! The couple will of course commemorate these days, remembering them fondly, but it would be silly to each year celebrate the exact day on which the first phone call was made. To on this day simulate that past experience, calling one another, and then spending ten minutes hysterically happy, jumping up and down, is over the top. Do you agree? The same goes for other special days and experiences. To call out a Day of the First Kiss may be romantic, but no longer really necessary – much more than a kiss is now your part. The fullness of the True has already come; the rest are mere shadows of this.
If you have come to know the fullness of Christ all the rest are mere pointers which beautifully celebrate Him, but it is not nearly as fantastic as living, moving and having our Being in Him (Acts 17:28).
- Sela: Pray and ask for the “ministry of the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:7).
- Read: Deut 15; Ezek 41; Micah 3
- Memorize: Deut 15:4
- For a deeper understanding: Read pp 75-87 of Y. Eckstein’s How firm a foundation.
