Manna From Messiah
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Pastor Ellen Mumper, Canada
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Every
Piece of the Puzzle is Vital
Not long ago we had the joy of having missionaries to
Great Britain in our home. There, where modern missions actually led the way in
evanglisation of the modern era, the Gospel seems to be alien in so many areas.
The missionary wife was the daughter of a fairly well known pastor and was from
a large church. This was during one of the festivals of the LORD, commonly
called by most Christians to be "Jewish holidays” when in fact they are
HIS festivals. They are all about the life and work of our Messiah Yeshua, the
LORD Jesus Christ. We were explaining around the table, with our Bibles open,
how this particular festival was celebrated in the days of the Children of
Israel entering the Promised Land and also in the time of Yeshua. Pieces of a
puzzle came together with our Bibles open to many passages. There was much
explaining and comparing of Scripture. This dear lady looked at me in amazement
and said "I heard the Bible all my life. My Daddy led me to salvation when
I was seven; but I cannot remember one sermon he ever preached on this
material. He almost never even taught from the Old Testament!"
I was amazed. How could one not have a whole Bible? It
would be like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together without the outside edges
or picture on the box as a guide. Many are the Christian believers who tell me
"I cannot really understand the Bible" or "The Old Testament
does not make sense to me." The writers of the New Testament were Jewish.
The early church was Jewish. They incorporated their rich heritage as the children
of Israel in interpreting the validity of Yeshua as the true Messiah and found
Him there.
When I do a jigsaw puzzle I heavily rely on the framework
of that puzzle. The edges are separated out with care and put together. Then I
look at the whole picture and I see how the reds all go here, and there is a
patch of blue or beige. Here in one corner there is one particular pattern. It
all fits together as a picture, as a whole.
From the first words of Genesis, the LORD gave us His
plan of salvation. All that He created was perfect. Isaiah 45:18 says "For
thus says the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth
and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to
be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." Another
verse in Isaiah says "Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" (Isaiah 46:10). If
that is so, if He declares the end from the beginning, then we cannot read the
end and understand His intent and patterns. If we read only the beginning, we
would never know how Yeshua fulfilled it.
In the Creation week, for instance, God established His
plan for the ages. In the first day He created Light. Psalms 90:4 says "For
a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a
watch in the night." A day can refer to a thousand years. Day one
has a parallel in human history with the world being created perfect and
darkness entering the world in the person of Adam and his family. Day two,
which speaks of God separating the waters sees the clouds cover the earth and
waters on the earth being separate. In the second thousand years of human
history the main story is Noach, when the fountains are then broken up and
water covers the earth. There is a parallel in human history for each of the
seven days of Creation. That is one pattern and part of the puzzle.
The promise of the Redeemer then, is from the first page
of Scripture. The Light of day one was the Truth of Messiah, as we know that
the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world, as it says in
Revelation 13:8. A careful systematic study of a whole Bible will reveal types
and patterns and hints of Messiah from Genesis onward. These are a main puzzle
pattern of the whole.
Another pattern is in the set-up and function of the
Tabernacle and then the Temple. Every piece of furniture in the Temple spoke of
the work of God in our lives. Every garment that the priests wore spoke of our
great High Priest. Every commandment given has validity for the people of God.
Surely in the absence of the Temple and priesthood and sacrifices which were
fulfilled by our Saviour's death on the Cross for us, there are many
commandments that we cannot do today- but in studying them, we see rich meaning
in what our LORD did for us.
Another key piece to the puzzle is the Festivals of the
LORD, which were mentioned at the beginning of this article. GOD in His grace
gave to His covenant people (of which we are partakers! see Ephesians 2!) their
diet, their holy days, their way of life, and His provision of the Messiah. The
festivals are grouped into two sets. The first set, Passover, Unleavened Bread,
Firstfruits, and Shavu'ot (Pentecost) are in the spring of the year. These
correspond to the life and death and resurrection of Yeshua in His first
coming. The second set of three comes in the fall- Festival of Trumpets called
Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
These are yet to be fulfilled in His second coming to gather His saints, bring
judgment on those that oppress Israel, and establish His millennial kingdom.
I often challenge ladies that I teach, that when they go
through the Gospels, every time they see that Yeshua (Jesus Christ) went up to
Jerusalem for this or that feast, to find out which feast it was, how it was
celebrated in former times, and what He said and did to fulfill it when He
came. It's a great study and really helps to put mysterious puzzle pieces of
the "Old Testament" together. For instance, when He taught at Sukkot
before His death on the Cross for us, there was a celebration going on in the
Temple called the Water Pouring Ceremony. Priests would get water from the pool
of Siloam in a joyous procession, go to the Temple and pour out the water on
the altar with another pitcher of wine. One thing the joyous celebrants would
chant was "hoshiana! Save us!" To which Yeshua replied while this was
going on- that HE was the fountain of living waters, in John chapter 7. So many
beautiful pieces of this wonderful puzzle of GOD's Word to us and His plan of
redemption for mankind!
We would all do well to take the challenge of a whole
Bible- all the patterns, all the prophecies, all the seemingly meaningless
things written there, are relevant to the whole "Puzzle." Therefore "Study
to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth."
Shalom!
Ellen
