“Yes,” said the teacher. “So when you see Him on the cross, you’re seeing the Asham, the sacrifice, but also the guilt itself.”
“The guilt being nailed to the cross.”
“Yes,” he said. “What you’re seeing is your guilt nailed to the cross. And if Messiah is the Asham and the Asham is the guilt, then if the Asham dies, so too has died all your guilt, all your shame, and all your regrets. They’ve all died and are gone . . . completely and forever . . . It is finished.”
The Mission: Take all the regrets, shame, and guilt you’ve ever carried in your life. Give them to Him who is your Asham, and let them go forever.
Isaiah 53:7–11; 2 Corinthians 5:21
The Asham
DAY 44
THE MYSTERY OF THE RAINS
IT DIDN’T HAPPEN often, but when it did, it was dramatic. It was a desert rain. The teacher came to my chamber just as it began. Together, we watched the downpour through my window.
“The rain brings life,” he said. “Without it, life would cease. This is particularly true for the land of Israel, which was especially dependent on the outpourings of heaven. But there was another kind of outpouring in Israel.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The Scriptures speak of an outpouring, not of water, but of the Spirit, the rain of the Spirit.”
“What’s the connection between the two, the Spirit and the rain?”
“The rain pours down from the sky and gives life to the land. The Spirit pours down from heaven and gives life to those who receive it. The outpouring of rain causes barren land to revive and become fruitful. The outpouring of the Spirit causes barren lives to revive and become fruitful.”
“And this outpouring . . . happened . . . ”
“On the Day of Pentecost. The Spirit of God was poured out on Jerusalem, on the disciples. It is the outpouring that causes barren lives to bear fruit. It is the outpouring that produced the Book of Acts and changed the history of the world.”
“Has there ever been another outpouring like it?”
“Not quite like it,” he said. “But there’s a mystery. You see, there wasn’t just one rain in Israel. There were two distinct rains, each with its own name. One was called the moreh, the former rain, and the other was called the malkosh, the latter rain. One came in autumn, and the other in spring . . . two rains . . . two outpourings.”
“So if there are two outpourings of rain in the land of Israel . . . then would it not also follow that there would be two such outpourings of the Holy Spirit in the age?”
“It would follow,” he said. “In the Book of Joel, God promises to send both the former rains and the latter rains, and to pour out His Spirit in the last days. So then there must again be another outpouring. And as the former rains came upon the people of Israel, on Jewish believers and the world, so too will the latter rains. And as it was in the former outpouring, so in the latter, that which was barren will bear its fruit, and that which was dead will come alive again.”
The Mission: Seek the outpouring of His Spirit on your life to touch your dry ground and make it fruitful. Prepare and receive your latter rains.
Isaiah 44:3–4; Joel 2:23–29; Acts 2:17–18
The Mystery of the Rains
DAY 45
THE SWORD OF AMALEK
THE LORD WILL have war with Amalek . . . from generation to generation.’ Do you know who Amalek is?” asked the teacher.
“Someone at war with God,” I replied.
“And at war with God’s nation, Israel,” he said. “When the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were attacked by the Amalekites, the people of Amalek. The Amalekites were the first to wage war against the children of Israel. They were defeated. But the war would go on. Centuries later there arose a king named Agag, an evil man, whose sword had ended countless lives. God decreed his end, a judgment that would be carried out by the prophet Samuel. Agag was an Amalekite, a descendant of Amalek. It was yet another battle in the war, but not the last. Centuries later, the Jewish people would be scattered throughout the Persian Empire. A Persian official named Haman rose to power . . . another man of evil. Haman devised a plot to destroy the Jewish people throughout the empire, every man, woman, and child. But he didn’t succeed. God used the Jewish queen, Esther, and her relative, Mordecai, to thwart Haman’s plan. In the end, Haman was destroyed, and the Jewish people were saved.”
“And how does this . . . ”
“In the Book of Esther, Haman is called the Agagite. Thus, the Scriptures connect Haman to Agag. And King Agag was of Amalek. Thus Haman was also of Amalek. So the ancient war continued . . . in another setting, another language, and another land . . . and yet the same war. It was Amalek, in Haman, raising again his sword against God and His people, and it was the Lord’s hand again warring against Amalek and protecting His people. What does this reveal? God’s Word is true. And the darkness will always war against the light. And the light must always war against the darkness. In the end, there is no neutrality. You either let the darkness overcome you, or you overcome the darkness. There is no middle ground. Either the darkness will destroy the light, or the light will destroy the darkness.”
“Which will it be . . . in the end?”
“Until the end, they war. But know and always be assured, that in the end, only one can prevail . . . the light.”
The Mission: Whatever darkness, compromise, or ungodly thing still exists in your life, no matter how small, today, root it out. There is no middle ground.
Exodus 17:8–16; 1 Samuel 15:8–33; Esther 3:1; 2 Corinthians 2:14
The Sword of Amalek
DAY 46
HEAVEN’S MILK
WHEN WE CAME into this world,” he said, “we entered it with a longing. We longed for milk. We had no idea what milk was. We had never tasted it. We had never seen it. Nobody ever told us that it existed. And yet the longing for milk was there deep inside our being before we had any assurance that it existed.” He paused. “And it turned out that it did exist. It turned out that what we longed for, what we knew only from the hunger deep inside our being . . . was real. There was a mother and a mother’s breast to answer our longings. Do you know where the word mother comes from?”
“I never thought of it.”
“The word was created by babies,” he said. “All across the world, in almost every language on earth, you can hear in the word for mother, the cry of a baby: mamma, mom, amma, ema, mai, mata, and ma. It comes from those first longings, the longing for milk. And all these words bear witness that to our longings there existed an answer.”
“But this is not about babies . . . ”
“No. Our longing for milk passes away, but we find another longing within our hearts . . . another emptiness . . . another hunger . . . but deeper . . . a longing for that which the world never answers. We long for the perfect, for a perfect love, a perfect happiness, a perfect contentment, and a perfect peace. We long for that which doesn’t fail, that which never disappoints us, or grows old, or passes away. We long for the eternal and the perfect. But the world can never answer those longings . . . and still they stay with us all the days of our lives. We long for it though we’ve never tasted it. And our very longings bear witness that what we had never seen or tasted was real.”
“We long for the perfect because the perfect exists . . . as we once longed for milk?”
“Yes, and we long for a perfect love because there is a Perfect Love. We long for the Eternal because the Eternal exists and the Eternal put that longing into our hearts so we would seek Him . . . and find Him.”
“So in the same way that our longing for milk once bore witness that although we had never yet seen it, milk existed, now the longing that is now in our hearts for the perfect, for the Eternal, for heaven bears witness that, although we have not yet seen it, heaven exists. Heaven is real.”
“Yes,” he said, “our deepest longings are the witness of the milk of heaven.”
The Mission: What are
the deepest needs and longings of your heart? Join them to Him. Bring them to Him, and receive from Him their filling.
Ecclesiastes 3:11; Romans 8:22–23; Philippians 4:6–9
Heaven’s Womb
DAY 47
THE SIXTH DAY
THE OTHER STUDENTS had gone inside. It was just the teacher and I sitting outside in one of the gardens that belonged to the school. The sun was just beginning to set.
“When was the last day of Messiah’s life?” he asked. “When did it begin?”
“Friday,” I replied. “Friday morning.”
“No,” he said. “You forget. When does the Hebrew day begin?”
“The Hebrew day always begins at sundown, the night before.”
“So when did His last day begin?”
“At sundown, Thursday night . . . at the time of the Last Supper, the Passover.”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “As the sun set over Jerusalem, that’s when it all began . . . His last day . . . And everything turned toward His suffering and death. It all began at sunset with the Passover and the Lamb. He then went out to the Garden of Gethsemane where they arrested Him and brought Him to the priests. They put Him on trial and condemned Him to death. In the morning they took Him to Pontius Pilate. He was then beaten, mocked, scourged, and led through the streets of Jerusalem to be nailed to the cross. He suffered in agony for hours and then said, ‘It is finished,’ and died. They took down His body and laid it in a tomb. The sun set over Jerusalem, and the day was finished. It all took place that exact time period, from sunset to sunset. Now what is the day of man?” he asked. “The day when man was created?”
“The sixth day.”
“And when is the sixth day?”
“Friday.”
“And when does the sixth day begin?”
“On Thursday night at sundown, and it ends on Friday night at sundown . . . from sundown to sundown, the sixth day.”
“So it all had to begin at sunset and last until the following sunset. He accomplished it all on the sixth day, the day of man. He died for the sins of man, the guilt of man, and the fall of man. He did it all on the day of man to accomplish the man’s redemption. And it was on the sixth day as well that man was first given life . . . So now in Messiah, the children of man can again be given life and again find life, as in the beginning . . . on the sixth day.”
The Mission: The life of man is given on the sixth day. Receive your life, your breath, and your new creation in the sixth day of Messiah.
Genesis 1:26–31; Mark 15:42–43; Ephesians 1:7
The Sixth Day Revelation Mystery
DAY 48
INTO THE DEEP
THE MESSIAH WAS teaching the multitudes from a boat on the Sea of Galilee. He turned to His disciple Simon and said, ‘Launch out into the deep, and let your nets out for a catch.’ So they did. They caught so many fish that their nets began to break. What do you see in that?” asked the teacher.
“It’s wise to listen to the Messiah,” I replied.
“Yes, but what did He tell them to do?”
“To launch out into the deep and . . . ”
“To launch out into the deep. That’s it right there . . . to launch out into the deep.”
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“It means that the fish weren’t in the shallow waters.”
“But what does it mean to us?”
“It means that your blessings aren’t in the shallow waters either.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“The blessings of God aren’t found in the shallow waters. You won’t find them in the shallow waters of faith. They don’t swim there.”
He paused for a moment as if to think, then continued.
“There are many who call themselves by Messiah’s name, but most dwell only in the shallow waters. They stay by the shore. They stay near that which is familiar and comfortable. They never fully leave the old ways, the old life. So they only know the shallow waters of God. Others who are called by His Name never fully launch out. They never enter the deep. They believe, but with a shallow faith. They read the Scriptures, but only get into the shallow of the Word, the surface, the letter. They pray but only in the shallow of prayer. They never allow themselves to enter the deep of prayer. They never allow themselves the time. And they know of God’s love, but they never get into the deep of His love. As a result, they never know the deep blessings that God has for them. But if you want the blessings of God, you must leave the shallow and launch out away from the shore, away from its distractions, away from the old and the familiar, and into the deep . . . into the deep waters of faith, the deep waters of His presence, the deep of His Word, the deep of worship, the deep of His joy, the deep of His voice, the deep of His Spirit, and the deep of His heart. That’s where your blessings are waiting and will be found.”
“And miracles?” I asked.
“Miracles so big that your net will break . . . in the deep waters of God.”
The Mission: Launch out into the deep waters of God today. And there let down your net that it might break with His blessings.
Genesis 49:25; Luke 5:4–11; 1 Corinthians 2:10–13
Into the Deep
DAY 49
THE MYSTERY OF THE TAMID
IT WAS MID-AFTERNOON. He took me into a chamber in the middle of which was a large golden stone model of the Temple of Jerusalem. We were viewing it from what would have the Temple’s eastern side, the side closest to the altar of sacrifice.
“‘Now this is what you shall offer on the altar,’” said the teacher. He was reciting a passage of Scripture. “‘Two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.’ This,” he said, “was the law of the Tamid. Tamid was the name given to the sacrifices that were to be offered every day in the Temple. So each day, the offerings would begin with the sacrifice of the morning lamb and finish with the sacrifice of the evening lamb. All the other sacrifices would come in between the two.”
“Was there a specific ritual to the offering of the Tamid?”
“The morning lamb would be offered up at the third hour of the day. With its death, the Temple trumpets would sound and the Temple gates would be opened. Then at about the ninth hour, the evening sacrifice would be slain and offered on the altar, at which time all the sacrifices would be finished.”
“So the morning lamb was offered up at the third hour. What time is that?”
“Nine o clock,” said the teacher. “And when was Messiah crucified? The same hour, nine in the morning. So as the morning lamb was slain on the altar, the Lamb of God was lifted on the altar of the cross, and the trumpets sounded to announce the sacrifice, and the Temple gates were opened.”
“And the evening lamb,” I said, “at the ninth hour, what time was that?”
“Three in the afternoon,” he said.
“Isn’t that when Messiah died on the cross?”
“It was. So the sacrifice of Messiah began with the offering up of the morning lamb and ended with the offering of the evening lamb. And it all took place during the six hours of the Temple sacrifices, in between the two lambs, from the first sacrifice to the last. The Lamb of God,” said the teacher, “is all in all, covering every moment, every need, every sin, every problem, and every answer. He is the Tamid.”
“You never told me; what does tamid mean?”
“It means continual, daily, perpetual, always, and forever. And so He will be there for you always . . . and will be your answer continuously, every day, always, and forever . . . For Messiah is the Lamb, and not only the Lamb . . . but your Tamid.”
The Mission: Meditate on the fact that Messiah is your Tamid—the covering for every moment of your life—always, and forever. Live accordingly.
Exodus 29:38–39; Mark 15:25–37; Revelation 7:9–17
The Good Friday Sacrifice Mysteries
DAY 50
THE TENT WORLD
“It bears a profound mystery,” said the teacher.
“What does?” I asked.
“This . . . the desert. It’s the landscape through which God’s people journeyed on their way to the Promised Land.”
“The Israelites.”
“Yes. In order to get to the Promised Land, they had to journey through the desert wilderness, dwelling in tents. In that is the revelation.”
“The revelation of what?” I asked.
“This life,” he said. “Everything in this world is temporary. It’s not the place in which we stay. It’s the place through which we journey. We pass through this world. It isn’t our home. It’s the tent world. And all of us are just campers. Everything in this world changes, every circumstance, every experience, every stage of life . . . they’re all tents. We dwell in one tent for a season, and then move on to another. Your childhood was a tent in which once you dwelt and then you moved on. Your good times, your bad times, your successes and failures, your problems, your joys and sorrows, your adulthood, your old age . . . they’re all just tents. Even your physical being, even that’s a tent, temporary and always changing. The very frailty of it all is a reminder that we’re only journeying through.”
“Journeying through to where?” I asked.
“For the child of God, it’s the journey home. It’s the home to the Promised Land . . . to heaven . . . the place where we give up our tents and exchange that which is temporary for that which is everlasting.”
“And how do I apply this?”
“In every way,” he said. “No matter what happens in this world or in your life, never forget, you’re not home . . . you’re only journeying through. Every problem will pass, and every temptation will fade. So tread lightly. It’s not the scenery that will determine your life, it’s not the circumstances; it’s where you’re going. Keep your eyes focused and your heart fixed on your destination—on the Promised Land. And for all the rest, just remember . . . you’re only camping.”
The Book of Mysteries Page 8
