Shall we turn again to the word of
God in the book of Leviticus, chapter twenty
-three?
We read today, beginning
at verse twenty-three, or verse twenty-six,
rather, verse twenty-six, and the Lord spake
unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day
of this seventh month there shall be a
day of atonement.
It shall be an holy convocation unto you,
and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer
an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
And ye shall do no work in that
same day, for it is a day of
atonement, to make an atonement for you before
the Lord your God.
For whatsoever soul it be that shall not
be afflicted in that same day, he shall
be cut off from among his people, and
whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work
in that same day, the same soul will
I destroy from among his people.
Ye shall do no manner of work.
It shall be a statute forever throughout your
generation, in all your dwellings.
It shall be unto you a Sabbath of
rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in
the ninth day of the month, and even
from even unto even shall ye celebrate your
Sabbath.
May we turn to the prophecy of Zechariah?
The prophecy of Zechariah, chapter twelve, please.
Next to the last book in the Old
Testament, beginning to read in chapter twelve from
verse nine, and it shall come to pass
in that day that I will seek to
destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem,
and I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and of supplication, and they
shall look upon me whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for him as one
mourneth for his only son, and shall be
in bitterness for him as one that is
in bitterness for his firstborn.
In that day shall there be a great
mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hader
-Dremen in the valley of Negev, and the
land shall mourn every family apart, the family
of the house of David apart, and their
wives apart, the family of the house of
Nathan apart, and their wives apart, the family
of the house of Levi apart, and their
wives apart, the family of Shimei apart, and
their wives apart.
All the families that remain, every family apart,
and their wives apart, in that day there
shall be a fountain open to the house
of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
for sin and for uncleanness.
May God bless the reading of the hearing
of his words.
We look with utter dependence to the Spirit
of God to illuminate our hearts and our
minds as we meditate upon the great day
of atonement, which was the sixth annual feast
in Israel when commemorated in past centuries long
ago.
The great day of atonement was perhaps, with
the exception of the feast of the Passover,
one of the most solemn important events in
the history of Israel each year.
For it maintained their relationship with Jehovah their
God.
Throughout the years they had undoubtedly, as all
human beings, they had undoubtedly been characterized by
human sin and failure, shortcomings, and the transactions
that were accomplished in the great day of
atonement established and maintained the proper relationship between
Jehovah and his people.
It actually was a national day of forgiveness,
the national day once each year when God
forgave the sins of the nation of Israel.
If you will take time with me to
go to the 16th chapter of the book
of Leviticus, I'd like very briefly, but as
clearly as possible, to touch upon the event
of that day as it is recorded in
Leviticus chapter 9, 16 rather.
And in chapter 16 you have in great
detail all that transpired in that day of
atonement, and in their annual history.
It was of such importance, and not most
important, they realized, as did God, the need
of the sins of the nation to be
forgiven.
May I point out some of the scriptures
in this 16th chapter without reading it entirely?
Go with me to verse 3.
In the third verse we have the high
priest commencing his ceremonial preparation to officiate on
that national day of forgiveness.
Verse 3 declares, the chaleron come into the
holy place with a young bullet for a
sin offering, and a ram for a burnt
offering.
Now, this was the preparation for the priest
in himself.
He must offer a sin offering for himself
before he begins his official act.
Also, as we read in verse 4, there
was to be a complete ceremonial dance.
He shall put on the holy linen coat,
he shall have the linen breeches upon his
flesh, he shall be girded with a linen
girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he
be attired.
These are the holy garments, and thus with
the complete preparation of the garments provided by
God, we read on, therefore shall he wash
his flesh in water, and so put them
on.
There was not only a sin offering, but
there was the ceremonial bathing, so indicative that
he must come in the presence of God's
Lamb.
And, of course, these things remind us they
are a type of the holy, thoughtless purity
of the Lamb of God who, as our
high priest, has come into the presence of
godly aura.
The garments of the priest put on, those
garments were so typical of the intrinsic righteousness
of Christ in whose value we come into
the presence of God.
Now, go with me, please, in verse 5,
and note.
He shall take of the congregation of the
children of Israel two kids on the goats
for a sin offering, and one ram for
a burnt offering.
In the preparation, there was to be given
not only two kids, one for a sin
offering, but a ram for a burnt offering.
And then, beginning at verse six, seven, and
eight, you have there an offering, his own
sacrifice.
He shall offer his bullet for the sin
offering, which is for himself, and make an
atonement for himself and for his house.
Now, let me interject.
Our great high priest, the Lord Jesus, had
no need to make an offering for himself.
He was spotless, and pure, and without blemish.
But Aaron the priest, and all the successive
high priests, must of necessity bring an offering
for himself, as well as his household, to
make an atonement for himself and his family.
And then, in verse seven and eight, that
which was then taken was for the sins
of the nation, and he shall take the
two goats and present them before the Lord
at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation.
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two
goats, one lot for the Lord, and the
other lot for the scapegoat.
Now, here are two goats, one was for
the Lord.
The first aspect of these two goats, one
was for the Lord.
The Lord himself must have the first one,
and then the second one was to be
the scapegoat, which, of course, was the one
that was led in the wilderness, as we
shall see.
Now, first of all, let me suggest there
is an important principle.
Before God can forgive the sins of the
nation, he himself must be satisfied by the
sacrifice of a victim that meets the required
righteousness of a holy God.
And, for before we can forgive the nation,
his righteousness must be satisfied.
And, I'm sure that we who are believers
realize and recognize before God could forgive your
sins and mine, before sins could be forgiven
for the whole world, the death of his
dear son must meet the need of his
holy demand, and God's righteousness must be completely
satisfied, and thank God they have.
What a joy to realize God first has
his portion out of the death of Christ,
before the sinner can enjoy his or her
portion.
Thank God that we know God is satisfied
with the death of his dear son.
Then, go down to chapter three.
I want you to note how Aaron was
to come into the presence of God in
verse 12 and 13.
After making the sin offering for himself and
for his family, then he was able to
kill the offering that was to be brought
in the presence of God for the nation,
and on both occasions when he came into
the presence of God, for he came in
first with the offering for himself, then he
went out, made the sacrifice of the goat
upon the altar for the nation, and brought
the value of that blood into the presence
of the Lord.
But, verses 12 and 13, as well as
14, give us the important fact how he
came into the presence of God.
Verse 12.
He shall take a censer full of burning
coals of fire from up the altar before
the Lord, and his hand full of sweet
incense, big and small, and bring it within
the veil.
And he shall put the incense upon the
fire, the fire within the censer that he
carried, he shall put the incense upon the
fire before the Lord, that the cloud of
the incense may cover the mercy seat that
is upon the testimony that he dine up.
And he shall take of the blood of
the bullet, and sprinkle it with his finger
upon the mercy seat eastward, and before the
mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood
with his finger seven times.
Now, note, as he sprinkled the incense upon
the fire of the altar, a cloud of
incense filled the holy place, and there was
a reason for this.
That, as you note at the end of
verse 13, the cloud of incense must cover
the mercy seat that is upon the testimony
that he dine up.
May I give this suggestion?
There's no doubt.
The glory of the Lord within that holiest
of all, the glory cloud of Ishikaina presence
was there covering the mercy seat.
That glory the priests could not look upon,
and visibly view, except entering with the cloud
of incense to fill the holy place.
Neither could the Holy God look upon a
man in whose body, and in whose soul,
was the knowledge and the presence of faith.
And that cloud of incense was necessary lest
he die, for he would have died had
he gone into the presence of Jehovah without
the cloud of incense before the mercy seat.
And then he was able to sprinkle the
blood upon the mercy seat, and before it
according to the divine requirement.
That was what the priest must do, both
for himself, then for the offering to be
drawn on the behalf of the people, and
the entrance into the holiest for the national
forgiveness of sins.
That was required.
Beloved, may we just rejoin that when our
Lord Jesus passed into the heavens, carrying the
value of his own blood into heaven itself,
there was no need for a cloud of
incense, for that blessed one, in the glory
of his presence, and through the value of
that one offering that he made for our
sins, went into the holiest through the value
of his own blood, by that new and
living way which he has consecrated for us
through the veil.
That is to say, his flesh.
But, this was the requirement on the day
of national forgiveness.
But, I want you to notice something which
is very important.
You note in verse 15, the blood of
atonement was sprinkled seven times on and before
the mercy seat, signifying the perfection of the
blood of Christ in the presence of God.
Seven is the number of perfection, as we
undoubtedly know, in its numerical structure and value
in the word of God.
And, as the priest sprinkled the ark of
the covenant seven times, there you have the
indication of that blessed Christ, the perfection of
the blood of Christ, which has redeemed your
soul and mind.
Now, let's look at the secondary aspect of
this offering.
The blood of the first goat was brought
into the sanctuary.
The first goat was slain.
The first goat, his life was sacrificed upon
the altar.
But, go down the chapter, please, and I
want you to note verse 20.
When he hath made an end of reconciling
the holy place and the tabernacle of the
congregation and the altar, he shall bring the
live goat, and Aaron shall lay both his
hands upon the head of the live goat,
and confess over him all the iniquities of
the children of Israel, and all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them upon the
head of the goat, and shall send him
away by the hand of a fit man
into the wilderness.
And the goat shall bear upon him all
their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and
he shall let go the goat in the
wilderness.
Now, when the foundation of forgiveness was laid
through the sacrificial offering of the first goat,
and it was accepted in the presence of
God, then Aaron came out, and the live
goat that was standing near the altar, he
laid his hands upon the head of the
goat, in complete identification with the sins of
the nation, as he confessed the sins of
Israel requiring to be forgiven.
And thus, as he laid his hands upon
that goat, confessing those sins, a man who
was fitted took the live goat out of
the tabernacle, and away from the testimony of
Israel, into a land not inhabited, a wilderness,
barren place.
I believe Jewish commentators have suggested he brought
that goat to a mountain precipice, and there
in that barren place, he pushed the goat
over the precipice, not to be seen again.
Thus, the indication their sins had been taken
away for another year.
Note verse 21 again.
He shall lay both his hands upon the
head of the live goat, confess over him,
and note the next word, all the iniquities
of the children of Israel, all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them upon the
head of the goat, and shall send them
away by the hand of a fit man
into the wilderness, and the goat shall bear
upon him all their iniquities unto a land
not inhabited, and he shall let go the
goat in the wilderness.
O beloved one, the picture it must have
been to the heart of an Israelite, who
piously realized their sins were being forgiven, though
only once a year, for the blood of
animals could not take away sin, and purge
the guilty conscience as does the blood of
Christ.
But, picture the delight of its sole burden
with the sins of the nation, and their
singing God's provision, as the blood of the
first animal has been accepted in the presence
of God, and the high priest on the
behalf of the people comes out and confesses
the sins of the nation, and he watches,
and there he sees the live goat bearing,
figuratively bearing away, the sins of the nation
for that year.
What rejoicing to know the establishment and the
maintenance of a relationship with God would continue
for another year!
Well beloved, you and I can have greater
joys than that, for you and I can
indeed say, when we came to the Lord
Jesus by faith, I laid my hand on
that dear head of thine with broken contrite
heart.
I stand and there confess my sins, for
when you and I confess our sins, and
place them in faith upon him, he took
them all away, and as we have often
sung, my sins are all pardoned, my guilt
is all gone, I'm saved by the blood
of the crucified one.
And oh beloved, what a great day of
rejoicing it must have been in Israel!
But may I say again, what a joy
it is for you and for me in
this day.
Look at verse 30 in our chapter, and
I want you to note the result, the
unfailing result in that day long ago, when
God forgave them their sins on that annual
day.
Verse 30, for on that day shall the
priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse
you that ye may be clean from all
your sins before the Lord.
Beloved, what a happy day it must have
been, when not the conflict.
Well, I can only say what you and
I could indeed sing with joy.
Oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus
washed my sins away, and the joy of
knowing the sins of the believer of all
God.
May I give you three thoughts?
I love them myself, I'll pass them on
to you quickly, for when God forgives sins
in this age, I quote the words of
Psalm 103 verse 12, as far as the
east is from the west, so far hath
he removed our transgression from us.
For when God forgives sins, he puts them
out of breach, as far as the east
is removed from the west.
And as the poet said, the east and
the west, the twain they never meet, for
you continue in one continuous circle, never finding
a meeting place of the east and the
west as you travel in such a direction.
And then, in Micah chapter 7 verse 19,
a verse that is very typical of the
national day of atonement that we shall speak
of when we go to the prophecy of
Zechariah, when Israel's sins will be forgiven as
a nation.
And, in Micah 7 verse 19, God said,
I will cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea, for when God forgives
sins, he puts them not only out of
reach, he puts them out of sight.
O beloved, the joy of the figurative illustration
in the depths of the sea!
And then, those words of Jeremiah 31-34,
Hebrews 10 verse 17, their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more.
Not only out of reach, not only out
of sight, out of mind, forgiven and forgotten
by God.
O beloved, hallelujah, what a salvation when we
have a God who, through the blood of
his Son, takes all our guilt away.
May God help you and I, indeed, to
rejoice and enjoy the knowledge that is ours
through this typical teaching of the great day
of atonement as it took place in the
land of Israel.
This is a solemn time.
May I point out to you verse 31
of our chapter before going further.
It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto
you, and ye shall afflict your souls by
a statute forever.
Linking with chapter 23, please, I want you
to notice in this 21st chapter of Leviticus
what the Lord has to say about the
conduct and the attitude of the people of
Israel.
Read with me in verse 27.
On the tenth day of this seventh month
there shall be a day of atonement.
It shall be an holy convocation unto you.
Ye shall afflict your souls.
It was the most solemn feat, perhaps of
all, with the exception of the Passover, as
we have said.
Ye shall afflict your souls.
And you know the need today when the
day of atonement is piously set by the
Jews.
It is supposed to be a day of
solemnity as they thus reflect upon their sins,
their guilt, and their shortcomings in the presence
of Jehovah.
Ye shall afflict your souls, and may I
give the thought on how true it is.
Oh, how we who came to Christ came
under the judgment and the penalty of God's
wrath upon our sins, bearing upon our conscience,
and there was the deep conviction we were
lost and undone, and the realization we deserved
the eternal judgment that God had decreed.
But, thank God, in humble repentance and faith,
we came to Him.
Now, look at verse 28.
Ye shall do no work in that same
day, for it is a day of atonement
to make an atonement for you before the
Lord your God.
Know what?
I love to thought, if I may indeed
illustrate these words by reminding you, not by
works of righteousness that we have done, but
by His mercy He alone has saved us.
I cannot work my soul to save, for
that my Lord has done, and what joy
it is when we have found our own
atonement through the blood of His Son, forever
having our sins washed away.
But, go with me to Zechariah chapter 12,
please.
I want you to notice, as we have
on the chart, that this great day of
atonement, as likewise other feasts, represents the demons
of God's redemptive purposes with Israel, even yet
to come.
And, may I point out, as we did
last night, these last three feasts, they have
a blessed application in the future.
As we saw yesterday, the Feast of Trumpets,
the awakening of Israel to repentance, and as
we shall see now, Israel's cleansing and restoration.
For this great day of atonement, long ago,
portrayed a future day, when again Israel, in
need of national cleansing and restoration, shall have
that effectively brought to pass in a coming
day.
Now, go with me to then, to the
book of Zechariah.
We have already seen, through the Feast of
Trumpets, that the Jews will return, and we
could all, we could indeed say many have,
returned to their own land.
They have returned in unbelief, and there will
be a national awakening of Israel.
For God, now may I point out this,
look, the Feast of Trumpets, in its dispensational
application, leads to the day of atonement.
The Feast of Trumpets, in the day of
Israel's history, when kept annually, was but a
stepping stone to that great day which followed
immediately, the day of atonement.
Now, may I emphasize, and this is something
you and I should realize, we who are
Christians, there is no question of doubt.
God has his earthly people in Israel today
for one specific purpose, to bring them to
that national day of atonement, and the cleansing
and the restoration of the nation to himself,
which we shall see in our church.
O beloved, you and I who see and
know the mind of God in this precious
book, relating to his earthly people, must realize
he is working towards that end.
My, the wonder of it that we should
live in such a day, when for centuries
the absence of Israel from the land has
been so manifest, and they have been casted
throughout the nation during the formation of the
church.
You know, I can almost feel the Lord
was coming for us, to realize the threshold
of such an event.
Now, you and I will not, as the
church, be indeed involved in this national day
of atonement for Israel, but you and I
are seeing that God has begun awakening his
people.
He has brought many of them, and also
given them the privilege of restoring themselves to
some national entity as they exist today.
For what purpose?
To bring them to that great national day
of atonement.
Now, let me repeat what we said yesterday
in relation to Israel's sin.
You remember we said they had broken God's
law, they had defied his promises, they had
slain his prophets.
Greater still, they had rejected and crucified their
own Messiah.
Third, we said they had also despised the
Spirit of God.
Now, beloved, I want you to realize God
is going to bring all that to account,
nationally, to the whole nation of Israel, and
their great day of national judgment is ahead.
For brevity's sake, we must only think, as
you have in chapter 30 of Jeremiah, verse
7, as you have in the in the
words of Jesus in Matthew 24 15, it
will be the great day of tribulation for
Israel.
Now, the great tribulation will have a worldwide
effect, but the center of that great tribulation
period will be Jerusalem and the environment of
Israel.
Now, let me briefly state three purposes for
the great tribulation.
First, and this is a solemn thing, first,
that great tribulation period, though brief, is for
the destruction of the undaunted.
Now, let me remind you of that again.
It's a solemn thing.
We're living in a world of explosive population,
but do you and I realize that upon
that world, during the period of greatest trouble,
God's judgment is going to be poured and
finalized for the utter destruction of the ungodly?
Read the epistle of Jude, chapter 1, only
one chapter, in verse 14 and 15.
When God, when he had prophesied, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands of his saints to
execute judgment upon all that are ungodly and
poor, and one purpose of that great tribulation
is for his judgment to be upon the
ungodly of the nation.
And, second, another purpose, and one of the
greatest purposes of the great tribulation, is to
bring his people Israel, the remnants of that
day, to the great day of atonement.
That through that day of atonement, and the
cleansing of the remnants, he may populate the
millennial kingdom with the remnants of his dear
people, side by side.
Third, a third purpose for the great tribulation
is also to bring down to the nation,
out from among the Gentiles, those who will,
with Israel, populate the millennial kingdom in that
coming day.
And, that great tribulation is going to be
the national day of judgment for Israel as
a nation.
May I give you this story?
I mentioned it to one or two at
the table the other day.
I was reading a book many years ago
written by a journalist who was not a
Christian, and he was a noted character in
his field of journalism, and he was very
pro-Jewish, and before the days of the
second world war, while in Palestine, he wrote
many articles for the benefit of God's earthly
people in whom he was interested.
He was not a Jew, but one day
he had a delegation of three Jewish rabbis
of a Jewish, of a Russian Orthodox order.
They came to him, and as they entered
into his room, he said, gentlemen, what may
I do for you?
The spokesman, who was the youngest, said, sir,
first we want to thank you for your
interest in our people, and for your writings
upon our behalf, but we do have a
request to make.
He said, what is it?
And the spokesman said, we wish you would
leave us alone and write nothing on our
behalf.
In astonishment, he looked at the man and
said, why?
The young Jewish rabbi looked at him and
said, sir, according to our sacred writing, before
we Jews shall see our Messiah, we must
pass as a nation through the greatest time
of trauma we've ever experienced, and then he
wiped the tears, slowed down the young man's
face, when he continued to say, we so
long to see our Messiah, we are willing
to go through it.
And, beloved, they will.
Now, not all the Jews will be brought
into the kingdom, but the nation is to
be existed and that day of tribulation will
certainly assist the nation, as we shall see
in the reading of God's word in the
prophecy of Zechariah.
I want you to turn with me to
it.
Zechariah chapter 12.
The words that we have read in chapter
12 of Zechariah, these words reveal the great
national crisis to which Israel is coming.
Now, Martin's words, they describe the great national
crisis that is yet ahead for the restoration
and the cleansing of the nation of Israel.
Verse 9.
It shall come to pass in that day.
Now, may I state again, as I did
yesterday, I believe, whenever you read the expression
in that day, and if you will read
the last three chapters of Zechariah, 12, 13
and 14, you'll find this expression in that
day, you'll find it 16 times.
And, in every occasion, as well as in
other prophecies, to a Jew that meant the
day of the Messiah, the day of his
coming, in that day, it shall come to
pass in that day that I will seek
to destroy all the nations that come against
Jerusalem.
May I pause for a moment?
My beloved, this is a deep conviction with
me as I see the conditions today prevailing
in Israel, as well as around Israel.
I could not help but comment, as watching
and listening and analyzing the news that comes
out of the Middle East, that there is
the indication that Israel is willing to fight
all the nations of the world to maintain
their identity.
That is their spirit!
They've gone back to the land, they've established
themselves in that land for that purpose.
It's either live or die as a nation.
One cannot help but be amazed, as well
as astonished, at the integrity of such a
people to take a stand such as that.
And, beloved, may I say that's exactly what
is going to happen.
All the nations have gone up around them,
and cease to destroy them at the end
time, and Jehovah will fight all His people.
Go to chapter 14 for a moment, please.
Let me read in verse 1, 2, and
3.
Just the first 1, 2, and 3.
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and
thy spoils shall be divided in the midst
of thee.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem.
God is going to bring them there.
Let me take the time to do it.
Will you keep your place, please?
And I want you to go with me
to Numbers, chapter 35.
The book of Numbers, chapter 35, and verse
33.
Here is one of the most interesting principles
of prophecy that I've ever seen, and that
dear old brother, many years ago, thirty-some
years ago, brought it to my attention.
Chapter 35 in the book of Numbers, and
I want you to read the 33rd verse
only.
What you read in the chapter is the
establishing of the cities of refuge, and God
ordering the required judgments upon the murderers, as
well as protection upon those who inadvertently, unintentionally,
may have been guilty of murder.
But look in verse 33.
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein
ye are, for blood it defileth the land,
and the man cannot be cleansed of the
blood that is shed therein, but by the
blood of him that shed it.
Now, this divine principle still holds true.
When human blood is spilt on the ground
by the violence of men, God honors that
blood that has been shed.
He counts that blood sacred in its life,
and he says that shed blood defiles the
land, and there's only one way for that
land to be cleansed from the defilement.
It can only be cleansed by the blood
of the man who shed the blood.
Now, I want you to think with me.
Why are the nations going to be surrounding
Jerusalem?
Will you go with me in memory to
the death of Christ, and will you recall
that over that cross, in three languages Pilate
wrote, this is Jesus the King of the
Jews?
In Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.
In the language of the religion of that
day, in the language of culture in that
day, in the language of political power, it
was written, this is Jesus the King of
the Jews, and there at the cross, outside
the gates of Jerusalem, the greatest violence of
crime that was ever perpetrated by the human
race was perpetrated upon the sinless, thoughtless, holy
son of God.
And not only is God going to require
the judgment for the shedding of the blood
of his prophet, but also for the shedding
of the blood of the son of God.
And before Jerusalem and the land of Israel
will be morally cleansed in the sight of
God, he will gather all the nations, together
with his earthly people around Jerusalem, for the
cleansing of the land.
Oh beloved, this is God's decree.
And in that day, when thus they are
surrounded by their enemies, we read verse two
again, chapter 14.
Note the words in verse three, for I
will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle,
the city shall be taken, the houses rifled,
the women ravaged, half the city shall go
forth into captivity, the residue of the people
shall not be cut off from the city.
Then shall the Lord go forth and fight
against those nations as when he fought in
the day of battle.
Take a note of this reference in Zechariah
chapter 10 and verse 4.
You have four titles belonging to the Lord
Jesus.
One is, he's the cornerstone for Israel.
The second is, he's the nail.
A most unique title, one that I love.
The third is, he's the battle boat, and
fourth, the expression means he's the absolute ruler.
And oh beloved, what a day it will
be when Christ the Messiah comes down from
heaven to battle against the nations as they're
gathered around Jerusalem.
But, let's go back to chapter 12 in
Zechariah, for I want you to note, particularly
as our message is about the cleansing and
the atoning of the nation of Israel.
Chapter 12, verse 10.
When in that time the Lord appears, verse
10, he says, I will pour upon the
house of David and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication,
and they shall look upon me whom they
have seen.
Oh beloved, what a revelation it will be.
The godly remnant that shall remain shall see
that one, their Jehovah coming, their Messiah in
all of his glory.
But, when they see him, he is the
one they fear.
And the very mark upon him reminds them
he was the one they led out of
the city of Jerusalem and named to the
sea.
And, what will happen?
Notice what it says, they shall mourn for
him.
Their souls will be afflicted.
It will be the greatest experience of atonement
that the nation shall ever have known.
They shall mourn for him, as one mourneth
for his only son, in bitterness for him,
as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn.
And, in that day there shall be great
mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hader
driven in the valley of Mageddon.
And, note the distinction of the mourning.
First, the land, the whole nation shall mourn.
Second, every family apart.
The family of the house of David, the
royal family and their wives.
The family of the house of Nathan, the
prophetic families and their wives apart.
Verse 13, the priestly families, the Levites apart
and their wives, and the family of Shimei
apart and their wives.
And then, at the verse 14, all the
families that remain, every family apart and their
wives apart.
And, what a day it will be!
May I give this suggestion?
Their great confession, their great confession will be
Isaiah 53.
I know we love the crucifixion chapter of
the Old Testament, as we call it, but
their great national confession of guilt will be
Isaiah 53, from the beginning to the end.
And, they will acknowledge we have seen enough.
We believe he deserves the repose that he
suffered.
Yet, he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities.
And, the chastisement of our peace was upon
him.
And, with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned every one to his own way.
Yet, Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity
of it all.
And, you'll read Isaiah 53 as being the
great national confession of Israel.
And, when you come into chapter 54, then
you see and can hear the song of
redemption and glory that he brings them into.
What a day it's going to be!
Look in chapter 13 of our Zechariah prophecy,
verse 1, as we close.
In that day there shall be a fountain
open to the house of David, to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness.
In that day they will find the value
of his blood.
Can I remind you of what happened when
they crucified their Messiah?
And, when Pilate brought him before the people
and said, behold your king, we have no
king but Jesus.
And, then Pilate, as he delivered him to
the people, washed his hands before the people,
and said, I wash my hands of the
blood of this just man.
You remember the cry of the people?
His blood be upon us, and upon our
children.
And, beloved, they borne the judgment.
They suffered for that sin.
But, in that day, when they see him
face to face, his blood will be upon
them for cleansing.
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn
from Immanuel's veins, and sinners trounced beneath that
blood lose all their guilty stains.
Oh, beloved, let me say, I'm sure we
all believe in the coming glory of Israel,
which the Feast of Tabernacles represents in the
future application.
But, before God will ever bring his people
into that glory, he will judicially and morally
cleanse to make them pitted.
Cleanse and restore them with a new heart
to keep his laws, to obey his teaching,
and to glorify him in all the earth.
Oh, beloved, let us give thanks that for
the nation of Israel there's coming a day
of cleansing and restoration when that Messiah appears.
And, until then, may God help us to
win some of them to the Lord Jesus
as we can.
Shall we pray?
Oh, blessed Father, what a book!
Thy precious, Thy holy word.
We wish to thank thee from the depth
of our hearts for the divine revelation of
such truth.
Blessed God, thou alone by the Holy Spirit,
through thy sacred writers, could write such words
of prophecy pertaining not only to the world
at large, but to thine earthly people in
particular.
We would be faithful to say, Lord we
pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and ask
thee that soon our Lord will come, and
that we shall be watching ourselves as those
who were redeemed by his blood, waiting for
that glad shout of a descending Lord, and
the resurrection of those saints that have died
in Christ, and our own transgression.
Lord Jesus, we sometimes feel as though you
must come any moment, and this is thy
teaching.
We pray, Lord, if thy word covers such,
so clearly, such conditions that we are facing
today, please Lord keep us awake!
Keep us awake, Lord, looking for thy coming,
and waiting to see thy face.
We ask you to recommend ourselves in separating
in our Savior's precious name.
Amen.