At
the heart of the book of Leviticus, with all its meticulous detail,
there is this great statement regarding the spiritual purpose of it all:
“atonement will be made for you, to cleans you. Then, before the Lord,
you will be clean from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30).
When we come to the New Testament, we find Jesus Christ, not only
celebrating the Passover but fulfilling the Passover. He is the Passover
Lamb. In Psalm 31:5,
we read the words spoken by Christ on the Cross: “Into Your hands, I
commit My spirit.” These words are followed by the prayer: “redeem me, O
Lord, the God of truth.” God’s answer to prayer was, in the case of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Resurrection. The risen Christ might truly
echo the words of the Psalmist: “I will be glad and rejoice in Your
love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You
have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious
place” (Psalm 31:7-8).
There is to be prayer from “every one who lives in the land” (Joel 1:14). It is to be personal prayer - “O Lord, I cry to You for help!” (Joel 1:19). These two belong together - prayer for the nation and personal prayer. This is expressed so well in the words: “O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me.” We hear the words, “Return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:13). They are followed by some wonderful words about the character of God - “He is merciful and compassionate, patient and always ready to forgive and to change His plans about disaster” (Joel 2:13). How do we know that God is like this? We look at what He has done for us - “Be glad and rejoice. The Lord has done great things!” (Joel 2:21). Looking at all that the Lord has done for us, we trust His promise: “Whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). This salvation is more than forgiveness for past sins. It’s more than the future glory of being in God’s ev...
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