In God’s relationship with man, God regards us and is pleased with us in the burnt offering, and He promised that in the seed of Abraham (which is Christ) all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
In our deeper study to dig out and enjoy the crystals in the book of Job, we want to see what is the intrinsic revelation in the Bible concerning the move of God, which in the Old Testament was with and among men, and in the New Testament it is in man.
God is a moving God, and His move is on earth first with and among men in the Old Testament, and second in man in the New Testament.
If we read the Bible we will notice that God’s relationship with man had different stages; in the Old Testament God was outside of man, He inspired and led man, and He gained some men to cooperate with Him for His move on the earth.
However, in the New Testament God is not merely outside of man but He made a way – even became the way – to be mingled with man.
The move of God related to man is to accomplish the desire of God’s heart and also to meet man’s need before God.
In the New Testament, we see how Christ came not only as God with man but as God in man, even God being mingled with man for man to live out God for the expression of God.
In the Old Testament, God moved with and among men to do a work of preparation, but this was not God’s direct move; in the New Testament, however, God moves directly in man as His new creation for His eternal economy.
There is something hidden in the heart of God, something that He desires to do; this is the eternal economy of God, and because of this economy all things exist.
We thank and praise the Lord that, in His sovereignty, He has arranged that we live in the New Testament age, an age in which the move of God is in man; today God moves in a mysterious way in us and with us, for we are the new creation to be His corporate expression.
Yes, God did many great, marvellous, and grand outward things with and among His people Israel, but all these were His indirect move, for His heart’s desire was to get into man and become man’s life and everything so that man would become part of His corporate expression, the church as the Body of Christ.
If we look through the Old Testament, we see certain important things that God did related to man, and these are types of what our relationship with God is and should be.
First, God created man in His image and according to His likeness; as a created man, we need to take God as our life (as signified by the tree of life) so that we may live, express, and represent God.
Then, we need to be transformed into precious materials and be built up as the counterpart, the wife of Christ (as signified by Eve).
Then, as fallen men, we need to receive Christ for our redemption to be justified by God in Christ; also, we need to receive Christ as the seed of the woman to be delivered from Satan and his death-power.
God Regards us and is Pleased with man in the Burnt Offering, and He Promises to Bless All Nations in the Seed of Abraham
Abel, one of the sons of Adam and Eve, must have realized something deeper concerning man’s relationship with God, for he was a tender of sheep solely for the purpose of offering them to God for His satisfaction.
At that time man didn’t eat meat, but Abel must have heard from his parents how God slaughtered a lamb, shed its blood, and covered man with the skin; therefore, he was a shepherd of sheep so that he may offer them to God.
Jehovah had regard for Abel and for his offering (Gen. 4:4); God regarded man and was pleased with man in the burnt offering (Gen. 8:20-22).
The reality of the burnt offering is Christ, who lived a life that was absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction as a satisfying fragrance to God for His delight and pleasure (see Lev. 1:9; Isa. 42:1; Matt. 3:17; 17:5; 12:18; John 5:30; 6:38; 7:18; 8:29; 14:24; cf. 2 Cor. 2:15; S. S. 4:10-16).
The offering of Abel was probably the beginning of the burnt offering mentioned in the Old Testament; all these offerings point to Christ as the absolute and perfect One for God’s satisfaction.
Not only was there an animal slain, the blood was shed, and the skin covered the fallen man, but man also began to present an offering to God; this burnt offering is a type of Christ, the real burnt offering, who lived a life that is absolutely perfect before God.
In Matt. 3:17 and in 17:5 the Father testified, both at the time of the Lord’s baptism and on the mount of transfiguration, that Christ is His beloved Son in whom He finds all His delight. Christ is the Father’s pleasure and delight; He is absolute for God and He has no blemish.
When Abel offered the burnt offering to God, and whenever man offers a burnt offering to God, God had regard for man, for man is qualified to be in God’s presence because of Christ as the burnt offering.
Mankind has gained regard by God, and God is pleased with man because of Christ as the burnt offering.
Today we can lay our hands on Christ and take Him as our burnt offering, the unique One who is absolutely for God and who is perfect; we can be identified with Him and offer Him to God, and God regards us because of Christ.
In Gen. 22:18 God promised Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed; this is fulfilled in Christ, who is the real seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:8, 14, 16-17).
God called Abraham, the head of the called race, and promised him that in his seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed; this seed is not merely Isaac, his earthly descendant, but Christ.
Through Abraham, Christ was brought forth, and in Him, all the nations of the earth are blessed. Hallelujah, we are blessed in Christ, who is the seed of Abraham!
And when we are in Christ, all the nations of the earth are blessed in us, for we are one with Christ to be the blessing of God to all men!
On one hand, we take Christ as our burnt offering and offer Him to God so that God may be satisfied and have regard for man; God regards us when we take Christ as our burnt offering.
On the other hand, by faith in Christ we are in Him, joined to Him in an organic way, and we enjoy Him as the blessing to all the nations; even more, we are in Christ and one with Christ for all the nations of the earth to blessed in us, the corporate Christ! Hallelujah!
Lord Jesus, You are the One who lived a life that was absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction; we take You as our burnt offering and we offer You to God for His satisfaction. We lay our hands on You, dear Lord, for You satisfy God and bring delight to Him; Your life and living on earth was a satisfying fragrance to God for His delight and pleasure. Hallelujah, God regards us when we offer You as our burnt offering to be acceptable and pleasing to God. Thank You, Lord, we can enjoy Christ as the seed of Abraham, the One in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed! Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ is the blessing to all the nations, and we as believers are in Christ to be part of the corporate seed of Abraham to bring God’s blessing to all the nations!
As those chosen by God, we need to answer God’s Call, Live before God, be Exposed by the Law, and Take Christ as the Tabernacle, the Priest, and the Offerings
There are many aspects of God’s indirect move among men and with men in the Old Testament.
From the very first chapter of Genesis, we see that, as a man created by God in His image (Gen. 1:26), man needed to take God as his life so that he may live God, express God, and represent God (2:9); then, he needs to be transformed into precious materials (vv. 10-12) and be built up as a counterpart to God (vv. 18-24).
After being deceived by Satan and falling in sin, man became fallen; as such a one, man needed to receive Christ for his redemption (typified by the sacrifice with its shed blood) so that he may be justified by God in Christ (typified by the coats of the sacrifice’s skins – Gen. 3:21).
Also, as fallen men, we need to receive Christ as the seed of the woman to be delivered from the power of death of Satan, the serpent (Gen. 3:15; Heb. 2:14).
These are basic truths in the word of God, part of the move of God among and with man, and we need to know them, enjoy them, apply them, and be able to speak them to others to bring them into the enjoyment of Christ as our everything to live Christ for God’s satisfaction.
In the case of Abel, we are redeemed persons who need to offer Christ as the burnt offering so that we may be regarded, respected by God (Gen. 4:4); God regards us as we take Christ as our burnt offering.
As seen with Enosh, man needs to call on the name of Jehovah (v. 26); as seen with Enoch, man needs to walk with God (5:22).
As seen with Noah, man needs to work with God so that he may be delivered from the corrupted world which is condemned by God (Gen. 6:11-18), and man needs to live before God through Christ as the burnt offering so that the earth could be kept in order (8:20-22).
In Abraham we see a person chosen by God; as such ones, we need to receive and answer God’s call (Gen. 12:1-4) and to live before God through Christ as his burnt offering (v. 7; 13:18; 22:13).
As the corporate people of God, we daily enjoy Christ as our burnt offering, and we learn to live before God through Christ as our burnt offering.
At the same time, we are exposed by the law to know that we are sinful and do not have the capacity to keep the law (Exo. 19:8, 21 – 20:21); the law exposes us that we cannot meet God’s demands, so we take Christ as the reality of all the offerings.
The law exposes of man of his impotence to please God, inadequacies to satisfy God, and incapability to fulfill the law of God.
But praise the Lord, Christ came to be the reality of all the offerings, and He Himself is the Priest ministering to God and to us for us!
We can now live with God by taking Christ as the reality of the tabernacle, the priest, and the offerings so that we may enter into God and enjoy all that God is with Christ and in Christ (see Exo. 25 – Lev. 27).
When Christ came, He was the true tabernacle of God, making God enterable, so that we can enter into that tabernacle to fellowship with God.
Christ is our real High Priest, bringing our case to God; He is also the reality of all the offerings.
Thank the Lord for God’s provision – He gave us Christ as the reality of the tabernacle (to meet with God and fellowship with God in Christ) and of the offerings (for us to be pleasing to God and be justified before God)!
Christ is the reality of all the things we need to live and move with God on the earth! Hallelujah!
Thank You Lord for choosing us and calling us; we receive and answer Your call to be part of the chosen race of God, the believers in Christ. Thank You for providing Christ for us as our burnt offering for us to have a way to live before God. Lord, we acknowledge that we cannot please God, we are incapable of keeping the law of God, and we cannot match God’s requirements; we take Christ as the reality of all the offerings and we come forward to You in Christ and by Christ. Hallelujah, Christ is the High Priest who takes our case before God, makes propitiation for us, and He Himself is also all the offerings for us to be regarded by God and be pleasing to Him. Praise the Lord, Christ is the tabernacle of God with man: in Him we meet with God and God meets with us, and He makes us the temple of God! Thank You Lord for providing everything for us to live and move with God on the earth.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Life-Study of Job, msg. 32 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes (2020 winter training), week 7, The Intrinsic Divine Revelation concerning the Move of God with and among Men in the Old Testament and concerning the Move of God in Man in the New Testament to Accomplish God’s Heart’s Desire and to Meet Man’s Need before God.
- Hymns on this topic:
– ”Seed of Abraham,” Thou art, Lord, / By God’s promise Thou hast come, / That the blessing He hath promised / On all people thus might come. / Abraham Thou hast preceded, / For Thou art the great “I AM,” / Yet Thou cam’st to be his offspring / And become God’s promised “Lamb.” (Hymns #191)
– Lord, Thou art all the offerings / Prepared by God for us; / They are so rich in meaning, / So sweet and glorious. / They have fulfilled God’s purpose / And met His heart’s desire; / They too have satisfied us, / And faced what we require. (Hymns #195)
– Lord, Thou art our consecration, / Thou the consecrated One; / Thou hast satisfied the Father— / Consecration thus was done. / When on earth Thou hadst no pleasure, / Save to do the Father’s will; / Now Thou livest here within us, / Consecration to fulfill. (Hymns #1138)
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