Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1903-02-05
one to give pledge Of the fulfillment OF
promise, he asks, How shall know

sa Il ta a rss Ssys ESfsy fssas f;tfssss
And He said unto him. Take Me heifef /
OF three years old. and a she goat of three |
and an q turtle dove and a young pigeon
ihus, seated opposite the altar we find
A Ablnm. wating--a wonderful Illustration |
OF faith in God. It is still early in the |
,,'lefli1g. ,ta snd d. the offerings are before Him
lieves God. ana I1e counts II TO him for a
blessing. There was no sign OF the ae:
expect, but he wavers not; his faith is
firm rs The. rocks around him. Sarah may
have rldiculed hiln. and the servants may
have looked at him curioGslxt It's it his
mind was wandering, bat 4Abram waits pn
have no question but that one Of the
greatest blessings Of his life came to him
while he waited.
We all Of lis havA bad our hours of wait
ing for the fulflment 81 His promises. We
hare had nights that have been sleeuiess:
we have climbed the hill hundreds 81
times to see if there was cloud the size of
mans hand. giving us the token Of the
coming Of victory, and the world has said
that gil tur, faith and hope was in vain.
But not at all: :.
This is when the spiritual life grows. 1t
is also the time when the uncleaii birds
come to discourage us and disturb US Just
as they hoyered about the Offering of
Abram; ID they soar above us, seeking to
rob us df The best things Of our life, of
all that would make life worth living: But
it is possible thing for US to drive them
all away Just as we find Abram did in the
text .witli which we started: And when
the fowls came down upon the carcasses,
Abral1 drove them away
These offerings are the same as. those
commanded to Moses. and if we put them
all together we have d perfect illustration
Of the stonement OF Jesus Christ. and Of
the power Of His blood to make clean. |
shall not consider the offerings in their or
der. but give them to YOU in this chapter
as they have impressed themselves upon
my own mind:
"-And he shall take two goats and pre-
sent them before the Lord at the door OF
the tabernacle of the congregation. But
the goat OH WHICH the lot fell to be the
scapegoat shall be presented ahves before
the Lord; to make an atonemert with him:
and to let him go for a scapegoat into the
Wilderness Ley, xvii ], 10.
| Very few services in the Old Testament
| Scriptures are more interesting iii the past
| and more powerful as we study. them iii
! the present, because OF the light shed Upon
| the atonement. than the offering Of the
| goats. There were two III number and in
|
God AS touching sin. "What nIi,st ] do to
| be sayedy' has been the heart-cry OF many
a poor lost soul. who no sooner htters it
| than the evil birds begin to fly about his
head, suggesting all sorts OF answers to the
| question.
One whispers Reform and the poor,
tempted one makes an effort. but what a
struggle he has. for he finds that when he
| has cut off one sin the strength OF ii
| seems to go in the channel IN which an
| other has been flowing, and reformation
even il it be complete (which it rarely isl
| only touches the present, and possibly the
| future, and never for a moment makes pro
| vision for ones awful past.
Another bird suggests that we simply
be good. One great evangeli> says, "Qui
your meanness;" another, equally great
"Do right. and you will be a Christian.
! With all due respect for these men. who
have been counted great, | submit tina
they are wrong: for one might quit hi
meanness' to-day, but what about yester
day: And one may possibly do right to
morrow, but who is to make provision fol
the deeds of to-day?
Mans way has miserably failed. Let u
now turn to God to seek the proper an
swer to the question.
The. first goat was. slain for the Lord
and this side OF mans sin must never b.
forgotten In the transgressions of ma,
God has been aishonored, His truth ha
been scolned. His authority has been Sc
aside. His. maiestv has been slighted, Hi
law has been broken. His name has beel
despiscd. No reformation of man cal
ever make this wrong right. Thus, in tn
Old Testament the goat was offered t
to satisfy His holy law. And thus in tn
New Testament Jesus Christ came to sui
; fer and to die. Nowadays there is fnnc
, teaching abroad. which magniies the lif
OF Jesus. but the clear teaching OF tn
word Of God is that only by the sheddin
of His blood is there remission OF sins
the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cieanset
Jesus being teacher, but He said Himse
that the Spirit, when He is come, woul
, teach us all things. Jesus Christ came
do just one thing namely, to die. thu
through His death an avenue might (
, opened up for man to come back to b
3 God, reconciled forever unto God.
, | All of which we know and believe, If "
| are faithful students of our own natul
> and of the word of God But this is no
T | cense to sin, for If we confess our 81
: | Gods word is out that He will be ':fait
I. | full and just to forgive us our ,sins;" tn;
! is, He will be faithful to Christ, who hi
+ carried our sin away.
= Isaiah's picture in the fifty-third chapt
). | of his prophecy is picture OF Jesus Chri
E as the seapegoat, bearing through the W
! derness the weight Of our sins.
For every evil bird that comes to di
O courage us or to discredit Gods wol
g there is a sure way by WHICH they may
: driven from US. The word of God is o.
defense, and you have but to hold up
Il Satan, whose agents these evil birds al
:, the expression 1T is written, 'aand he w
e be overcome.
o And the Lord spake unto Moses a,
e unto Aaron, saying: And he that gatht
= eth the ashes OF the heifer shall wash
!. clothes and be unciean until the even; al
It it shall be unto the children Of Israel. al
n unto the stranger that sojourneth an1o
e them. for statute forever. Nurnbe
X XIX: l, 10.
II Ii one were to give this passage
d Scripture casual reading he might find
,e it very little to arrest his attention, but
it be studies it carefully and compares Scr
d ture with Scripture, he will learn that r
,e only is it one OF the most intensely int
is esting studies in all The Bible, but that
]. sheds light upon the gospel story, a
it makes both plain and powerful one phs
o. the work accom- pished by our bless
1t Lord
,e There was something in the color of
~ heifer, for it was not allowable to have Q
e. single white hair-all must be red. Sur,
id this is just little hint that in the sacr
lc eial life and death of Jesus Christ ths
was not one single bright ray S.
e. The offering must be without blemis