Darleen Nelson

The Passover Meal was to remind the Jews of God's redemption of them from slavery in Egypt. The Last Supper is to remind us of our redemption from the sin of the World. Both required trust and obedience on the part of the partakers. The Passover was for only the Jews. The Last Supper is for all believers.

The blood was a sign which protected the Israelites from the destruction God was bringing to unbelievers. The blood was a symbol that the house and those in it were protected by God. We as believers have experienced a day of deliverance from spiritual death and slavery to sin. God has delivered us by the blood of Jesus and gives us a new life with HIm.

Jesus' death in our place freed us from the penalty we deserve for our sins. If we walk with God, daily striving to become more like Jesus and walking closely to Him and relying on the Holy Spirit to keep us close then the cares and problems Satan throws at us can be handled with God-given strength and we can walk daily under HIs protection and in His power and peace.

Sinful people are the slaves. We are slaves to sin and are help captive by it until we acept what Jesus did to ransome us from our sins. Payment is not paid to Satan because the payment is made to the one who owns the thing being ransomed and Satan does not own us even though we walk in sin. We were created by God and in His image and do not belong to Satan. He may exert prower over us and our actions but this is not ownership. God's forgiveness removes us form Staan's power and influence and the filling of the Holy Spirit enables us to move under God's power and influence instead of that of Satan.

Jesus death purchased us for God's purpose and to be used according toHi plans. When we become a Christian the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and our bodies belong to God. Because we belong to God we try not to violate His laws but strive to live as He directs us. Everything we do should show the world we belong to God and called according to His purpose.

In the New Testament world the humans who were freed by payment of the redemption price of ransom were slaves or prisoners of war. The use of the analogy made it easier to the people of these times and also of today, to see the relationship between the way these people were given freedom and the freedome from sin avialable for those who accept it. Those who were redeemed could have remained in slavery or as prisoners if they had not accepted their freedom. Likewise a sinner must accept the freedom Christ has provided or he will remain in his sin and cut off from God.

The scripture which to me sums up the lesson of Isaiah 53 is Matt. 26:38, 39, and 42. In the Garden Jesus shows to me the depth of His sacrifice and the extent of His suffering. "He told them, 'My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.' He went a little farther and fell face down on the ground praying, 'My Father! If it is possible let this cup of suffering be taken away form me; yet, I want your will not mine.' Again he left them and prayed, 'My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.'" (New Living Bible) This passage shows me that as a human Jesus dreaded what He was to go through but becuase He understood God's purpose He was willing to suffer in order to bring foregiveness and salvation to all the world.

He stood as a subsgtitute in my place and suffered the death my sins deserved. Isaiah 53 clearly states He was punished for our sins. We may not understand this principle but it was clearly stated by Isaiah and repeated many times in the New Testament. One of my favorites is I Peter 2:24. He personally carried our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds. (New Living Bible Translation)

Our sins were taken into the body of Christ which became a substitute for our own sinful body. Just as God determined sin affected all the world because of the sin of one man; so salvation came into the whole world because of the sacrifice of one man's life willingly given for all. We receive Jesus' righteousness just as we received Adam's sin.

The New Testament scripture that convinces me that Jesus saw His mission spelled out in Is. 53 is John 10:14-19 where He describes Himself as the good shepherd and confirms He will lay down His life for the sheep voluntarily as His Father had commanded as restitituon for our sins.

The Lord God chose to have Jesus suffer for the sins of all people in all the world. God would use Jesus as a sacrificial lamb to bring all the people of all time under His sacrificial blood. Many either don't know about Jesus' sacrifice or just reject what He did or put their action off until later which is a foolish thing to do.

The sacrifices were intended to teach us sin must be recomepensed. Some payment must be made for sin against God. The ritual of the sacrifice demanded people to cleanse themselves so they could enter the presence of a Holy God. The sacrifices showed God is by nature loving and forgiving and He proveds a way to remain in His presence and under His care.

Through the animal sacrifice the Lord mercifully gave sinful man a means of receiving forgiveness. Man was able to substitute an animal for himself. The act of sacrifice demonstarted the acceptanceof God's salvation and signified the obedience to follow His plan wholeheartedly. Sacrifice cuased the people to recognice their sin and focus on living for God. Without obedience the sacrifices were useless.

Confession of sin, bringing a perfect animal, laying hands on the head of the animal as a means of transferring the sin, slaying the animal, collecting the blood and putting it on the horns of the altar and at the base of the altar, removal of the fat portions for burning, and the meat being eaten by priest or by offerer and his family depending on the type of sacrifice. The blood on the altar was changed for the blood of Jesus. The confession of sins is vitally impotant in order to receive forgivness. The transfer of our sin to Jesus' own body is performed in order to free us from the effects of the sin. The only thing really missing is the animal sacrificed which is no longer needed as Jesus filled that need once and for all time. We must confess our sins to show we realize them and that we are aware of the holiness of God and are willing to turn from our sins.

It is repulsive in this day of animal rights to even think of killing animals to be used as any kind of sacrifice. Several TV shows lately have dipped into this idea in a legal way withh those who did the sacrificing being really under a lot of pressure. Recently there was a case in a Houston court and the final outcome was a fine and the removal of the animals intended for sacrifice. It could be because of the SPCA and the proteciton of animal rights as well as human.

Sin is a deliberate act of disobedience and must therefore cause anger in a righteous, loving God. When a law or even a person's wishes are deliberately ignored over and over anger is a natural reaction. God had a solution for those who disobeyed and was willing to provide foregiveness to them. God's love and mercy are wonderful and we benefit fromt hemw hen we respond and give glory to Him. Righteous anger is not uncontroleld or capricious but is meted out as due to the person who has broken the law and is not done with sudden anger but with a controlled anger that is explained and should be expected. If you break a natural law you know there are consequences and this is also true of God's law.

So good to be starting another Bible Study with you all. I am ready to go on with these lessons. Isaiah prophesied in 53:7 that the Messiah would be led to the slaughter like a lamb. A life was required to pay the penatlty for sin. The sins of the world were removed when Jesus laid down His life. Jesus gave His life for all the world which includes a vast number of people and even more sins. In order to receive the benefits of this sacrifice a sinner must confess their sins and accept Jesus as the sacrifice for them.

During his life, Gideon kept the Israelites resonably close to God. He kept the nationn strong and invaders did not bother them for the rest of Gideon's time as judge.

Spiritual unfaithfulness is turning love to another source just as prostitution and adultery do. Love is drawn from God to a substitute and attention is focusedin places other than God. Spiritual adultrery may be turning our attention to worldly pleasures or pursuits, toward personal relationships or toward any other interests over God. Anything that takes our time, money or loyalty away from God is a form of adultery. Many people even worship beautiful church buildings instead of the God they represent.

A snare is a trap. The ephod ensnared the Israelites and the members of Gideon's family and even Gideon himself. They began to worship the ephod which had been meant as a commemorative of the victory but soon became an idol to the people. What was meant for a good purpose produced negative results. The Israelites were always looking for a change in their worship and this provided one. They focused on the gold ephod and gave it special powers.

An ephod is a linen garment worn by the priests over their chests. It was considered holy because it was used by the priests. This ephod may have looked like a beautiful, golden garment that would be on display when not worn by the priests. What ever it looked like it became an idol to the Israelites who seemed to constantly need something new to worship.

Just as Aaron did, Gideon asked for their earrings. I don't think Gideon was out of line in asking for these as a reward for the fighting and leadership he had given them. Soldiers were not paid except in plunder and I am sure Gideon deserved much in the way of plunder. This was kind of an way to appeasing the people who wanted to make him king. It gave them something concrete they could do for him.

Gideon never lost sight of the fact of the importance for both the nation and the individual to put God first in their life. If would show disloyalty to God if Gideon would try to take His place as king. Gideon would serve them as a judge but God would remain their king. The Isrealites were short sighted and easily led away from God no matter how much He had done for them. They kept demanding a king until God finally gave them Saul. They wanted to be like other nations and have a king.

Gideon was traditionally bound to gain revenge for the death of his brothers. His anger and apparent pleasure in gaining this revenge is out of line with Jesus' teaching on vengeance belonging to the Lord but this was before Jesus' time when the traditions were much different. Gideon shows that in spite of his rapid advancement in God's service he was still a man bound by the impulses natural to man and by his long years of training in the Jewish tradition.

Succoth and Peniel refused to help Gideon becuase they were afraid of the Midianites and they didn't trust God's promises. They were obligated by Jewish tradition to help their brothers but were so worried about Gideon and his small army not being able to finish the war they thought only of saving themselves and didn't think about God's power to save. Gideon had a right to punish them but his threat promised very severe punishment. Gideon could have let God do the punishment becuase these people also disobeyed God in rejecting help to His designated leader. They should have helped Gideon just becuase he needed help and it was the right thing to do. I must be careful not to let natural fears prevent me from recognizing God's presence in other people and therefore miss being part of God's victory, I may have to face the consequences of failing to join forces with those God has chosen to do His work. God will prevail with or without me but I want to be quick to join others who are engaged in God's work with my time, money, talents and prayers.