Who invented crab soccer? Have you ever pondered this question? It struck me yesterday as I was remembering this game.

Guiding Question – What is the spiritual significance of the separation of the ark and the rest of the tabernacle articles?

We see this occurrence in I Chronicles 16. The crux of the story is that the Ark had been stolen by the Philistines in I Samuel 4, but had found no favor with it, and decided to return it by cart. Although the Ark was successfully returned to Israel, David had it on his heart to bring the Ark of God into Jerusalem. When this was attempted in an unprescribed manner (on a cart instead of with staves), Uzzah’s life was taken by God. David finally discovered the correct method, and he tasted great joy in bringing the Ark into the city.

This is where we meditate. We are in Jerusalem, with the Ark, but the rest of the articles of the Tabernacle remain in Gibeon in a high place. So the question plagues us. What are we to learn from this? The tabernacle is separated. What deep teaching is here?

What are these wounds in thine hands?

Zechariah 13:6

This is one of the questions posed in the Scriptures that I never tire of considering. It seems to delve deeper than just the surface of the matter, and for me it lingers long in my thoughts. “What are these wounds in thine hands?” Again and again we will ask it. Scripture tells us that eternity is necessary for us to hear the whole of it (Ephesians 2:7). And so it seems that we will ever repeat the question. It’s like that infamous question that rings wildly in the car while we travel, “Are we there yet?” Only this question we ask will never be answered with, “Stop asking that question!” The Father will for all eternity be expounding to us the depths of the riches of the love He has toward us. Let us consider a few aspects of this simple question.

The Why behind the question

If we could rephrase the question and say, “Why are these wounds in your hands?”, the One who bears the scars in His hands would say something like this: I was wounded for your transgressions, and I was bruised for your iniquity. It was for sin that He died, and it was not for His own sins, for He had none. It was for our sin that He went to that awful place called Calvary, and allowed His creatures to nail Him to a tree. He died to pay for the sins of the world, and to offer “whosoever will” to come into eternal peace with Him. Each one of us has crossed the line, so to speak, in regard to obeying God. He said “Don’t do it,” and we did it. We stand before Him guilty, but He offers pardon through His Son, Jesus Christ. So in summation, we caused the wounds in His lovely hands.

The What behind the question

Precisely the word in the verse is the one we will now contemplate – the word “what?”. What are these wounds in your hands? What do they symbolize? What story do they tell? It is simple, but profound, to say that these wounds tell the story of love. The story of a love so deep and so wide, that it is mind-boggling. This love that led Christ to the cross is unfathomable. How can we fully grasp the meaning of the love of Christ. There He sat on His throne in heaven. He was the object of angels’ worship. Pure beyond imagination, and unstained by sin, He sat as creator and ruler of the universe. And presented with the opportunity to leave this throne, come to the earth as a man, and die to make all the wrongs right, He said “yes”. He actually said “yes”. Yes to all the hatred. Yes to all the spitting and the beating. Yes to the mocking and laughing and jeering. He said yes to becoming a curse for us. He even said yes to being forsaken by His Father. It is eay to repeat that the story that these wounds tell is the story of love.

The Who behind the question

Who is this who bears these wounds? It was touched upon above, but there’s more to this story. So just who is this One who possesses the wounds? He is the Son of God. He is the Son of man. He is Jehovah. He is eternal. He is the lamb of God. He is the rock. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. On and on we could go just dwelling on the titles that Scripture gives to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one key identifier that I would like to use to cut to the chase. To get straight to the heart of things. He is all these listed above, and more. But what seems to underscore His love for us that was displayed in His death on the cross more than anything else is this – He is risen. He is alive! He said,

I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.

Revelation 1:18

Not only did He prove His love to us, but He also displayed that God the Father accepted this tremendous act of love by raising Him from the dead. The tomb where He lay is empty, and forever presents itself as a reminder as to His love and His power over death. We are free because of what He did!

May we ponder these things today and worship Him who bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

Where Art Thou?

Genesis 3:9

The first question God ever asked of Man is now before our gaze. It is a question God asks of those who once knew the sweet fellowship with Himself. The woman was tricked into forfeiting the great privilege of walking in the cool of the day with the Creator, and Adam, with eyes wide open, chose sin for a season over the supreme prize of the universe.

It would do us well to let it ring long in our ears. It would do us well to let it “sink down” into our souls, for it is a question that God ever asks of us. “Where are you?” It should be understood that God longs to fellowship with us. It should be recognized that fellowship with us cost God the life of His Son. The whole message of the cross is this – “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” and “…this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.”
 
So we have the goal God sought after when He sent His Son to the cross – eternal life for us, and we have the definition of eternal life – that we might know Him and His Son – fellowship!
 
Let us heed this first question God asked of his creation. Let us understand it as a question asked of us. Here and now. It is a question for today. Where are you? Are you near to God? Then do as Jude says – “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” Are you far from God? Turn around and come back. He has made every provision for your return.

This question is far-reaching. It can be said that every murder, every theft, even the tiniest disappointment has its roots in the Garden of Eden. The collapse of society began when the Man and Woman succumbed to deceit and unbelief, and relinquished the honor of walking with God. Creation has never recovered from this decision to sin. The Scripture says that creation “groans” for the remedy.

And the remedy is before us. The remedy is a Person. The remedy is Christ. Only He can repair the extensive damage done on that day in the Garden. Only He can set aright the misdirected course upon which we all travel.

God dispensed a curse when Man fell in sin. To the serpent, it was traveling on its belly, eating dust, and realizing enmity with the Seed of the woman. To the woman, it would be increased pain in childbirth. To the man, the ground, his only sustenance, would be cursed. Thorns and thistles would be his cash crop. Quite a grim look to the horizon was offered that day!

Yet God, who sees from one end of things to the other, could see beyond all this. His vision was set upon a single day in history yet future. His sights were upon a hill outside Jerusalem thousands of years away. On this hill the fix-all for the curse would be found. On this hill, His only Son would give His life. The sinless Son of God would take the place of the sinner and the rebel, and abolish the strong grasp that sin and death had around our throats. By dying, He would gain the victory.

How amazing to think that every element of the curse is dealt with at the cross of Calvary! The curse of the ground? “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head…” The curse of the pain of childbirth? God sent His Son to be “born of a woman”. What about the curse upon the serpent? “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”

So thank the Lord today for his thorough dealing with the curse. Realize that the Lamb that was slain is worthy of all our affections!