God Uses Symbols to Remind Us - Joshua 4-6 and Luke 1:1-20
Symbols do not accomplish anything by themselves. It is a hindrance when we allow symbols to turn into rituals. However, God does have good uses for symbols. He knows how easy it is for us to forget things, so He tells us to use symbols to remind us of those things. We see several examples of this in these passages.
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan river on dry ground, God commanded them to make a memorial out of stones from the center of the river. The memorial was not magic. It was not to be worshiped. It was a reminder of the miracle that God did there, so that the succeeding generations would know about it. It was a useful symbol. The same is true of circumcision. It did not help them spiritually to have their skin cut off, but it was a daily reminder of the covenant with God. The important thing was to keep the covenant, not the symbol. However, the symbol was useful to help them not to forget. Even in the attack on Jericho there were symbols. The priests blew the trumpets while the people were silent. I believe they were showing that the battle was the Lord's, not the soldiers' battle. Then, when everyone shouted on the seventh day, the walls fell flat, except for Rahab's wall. How was it different? It had the scarlet cord in the window. I believe it was a symbol of the blood like the Passover they celebrated. The eating of the lamb and the meal was not the main thing in the Passover. The main thing was to remember what God had done, when He passed over the blood of the lamb and spared the first born of Israel. The symbols were important, but they were not the substance. The substance was trusting God.
In Luke 1 we read about Zacharias and Elizabeth. Zacharias was a priest, and one of his duties was to care for the altar of incense. Burning incense did not bring a spiritual blessing from God. It was a symbol of prayer. It showed everyone that they were to pray without ceasing. God answered the prayer of Zacharias and Elizabeth, not because they burned incense, but because they prayed from a faithful heart for God's will to be done. The symbol was just an encouragement to pray. What symbols are meaningful for you? What do they remind you to do? I pray that we will never put our faith in symbols. I pray that we will allow symbols to remind us of the important things of the Lord, and help us to trust Him more.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 7-9 and Luke 1:21-38.
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan river on dry ground, God commanded them to make a memorial out of stones from the center of the river. The memorial was not magic. It was not to be worshiped. It was a reminder of the miracle that God did there, so that the succeeding generations would know about it. It was a useful symbol. The same is true of circumcision. It did not help them spiritually to have their skin cut off, but it was a daily reminder of the covenant with God. The important thing was to keep the covenant, not the symbol. However, the symbol was useful to help them not to forget. Even in the attack on Jericho there were symbols. The priests blew the trumpets while the people were silent. I believe they were showing that the battle was the Lord's, not the soldiers' battle. Then, when everyone shouted on the seventh day, the walls fell flat, except for Rahab's wall. How was it different? It had the scarlet cord in the window. I believe it was a symbol of the blood like the Passover they celebrated. The eating of the lamb and the meal was not the main thing in the Passover. The main thing was to remember what God had done, when He passed over the blood of the lamb and spared the first born of Israel. The symbols were important, but they were not the substance. The substance was trusting God.
In Luke 1 we read about Zacharias and Elizabeth. Zacharias was a priest, and one of his duties was to care for the altar of incense. Burning incense did not bring a spiritual blessing from God. It was a symbol of prayer. It showed everyone that they were to pray without ceasing. God answered the prayer of Zacharias and Elizabeth, not because they burned incense, but because they prayed from a faithful heart for God's will to be done. The symbol was just an encouragement to pray. What symbols are meaningful for you? What do they remind you to do? I pray that we will never put our faith in symbols. I pray that we will allow symbols to remind us of the important things of the Lord, and help us to trust Him more.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 7-9 and Luke 1:21-38.