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July 30, 2017 |
| Alternative Atonement | ||
This is going to be a challenging lesson - one to make you think. It should result in a deeper understanding of God and his ways.
In this lesson we will look at two, largely unrelated topics, the idea that God can specify whatever he chooses to be the atonement for sin and the question of what happened after death in Old Testament times.
In reading the Old Testament we've become accustomed to certain ideas about atonement.
Why were these sacrifices acceptable? The only answer is that God said they would be acceptable. There is nothing innate to a sacrificed lamb that keeps the angel of death from killing the first born sons. There is nothing innate to a sacrificed ram that it atones for unintentional sin. The only reason it is so is because God said it was so.
Those are examples from the Jewish sacrificial system. The sacrifices in the Old Testament all pointed toward a coming, perfect sacrifice. Therefore everything is tied together into a nice package by symbolism.
Is there any reason God couldn't accept other sacrifices if he determined they would be acceptable? That's what we'll look at in this lesson.
On the second topic, we think we understand what happens after death in our time. We'll look at what happens after death in Old Testament times.
This lesson was spawned by the Wednesday Bible Study on 2 Samuel 11 and 2 Samuel 12. In those two chapters David sins in many ways in his coveting of Bathsheba, adultery with Bathsheba, covering it up (lying), and murder of Uriah. But just when he thinks he has covered it up, God exposes the truth. The penalty will be that the child born of that unholy union will die.
One message we can take from this is that sin has consequences on ourselves and on others.
"The child's death does, however, underscore an important truth; our sin affects not only ourselves, but also those around us. The long-reaching effect of a moment of sinful self-indulgence can be disastrous. We seldom pause to consider that factor in a moment of temptation. If we could see the results of our actions clearly, we'd say "no" more often."1
Is that the only message though? With that death, God appears to have put the matter behind him and David continues on in his relationship with God. Also, the marriage to Bathsheba is considered valid which it wouldn't have been. This brings up the question "was that death an atonement for the sins?" This is not such a crazy idea. It turns out many other people have asked this same question.
Also note that, if the death of the child is an atonement, it is atoning for intentional sin. There was no animal sacrifice that would do that. This may be foreshadowing the idea that atonement could be a man.
This is what God says, through Nathan, in pronouncing judgment.
"Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? […] 10 […] because you have despised Me […]" Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die." (2 Samuel 12:9-14)
This certainly seems like an odd form of atonement to those of us accustomed to the Jewish system. Instead of a freely given, personally sacrificed, unblemished animal, there is a forcibly taken, God sacrificed (?), newborn human. Can that really be an atoning sacrifice? It's more like an atoning judgment.
Anything of value to you that you give up for God is a sacrifice. That can be praise from your lips, money, time or other things. That doesn't mean it is an atoning sacrifice. In the end, the one who determines what sacrifice atones for sin is God.
There are other examples where God has apparently accepted other things as atonement.
"Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 2 "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." (Isaiah 40:1-2)
This prophecy from Isaiah was written before Israel went into Babylonian captivity. It was given:
Israel was being sent into captivity because of her sins. It seems clear that Israel's "time served" is being counted as atonement for them. Notice the similarity of the words to David "The Lord has taken away your sin" to those to Israel "her iniquity has been removed"
This doesn't support the idea of Salvation by Works, of course. The Old Testament sacrifices were not a salvation by works system for the same reason. God had provided it as a path to achieve atonement. Now Jesus is that path to atonement, which is also not a work, because it comes by faith.
So what can we take away from this? God has provided acceptable paths for everyone to atone for sin. He has also accepted other paths to atonement as special cases, as he chose. It is God who decides what is acceptable. Therefore, atonement is both an act of faith in God and obedience to him. There is no logical reason why the sacrifice of an animal or God-as-man should cover our own sins. By faith in God and in obedience to him we accept his word that it will cover.
Having said that though, the Bible does specifically say that Jesus is now the only path. None-the-less there are many stories of God bringing people to that atonement via non-traditional means, such as visions and dreams, and not only through the preaching of his word.
God is just. We already know that. Whatever he chooses to do, he will be just.
Behold, he said also to Moses, "I shall show love on whomever I love, and I shall take pity on whomever I pity." 16 Therefore it is not by means of him who wills, neither by means of him who runs, but in the hand of God, the merciful. (Romans 9:14-15)
This topic was also spawned from the Bible study, by some comments about eternal destiny of the child who died. This is the related verse from the Bible Study.
But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me. (2 Samuel 12:23)
We could use the name of any of the Old Testament saints but we'll phrase the central question as, "Where did Moses' spirit go when he died?"
Most Christians will quickly answer this question with "Heaven." There is a problem though - that can't be true. Listen to these verses.
For God loved the world in this way: so much that he would give up his son, the only one, so that everyone who trusts in him shall not be lost, but he shall have eternal life. (John 3:16)
But a thief does not come except to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have whatever is abundant. (John 10:10)
How would it be possible for Moses, or any of the Old Testament saints, to have eternal life in Heaven before Jesus came? If that was possible then there would be no point in Jesus coming, for people would have already been enjoying eternal life.
If they can't be going to Heaven though, it might seem harsh that they should go to Hell. That can't be right either.
How do we resolve this? Something has to be wrong with our understanding of the after-life.
Jesus gave us the answer, but many people don't want to hear it.
There was a certain rich man, and he wore fine white linen and purple and everyday he celebrated luxuriously. 20 And there was a certain poor man whose name was Lazar and he lay at the gate of that rich man, being stricken with abscesses. 21 And he longed to fill his belly with the fragments that fell from the rich man's table, but also the dogs would come licking his abscesses. 22 But that poor man died and Angels brought him to the Bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and he was buried.
23 And suffering in Sheol, he lifted up his eyes from afar off and he saw Abraham, and Lazar in his bosom. 24 And he called in a loud voice and he said, "My father, Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazar to dip the tip of his finger in water and moisten my tongue for me; behold, I am suffering in this flame."
25 Abraham said to him, "My son, remember that you have received your good things in your life and Lazar, his evil things, and now, behold, he is comforted here and you are suffering. 26 And along with all these things, there stands a great abyss between us and you, so that those who would pass from here to you are not able, neither is whoever is there able to pass over to us." (Luke 16:19-26)
The answer to the question then is that Moses' spirit went to Sheol when he died and angels carried him to the Bosom of Abraham. That name "Bosom of Abraham" is a description of a place. Bosom symbolizes a place of protection. Abraham symbolizes the Abrahamic covenant with God. Together "Bosom of Abraham" means "a place of protection for those under the Abrahamic covenant."
David said "I will go to him." The answer to whether that tells us anything about the eternal destiny of children, is no. David only means they will both go to Sheol, as all men do.
The Bible says very little about children and death but the verses we have point to the idea that there is an "Age of Accountability." At some point a child becomes aware that there is a choice between right and wrong and at that time becomes accountable for that choice.
God is just. We already know that. Whatever he chooses to do, he will be just.
1 http://www.case-studies.com/david4