… Fear ye not, stand still,
and see the salvation of the Lord …
Exodus 14:13b
Happy New Year, Dear Readers! Another one has come and gone. The Lord has granted us this moment in time to rejoice and know that He “does all things well” (Mark 7:27). We can take no credit for the good that God does on our behalf. All honor and glory belongs to Him. We must remember that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). So in the coming days, when the world systems are crumbling around us, and with our own country threatened on every side with evil, not only from without, but from within – our God is still commanding this ship and He can do no wrong. He will prevail and we will arrive safely Home if we know Him in full pardon of sin.
In 2015, we will continue to explore the Dispensations. Following “Promise” came the Dispensation of the Law, which covers an immense amount of space and time, from the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai to the death of Christ at Mt. Calvary. God has miraculously led his children with that pillar of cloud in the daylight hours and the pillar of fire in the darkest night. Can you imagine their comfort levels knowing that those “pillars” were a wall of defensive protection between them and Egypt’s armies? God rolled back the waters of the Red Sea so they could kick up a little powdery dust as they safely tramped to the other side.
Does that boggle your mind? That’s okay, because our Creator God has already done matchless wonders with the Creation of Heaven and Earth, and we have never ceased to be amazed at that. He has already taken the Children through the fires and the flood as only He could do. He has already given them the warrior’s armor which they would use time and again across this Dispensation of the Law.
And to us of the Church Age, He has given Ephesians 6:12-13. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to
stand …. ” Keep reading to the end of the chapter and receive your spiritual armor for the journey.
God has made a way of escape for Israel (Exodus 15:11-21). They are now in the shadow of Sinai, camped, being organized into a great Nation. God intervenes, bringing them out of bondage and into freedom. Israel’s national history begins as God gives the Commandments, Judgments, and Ordinances of which giving the Law at Sinai is an important part.
The Law teaches them how to approach a Holy God with sacrificial offering, and it gives them an understanding of the “Blood.” The people are required to listen to the awesome thundering voice of God. They are fearful and begged Moses: “… let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20).
We of the Church Age, the Dispensation of Grace, must be thankful to a Holy God for allowing us to be born in such a time as this, for our Redeemer has come, and we have been set free from the bondage of the Law, from the bondage of sin and shame, and we can come boldly to the throne of grace without Abraham, without Isaac, without Jacob, and without Moses. Our Intercessor gives us that right and privilege because the Law has been nailed to the Tree. God’s Word is from His mouth to our ears because of Calvary, and in the name of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we come boldly to that throne.
Next time, we will cover the last half of the Dispensation of the Law in a nutshell. Until then, I pray God’s richest blessings for a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Victor W. Baugh, Sr., Th.D., Ph.D.
Pastor, St. Luke AME Church
Havana, AL
Author of The Anchor Holds, Victor’s Story
http://www.thatgracemayabound.blogspot.com/ ©2012
That Grace May Abound Ministries International ©2014
