February 9--Tree Rings

Exodus 29:1-30:10 Matthew 26:14-46 Psalm 31:19-24 Proverbs 8:14-26

Tree Rings

Tree rings are one of those striking elements of God's creation--concentric circles that show the growth of a tree from the center of the trunk to the outside edge of bark. My own growth circles included going to college to study biology with thoughts of being a forest ranger. Perhaps it was the trip to the Petrified Forest where the tree rings were most striking, or maybe when I saw the stump of one of those giant redwoods. I found it fascinating that you could see circles for each year of a tree’s life, or in some cases each good growing season with multiple rings in a single year. I learned how to see damage that occurred to the tree in a given year, or to see from a ring how good a year had been, or whether a rock or another tree had pushed against it for a year or more. There in the tree rings are the first to the last year of the tree’s life. For living trees, the rings show the past and even suggest the future growth of the tree.

The past and the present and a glimpse of the future--all before your eyes in the rings of a tree. In our OYB readings today, God's revelation in the Bible is a bit like those concentric tree rings. God’s truth is being revealed to us in growing circles. In the OYB, by seeing the Old Testament and New Testament side by side, like those rings beside one another, we can see the developing truth in God’s word. Let’s compare from today two verses from Exodus and Matthew. Exodus 30:10 reads "This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come." Here is God speaking through Moses to clarify the blood offering it takes to cover the sins of the people. Today's reading from Matthew 26:28 is "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." In this passage from Matthew 26, Jesus is celebrating Passover with his disciples. The Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover) is presented by God through Moses in Exodus, and then given new covenant meaning by Jesus in today’s reading. Up until Jesus’ revelation, Passover referred to God’s deliverance of His people Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, His use of the blood from the sacrifice of a lamb to protect the people from the angel of death, and His direction that unleavened bread be a symbol of His redemptive act for the people. Now Jesus explains the bread of Passover as representative not of deliverance from Egypt, but of deliverance from the bondage of sin as Jesus’ own body is broken for our redemption. Likewise, the cup is now seen as not just the blood that protected the Jews from the angel of death, but is now Jesus’ own blood protecting all believers by offering forgiveness from sin and a once-and-for-all protection from death as believers are offered eternal life through Christ.

A later “ring in the tree” (a future passage in the Bible) describes this truth of the atonement for sins by the body and blood of Christ: ^“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. ²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” (Colossians 1:19-23)

As we continue to journey through the Bible this year, keep watching for the tree rings—the way God’s truth is revealed in one passage after another, foretelling in the Old Covenant the New Covenant of Jesus, and foretelling throughout the Bible the day when Christ will come again as He says “I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29).

May the tree-ring-like revelation of God’s truth encourage you and add depth to your faith: “So be strong and courageous all you who put your hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:24--NLV).

Blessings,

Pastor Paul