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owning something and possessing it. Many Christians do not possess and enjoy that which is actually theirs. Oh, dear Christian, what will the harvest be? What will we present to our blessed Lord in that day? Now let us see what actually took place at the Feast of First- fruits. “ Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf o f the first- fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be ac cepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it” (Lev. 23:10, 11). The Israelite was to bring his wave sheaf (or handful) of grain to the priest, who in turn brought it before the Lord. In so doing he recognized the principle of Divine Ownership, and that the harvest which was to follow was not his own to keep, but its custody was a trust he held for God. At once it is obvious why Is-
be driven out before the land could be sown to produce a har vest. Even so the Devil objects strenuously to our possessing the riches that are ours in Christ, for he knows full well that we must reap what we sow. “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly” in the day of the resurrection, and “ he which sow eth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” in that day (II Cor. 9;6). “ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap cor ruption ; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6 :8). Satan’s desire for us is the same as his ambition for Peter. Our Lord said, “ Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). If Satan can catch the saints in his sieve and sift them violently, he knows full well that they will have little to offer at the Judgment Seat of Christ in the day of the resurrec tion. We own all spiritual bless ings (Eph. 1 :3), but there is a qualitative difference betw een
additional ordinance, and it is therefore introduced by distinc tive words, ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses.’ ” Now note that the Lord said, “When ye be come in to the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest unto the priest” (Lev. 23:10). In Deuteronomy 26:1 we have further light shed on all of this, namely, they were not only to be living in Canaan, but they were to be possessing it as well if they were going to sow and reap a harvest. God had said, “ And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheri tance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; That thou shalt take o f the first o f all the fruit o f the earth, which thou shalt bring o f thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there” (Deut. 26:1, 2). You see, there were enemies in the land contesting Israel’s right to possess it, and these all had to
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NOVEMBER, 1968
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