This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University.
How do the Songs of Ascent help us understand Advent? As I mentioned in the beginning of this series here, the Songs of Ascent were sung by ancient Israelites on the trip to and at the temple mount. The temple mount was where all Israel was commanded to go in order to plea for repentance and receive forgiveness.
If not for this Season of Advent, we would still be traveling to Jerusalem, looking for forgiveness. Sacrifices performed at the temple were never meant to be the final solution for our relationship with the Lord to be restored. The first advent is simply this:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God loved. We gather this time of year to remember that God loved. At the same time, we gather to remember the words of Jesus in John 14, verses 1 through 3 which reads,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
The need for temple sacrifices are no longer necessary. We have an advocate to whom we can go that knows what we go through. This time of year we celebrate the day that started it all. Our sins were born by Him on the cross for our sake, however, I leave you with this final thought from Hebrews 9:28,
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
The first advent of Jesus, therefore, points to the second advent. Jesus is coming again!
Photo by Walter Chávez on Unsplash
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