No One Knows The Day Or Hour

Psalm 37:16-22 16 Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; 17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18 The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. 19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. 20 But the wicked will perish: Though the LORD’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke. 21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; 22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed. Exodus 23:27-25:9 The Covenant Confirmed 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” 3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. Matthew 24:36-44 The Day and Hour Unknown 36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Reflection: Something amazing happens in Exodus 24. God gives Moses and the Israelites special directions as they approach him on this holy mountain. Moses was the only one who was supposed to go near God. But as Moses gives the Israelites the words of the covenant and in one voice they respond, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” Then they sacrificed bulls through a fellowship offering and Moses takes himself and 70 elders and they approach God on the holy mountain. It says when they saw him he appeared to them in brilliance with bright shining bright blue pavement under His feet. God did not raise his hands against them and they ate and drank with him because of the blood of the covenant. This is a precursor to Holy Communion, where we come into God’s presence through the blood of the new covenant, the Lamb of God, Jesus. As we eat of the bread and drink of the wine, we see God and are in His presence. We can come to the altar because we have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ and are covered by him. Then, in Matthew 24, the gospel writer tells us of a time that Jesus will return to us. None of us know the day or the hour, so if someone says they do, you should probably run from them. The bible is clear we don’t know the day or hour Jesus will come back to take those who have been covered in the blood of the new covenant through His death and resurrection. The only advice he gives us is to be ready! And we are ready as we rely on the grace God has given us through the Son. This is the same grace that allowed the Israelites to approach God and see him, and then eat and drink with Him. One day we will enjoy the feast which has no end in heaven because of what God has done for us. We will see Him in all His glory and the banquet will begin! Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Psalm 62:9 Christ says, "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:15 Thank you, Jesus, for loving even us. In childlike faith, we come to you. Take away our pride while reminding us that you find even us worthy of your love. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.