SABBATH THOUGHT 2023-09-23—CRY OUT TO GOD
May God bless you on His Sabbath day!
The Day of Atonement, like other holydays, begins with the sound of a trumpet. But this is a special and unique declaration when this trumpet is blown:
LEVITICUS 25:9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
This trumpet announces the start of the Jubilee year which is a year of ‘returning’:
LEVITICUS 25:10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return [H7725 = shuwb] every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
The Jubilee is a year when debts are forgiven and bondservants are released to return to their homes, lands, and families. Someone who could only repay a debt by indenturing himself as a bondservant must have looked forward to Atonement and the Jubilee as one of the most joyous events in their life. Oh, to be liberated from debt and servitude!
But there is coming the greatest Jubilee yet—the rescue and return of the captives out of the Tribulation and Day of the Lord:
EZEKIEL 20:33-34 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
ISAIAH 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD [the Atonement Jubilee], and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Having endured the most devastating conditions since the creation of mankind, the people that survive are crushed mentally, emotionally, and spiritually:
PSALMS 107:2-7, 10-14, 16-20, 23-28 … Let the redeemed [rescued captives] of the LORD say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; 3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way [desert]; they found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city [Jerusalem] of habitation. … 10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; 11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Most High: 12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. 13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. … 16 For He hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. 17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. 18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. 19 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses. 20 He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. … 23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; 24 These see the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep. 25 For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses.
Even their will to live is gone (v. 18). So is it any wonder that they CRY OUT to God? In this state, God encourages them to turn back to Him:
JOEL 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn [H7725 = shuwb] ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn [H7725 = shuwb] unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
The Hebrew word translated turn literally means to turn back or return. It is also used in Leviticus 25:10 (mentioned earlier) that describes the Jubilee of the Day of Atonement as a time of returning “every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family”. So, Atonement and the Jubilee is when Jesus Christ rescues the remnant of the earth from death who are captives during the Tribulation and Day of the Lord’s vengeance. These people are so distraught that they cry out to God and are WEEPING, FASTING, and MOURNING! But God will hear them and save them:
ISAIAH 49:7-9 Thus saith the LORD [God the Father], the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One [Jesus Christ], to him [the captives] whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose thee. 8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee [the Atonement Jubilee]: and I will preserve [rescue] thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth [out of captivity]; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They [the captives] shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
All those rescued by Jesus Christ are then brought to Jerusalem:
ISAIAH 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet [of the Jubilee] shall be blown, and they [the captives] shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
These people are the ‘seed’ of the Millennium. The 1,000 year rule of Christ begins with these surviving captives. One can barely imagine the devastation, hurt, distress, and grief of these people. They are saved because they cry out to God for deliverance because they are starving of hunger, have tears running down their faces, and grieve for all their family and friends who died. The end of the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord truly is with a people who are fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Atonement and the Jubilee can be hard to understand since the fulfillment of it is still something in the future. For most, life is still very peaceful even though we personally suffer all manner of afflictions. The majority of God’s children are not captives who are tormented and tortured by wicked men. So what does this day signify for us?
I believe Atonement can only truly be understood in terms of “crying out to God” whenever we are troubled by afflictions, persecutions, poverty, illness, and grief. Whether we of the Body of Christ have endured terrible sorrow or suffering or witnessed it in others, we can understand the depths of grief and sorrow that bring about an attitude of fasting, weeping, and mourning. If we are truly children of God, we certainly cry out to Him during these times. It is not something we can withhold from doing. It is a natural response because Jesus Christ truly knows our sorrows and sufferings—“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Isa. 53:3).
The Psalms reflect this more than any other books of the Bible. There are almost twice as many mentions of the Psalmists “crying out to God” including in Psalm 107 (above) where the captives cry out to God four times. Here are a few others:
[KJV+] PSALM 18:6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears.
[KJV+] PSALM 22:5, 24 They cried unto Thee, and were delivered: they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded. … 24 For He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard.
[KJV+] PSALM 30:2, 8 O LORD my God, I cried unto Thee, and Thou hast healed me. … 8 I cried to Thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
[KJV+] PSALM 34:6, 15, 17 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. … 15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. … 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
[KJV+] PSALM 61:1-2 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the Rock [Jesus Christ] that is higher than I.
[KJV+] PSALM 88:1-2, 13 1 O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before Thee: 2 Let my prayer come before Thee: incline Thine ear unto my cry; … 13 But unto Thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent [come before] Thee.
[KJV+] PSALM 145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
This life is sure to bring upon us times of great distress and grief. Those who survive the Tribulation and Day of the Lord will experience this to the core of their being. Crying out to God in the depths of fasting, weeping, and mourning absolutely gains the attention of our Father who promises to hear our prayers and attend to our needs. But sorrow, affliction, and grief will not continue forever because we can hold on to this promise:
REVELATION 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying [fasting, weeping, mourning], neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Jesus Christ is called the Rock because He is an anchor for us to hold on to in the worst of life’s storms. But Jesus also makes a promise that will make it all worthwhile:
JOHN 16:20, 22 Truly, truly, I say unto you, ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. … 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
May God’s grace and peace be upon you!
Steven Greene
https://sabbathreflections.org