REMNANT PEOPLE

 REMNANT PEOPLE

(c) 2023 Mary Ann Wray

 

My mother used to shop for fabric remnants back in the 60's to make her and I clothing. She made everything from dresses, to slacks, tops, and shorts. Mom got a weekly allowance from my dad of $17.00 so she learned to budget her money carefully. Mom and I would walk to the same fabric shop every few months and look for remnants. I told her once that I thought remnants were chintzy because they were leftovers from the rest of the fabric on the shelves. The remnants were usually found in a bin in the back of the store. Momma wisely told me that they were in fact cheaper but not chintzy because they came off the original skein. They were sold as remnants because they were considered pieces of skein leftovers but they had the same quality. They held a better value.

She said that if she waited long enough, she could get a bigger bang for her buck and we'd also have pretty clothes. I didn’t understand the lesson until I too became a mom and began shopping for bargains. Now, years later, I don’t sew but I see Momma’s lesson as a spiritual analogy found in scriptures. Allow me to explain…

In the Tabernacle of Moses, there were curtains that hung around the border of the Tabernacle: Outer court, Inner court, Holy place and Holy of Holies. This border or boundary acted as  protection from wild beasts and other outside annoyances. It also served a ‘separator’ from the surrounding area of the desert. There is so much depth and typology to the Tabernacle of Moses and its symbolism that scores of good books have been written about it.

But what I saw as I studied these passages about the remnant took on a depth of meaning I hadn’t seen before. God’s word is powerful and multi-dimensional much like a diamond. That’s why you can never tire of studying His word. Each time we look into it through the lens of the Holy Spirit’s help, we can see another facet of light and understanding.

In this Exodus 12, Moses, under the instruction of the Holy Spirit, told the priests to take the ‘remnant’ cloth from the border of the tabernacle and use it as a covering for the back side of the tabernacle. The backside of the tabernacle stood behind the Holy of Holies where the Shekina glory would present himself on the day of atonement.

"And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle." Exodus 26: 12 (KJV)

Here are a few key word definitions found in the Hebrew Lexicon “Backside-'achowr behind; hereafter in time Tabernacle- Mishkan; dwelling place-dwellings.”

I believe this gives us a type and shadow of the church. We are His dwelling place. His Holy Spirit comes and dwells inside of us when we repent of our sins and believe that Jesus’ sacrificial death is enough to become a child of God. See John 1: 12.

The Paul talks about the remnant in the book of Romans and how we are chosen by His grace.

“"I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me. And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.” Romans 11:1 -5 (NIV)

There will always be a remnant of God’s people on this earth, Jews and Gentiles alike. We represent and are a fraction of what Christ accomplished in the beginning of the Church Age. The Remnant church can accomplish just as much as the early church did because we have the same power and Gospel they had been given by Jesus on Pentecost. They waited upon the Lord and were faithful to share the Good News. We believers today are considered the remnant of the early church too as we wait on the Lord in prayer and Bible Study and do what He says to do.

As the old expression says, “It’s not over ‘til it’s over.” Jesus is coming soon. Are you ready and willing to do His work until He comes as His Remnant Bride?