Archive for the ‘Leviticus-BibleTrekToday’ Category
Scripture reading for February 6: Leviticus 16-17
Man is always looking for someone to blame for sin. It was the “woman you gave me” for Adam. Eve became his “scapegoat”! It was the “serpent” for Eve that became her “scapegoat”. God Himself was blamed by both of them as the ultimate problem. Amazingly, God had already planned to provide a “scapegoat”!
God loves man and worked out a picture of salvation from sin which is recorded in these chapters of Leviticus. God set apart one day a year when the High Priest could go behind the curtain of the Holy of Holies in the Tent of Meeting. That day was called the Day of Atonement. The term “atonement” simply means a “covering”. On this day, the Israelites could have a yearly “covering” for their sins.
First, a bull was killed and the blood sprinkled for the High Priest as a sacrifice for his sins. Then two goats were brought before the Tent and lots were cast. One of the goats was sacrificed and the blood sprinkled by the High Priest behind the curtain for the sins of the people. Everyone waited outside to see if God would accept the sacrifice for sins committed. They were relieved when the High Priest came out. (Leviticus 16:6-19)
The second goat was then brought forward. The High priest laid his hands on it and confessed the sins and rebellion of the Israelites. This goat was then led out away from the camp into the wilderness to a solitary place and left there. As the Israelites watched the goat bearing their sins disappear in the distance, they were reminded of the sacrifice necessary to bring a covering for their sins. God provided a “scapegoat” who would take the blame for them! (Leviticus 16:20-28)
God’s point was that sin was costly! Life is in the blood and blood alone could “atone” for the sins of a rebellious people. (Leviticus 17:11) One bull must die for the High Priest and his family. One goat must die for the sins of the nation. One goat must be burdened with the sins of the nation and bear it into the wilderness to face the wild beasts and certain death. This all was an illustration that taught of man’s need for covering from sin and our corporate need for a “scapegoat”!
Jesus Christ came as God’s designated “scapegoat”! He offered Himself on the cross to make “atonement” for our sins. He shed His own blood to pay the penalty for our sins, once for all time! (Hebrews 9:11-14) He bore our sins and carried them away into a place of God’s forgetfulness, never to be remembered again! (Hebrews 10:17)
Wow! What we tried to do on our own by blaming others, God did for us by laying our sins on His own Son and sacrificing Him for us! All we can do is say “amen” to God’s work on our behalf! What a loving and giving Lord!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
Scripture Reading for February 5: Leviticus 11-15
I remember a missionary from Africa once bringing chocolate coated grasshoppers to a service and offering them to Read the rest of this entry »
Scripture reading for February 4th: Leviticus 8-10
Preacher’s kids are sometimes a mess! (Not mine of course!) In today’s reading the sons of Aaron and nephews of Moses committed a “deadly” sin! They had experienced the miraculous deliverance of the plagues and seen God act in power at the Red Sea when the Egyptian army was drowned. They had witnessed the miraculous events of the journey, eaten the “manna” and heard God’s voice on the mountain. They were dressed, instructed, and anointed for ministry along with their father and other brothers. They were sprinkled with the blood of sacrifice. (Leviticus 8) You would think that they knew enough to take seriously God’s power and presence! But sometimes, those in ministry or close to it, become complacent. Worse yet, they behaved disrespectfully towards God in front of others who were looking to them for spiritual leadership!
Nadab and Abihu had witnessed Moses and Aaron going into the Tent of Meeting and the visible Glory of the Lord appearing to the people. (Leviticus 9:23-24.) Fire came from the Lord and consumed the sacrifice. All the people shouted for joy and fell face down. Evidently, Nadab and Abihu were fascinated with the Tent of Meeting. They decided to go in there themselves and experience God. They took “strange” fire with them and God took their lives right on the spot. Why, you ask? Wasn’t this a sin of “unintentional” ignorance? What was this “strange” fire?
It appears that these boys might have been drunk. In Leviticus 10:8-11, Aaron warns his other sons not to drink wine or any other fermented drink when they went into the Tent of Meeting! Paul the Apostle also gives the same warning to believers: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) God is not mocked and holds those with more responsibility accountable for their conduct! We must be wise and respectful in our handling of the “holy things” and when approaching God in worship! We can bring judgment on ourselves! (1st Corinthians 11:27-34) In Corinth, some were sick and others died because of improper conduct during the Lord’s supper!
Alcohol is not for those in the church! Alcohol has caused many to stumble and has destroyed many families and believer’s testimonies. We have the Holy Spirit and He lives in us! We are responsible to God for our witness and behavior before our family, believers and a lost world! Please meditate on these Scriptures today and allow the Lord to lead you in your conduct and worship! Confess and repent quickly! God doesn’t want you to die! (2nd Peter 3:9)
Scripture Reading for February 3rd: Leviticus 4-7
What is the difference between an “intentional” sin and an “unintentional” sin? Does ignorance excuse us? How does God look at the person who doesn’t know anything about God’s law? Is there really such a person who is totally ignorant of God’s basic laws? If after we “ignorantly” sin, someone informs us that what we “ignorantly” did was a sin in God’s eyes and reads us God’s view from the Bible, are we thereafter guilty of an “intentional” sin? Is there any sacrifice for a willfully defiant sin? These questions come to my mind as I read these chapters of Leviticus. (See Leviticus 4:1, 13, 22, 27.)
God has made his basic laws known to all men through the conscience. Each person has a conscience and it is to be trained to know and recognize sin. (Romans 2:12-16) He will be judged by God according to the light he has. The conscience can be seared by repeated sin so that it does not “bleed” any more. This is like taking a hot iron to a bleeding wound to stop the bleeding. (1st Timothy 4:2) We are to keep a “clear” conscience by walking in love towards others. (1st Peter 3:16) Deacons must hold the deep truths of the faith with a “clear” or “pure” conscience. (1st Timothy 3:9) The conscience is the elementary voice of God that like a stop light lets us know when to stop and when to go and when to be cautious!
So, are there really sins of ignorance? Yes! We can have a conscience but not have it trained properly. This is part of the parents job. They are to instruct their children in right and wrong using God’s Word. They are to discipline and teach their children as they go through life and share their days with them. God was instructing the Israelites by these prescribed offerings about how to recognize sin and how deadly it is. Each time they offered and laid their hands on that innocent animal, they had a visual aid leading them to change their behavior and their consciences were strengthened! (Leviticus 4:29) Their confession of sin brought honesty and truth that set them free! (Leviticus 5:5,6)
God is instructing us today as well. The Holy Spirit convicts us when we sin. He does this to enable us to confess and repent and be free from the death penalty! (John 16:8) “If we confess our sins, , he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John 1:9) Our priest, Jesus Christ, has already made the blood sacrifice for us. He offered his own blood as atonement for our sins and bore them on the Cross! We can “intentionally” be made clean from our “unintentional sins”! Praise the Lord! What amazing love! (Intentional sins will be covered in a later Leviticus post.)
Scripture reading for February 2nd: Leviticus 1-3
Yuk! Leviticus! What can we possibly learn from all this sacrificing of animals? Why all the blood and death? Why the burning of offerings? Why all the rules for priests and people on what and how they are to bring these sacrifices? Isn’t all of this a bit bizarre? How can we worship a God who would demand this from His people?
This might be your reaction to this book of Scripture. I know that I had a hard time getting into it at first myself. But after careful and prayerful reflection, it starts to add up. Sin causes death. (Genesis 2:16-17) Death spread to all men by Adam’s sin. (Romans 5:12-14) In preparing God’s people to have God live in their midst, they must have a blood sacrifice as a way to symbolically cover their sin and avoid death themselves. God provided the first blood sacrifice for Adam and Eve after they sinned. Before, they had used fig leaves, but God clothed them with bloody skins of animals. (Genesis 3:21) He was showing them the effects of sin each time they put their new “clothes” on.
Now, years later, in these rules in Leviticus, God is again visually helping His people to see how sin affects their lives. The Law makes us aware of sin. (Romans 3:19-20) These sacrifices offered made man aware of the cost of sin. The soul that sins must die! An animal could be offered as a way for sinful man to meet with his God. When offered according to God’s instructions in Leviticus, God would accept the sacrifice and be pleased. (Leviticus 1:9,17; 2:9) God is pleased because those who obeyed were using their faith in His Word!
Today, thankfully, we enjoy the final sacrifice for sin that was made for us 2000 years ago. Jesus Christ shed his precious blood on the cross of Calvary and declared: “It is finished!” (John 19:30) When we approach this same Holy God, we can come boldly before His throne any time day or night for prayer, fellowship, or forgiveness. (Hebrews 4:14-16) We do it by faith in the sacrifice of the body and blood of our Savior! (Hebrews 9:24-26) What a blessing to be free from the laws and sacrifices of Leviticus!
Read this today and take time to thank the Lord for what He has provided for us! Enter His gates today boldly by faith in Christ’s final sacrifice with thanksgiving in your heart! God will be smiling, Jesus rejoicing, and the Holy Spirit will encourage and comfort! This is true fellowship with a Holy God who is living inside of us!
“But now He (Christ) has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” Hebrews 9:26-28