Okay ladies, we have made it ONE MONTH! We have made it through the first two books of the Bible and have covered creation, the fall, the Patriarchs, the Exodus and the building of the Tabernacle. That's a lot for one month! Take a second to celebrate! Pat yourself on the back and do your happy dance! Isn't God good? I'm so thankful for the opportunity to get to do this with all of you. It has made reading the Bible so much more REAL somehow. To see how God is speaking some of the same things to you as well- and to see the different things He brings to each of us out of the same passages just confirms to me over and over that He is real-living-and active in each of our lives. Thank you Jesus!
Now, time to buckle in, hold on, and ask God to teach you more. We're moving from the exciting, action packed story books of Genesis and Exodus into the much more technical "how to" book of Leviticus. There is a LOT of good stuff in there ladies, hold on! I'm not trying to scare you away, just want to you know what is ahead of you so you can set your mind on the task ahead. Pretty much the rest of the Old Testament and a good bit of the New references back to Leviticus. Think of it as your "reference material" to help you better understand the rest of the scriptures. This is a book that, if you pull it out of the Bible, the rest of it will crumble. It's the standard for everything else, including our relationship with God.
This was the "employee handbook" for the Levites- or priests- of Israel. It outlined their duties in worship, and was also a guide book for the Israelites on holy living. The overwhelming message in this book is the holiness of God, and what is required of us in order to approach Him in worship. Exodus Chapter 19 to Numbers 10 covers just two years in the history of the Hebrews. They are camped at the base of Mount Sinai after the completion of the tabernacle for a time of resting, teaching, building and meeting with God face to face. We all go through dramatic, action packed times in our lives. How nice that in the middle of all that God gives us a time to "camp" and spend a little time just resettling the foundations of our life. The entire book of Leviticus is set during this time frame, and certainly gives us great instructions on how to build a sure foundation.
The first four chapters outline the instructions for four different types of sacrifices. The burnt offering, the grain offering, the fellowship offering, and the sin offering. Now might be a great time to invest in a study bible if you don't already have one. I love the Life Application Study Bible. Below is a chart from that Bible that sheds some light on those offerings and what they meant.
There was such detailed regulations for each offering so God could teach these people a whole new way of life. They needed to be cleansed from the pagan practices they learned in Egypt, and restored to true worship of the One true God. The details kept Israel from slipping back into their old lifestyle. Each law paints a graphic picture of the seriousness of sins and of God's great mercy in forgiving sinners. I can only imagine how hard it was on the priests to be surrounded by death, blood and fire all day everyday. It must have reinforced to them just how ugly sin was.
The cost for sin is life.
God wanted the Israelites to get that. He still wants us to get that.
In Eden, the cost of Adam and Eve's sin was death. The Israelites had to sacrifice perfect lambs, bulls, goats or birds. Someone else paid the cost for our sin. Christ was our one perfect offering, covering our sins. But we make the decision daily to show God honor and respect and express our gratitude to Him. This is how we are "living sacrifices." Note that the sin offering and guilt offerings were required, but the grain, fellowship and burnt offerings were voluntary. Do you ask God to make you aware of your sins, so that you won't repeat them? Do you strive to show Him honor and respect with your life choices? Is your attitude toward Him one of gratitude and thankfulness? I'd like to say yes to all of these, but the truth is, some days I just want my ego coddled, to do what I want when I want, and I want to grumble or pout when things don't pan out that way. Truth be told, I started today in that frame of mind. Thank you Lord for some "corrective vision" for my day. Our lives of worship start with the attitude of our hearts toward God, and recognizing that we really have no "right" to come before the Holy God of the universe. It's a gift of grace.
We've had some hard reading this morning. Start easy from here- find something to thank God for this morning. Bring your "fellowship" offering to Him, and enjoy His presence today.
