February 1
Leviticus 5-7
Reading the rules and regulations laid out by God in
Leviticus, we realize if we did not before, that "all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23, NIV) There were constant
offerings being made on the altar. Lambs and rams, pigeons and dove, grain and
oil were constantly being offered and burned on the altar. There was a constant
reminder that God was in their midst. There was a constant reminder that God
was holy and held His people to a high standard. There was a constant reminder
that sin was costly, the blood of the sacrifices was constantly flowing. There
was a constant reminder that sin leads to death.
The sin and the guilt offering are both to atone for
unintentional sin. Notice these regulations do not allow for intentional sin. Elsewhere
in the law, many of the intentional sins lead to death. God wanted to make sure
the Israelites know that He was holy and He expected His people to live in
obedience to Him. But when they made a mistake, He provided a way to restore
them.
After the sin offering was presented before the
Lord, the priest was allowed to eat it. He was to eat it in the courtyard of
the tabernacle. But it says that “whatever
touches any of the flesh will become holy.” (27A)
When Jesus was hung on the cross, He was the
ultimate sin offering. He died so we could live. He became the high priest
making the offering, but He was also the offering being made. He fulfilled the
sacrifice so it did not have to be made again.
"The
blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are
ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much
more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to
death, so that we may serve the living God!" (Hebrews
9:13-14, NIV)
Jesus died so that we could be
made holy and so that we can serve the living God; so great a gift given for
us. No more blood sacrifices, Jesus now looks for us to present ourselves back
to Him as living sacrifices. “Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of
worship." (Romans 12:1, NIV)
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