Leviticus
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Leviticus Chapter 16
This may be a hint as to why the two sons of Aaron died by offering a strange fire before the Lord in an irreverent and disrespectful manner, not discerning the holiness of God. God is a holy God. To show disrespect and take His presence lightly is very serious even in these days when we are not under the law but under grace. He is still the same holy God. Through faith in Christ we can approach God directly and not through the offerings and sacrifices of an appointed priest but we must still reverence Him and have respect when it is time to worship Him and hear His word. God forgives us at times when we fail to do this. There is always emergencies and things that cause us to be disruptive but when we gather together to worship, Jesus Himself is in our midst. This should never be taken lightly. When I sit in a church meeting and hear cell phones go off, whispering, walking in and out, and such, I wonder why we take God's presence so lightly. He is still the same God that we read about in the Old Testament. He is still just as holy. A pastor or teacher who prepares himself or herself as the case maybe to present a message from the word deserves our respect. A good teacher will prepare by studying and praying over His message before bringing it to the people. Although I believe each one of us should study the word privately and make sure what the teacher speaks is truth, we still should show respect and listen diligently to what the speaker is telling us just in case he or she presents a message through the anointing and direction of the Holy Spirit. Aaron was instructed not to just go into the holy of holy at any time but only when directed by God and according to the instructions God gave so that he would not die as his sons died. The way was to be perfect and according to the will of God. In their day it pointed to the perfect sacrifice to come. Only one way of salvation, Jesus Christ.
There was a better covenant to come but for that time they were to follow God's instructions to the letter and with reverence and respect.
The book of Hebrews should be studied along with Leviticus because it explains how the new covenant fulfills and replaces the Old covenant of sacrifices and how the first ordinances were types and shadows of that which was to come when the priesthood was changed from earthly to heavenly and the only mediator between God and man became Jesus our High priest forever and not any earthly priest. Aaron at that time had to first make an offering to atone for the sins of himself and his family. After that was done, then he must make a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the congregation. This had to be done up until the time when Jesus came to make the final sin offering once and for all.
One was to die for sins and the other escape. This reminds me of Christ who died for our sins so that we would not have to die for our own sins. Those that reject Christ will die for their own sins. Later in this lesson we will see the real reason for the scapegoat was to bear sins and didn't really escape. Jesus speaking to the Jews who rejected Him as savior, said to them:
If they did not believe that Jesus was the Christ promised from the days of Moses they would have to die eternally for their own sins if they do not believe in the one who was to die in their place.
The mercy seat is the place that shows us the mercy of God when we repent of sins. Their sacrifices and offerings were a way of repenting. Since Jesus was the final and perfect sacrifice for sins, we are shown mercy when we simply believe in Him and what He did on our behalf. We repent by believing in Him and turning away from sin. They repented by offering a sacrifice which pointed toward the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to come.
Because the law said the soul that sins shall die and the penalty of sin is death but physically and spiritually, without the shedding of blood of an innocent one not deserving any death, no one could be saved. The law could not be changed. Before Adam sinned, God said that to eat of the forbidden tree would cause him to die. When He disobeyed God he brought the sentence of death but physically and spiritually upon all mankind. We were spiritually separated from God until the time Jesus gave Himself the innocent one for the guilty ones and reconciled us back to a Holy God. He made the atonement and paid the price for the sin that was separating us from God. It only counts for those that believe in the one God sent, Jesus Christ. If we reject Jesus as savior, there remains no more sacrifices for sins. We are eternally lost.
These sacrifices show us how serious sin is and how it is killing us spiritually. We must not take sin lightly. That is the thing that is causing our souls to enter eternity without God. We will literally go to a place called hell because that is where sin will be confined to in the future to keep it from spreading and polluting anyone when God brings in the Kingdom under Jesus Christ. It is sin that takes a soul to hell. That is why God does all He can to keep us from going there. To reject the cleansing from sin provided in the Old Testament by the law of sacrifices and offerings or reject the New Covenant through Jesus Christ that fulfilled the old, is to remain in one's sin and be lost forever in hell. The spirit and soul of mankind was made to live forever in one place or another. Only the body dies, not the soul and spirit. Eternal death simply means eternally separated from God in hell where sin will one day be confined. We don't want to go there which is why God sent Jesus to fulfill all the requirements of the law and make atonement for sin. In order for it to count for us, we must believe in Him and make Him savior and Lord of our lives.
Here will see the scapegoat in another
light. Their sins were transferred to him similar to our sins being
transferred to Jesus. Jesus died for the sins though as the goat
that died had to do.
What a beautiful thought. To be cleansed, made free and escape the consequences of sin and become a new creature in Christ. Marvelous.
All this cleansing is a picture of how polluting and serious sin is. They had to wash constantly and cleanse themselves after handling or touching anything that had to do with sin. The thought that Jesus loved us so much that He would bear all our awful dirty sins and take them upon Himself is mind boggling. God had to really love His creation so much to be able to allow His own Son to become sin on our behalf. God hates sin. He cannot abide where sin abides. Yet He allowed Jesus to bear our sins. That sin was nailed to the cross when Jesus was nailed to the cross. Through faith in Him, our sins are not only forgiven for gone.
God made provision for their sins to be cleansed years before the coming of Jesus Christ but this had to be done over and over because they would sin again. It also pointed them to the coming of the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The law of the Sabbath shows us the great importance of taking a day to refresh our souls in the Lord and spend it in worship of God and rest for our bodies. The Sabbath was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and faith in Him brings us rest for our souls. He is our Sabbath. Yet we still need a special time when we take a day whether it is Saturday, Sunday, etc to worship and spend time with the Lord specifically. Actually a believer in Christ is to walk in the spirit everyday, not just the Sabbath but it is good to take a day just for worship alone and rest our bodies from physical labor. If God had not have made a Sabbath day, slaves and servants would have never gotten any relief from their labor. God is merciful. He made the Sabbath for our good.
-Dorna "This shall be an everlasting statute - By
which were typified the two great gospel privileges; remission of
sins, and access to God, both which we owe to the mediation of the
Lord Jesus." John Wesley
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