Tuesday, January 11, 2011

January 11, 2011 (Leviticus 1-10)

I have to admit - Leviticus is one of my least favorite books. Here is the first thing that caught my eye:

5:17 “Suppose you sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin. 

This verse condemns us all. Even if we sin 'unintentionally' (and how many have not done that?), we are held responsible. I guess that coincides with the verses "There is none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".

But Leviticus also shows over and over again that it is the blood on the altar that purifies the people - again pointing to the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from our sins.

This next verse was always confusing to me.

8:22 Then Moses presented the other ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, 23 and Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and applied it to the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot.

But I heard Beth Moore teach on it once. I did a google search, and although I couldn't find her teaching, I did find someone else who gave an explanation that made sense to me:

They needed to hear Him with their ears. They needed to serve Him with their hands. They needed to walk in His paths. Blood on right ear, right thumb and right big toe. A reminder that we need to hear His word, serve Him daily and walk in His ways.




In this world of no absolutes and justification for everything, it is hard to see God's intent for our lives. He has given us specific direction/instruction and He expects/demands us to follow it. If we want His presence in our lives, we must live in obedience to Him.


9:6 And Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”


In chapter 10, we discover what happens when His commands are not followed:


10:1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.
 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,
   ‘I will display my holiness
      through those who come near me.
   I will display my glory
      before all the people.’”
   And Aaron was silent.



Aaron was silent. There was no disputing that his sons had disobeyed. He didn't try to excuse or justify their behavior. He realized God was just in His punishment, which is the punishment we all deserve. God is righteous. But he is also gracious because of Christ. Jesus took the punishment we deserve by shedding His blood on the cross. I'm thankful for that. If not for His grace, I too would have been 'zapped' long ago.  But just because He is gracious, it doesn't mean we can ignore what we know He desires us to do. If we will walk in obedience to Him, we will experience His presence. He promises us that.

1 comment:

  1. God made some very harsh examples early in Israel's history and in the early Church with Anaias and Saphira (excuse my spelling). He did this to inspire fear of him and set up some boundaries that would be kept very tightly.

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