Good morning and congratulations, you are now in the third book of the Bible. Today, we read the first 4 chapters of Leviticus.
Before I get into that, I would just like to ask that we all pray for the families of the victims of last night’s horrific plane crash in Washington, CD.
Being called
Leviticus starts out by saying that the Lord called to Moses.
There has long been a debate between the Calvinist and the Arminians over predestination. I will not jump in the middle of that, foremost because I don’t believe it makes a difference in getting saved.
I will say this, however, I agree with a Calvinist point of contention, that dead men don’t make choices. Dead men do nothing, they are dead. My prayer is that those who were lost last night all knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior, though statistically, I think that is unlikely.
I was dead in my transgressions (see Eph 2:1) and while in that state, the last choice I would have ever made would have been to follow Jesus.
Just like He called His disciples and told them to follow, He called me when I was still His enemy.
Here we see He is the one who calls Moses, just as He was when in the burning bush.
Following instructions
Moses would not understand how to gain atonement, but the Lord tells him with exact processes.
He instructs him on where to place his hands before slaughtering the offering, how to prepare the offering, and what to do with it after preparation.
At my day job, I train sales agents on the products we offer, but more specifically on the processes to follow when having conversations with their clients. I then go back and test how often they comply with those processes, and it is not unusual to learn they do not.
None of us are that great at following directions. When I think of someone being lost, that term makes sense because when you don’t follow instructions, you often end up lost.
Spice it up
In chapter 2, it says they are to add salt to the offerings. (Lev 2:13, NIV).
In my youth I felt that following the rules was boring. To add spice to life, I had to at least bend a few regulations and try not to get caught. Living like this keeps you looking over your shoulder. Watching to see if you are about to get in trouble.
It was only after giving my life to Jesus that I found the greatest “fun” was the freedom I have in Him. I am free to serve and pursue what He has in store for me, because I can focus on what is ahead of me.
But, we see God wants us to have flavor in our life, some spice to it. John 10:10 says He wants us to “have life abundantly”. The Christian life isn’t about what we sacrifice, it is about accepting His sacrifice.
At the end of chapter 3, we read that “All the fat is the Lord’s” (Lev 3:16, NIV).
The fat is the prized portion. Our very best is what the Lord expects us to give to Him. He gave us His very best. He wants nothing less in return.
We fall short
I believe most of us, at least when we first get saved, try to give our best to the Lord, but we fall short.
So in chapter 4, we hear about times when we sin unintentionally. This happens to all of us, and often. I will realize I didn’t give someone their pen back.
No big deal, it’s just a pen, right? Wrong! Stealing is sin, regardless of the value of what you stole or whether it was intentional.
I look at inappropriate things, have improper thoughts, provide incorrect information. Does the fact I just didn’t know I was wrong matter? No, it is still a lie.
Therefore, Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned.” Except for Jesus, who was without sin, we are all stained. It is why I would admit that even now, trying as hard as I might, I still sin many times every day.
We’d face certain destruction. Romans 6:23 tells us “the wages of sin is death.” That is what we all deserve.
God told Moses about all the sacrifices needed to atone for those sins. There would be enough animals in the world to sacrifice if we still followed these rituals.
It would not be justice if God told that generation, sacrifice for your sins, but the rest of us don’t have to. There was a price to pay.
Power in the blood
Jesus paid that price and because He was the Lamb without blemish, His sacrifice would be great enough to cover everyone.
Instead of needing to sprinkle blood on the sides of the altar, Jesus’s blood covers us.
I would imagine the altars would stink and there would be flies, perhaps even maggots. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sins so that these offerings are no longer necessary.
God still requires the offering, however, but it has to be in Christ. We have to have ourselves fused into Christ Jesus by faith, so that when He died, we die with Him and the life He gave includes our lives.
Dying to ourselves, so that we can live in Him.
