Leviticus 5-7
I’ve learnt a lot about sin in the last couple of days.
Leviticus 1-7 are pretty gory chapters of the Bible. What’s clear is that blood must be shed to make atonement for sin. I can only think of one part of the Bible that is more gory than this and that comes at the end of the 4 gospels when God sacrifices his own son to make atonement for the sin of the world.
Another lesson is that when it comes to sin, ignorance doesn’t = innocence. If we sin, we are guilty whether we knew we were sinning or not. Jesus’ blood cleanses us from this guilt too.
It is clear from chapter 5 that sin can be a failure to do something good just as much as it can mean doing something “bad”. You might have heard such sin described as “sins of omission”, where the good thing remains undone. I’m so grateful that Jesus didn’t even sin in this way. He was so in tune with and submissive to his Father’s will that he never failed to the good things that God had prepared for him. God graciously credits this righteousness to us through faith in Christ.
And finally, these chapters reveal that sin against another person is always against God first. This means that there are two stages necessary in dealing with sin: atonement with God and restitution towards the person we have sinned against. It is impossible to sin against another person without also sinning against God. The fact that we are “the body of Christ” should help us to understand this and spur us on to love one another as God has loved us in Christ.
Leviticus 1:1-4:35
I hope you are traveling alright and are getting through ya reading. To be honest I have fallen behind a little and need to catch up. Not the worlds fastest reader but keen to make it to the end.
I guess the first thing I think after reading the first four chapters of Leviticus is that God must like BBQ’s. He loves the smell of meat (and in some cases grain) cooking on the fire – and to that I say amen!
On a more serious note, the thing that strikes me when I read these chapters is the detail that God outlines for the different offerings. I guess for me, the detail and the fact that the sacrifices need to be perfect, points to God’s holiness and how much he hates our sin.
All this makes me want to praise God for Jesus – our lamb without defect or blemish.
Question: Why do you think it says in Leviticus chapter 1:4 that the person making the offering needs to lay their hands on the offering?
I don’t know about you but these last few chapters have been a struggle – my big question has been why? Why are all these instructions in the bible?
Well, yesterday Pete floated the theory about the Word of God and the importance of following it. All the repetition, all the instructions were pointing to the importance of God’s people following God by being obedient to his Word. This reached a climax, the end of the line – the Tent of Meeting was completed and… God came and dwelt among his people. The Most Holy God, the Creator of all, came and dwelt among a people who a few chapters early had forsaken Him for a golden calf.
How was this possible? Because the people followed God’s Word, his instructions on how EVERYTHING in the Tent of Meeting needed to be made. Any skills or abilities that the people had to follow these instructions were given as a gift by God. All the instructions were completed so that God could dwell among his people.
…the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle…
It was a pretty striking reminder that the instructions needed to be followed perfectly so that God could dwell among his people. It was their sin that was a barrier between them and God but yet, God graciously and patiently provides for them to make a place for Him to dwell among them.
Ultimately, God had a plan that was fulfilled in Jesus. Because of Jesus, we can be in relationship with God and He dwells within us, slowly changing us to live for Him.
Do we really understand all the perfection and holiness demanded in the OT for God to dwell with his people was fulfilled for us in Jesus as he died with our sin on his shoulders?
Are we living in response to this grace, growing in joy, in thankfulness, in holiness & godliness?
Exodus 34:1-37:16
Repetition – it can get a bit boring, can’t it? Repetition – it can get a bit boring, can’t it?
So why does God seem to be so BIG on repetition. Is he TRYING to make reading his word difficult – just to test us??? Most of today’s passage is pretty much word-for-word repetition from a few chapters earlier. Why couldn’t God just say something like “…and Israel did everything just as the LORD commanded them”?
I’ve got a theory (or two).
I reckon the most obvious reason is simply that repetition drives the point home in a way that a summary statement just can’t achieve. When you have to wade through every single word you get the message loud and clear! God said… and it was so… God said… and it was so… God said… hmmm… I’ve heard that sort of thing somewhere else…
Which brings me to my next theory. I reckon God is telling us something about the power of his word and the importance of listening to him carefully and obeying him fully. God’s word is compelling – he is powerful and in control and his word is to be heeded. In fact this is the essence of trusting God, the heart of faithful worship – hearing God’s word and heeding God’s word – doing what he says. The alternative to this – not listening to God’s word and failing to obey – is the essence of SIN. This is why even though in the episode with the golden calf Israel believed they were worshiping God – “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD” (Exodus 32:5) – they failed to worship him truly because they devised their own expression of worship.
Do you reckon you worship God in the way that his word tells us is pleasing to him. Do you worship God by offering yourself as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom 12:1)? Or do you prefer some other, lesser form of worship? God wants your LIFE, he wants YOU, he wants your HEART.
Has he got it?
I’ve written a new song for SCPC to sing as we meditate on 1 Timothy together, it’s called ‘mercy today’. it’s about the mercy found in Christ, the perfect one, who came to the world to save sinners like me. we’ll be learning it at church from term 1, and the plan is to write a new song for each term in 2010.
as i’ve been reading through 1 Timothy each day i’ve started – for the first time – to write a bit of poetry, to help me meditate on what I’ve read. it’s been both helpful and enjoyable, and that’s where the lyrics came from. i recommend it.
you can listen to the song here, or download the mp3 to use as you wish. special thanks goes to my cousin Jonathan Normand for recording it for me, and to Pete Hodsdon for lending my his guitar while i was staying in Sydney.
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mercy today <– Right click here to download
the glorious news of the blessed God
that grace overflows in Christ and his love
that we who have failed to love and obey
receive endless life and mercy todaythe beautiful word Christ speaks to his church
deserving acceptance and trust in it’s worth
Christ came to the world, to the lost and depraved
to the hopeless and weak, we sinners to savewhen he appeared in a body
the Spirit cried ‘not guilty!’
angels bathed in his beauty
nations heard of his glorywhen he appeared in a body
the Spirit cried ‘not guilty!’
the world believed on his mercy
he ascended in gloryChrist came to the world, to the lawless and damned
we ungodly sinners, we unholy men
we sexually stained, and blasphemous fools
to save us from death, and make us as purewhen he appeared in a body
the Spirit cried ‘not guilty!’
angels bathed in his beauty
nations heard of his glorywhen he appeared in a body
the Spirit cried ‘not guilty!’
we believe on his mercy
we rejoice in his glorythe glorious news of the blessed God
that grace overflows in Christ and his love
that we who have failed to love and obey
receive endless life and mercy today
Exo 30:17-33:23
Can you believe it?
After God had just labored over what it means to worship him providing every last detail the people rebel. The peoples actions are incredible, amazing, and unbelievable all for the wrong reasons. I just can’t get over this line from chapter 32 verse 4:
Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
Now like you I have been reading along and I can safely say I don’t remember any golden calf leading the people out of Egypt and through the Red sea!! The LORD is not impressed and gets ready to take action against his people to bring judgment and rightly so. Moses steps in and tries to mediate between the people and God in verse 30:
The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.“
He is not really successful in his quest he is not able to make atonement for the people he can’t give up his life to save theirs from judgment.
Now if we as Christians believe we are so much more civilized than those stiff-necked Israelites, listen to how Paul describes the Christians in Corinth (1 Cor 6:9-11):
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
We must believe that like Israel and like the Corinthians we all fall short of God’s standards and should face the judgment of God. Praise be to God that we have someone who can and has made atonement for us – Jesus!!
Can you believe it?
Performed by Katharine Crossle, Sarah Balogh, & Susan Playsted. Music arranged by Katharine Crossle.
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Psalm 96 <– Right click here to download
