January 11-12, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Leviticus 1-7
OBSERVATIONS
What a lot of blood and guts. What do we do with all these sacrifices? First of all, I am ready to admit that I find all of this disturbing. I could not be a priest, I would not be able to kill all those animals.
At the same time I do think that there is an important message here, a disturbing but necessary message. Look at the different kinds of sacrifices: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering. It’s as if everyaspect of life is covered, that not aspect of life is unaffected by the corruption of sin. God seems to be impressing on people that sin is so serious, so disturbing, that the stain of blood is on all of it.
We tend to minimize sin, but God takes it seriously. When Jesus comes on behalf of God, He does not downplay the horror of sin, He stresses it. But then He shows how serious God is about His love for sinners. He becomes the ultimate sacrifice. He absorbs within Himself every disturbing aspect of sin, and experiences it’s consequence.
If we realized how bad our sin is, how disturbing and destructive it is to others, if we saw it as God sees (and experiences) it, we would cry out in misery, despair. I think of the special I saw on TV last night about Warren Jeffs, a polygamous cult leader who has had 80 wives and raped boys and girls assigned to his care. He claimed to represent God, but one day when he stands before God he will see his sin as God sees it… imagine how he will feel?
This is the horror that all this blood and guts is intended to reveal, showing how sin messes up our world.
What do you notice in this passage?
APPLICATION
Can I think of something in my life that I tend to minimize, justify or ignore, something I am doing or not doing that is having a hurtful effect on others? What if I looked at this attitude or behaviour through God’s eyes, what if I got a sense of how others have been hurt or neglected or hindered by me. My point is not to make me squirm or despair, but to see the seriousness of sin as God sees it, and to see why I need God’s mercy, why I need Jesus’ sacrifice for my sin.
Jesus talks about murdering people with our words, raping people with our eyes, He is not soft on sin. But neither is He unconcerned about our doom, He is serious about helping us. Do I truly appreciate both the disturbing side of sin in all it’s aspects, and the sacrifice it results in?
God takes my sin seriously, do I?
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
God, this is unsettling, convicting, yet hopefully also compelling. May the blood and guts of this chapter lead me to the blood and guts of the cross, and may that lead me to take sin seriously, like You do.
Observations:
The passage gives great detail of the offerings – burnt, grain, fellowship, . . .
The offerings were pleasing unto the Lord.
Do this and live – obedience. Follow my instructions – for the sins committed intentionally and unintentionally. All of their lives the people are in His presence and are responsible for their actions and realize how they are living before their God. The consequence of sin is great and needs to be taken seriously and it is only He who can restore the relationship with the Lord. All these offerings can about only after the fall and affected all of the daily living. The offerings not only were covered the sins toward God but also toward man. All of the offerings covered all the activities of man and all activities of man were to be holy before the Lord.
These offering shows the the ‘bigness’ of the sins of the people, the ‘death’ of sin of the people, and that ‘life’ can be for the people if but the people follow His way and not their own. Chose the Way.
Applications:
Sin destroys and cuts off from the people and also the Lord. The detailed description of the offerings shows the serious of my sins and only Christ can cleanse me from that sin. God has given His commands to His people also today – not only to the people yesteryear at Mt. Sinai but also to His people today. Do this and live – – – and that is only a possibility through the sacrifice of the offering of Jesus Christ. If I thought the offering were out of this world what then about Jesus? His sacrifice was the greatest of all!
Prayer:
Help me each day Lord to serve You. Let me bring a sacrifice of praise. Help me to focus on You, for Today God Is First. keep sin far from me.
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu’rors we are!
His Word shall not fail you, He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!