February 16
Numbers 8:1-9:14; Leviticus 1:1-3:17
When people approach the book of Leviticus, you can almost hear a groan rise from the crowd. A few things we should remind ourselves when reading Scripture is that ALL of it is equally important. There is no book or section which is now irrelevant. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." Again, notice the word, "all". But many prefer to read the Bible using a line-item veto. Simply erase or disregard those sections we don't like or that make us feel uncomfortable. Whether one wants to admit this or not, when we do this we have elevated ourselves to demi-gods. God is God, and we are not. God gets to decide what is necessary for the walk of the believer, we don't. The book of Leviticus is a call to holiness, to set God's people apart from the rest of godless society. Though, under grace we no longer are under the law, we should remember that the law is good (Romans 7:12), the law was our tutor (Galatians 3:24), and Jesus did not get rid of the law, He fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17-20). As we embark on our walk through the law, may we realize that our walk with God is not a veering or a minor pivot, but an about face from our previous godless ways. We don't continue along our path and modify or simply add God in. A walk with God, due to the seriousness of sin, means we lose something in order to gain something. It never was and never will be an "add-on" relationship. This relationship is either accepted or rejected, there is no other real option.
We read in Leviticus 1:3-5, "‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord;...". The purpose of these offerings were to restore fellowship with God. This burnt offering or consecration offering was meant to separate ourselves from things that would contaminate our relationship with God. Notice the sacrificial animal had to be unblemished. You could not take just any animal. Sin must cost us something. Notice that this was a voluntary offering. It was not compulsory, but by one's own free will. Next, we notice that it was the individual himself who actually took the life of the animal. We can't assign this to someone else. We must realize that it took the blood of an innocent animal to cover or atone for the sins of sinful humans.
This prescription never changed. As Christians, we only have fellowship with God through the blood of Jesus. God didn't change His mind when moving from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Sin stunk then and it still stinks now. We don't have the right to prescribe how to enter into or restore our relationship with God. There is way too much, "me,myself, and I" in religion today. How many state, "God would or would not ...", then state something contradictory to God's law. We are brought into relationship with God by the blood of Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God. Accept this and you are His. Reject this, and I don't care how good you think you are, you are not His. The consecration offering was made by a heart filled with desire, in response to who He is, as we commit our lives to Him. May we never cheapen what cost our Lord so much.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: