Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron, "Take a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the Lord. Then say to the Israelites: 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the Lord, together with a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.' " They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord. Then Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you." Moses said to Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded." So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver from the sin offering, as the Lord commanded Moses; the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp. Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the altar on all sides. They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece, including the head, and he burned them on the altar. He washed the inner parts and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar. Aaron then brought the offering that was for the people. He took the goat for the people's sin offering and slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he did with the first one. He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the prescribed way. He also brought the grain offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning's burnt offering. He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the altar on all sides. But the fat portions of the ox and the ram—the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver-these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar. Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the Lord as a wave offering, as Moses commanded. Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown." Leviticus 9
Aaron and his sons have completed the seven day ordination period as we start Leviticus, Chapter 9. They are ready to begin leading worship and represent the people in the tabernacle.
As we read, Aaron begins by receiving direction from Moses as to what he should do to receive the glory of the Lord. Moses tells him to "Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded." Aaron obeys assisted by his sons.
Scripture tells us that the sin offerings were followed by a grain offering which was burned on the altar, the slaughtering of an ox and ram as a fellowship offering for the people and a wave offering as Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the Lord as Moses commanded. Once he had finished atoning for the people, we read that Aaron blessed them.
The nature of the ritual must have been fascinating enough for the people but there was only one thing missing: the presence of the Lord. For God had promised that He would be with them and be present during their times of worship. I’m sure the people were wondering whether their offerings had been acceptable to God. Keep in mind that the animals sacrificed on the altar were to have carried away the sins of the people so they could attain atonement and forgiveness before God. You can almost feel the people waiting for some sign from God to see if He had accepted their atonement offerings.
Well…God did give them a sign…and what a sign it must have been. For after Moses and Aaron emerged from the Tent of Meeting and blessed the people, "the glory of the Lord appeared to all" in the way of "fire…from the presence of the Lord" which "consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar." Can you picture this scene? You’re watching intently as Moses and Aaron emerge from the tabernacle and all of a sudden, a wave of fire engulfs and consumes the offerings on the altar. This was no man-made fire. This was an awesome holy fire…a fire that carried with it a statement to the people. For God had accepted their offerings and they were pleasing to His sight. In response, we read where the people "shouted for joy and fell facedown."
Question: How does the Lord show you that He is well pleased with what you offer Him? He may not send a fireball down from heaven to consume something in front of you (even though He COULD do that) but I feel God has other ways of signaling to us when we’re on the right track. Here’s an example.
Have you ever done something good for another and had this really good feeling pass over and through you? Some might call it that "warm and fuzzy" feeling inside. Can you relate to this? I know I can. This feeling cannot be explained scientifically, no more than a conscious can, because it isn’t scientific but spiritual in nature. I’m convinced that "warm and fuzzy" feeling is the Holy Spirit filling your heart and soul to overflow…and bringing a message from the Lord with it. The message? "Well done, good and faithful servant. With you I am well pleased."
I don’t know about you, but I can’t get enough of feeling that overwhelming sense of spiritual satisfaction and rejoicing because it was all about the Lord leading me toward making a significant difference in the life of another. For you see, it isn’t about what we are doing but what the Lord is doing through us. In this way, He gets the glory not ourselves. That’s the way it is supposed to work.
In our scripture, can you not sense the people of Israel feeling "warm and fuzzy" all over as God displayed His glory before them and accepted their sin sacrifices. At that moment, all was well between Israel and God…and after having fallen out of favor with Him at Mount Sinai, you can’t help but think the people feel they are back on good terms again. And this is indeed reason to bow down and rejoice.
Question: How is God showing His favor to you today? How has He shown it to you in the past? For we serve a God who not only holds us accountable and shows us when we do wrong but also shows us when we’re doing right. Seek the right path and He will light it for you. Walk it in obedient service to Him and He will continuously show you His glory and approval.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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