Friday, September 9, 2016

RESTORATION (PART 4)



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits, that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide. From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide. Above that, the altar hearth is four cubits high, and four horns project upward from the hearth. The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide. The upper ledge also is square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit. The steps of the altar face east.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built: You are to give a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it. You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.”

“On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.”

“For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Ezekiel 43:13-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Atonement.

It’s not a word we hear used very much today but go back to the word of God and biblical times and you will see that it was a prevalent and necessary part of the Israelites’ spiritual lives.

Look up the definition of atonement and here’s what you will find:

The doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind.

You see, God hated sin, still hates it today, and always will hate it. We know this by the way He reacts to sin.

In the case of the Old Testament Israelites, unchecked sinful behavior stoked the fires of God’s anger and led to Him imposing judgment on them. This didn’t come merely because the Israelites sinned; it was because they sinned and were not willing to repent and seek atonement. Rather, God’s people openly and willfully lived in disobedience to their Lord with no regard to their disrespectful conduct. And so God took away everything from them before sending them away into exile for seventy years after which He set forth events that led to His people returning to their homeland.

Now we know this return was marked by major acts of restoration, the focus of this devotional series as we wind down our study of the Book of Ezekiel. It started with God’s temple so the people would have a place to renew their commitment, devotion, and worship unto the Lord. This was followed by the integration of the priests back into the duties of spiritual leadership within the temple where an emphasis would be placed on returning to holiness. And with these two acts of renewal in place, the stage was set for God to make His entrance, returning to the temple constructed in His honor and filling it with His glory.

But there was one more important act that needed to take place. The people needed a vehicle to repent of their sins and seek atonement from God. This would happen by reinstituting the sacrament of sacrifices as seen in today’s scripture from the closing chapters of Ezekiel 43:

“These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits, that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide. From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide. Above that, the altar hearth is four cubits high, and four horns project upward from the hearth. The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide. The upper ledge also is square, fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit. The steps of the altar face east.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built: You are to give a young bull as a sin offering to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it. You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.”

“On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.”

“For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”  Ezekiel 43:13-27

You’ll recall that the place God prescribed for sacrifices was the altar and given that everything in God’s first temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians during their onslaught, a new altar would have to be constructed in accordance with God’s exact specifications. But note that God’s direction regarding the altar went beyond mere measurements for He made sure His people knew the way atonement would be sought through prescribed sacrifices.

Note that the regulations regarding sacrifices, whether burnt or sin or fellowship, involved the shedding of blood, blood that served the purpose of purifying and cleansing the altar as well as atoning for the sins of God’s people. This principle translated over to New Testament days as God deemed that there would no more required animals sacrificed for the atonement of sins. This is because God offered up one final sacrifice on a special altar called “the cross:” There, He offered up His perfect Son Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world by bearing them Himself in death, His shed blood cleansing anyone who would put their trust in Him as Savior.

In other words, the blood of Jesus washes away the sins of anyone who places their hope and belief in Him as the Author of their salvation, restoring that person to a place where they become justified (or made just as if they had never sinned) when standing in the crosshairs of God’s final judgment. Instead of being condemned and destroyed, a Christian will find themselves pardoned and ushered into a new life where they will live with God and Jesus forever, a truth that is at the heart of the gospel today.

Have you ensured your restoration from damned sinner to redeemed Christ believer today?

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

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