A SIGN OF GOD'S APPROVAL

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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

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

As we come to Leviticus, chapter 9, we find that Aaron and his sons had completed the mandated seven-day ordination period and were ready to begin leading worship by offering sacrifices, performing their priestly duties, and representing the Israelite people before their God.

Within this passage, we read where Aaron begins by receiving the following directions from Moses as to what he should do so that the “glory of the Lord” would appear to them:

"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."

In response to this command, we see where Aaron comes to the altar and begins a series of offering sacrifices that included the following:

1. A sin offering for himself.

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.

2. A burnt offering.

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.

3. A sin offering for the Israelite people.

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.

4. A grain offering.

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.

5. A fellowship 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.

6. A wave offering.

Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the Lord as a wave offering, as Moses commanded.

Then, having completed all the sacrifices as commanded, we read where Aaron “lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them” before stepping down.

Now, this process of sanctification and penitence would have been fascinating enough as it was but there was still one critical event still pending and that was the arrival of the Lord’s glory. For the Lord had promised to be present with His people and as we see at the close of this chapter, He made good on His promise, an indication that He had approved and accepted the atoning sacrifices offered up.

As one might expect, God’s arrival was one that the people would never forget. For after Moses and Aaron emerged from the Tent of Meeting and “blessed the people”, we read where "the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people", sending fire out to the altar where the “burnt offering and the fat portions” were utterly consumed.

Imagine that you were one of the Israelites there witnessing this. It had to be completely amazing and more than a little terrifying, actually.

For this was far from some fire constructed by mankind. Rather, God was a holy, divine flamethrower, setting the offerings ablaze on the altar. It was a fire that made a strong statement to the people of Israel, for their God had accepted their offerings and was with them in a big way. It was an incredible display of power and might that drew the following response from the Israelites:

And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Friends, our Lord today is still in the business of letting His people know that He is well pleased with them. He may not send a fireball down from Heaven to consume something right in front of you (even though He could) but I believe He has other ways of signaling to us when we’re on the right track.

For example, have you ever done something good for another and had this really good feeling pass over and through you? Some have described this as a "warm and fuzzy” feeling within, something that really doesn’t have a scientific or medical explanation because it’s completely spiritual in nature much like a conscience. In my heart and soul, I’m convinced that this "warm and fuzzy" feeling inside is the Holy Spirit filling our heart and soul to overflow while and bringing a very special message from the Lord:

"Well done, good and faithful servant. With you I am well pleased."

Now, I don’t know about you but I can’t get enough of feeling that overwhelming sense of spiritual satisfaction, all the while rejoicing because when it comes right down to it, it was the Lord who led me toward making a special difference in the life of another. This is what He does when we devote ourselves to His will and way.

In the end translation, any true good one does is only good because of what the Lord is doing in and through His believers. In other words, it’s never about what we are doing on our own but rather what He is does and that means that He gets the glory, not us. That’s the way it’s supposed to work.

As we go back to the end of this chapter, we can sense that the Israelite people are feeling "warm and fuzzy" all over as they get to witness the glory of their Lord when He comes to abide with them after accepting their offerings. And at least in that moment, all was well between Israel and their God after they had fallen out of His favor after worshipping the golden calf at Mount Sinai. The people were back on good terms with their Maker and Master and this was indeed reason for them to bow down and rejoice.

Today, we come before our God as sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23) but when we repent of our transgressions, we find that while He is a God of judgment, He is also a God of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love. Yes, God holds His people accountable when they sin against Him but He also will show us His approval when we live in ways that are pleasing in His sight.

With this, let us commit ourselves to always walk the path the Lord sets before us, the narrow path that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). And as we walk, let us do so in obedience so that we will ever have His approval and experience His amazing glory.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.