RTW February 17

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1. My Takeaways:
   Thanks Wendy for the link
   http://www.3dbibleproject.com/en/tabernacle/details/offerings.htm
   It answered many of my unanswered questions.
   Did you all notice that there were twice as many verses dedicated to the sin offering over the other offerings. I’m going to believe that God had Moses write more on this offering then the others because it was the most important. Also it was required.

   Something Old:
   Sin Offering- This was required to restore the sinner back into fellowship with God. Sin was and is serious. The people had to make payment for sins that they didn’t even realize they had committed. Today Christ’s death restores our fellowship with God.
   Guilt Offering: This also was required to provide compensation to God and those who were effected by others’ sins. Today Christ’s death takes away the deadly consequences of sin.

   Something New: I’m just realizing that Leviticus isn’t that awful, boring monotonous book I use to think of it as. The more I read about God’s laws the more I understand that God loved His people so much he wanted to teach and guide them. He wanted them to be aware of their condition.
   Leviticus 5:5 “When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin.” Only through confession can I realize my sin and be willing to repent. Jesus’ death would be of no value at all if I don’t realize the need to confess, repent and follow Him. God took much time in guiding and training his people to be aware of his Holiness and to understand exactly who He is. How He loved the Israelites and wanted only the best for them. Just like he does us today. Leviticus 6:I2 “Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out…” I notice 5 times in this section this is mentioned, so I thought it must be very important, so I did some research. I learned that there are at least three reasons for this. First the original fire on the altar came from God – chapter 9 verse 24. Next the perpetual fire symbolized the perpetual worship of God. Finally the perpetual fire symbolized the continual need for atonement and reconciliation with God, which was the purpose of the offerings. This fire had to keep burning because God had started it. This represented God’s continued presence in the sacrificial system. It showed the people that only by God’s gracious favor could their sacrifices be acceptable. God’s fire is present in each believers life today. He lights the fire when the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and he tends it so that we will grow in grace as we walk with him. When we are aware that God lives in us, we have confidence to come to him for forgiveness and restoration. We can carry out our work with strength and enthusiasm.
   Yeah, I know I wrote way to much today, but this section totally spoke to me.

   Something To Do:
   Remember who God is and what He can do and did do. Do I take time to worship God regularly? Confess my sins, even those I’m not aware of? Ask for forgiveness? Do I realize what a sinful person I am? Nothing I can do can change that. Only through Jesus Christ and what he did at the Cross am I even able to come to Him just as I am.
   Worthy is the Lamb by Hills Song
   https://youtu.be/Mvwdn4WStcQ

2. Something Old
   The repeated use of “lay his hand on”, “lay their hands on” drew my attention more this time than in past readings. I found a writing by Spurgeon that addressed this topic and discovered some meaningful detail. It’s clear that the animal sacrifices point towards the eventual and eternal sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. And how good it is that we do not have to go through the laborious effort of finding and securing and inspecting a bullock or sheep without flaw. Nor do we have to do the actual slaughtering and witnessing of the agonizing death of the innocent animal as it bleeds out on the ground. We are beyond blessed by the fact that Jesus is our perfect substitute and He has done it all for us. But I also understand that we do have to “lay our hands” on this, ourselves, by confessing, accepting and identifying with His sacrifice. I love the visual of this.

   Something New
   Leviticus 5:1 speaks of the responsibility one has in being willing to testify to wrong doing we have witnessed. We are living in an age where most people simply do not want to offend anyone, so they do not speak up if they see something wrong. I think we are reaping the result of that. This is not an encouragement to judge others, but to recognize that we are not isolated beings living in obscurity, but rather a community and culture. We need to find ways to stand up for right and speak out against wrong. Admittedly I struggle a lot with finding balance and application in this, but really need to consider and pray on this.

   Something To Do
   Leviticus 5:4 deals with making a rash vow. the Bible has a lot to say about this. Satan is the driving force behind making self made vows that can lead us into bad places. Jesus urged us to simply let our yes be yes and our no be no. He was not condemning all legal agreements or wedding vows etc. but He was cautioning against spontaneous declarations made lightly. We need to be aware that we are often unable to know what we will be able abide by and must search out, through prayer and The Word, solid standing before we proceed. God is the one that is in control and we need to lean heavily on that truth.

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