Leviticus 11-15, Clean=Holy

Posted on by

Oooh, these couple of chapters just make me cringe as I am sure they do for you as well. But, it really drives home how much God detests anything that is unclean or unholy. We have talked about the LORD’s upmost Holiness and how it requires anyone in His presence to be nothing but holy as well. That is where we come in…

We are unclean. Fact of life. Because we live in a world made sinful after Eve ate the forbidden fruit, we are all born a sinner. Is this hard to digest for you? If it is, just watch the nightly news. If it bleeds, it leads. And there is a lot of bleeding. All caused by unadulterated sin.

But, God created us to be in relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him and love Him, and be loved by Him. One problem, we are unclean.

Unclean: our hearts are clogged up with gunk like hate, pride, jealousy, lust, greed, etc. Our minds are filled with thoughts that we can’t imagine others knowing. Our spirit is downtrodden and yearning for the holiness and purity it was originally created for in Eden.

We get back to that original intent through the blood of Christ that washes us clean. He wipes away the dark space that once separated us from our Father.

Clean: filled with the Spirit of God. Satisfied with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. All things that emulate Christ and make us more like Him.

Our holiness is important to God, why else would He send Jesus to the Cross? Make holiness important to you, too. Don’t you want to stand in the amazing presence of the Lord, pure, clean, and worshiping Him like crazy!

Psalm 24:4-5
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Leviticus 9-10, Affected

Posted on by

Are you affected by God’s glory and majesty? I am not talking about the word, effected, but the word affected.

Here’s a definition in case you get the two mixed up like I often do:
acted upon; influenced
speaking or behaving in an artificial way to make an impression
moved(p): being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion; “too moved to speak”; “very touched by the stranger’s kindness”

So, now that we have that all cleared up, I’ll ask again. Are you moved, excited, impressed, or emotional about the Glory of God and His presence around you? Take a look at chapter 9 and see how the Israelites were affected.

22-24 Aaron lifted his hands over the people and blessed them. Having completed the rituals of the Absolution-Offering, the Whole-Burnt-Offering, and the Peace-Offering, he came down from the Altar. Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting. When they came out they blessed the people and the Glory of God appeared to all the people. Fire blazed out from God and consumed the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the fat pieces on the Altar. When all the people saw it happen they cheered loudly and then fell down, bowing in reverence. (The Message)

The Glory of God appeared-they actually saw a manifestation of God presence and it was a blazing fire. It must have been one awesome fire like none they have ever seen before! How did they react: cheered loudly and bowed down in reverence.

God’s shows us His Glory in so many ways. It may not be as obvious as a big bonfire, so we have to be on the look out for it. If we ask Him to open our eyes to see it, I can assure you that the Lord will blow your mind. It might be in a strong emotion you get while worshipping. It could be that He speaks to you in your heart, or through someone else. It could be that He leads you to a certain Bible verse that speaks of His greatness and power. It could also be in a miracle or answer to prayer. So many ways, we just have to be open to recognizing it.

But, we can’t just stop there. We must do as the Israelites did and praise the Lord for showing us His glory.

Matthew Henry speaks to this point quite interestingly:
They received it with the highest joy; triumphing in the assurance given them that they had God nigh unto them. And with the lowest reverence; humbly adoring the majesty of that God, who vouchsafed thus to manifest himself to them. That is a sinful fear of God, which drives us from him; a gracious fear makes us bow before him.

Humbly adoring the majesty, I love that phrase. Humbly in that we know He is far greater than us and that is a good thing! Adoring: gazing upon His majesty. Dwelling on Him, meditating on the different adjectives that describe His power and greatness. Praising OUT LOUD. Bowing down in completely reverence. These are all powerful ways to respond when we are affected by the Glory of God.

Allow yourself to be affected. Don’t let pride or the distractions of the world make you miss seeing your incredible LORD.

Leviticus 8, Absolutely Innocent

Posted on by

Leviticus chapter 8 continues the theme of detailed instruction on sacrifices. This chapter specifically focuses on how Aaron and his sons, the priests, must make themselves pure before they perform the sacrifices on behalf of the Israelites.

Just by chance, I read this sentence this morning upon finishing up with chapter 8. In his book, The Faith, Chuck Colson writes about Jesus as the pure, innocent sacrifice for our sin before God. I made the connection with Leviticus 8 because of the fact that, not only were the animals to be made pure, but the priests were to be made pure before performing the sacrifice. Read what Colson says about Christ as the innocent sacrifice:

“And it was essential He do it this way. Jesus could never have been the Savior of humankind if He were born into sin, because then His death on the cross would be for His own sins, not for ours alone. Only a totally sinless savior could take our sins upon Himself…” (pg 84)

What does it mean to you that Christ lived a completely innocent life, void of any sin? To me, this is encouragement. I have a awesome example of how to live a life that is pleasing to God. Christ commands us to be like Him.

It pierces my heart that there was no earthly reason why HE was found guilty by the Israelites. But, there was a HEAVENLY reason why. God wanted to be in fellowship with His children. The only way that is possible is for us to be made pure before we can be in His presence. Jesus was just that.

Pure- sinless, guiltless, no fault found EVER. No idiosyncrasies, no vices, no addictions, no anger issues, no rage, no violence, no lust, no vanity, no pride, no selfishness, no over-indulgence…

The list could go on and on. The question is, can you wrap your mind around the fact that His is completely Holy? This is imperative that you at least try to because we must lift Him up to a level in which we worship Him as Holy, Pure, and Powerful.

LIVE IT OUT! application:
Think about this list above and come up with your own faults. Then, please get in a position of prayer and thank Him wholeheartedly for taking your place and being Absolutely Innocent.