via TJC
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD… and has realized his guilt… he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty." Leviticus 6.1-7
Wow… and that was just for THAT sin.
Leviticus describes the role and duties of the Levites as they ministered to God’s people. Restitution for sin was a big deal (“and almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission of sin”) and there were no shortcuts (under penalty of death!). God was not playing around. Nothing has changed. Ultimately, the penalty for any and all sin is STILL death.
Come with me for a moment to a roadside in the middle of nowhere in East Tennessee some 40 years ago. A young man in trouble comes to himself: “God, what am I doing? I have no excuse for treating you this way. I belong to you. Please don’t give me what I deserve! I want to come back.” Immediately the answer: “Done”. That young man? Me, of course. The catalyst of that “transaction”? The blood of Christ.
Obviously, it is not the process of ancient atonement that matters. Rather, it is what Christ did as a replacement for that process. Hebrews tells us: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins... And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” THAT is the reason Leviticus is still relevant today. This ancient Book of Law was pointing us to the “better law” of atonement by the blood of the Lamb of God.
Daily Battle Order:
Warriors - The purpose of Leviticus is to show that God is Holy and that man is sinful. Take time today to journal an instance in your life where you came to the end of yourself and you called on God to rescue you. Thank God for replacing the Law... with Grace. For replacing livestock...with the body and blood of His son...“once for all”. No more sacrifices! It is finished!
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