Gathering in the Name of the Lord

 The Feasts of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 23 and 25

The Church must understand that every time the Church gathers together it is a special occasion.

Remember we are to gather in the name of Jesus Christ!

Mat_18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

If we do not gather in the name of Jesus Christ, then the Lord Jesus will not be there.

If we do not gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ then we are not part of the Church!

The festivals in a sense were similar. If they were not done according to the Word of God, then God would not show up in peace.

These festivals to be celebrated by Israel, were appointed by God.

These festivals were to never be secular or worldly, they were for worship with a joyful celebration of Jehovah God.

We should understand that the primary focus of Jehovah God is salvation!

God wants us all to be saved.

Joh_3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Act_2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Do not listen to the liberals there is no other way to be saved and join the Lord in Heaven!

Act_4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

After our salvation then and only then can we worship our Savior and celebrate our salvation!

God created all humanity to live eternally with God, but most have chosen to ignore these things.

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We should understand that these "feasts" of Israel had two main points:

1) These feast and festivals focused upon the salvation and the redemption of man and the worship of the One True God.

2) These feast and festivals painted prophetic pictures of the salvation, the salvation that God was bringing to humanity through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

These events also show a believer how he is to walk day by day throughout his lifetime!

*****Lev 23:4  These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 

That word convocation means assembly.

These feasts were to be Holy Assemblies.

Without holiness there is no need to gather!

These feast and festivals also served to unite this new nation of Israel and cement them together as one people, one nation under the direction of our Holy God Jehovah.

This is still a great lesson that the Church needs to learn today.

The Word of God should unite the Church under one cause and that cause iis Jesus Christ.

*****Lev 23:5  In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.

The Passover:

The Passover was to be a celebration of God's great deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

The Egyptians had become brutal and savage and full of immorality and because of these things, they fell under the "judgment of God" and this "judgment" would be severe.

It is in this "judgment" upon the Egyptians that we see the "Angel of Death" who operates under the authority of God.

It was this "judgment" that brought Pharaoh to his knees, and he released the children of Israel, and they became a nation.

The nation of Israel first began to see the power of "faith" by trusting in the sacrificial lamb. 

That sacrificial lamb that God provided was that "substitute" with the blood applied to the door of their homes in the shape of a "Bloody Cross".

They had to take a lamb without blemish and put it to death and smear its blood upon the doorpost of their homes.

When they did this thing, it showed God that family trusted His Word and His "Substitute" to take their place.

The "Judgment" of God would "Passover" those believers, but not those who rejected the truth of God.

The Passover is a celebration of the greatest event in the history of Israel!

The Passover is a symbol, a type, of the Lord Jesus Christ who was sacrificed as our Substitute for our own sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect fulfillment of the sacrificial Lamb!

Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 

Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

The Passover Feast was celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the ecclesiastical year which was the seventh month of the civil year and it lasted seven days.

These seven days would include the festival of Unleavened Bread which in type represented the complete removal of sin.

Leaven is a type of sin in the Bible.

We could say that these Feasts instructed these children of Israel all about "faith", trusting in the Word of God.

We should be able to see that our faith will bring us to the giving of thanks for all the things that God provides for us.

There was the Feast of the First Fruits.

*****Lev 23:10  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 

Lev 23:11  And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 

We should understand that it is not the soil, nor the rain, nor the sun, nor the dews, nor the skill of the farmer that we need to thank for our food.

We must see God as our Provider because He is our Provider!

This is the lesson from the Feast of the First Fruits.

Surely, we must thank God for our farmers but more important we need to thank God for providing the fruit from all crops.

It is the harvest of crops that provide food that gives life and for this reason this is a "type" of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When the Lord Jesus Christ rose from that grave, He brought eternal life to all believers!

A sheaf is a small bundle of stalks gathered from here and there in a crop. 

This would be done the day after the Sabbath which places it on a Sunday.

This bundle would be waved before the Lord. After the wave offering the priest would approach God for atonement through a special Burnt Offering.

A grain offering is twice as much as the normal amount.

The aroma of these offerings ascended up symbolizing God's acceptance of the offering.

The one thing was they were not to eat of any of the harvest until the First Fruit offering was given to God!

This was a permanent law through all generations to come no matter where the Israelites called home.

1Co 16:1  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 

1Co 16:2  Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

As believers we owe to the Lord the first of our harvest! 

Today this would mean the first of our income for most of us. 

We would call this our tithe for the tithe belongs to the Lord!

It is God who has given to us all that we have, no matter what it is!

If our jobs are due to the Lord, then our health is due to the Lord!

We are to give our first fruit to support the Church and the ministries of the Church and the Gospel must continue making its way around the world.

God will reward us for doing this thing as commanded.

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 

Then we have the Feast of Pentecost.

*****Lev 23:15  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 

Lev 23:16  Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

The festival of Pentecost, also call the Feast of weeks because it was celebrated seven weeks after the second day of the Passover.

It was also called the Festival of Harvest.

The intent of this festival was to offer thanksgiving to God for the harvest, but also to dedicate your life anew to the Lord. A rededication.

On the Day of Pentecost, just after the Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven there was a great harvest of souls when the Holy Spirit came just as the Lord Jesus had said.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 

Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 

Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 

Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

Act 2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Jesus said:

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 

On this day of Pentecost we see a direct answer to the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This day of Pentecost took place exactly 50 days after the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Festival of the First Fruits celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

The Day of Pentecost also celebrated the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since their escape from Egypt the nation of Israel had celebrated these two prophetic days never realizing the true meaning of those celebrations.

The Passover symbolized God's salvation plan.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread symbolized the need to separate from this evil world. Recognizing our sin.

The Festival of First Fruits symbolized the hope of each believer in our walk toward the Promised Land and the day of the Rapture of the Church.

The Festival of Harvest (Pentecost) symbolized the momentous day the Holy Spirit came to live in each believer and taking the salvation message of our Savior to the world.

God's plan of salvation is seen throughout all the Scriptures!

It does not stop here.

*****Lev 25:11  A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. 

Lev 25:12  For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. 

Lev 25:13  In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. 

We must understand that when we know God, we know that He is sovereign over all His creation and all His creation belongs to Him to do with as He pleases.

Whether we realize it or not God does as He pleases at all times and His great plan is working every day to reach the conclusion, He has chosen Himself!

If we pay attention, we can see the plan of God unfolding right before our eyes.

When God allows us to own any part of His creation then we must be obedient to His rules as in all our life.

Lev 25:23  The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. 

Lev 25:24  And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 

It was important for the children of Israel to realize this!

Canaan land was to be divided among the twelve tribes of Israel and each tribe would then divide that portion among all the families of each tribe.

God gave all of this land to Israel as a gift, and it was to remain in their care throughout all generations till the end of time.

Even when God removed them from that land, it still belonged to them!

Canaan Land was a sacred, holy gift given to the nation of Israel!

For this reason, each family was to never sale the piece of land that was assigned to them.

The land they owned was to be passed down to the next generation.

What do we know? We know that the love of money is the root of all evil.

1Ti_6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

There is always the tendency for the rich to increase their riches at the expense of the poor, and this will not change until the end of the Church Age.

Mat 26:11  For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

We immediately see that it is not God who makes people poor!

Those who are rich will not help the poor even though they are the cause!

God is always concerned with the poor of this earth because they are often mistreated and abused.

There are always some of these who are poor because they are lazy and irresponsible.

In the Word of God you will not find that God says to help these in any way other than sharing the Gospel with them.

It is those who are poor because of the actions of others that we are to help!

God wants complete freedom and complete liberty for everyone where the only laws are the Laws of God!

As far as the land given to the nation of Israel, any person who obtained land belonging to someone else was to return that land to the owner to whom it was originally given him at the Jubilee.

We should see that in typology because as believers we are just visitors here on earth and our home is in Heaven and our Heavenly home can never be taken away from us even though many of us have not been called home yet.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 

1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Among the Jews, every fiftieth year, being the year following the revolution of seven weeks of years, at which time all the slaves were liberated, and all lands which had been alienated during the whole period, reverted to their former owners.

In creation week God rested on the seventh day. 

The seventh day was to set apart as a special day. A day unto the Lord. A day for rest and worship.

Seven weeks after the first day of Unleavened Bread came Pentecost.

After seven years the land was to be given a year of rest. The Sabbatical Year. 

The land was to be lie unplowed, untilled, undisturbed.

It is from this passage in the Bible that farmers learned how to rotate crops to preserve the soil and allow the land to lay fallow for a year.

The Sabbatical year taught people to trust the Word of God and to depend upon Him.

For 490 years these Jews failed to keep the Sabbatical year.

The nation of Israel did not keep it for 490 years, and God removed them from the land for seventy years so the land could lay fallow.

2Ch 36:21  To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. 

When God gives us extra time of rest it is for us to get closer to Him! 

This was the purpose of those 70 years in captivity!

If we waste this time God will bring "Judgment" upon us.

So comes the Jubilee. The Jubilee is to set aside for a celebration of liberty, freedom, and redemption.

All slaves were to be set free.

The land was to be returned to the owners.

All debts and financial obligations were to be written off.

Even all labor obligations were to disappear.

Isa 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 

Jer 34:8  This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; 

Jer 34:9  That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. 

Jer 34:13  Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 

Jer 34:14  At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. 

Jer 34:15  And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: 

Jer 34:16  But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. 

Jer 34:17  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 

We see that God is profoundly serious about these things!

What do these things mean for us today?

We know that the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the prophetic meaning of all these festivals.

The principles behind these festivals are things we must apply to our lives today!

We are to always remember our salvation through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to remember to give our tithes! 

God gives us all these things and He only ask for ten percent in return. 

This should include ten percent of our time!

We are to love one another as we love our Savior and not oppress anyone especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Church is also God's Chosen people, and He expects us to be good stewards of the things He has given to us, actually loaned to us.

The world is watching to see if we are genuine Christians.

The world is watching to see if we have that saving faith.

So let us show the world the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Separated From This Wicked World

The Separation of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 11:44; 18:2 through 5; 20:22 through 26

The most important thing we need to know after our salvation are the desires of God.

It is called being in the will of God.

The most important and certainly the safest place we can live our lives is being in the will of God!

This begins when we know the difference between clean and unclean in the eyes of God.

We should understand that God knows things that we cannot know!

What does God expect from His children?

Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 

This was the Lord Jesus Christ speaking directly to His disciples and future Apostles, who were to give this same message to give to all believers.

The truth is, God expects us to live in a certain way!

God expects us to live far different from the ways of this world!

The world should be able to see the differences between the people of God and the people of this world.

The thing much of the Church have forgotten is, that God's people are to live Holy "lives" and there are no exceptions and no compromises!

This means taking care of our bodies as well as our spiritual life!

Christians are to bear a strong testimony that they follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and obey the commandments of a Holy God!

*****Lev 11:44  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

What were these children of Israel to do?

1) They were to sanctify themselves. They were to avoid uncleanness because we serve a Holy God and they belonged to God.

We know that God does not ever change, and this is the same for the modern Church of today.

Uncleanness today means to avoid the filth of this world and we live in a filthy world around filthy people. 

Just look at the trash that is deposited along our roads, in our lakes, and in our oceans for one example.

In this day of Israel, Egypt was the land of idolatry and animal worship, and the world of today is still full of idolatry.

It can be said that the only way to be in communion with God is by holiness.

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

We must not defile ourselves!

We defile ourselves when we commit any type of sin. All sin is an abomination to the Lord.

We defile ourselves when we have a filthy heart.

Eze 43:8  In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.

Jas 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 

Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 

Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. 

Just because we live in this world does not mean we are to act like we are part of this world!

*****Lev 18:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 

Lev 18:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 18:3  After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. 

Notice how God presents Himself here. He says, "I am the LORD your God".

God is saying "I am Jehovah" I am Yahweh, your One and only God.

The Lord our God then says, "You Must Live a Life of Separation from this wicked world"!

It has been obvious for us to see that the "moral" foundation of our societies is crumbling and pushed by our governments to do so.

If you challenge this, you are labeled a bigot and a racist.

Immorality weakens a person.

Immorality brings down desires to the level of wild animals!

Immorality corrupts humanity to live on the level of animals when God has made us to be far more than just animals!

Once relationships between people are destroyed, unkindness, abuse and lawlessness become the rule of society and we see these things are increasingly happening every day.

In fact, we could call Chapter 18 of the Book of Leviticus, "The Laws That Govern Sexual Behavior".

The Children of Israel were taught and told not to behave as the Egyptians nor the Canaanites which were immoral societies in that day of Moses.

When we call ourselves Christians, we are saying that the Lord Jesus Christ is our God, and it is He and Jehovah and the Holy Spirit who are the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Not three separate persons but One God. The Lord our God!

In this instance Egypt and Canaan are placed in the category of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Israel had just left Egypt and were about to enter Canaan Land.

Three times in these five verses we see God proclaim, "I am the Lord your God".

He wants us to be clear on His stance on immorality!

All through the lands of Egypt and Canaan Land, disgusting sexual activity took place including sodomy, bestiality, and homosexuality in illicit, unnatural acts of depravity.

We see an entire world returning to these ways today and it is demanded that we accept it!

As Christians, we will never accept these things and nor should we. 

We should believe God!

We must never sink to this level of abomination!

God tells this new nation of Israel in that day and all Christianity in our day, that we must avoid this lifestyle and be obedient to the Word of God.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 

1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

1Pe 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 

1Pe 4:4  Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 

1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 

It is a fact that the world thinks we are strange to not agree with them on these matters.

These things do not concern freedoms, these things concern the absolute rebellion to the Word of God!

God does not give us a choice; He absolutely demands that we avoid the lifestyle of the world around us today!

*****Lev 18:4  Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 18:5  Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. 

If you are a Christian, you must comply with all the Word of God.

God will keep His covenants with us only if we are obedient to the Word of God, all the Word of God!

As our Savior who washed us in His blood, He has every right to make such demands!

We should understand that we must live a life of separation and obedience to the Word of God.

We must certainly not seek some perversion of the Word of God that would allow such things as these which in fact should be obvious that God would never permit such things to be part of Christianity.

We must never follow the immoral and perverted practices of this world!

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

Joh 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 

Joh 15:21  But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 

Joh 15:22  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

We must always obey the laws and the decrees of God, but just because we hate those things, we are never to show hatred to those who do such thing.

They are our enemies, but God says to feed our enemies and besides food we need to feed them the pure Word of God.

We must live moral, sexually pure lives before our Righteous God!

We must understand that God is always obedient to His own Words!

God will never deviate from the things He has written down in the Scriptures and it would be wise for us to get a translation of the Scriptures that come from the Received Text and not those that come from the "already perverted" Catholic Text.

Joh 8:51  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. 

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 

God gave all nations a guide to ensure fairness in laws. It was called the Ten Commandments, the moral law.

Many nations once based their own laws upon these Ten Commandments for centuries, but in this day these Ten Commandments have become too burdensome for most of them.

These Ten Commandments are just as important today as they were to the nation of Israel as they entered into Canaan Land.

We must understand that "justice" must be executed upon this earth.

Without "justice" all forms of lawlessness, violence, and sexual perversion would run wild throughout the earth.

Well guess what, we see it happening right before our eyes!

We see little true peace.

We see little true security.

We see much selfishness.

We see much immorality.

We see a world where rogue nations are allowed to kill and maim innocent people.

We see these things have ripped the moral fabric of most all nations.

We see that the family has taken such a beating that most of them are ripped apart just because of these things.

Drug and alcohol abuse run rampant.

Robbery, theft, assault, and murder are daily in every nation and every county in these United States and our government does not seem to care because our government wants it this way so it can step in with Communism and Socialism as is happened in Europe.

Today we live in a world of false religion.

Today we live in an Immoral Age.

There is still only one thing God's people can do!

*****Lev 20:22  Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

We have to obey God in order to escape God's Judgment!

We must keep all the statutes of God! 

A statute in the Bible is a law that comes directly from God.

A law that He mentions Himself.

We must keep all the judgments of God!

A judgment in the Bible means God has examined the facts and God has decided which way leads to the truth and that is the way we are to follow.

A judgment can also be the sentence that exist for breaking God's Law.

God knows those who do the truth of the Word of God!

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

It should be obvious that if you are child of God, Born Again by the Blood of Jesus the true Messiah, we should live a life of separation from this wicked world!

God condemns those who do not obey His Word!

Jas 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We must live our lives separated from the wickedness of this world!

God spewed most of the residents of Canaan Land out of their countries to make room for the nation of Israel.

God may spew many of the residents of the United States out because they live and allow wickedness to continue.

This Covid Plague may be part of that spewing.

*****Lev 20:23  And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 

There is no clearer message than this one how God feels about immorality and the gay lifestyle.

Abhor means extreme hatred.

Abhor means to despise.

Canaan Land was full of this sort of immorality, and it was for this reason God allowed for the destruction of its people.

God had given these nations four hundred or more years to repent of their wickedness.

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 

God hates the things that are going on in the United States at this time and going on in most European Countries, yet people still ask God for His blessings.

There is only one way to obtain the blessing of God!

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

The Church must avoid involvement in these practices and certainly not compromise on the Word of God.

If God abhors something, then the Church should also hate these things.

God could give our land to someone else!

*****Lev 20:24  But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. 

This is why God gave all the land of Canaan to Israel and there should be no question about it today.

Who judges Israel these days? The nations that allow these same things to go on in their own nations and many of the Arab nations that are descendants of Ishmael, Esau, and the sons of Keturah.

Israel had to be obedient to Jehovah before He allowed them to take Canaan Land and they never completed this task because of a lack of faith.

We that call America our home could see this change in our lifetime.

America was also a land that flowed with milk and honey, but there are no reasons for God to bless America today.

As Christians we must be able to discern between clean and unclean in our day-to-day behavior!

*****Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

This was the way given to Israel to escape the "Judgment" of God.

God had given Israel specific food laws that governed clean and unclean animals.

They could only gain physical cleanliness by eating the right foods!

In that day of Moses without ways to preserve meats, these food laws offered protection from diseases and unhealthy bodies.

These things also showed the world that they were separated to God.

Obedience to these things were key to their relationship with Jehovah God.

In fact, obedience to the Word of God is still the key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father!

This new nation of Israel had to obey those food laws to teach them the difference of clean and unclean, but the Church does not have to obey those food laws, but we must obey all the Word of God, "rightly divided" and still know the difference between clean and unclean.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. 

If we cannot be holy in the eyes of God, then we are failing in our relationship with Him!

*****Lev 20:25  Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 

Lev 20:26  And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. 

We must live a holy life to escape the "judgment of God!

Why because God is Holy, and we have the mind of Christ.

God called us to set us apart from this world.

The Church is God's special possession!

We belong to the Lord!

We are a member of God's household!

We must never bring disgrace unto the family of God.

We must never bring shame to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We must live holy lives while we live amongst those who live in the damnation of God.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass

away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 

Why would we not want to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ?

Amen

Busy About the Work of Christ

 The Priests of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapters 8 and 9

We should understand that God calls and also ordains every true preacher, or pastor, or priest or

whatever the leaders of the Church are called today, just as He calls every Christian.

Rom_1:1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, "called to be an apostle", "separated unto the gospel of God",

Rom_1:6  Among whom are "ye also the called of Jesus Christ":

We must be called and that first calling comes by the Holy Spirit for our salvation.

We may at that time, or some other time be called into a special ministry, but all the ministries of the Church must point to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

If they are not called of God and ordained of God, they will never know how to lead the Church and are subject to damnation!

God does not take kindly to imposters!

No one can understand the truth of the Word of God without being filled with the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in every Christian!

Ordination means to be appointed by the Lord to serve in the ministry of God.

Ordination means to be called, set apart (sanctified) and consecrated to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have not been called of God, you should not be leading a ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 

Joh 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father "I have made known unto you". 

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, "but I have chosen you", and "ordained you", that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father "in my name", he may give it you. 

Aaron and his sons were called of God.

Every true Christian has been called of God!

Not every true Christian has been called into a special ministry.

In fact if we are not already busy about the work that the Lord Jesus gave us to do, God will never call us into a special ministry!

*****Lev 8:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 

Lev 8:2  Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 

Lev 8:3  And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

Aaron and his sons had been called and appointed by God to the priesthood.

A priest, a pastor, or any such others are called to minister to God's people.

The goal of these ministries is to bring us all into one accord and not to cause division in the Church.

That ministering must be of the Lord Jesus Christ, or it is not a true ministry of the Church!

The ordination of these men should make a lasting impression on God's people.

Just as these things were completed at the entrance into the Tabernacle, every Christian should make a public profession of faith.

All such as a pastor or evangelist, are to never forget their calling and appointment.

When such a man of God is called and show it, they will have the respect of the Church as Aaron did have with the Children of Israel.

When a Church needs a new Pastor, then the selection of that person should be visible and not done behind closed doors!

Here, in the Book of John, we see that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who does the calling so at this time Moses would be considered to be a "type" of Christ Jesus.

It is of critical importance that our Church leaders be called by the Lord.

One of the problems in the modern Church is that the leader of that Church was not called of God and are not God's chosen!

They will only cause havoc in the Church!

*****Lev 8:4  And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

Lev 8:5  And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. 

Why would someone enter the ministry?

1) Some like the idea of serving and ministering to people.

2) Some like the professionalism of the being the pastor, the idea of leadership and being recognized in the community.

3) Some like the idea of teaching and speaking on a regular basis.

4) Some like the prestige and the image of respect shown to the men of God.

5) Some just like the money in a big church.

6) There may be many other reasons.

The truth is, no one should serve in the ministry unless they are called and ordained of God to serve God's people!

Every Church should verify the calling of their church leaders and teachers.

That person should spend a lot of time in the Word of God and in prayer.

1Ti 3:1  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 

1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 

1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 

1Ti 3:4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 

1Ti 3:5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 

1Ti 3:6  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 

1Ti 3:7  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 

Just because someone went to a Seminary does not mean they are taught of God.

In fact, many seminaries ruin what would have been a good Pastor.

Let us look at the calling of the Apostle Paul:

Act 26:14  And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 

Act 26:15  And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 

Act 26:16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 

Act 26:17  Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 

Act 26:18  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 

The Apostle Paul was a Jewish Pharisee and knew most of the Word of God by heart, but even Paul had to spend some time with the Holy Spirit.

Gal 1:15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 

Gal 1:16  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 

Gal 1:17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 

Gal 1:18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 

It could be said that no man of God should be leading a Church until, that man of God has been trained by the Holy Spirit for at least three years.

The Holy Spirit will only teach the things of Jesus Christ.

All those who lead people away from Jesus Christ are not called of God and should be removed until they repent and get saved and then trained in the works of Christ!

Obviously, the Holy Spirit is in charge of every called man of God!

A man called of God will teach the things of Jesus Christ!

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Holy Spirit will never lead that ordained man of God away from the Lord Jesus Christ nor the Blood of Jesus Christ!

2Co 3:4  And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

A Church is not a Church unless it teaches the truth of Jesus Christ!

A Preacher is not a man of God unless, he teaches the truth of Jesus Christ, The Gospel.

2Co 3:4  And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 

Any works doctrine or any way of man cannot reconcile you to God!

Eph 3:7  Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 

It is only by the "Blood" of Jesus Christ that we can be cleansed of our sins.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 

1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 

It is only by the water of regeneration of the Holy Spirit that we become the chosen of God!

Tit_3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

*****Lev 8:6  And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. 

Remember Moses is a "type" of Jesus Christ.

No one can be cleansed without the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Psalmist wrote:

Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 

Psa 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 

Psa 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Psa 51:6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 

Psa 51:7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

Moses, God's mediator, took those to be ordained and washed them in water.

You see, it is only God's mediator who can do the washing and the cleansing.

Jesus Christ is God's true Mediator!

This washing with water is a "type" of being Spiritually cleansed!

No one can cleanse themselves and no one can be cleansed but by God's Mediator!

This is the truth of the Scriptures!

God can only cleanse us of our sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ, He is God!

Joh_10:30  I and my Father are one.

Joh_17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

We should notice that this washing and cleansing with water took place right before the putting on of those white linen priestly clothes.

These clothes in type represent the righteousness of God.

As sinners we must be cleansed from that sin before we can put on the righteousness of God!

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 

Eph 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 

Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

It is only after this cleansing and this ordination that the true man of God can be a servant of God!

*****Lev 9:23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. 

Lev 9:24  And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

God met these children of Israel in this unique way, only because they had sought Him through the substitute sacrifice.

They had prepared themselves for the presence of God.

God has not ever changed!

That substitute is the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be called, we must be chosen, and we must be cleansed, to ever be in the presence of God and the Holy Spirit does these things.

The Church has the truth for this ungodly world!

These children of Israel are still blind to this truth!

2Co 3:12  Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 

2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 

2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 

2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 

2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

There is no other way to be saved but by the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ our substitute.

There is no other way to be cleansed and regenerated, but by the Holy Spirit.

There is no other way to meet God our Heavenly Father, but by obedience to his Word and His Son.

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Won't you look to Christ today and be cleansed from all your sin? 

Amen

Looking Forward to the Grace of God

 The Offerings of Israel

Book of Leviticus Chapter 16

Some fifteen hundred years before the Messiah came, Moses led the nation of Israel, called the Israelites, out of Egypt and a new nation was born.

Jehovah led them to Mount Sinai and then God gave to Moses the first five books of the same Bible we have today.

The Israelites were given the Civil Law, the Moral Law (The Ten Commandments), and the Ceremonial Law, in all 613 commandments.

We should remember that the Lord Jesus taught us that all those 613 laws could be reduced to two laws if we were to be sincere in our love for one another and our love for Him.

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment. 

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 22:40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 

We should remember these words of Jesus and let them guide us throughout all our lifetime!

We should consider that all these laws expressed the "righteous and the holy Character of Jehovah God"!

Even though these laws contained the standard for righteousness, without which no one could stand before our Holy God, no one could keep all those laws and God knew this and in reality, it was never expected.

These laws were our schoolmaster to teach about the Messiah and God's Grace.

In the end these laws served their purpose, and this purpose was to teach us that we all need Jesus Christ to be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. 

These laws were intended to reveal our sin and bring this entire world to the knowledge of guiltiness before a Righteous and Holy God.

Jas 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 

Gal 3:10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 

Even though the Law spoke primarily to this new nation of Israel, it also bore this message to the entire world and especially the Church.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 

We must never be confused. The Law never offered salvation to anyone! 

The Ten Commandments of Moses and those other 603 laws only offered condemnation and damnation!

We might ask ourselves, why then as New Testament Christians, would we study this old book of the Old Testament.

The pure fact is, we can find the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament and we find that in the Book of Leviticus, that all those worship services revolved around the Lord Jesus Christ and how He sacrificed Himself for us.

The greatest lesson of the Old Testament is that it teaches us the character, the love, and the Grace, of our Holy God!

We know that the Book of Leviticus is so named after the tribe of Levi who were the priests for the nation of Israel, just as every child of God is to be a priest and member of the Church after our salvation.

The sacrificial system in this great book points to our Savior and would fulfill every picture through His death on the cross on Mount Calvary.

When the Tabernacle was prepared, according to the Word of God, God began explaining how the worship by these Jews would lead them to the Messiah.

The first seven chapters of Leviticus will teach us about these things.

1) The burnt offerings gave prayers and praise to God the Father.

2) The meat-offering was a pleasing aroma to God the Father as are our prayers.

3) The peace offering demonstrated fellowship through sharing a meal. 

Salvation is all about our renewed fellowship with our Heavenly Father and with each other. Every child of God will one sit at the table with Jesus Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

4) The sin offering was all about the atonement for our sins. The Lord Jesus atoned for all our sin on Mount Calvary!

5) The trespass-offering was about providing compensation for our trespasses against our Holy God. 

We have nothing of value to offer God for our sin. He sent His Son to do this for us!

Gen 22:8  And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

6) All animals were required to be without blemish as was our Savior.

2Co_5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Why? God never enjoyed the slaughter of animals!

Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

God does not take any pleasure in the slaughter of animals!

We must understand that our Holy God required a blood sacrifice, but it was never about those animals.

It was always about the Messiah!

This place called earth was created for humanity. In fact this entire universe was created for humans to show us the glory of Jehovah God.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 

Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 

Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 

Heb 9:26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 

You see, there must be a forgiveness of our sin though we are not worthy of forgiveness!

There must then be a reconciliation to God, for our trespasses which we do not deserve!

Finally, we begin to see a picture of God's Grace.

So let us begin:

*****Lev 16:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; 

Lev 16:2  And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not "at all times" into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 

We must understand that no one can approach our Holy God but according to His rules!

Someday into the future, God will show His wrath to this world, but He has provided a way to avoid seeing His wrath.

All people and even some angels will face the "Judgment" of God!

This is why we need to be reconciled to our Holy God before our death comes, and none of us have any idea when that day will be!

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

You see, it is only Jesus Christ who fulfilled God's holy requirement!

Sin has separated us from God, and it began with Adam and Eve!

Yes, we all have a sin nature! Even that newborn babe!

We learned from the Book of Romans that our Holy God forbids us to continue in sin and He provided the only means of reconciliation and this by His Son, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many are still looking for a messiah, but there could be no one else who could fulfill God's own requirements as was the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who is the fulfillment of all Scripture!

John said Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh!

We see, in a very harsh manner, Aaron had seen that there is a wrong way to approach God and we should all be aware.

Aaron's two sons tried to approach God through self-righteousness, but we have no righteousness of our own and God killed them instantly.

Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

There is only one way to become righteous in the eyes of God and it is by the "Grace" of God!

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Rom 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 

There was only one time each year that the High Priest (Aaron) could enter the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was located, but these two sons of Aaron felt they could enter the Holy of Holies at any time, and it cost them their lives.

We must be able to see that Aaron the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

The Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the day of Atonement, and it is by His death that our sins are forgiven.

This is such an important day that God would never allow it to be abused by those who did not take it seriously!

There is a right way to approach God and there is a wrong way, but we have no righteousness of our own! No one did until the Messiah came!

Heb 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

Heb 10:20  By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 

Heb 10:21  And having an high priest over the house of God; 

Heb 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

*****Lev 16:3  Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. 

Lev 16:4  He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 

Lev 16:5  And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 

Lev 16:6  And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. 

Lev 16:7  And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 

Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 

Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 

In the Old Testament there was a specific preparation to be observed by the High Priest.

Today, the Holy Spirit prepares every Pastor and every child of God, in the study of the Word of God and Prayer after our salvation.

We also know that the High Priest of the Old Testament were to be a symbol, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know that when it came time the Lord Jesus Christ did not back away from His role as High Priest to the Church.

In this passage we see these sacrifices pertain only to the High Priests of the nation of Israel.

1) He had to be prepared to offer the right sacrifices! Any deviation could cost him his life!

A young bull for the Sin Offering.

A ram for a Burnt Offering.

We know the Lord Jesus had no sin and did not have to make a sacrifice for Himself. 

It was the Day of Atonement that our Lord Jesus was sacrificed upon that cruel cross!

2) He had to wash himself and he had to wear the right clothing. Note washing never sanctified anyone. It was only a picture of the regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

He had to remove the beautiful clothing of the High Priest and put on a special clothing, and it is the High Priest where we first see britches in the Bible and there was a specific reason for this.

This white linen clothing represents the righteousness of our Savior!

All the Jews wore robes!

The Hight Priest was never to have the appearance of sin and when the High Priest climbed the stairs to the Altar of Sacrifice then we see a robe could reveal a little too much and nakedness was considered a very great sin since the time of Adam and Eve's sin and their sin was covered by the sacrifice of a lamb.

Today, God tells each of us to never have even the appearance of doing evil.

This clothing of the High Priest was made of linen and symbolized righteousness. 

To stand by God each priest had to project sinless righteousness!

Linen was made from the flax plant, but it can also be made from hemp. 

Maybe, this is the true reason God gave us the hemp plant and not for the drug effect.

3) He had to prepare the right sacrifices for the people!

He had to get two male goats for the Sin Offering and a ram for the Burnt Offering.

One goat to be sacrificed.

The other goat would be taken deep into the wilderness to be set free.

This is a picture of our sin being removed from us forever.

Mic 7:19  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

4) Aaron had to be prepared to offer sacrifices for himself and his household.

He had to offer a bull for his own Sin Offering.

Note: Christ our High Priest had no sin and did not have to make an offering for Himself.

Heb 9:7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

Heb 7:27  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 

Heb 7:28  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

5) Aaron had to always be prepared to offer the right sacrifice for the people. The casting of the lot insured that man did not choose so the results would have to be the choice of Jehovah.

Pro 16:33  The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

The lot was always resorted to by the Jewish Priest with strictest reference to the interposition of God, and as a method of ascertaining the divine will, and in serious cases, of doubt.

Hence it was also the method used to determine chances or preferences, or to decide a debate. 

The decision by lot was often resorted to among the Jews, but always with the strictest reference to the interposition of God.

The High Priests had to always be ready to present that chosen scapegoat to the Lord!

The High Priest was to be a symbol or a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Two goats were used in the Sin Offering because no single picture can fully demonstrate what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us!

**The goat that was sacrificed symbolized the sacrifice of Christ, the ransom price He paid to set us free from sin.

**The goat that was set free was sent alive bearing the sins of the people, symbolized the removal and the taking away of sin, no more visible to our Holy God. 

We know the Lord Jesus took all our sin to Hell the place designed for sin and the father of all sin the Devil.

This is a picture of what our Savior has done for us! 

He paid our Sin Debt that we could not pay and has made us free from sin forever!

We must understand that the Lord Jesus Christ was our Substitute!

Jesus Christ died for my sins, so I do not have to die for them myself!

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

This was the only way we can obtain the "Righteousness" that is required to stand before God the Father.

He bore all our sins, all the sins of everyone who has ever lived in this entire world!

1Pe 2:24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 

1Pe 2:25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 

The doctrine of "Substitution" is important in that through the Lord Jesus Christ's death, the righteous demands of our Heavenly Father have been met!

This was a legal transaction, which means, it was God's own requirement to deal with the sin problem of all humanity in this wicked world.

It is by this action of our Savior, that we have been redeemed and are now the servants of God!

1Co 7:23  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 

1Co 7:24  Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. 

Since we are bought by the blood of Jesus, then we are truly His slaves!

Slaves to the world is a terrible thing, but being a slave to our Savior is a wonderful thing!

We have been removed from the curse of this world!

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 

Gal 3:14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

What was the blessing of Abraham?

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

We are bought by the blood of the sacrifice of our Savior and now have hope!

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 

1Pe 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

1Th_1:3  Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

We have become a special possession of our Savior!

Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

This is why the true Christian is so noticeable to this world and why the world hates us so much!

We that believe have been reconciled to God!

The barrier that was once between us and our God, has been removed!

Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 

Col 1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

These are all things we can learn from the Book of Leviticus and the books of the Old Testament.

It was humanity that moved away from God, and it is still happening!

It is humanity that needs to be reconciled to God to renew our fellowship with our Holy God and then God will heal our lands.

2Ch 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

As Christians we are the people of God. 

The one thing God expected from the Jews and now expects from the Church is for us to represent Him accurately to the world.

We cannot do this if we refuse the study of the Word of God including the study of the Old Testament!

Amen