Skip to main content

Leviticus 16-19

Leviticus

16:1-34 -  God is ‘holy‘. We cannot ‘draw near’ and ‘come’ to Him without a ‘sin offering’ (1-3).  We cannot bring ‘a sin offering’ to Him.  We can only bring our sin:  Our righteousness is ‘like filthy rags’ (Isaiah  64:6).  There is a ‘way’ for sinners to ‘draw near’ to God: Christ is the true and living Way (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:19-22).  In verses 20-22, we have a great picture of Christ bearing the sin of the world: ‘Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood… Full atonement, – Yes it is! Hallelujah! What a Saviour!’ (Church Hymnary, 380).  Atonement has been made for us…We have been cleansed from all our sins (30):  What a perfect atonement!  What a perfect Saviour! – ‘God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 6:14).
17:1-18:23 -  We are to be devoted ‘to the Lord’ (17:4-6,9):  ‘You are not your own; you were bought with a price’ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Underlying Christ’s atoning death, there is this principle: ‘the life… is in the blood… I have given it for you… to make atonement…’ (17:11).  Christ has shed His blood:  He has given His life that we might have life.  God looks upon His Son, crucified for us: He ‘has commanded the blessing, life for evermore’ (Psalm 133:3).  We confess our sin, acknowledging that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins’ (Hebrews 9:22).  With grateful thanksgiving, we rejoice in our Saviour, ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29).  ‘Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power…’ (Mission Praise, 671).
18:24-19:37 -  Holiness and love – the two belong together (1,18,34).  God calls us to live a life of holiness, a life of love.  Through His Spirit – the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love – , He enables us to live this life.  We need His promises.  We need His commands.  Take them both together – not one without the other!  Promises without commands – We take God for granted, we presume on His blessing.  Commands without promises – Our ‘obedience’ becomes a legalistic thing which has nothing to do with the Gospel of grace.  We are to ‘be holy… before Him in love‘ (Ephesians 1:4).  ‘The holiness without which no one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14) is to be accompanied by the ‘love’ without which we are ‘nothing’ (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).  The Lord has redeemed us: By His grace, we shall ‘be holy… in love’ (34,36).



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joshua 4-6

Joshua 4:1-24   -  ‘These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel for ever’ (7). When, in the future, the question was asked, ‘What do these stones mean?’(6), Israel would remember what the Lord had done for them (23). Knowing that ‘the hand of the Lord is mighty’, they would be strengthened to face their difficulties with confidence in God. Rejoicing in what the Lord has done - ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes’ - , they would learn to ‘fear the Lord their God for ever’ (24; Psalm 118:23). Israel remembered. We must remember. When you’re going through a hard time, don’t forget - to remember! God has been good to you. He has blessed you. When God seems so far away, remember - and pray that, once again, ‘times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord’ (Acts 3:19). 5:1-15   -  As you read about circumcision (2-7) and the Passover (10), think also of Paul’s words in Romans 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - ‘r...
2 comments
Read more

Genesis 4-6

Genesis 4:1-5 The name of Abel appears among ‘the heroes of the faith’ (Hebrews 11:14). The story of Abel is a story of grace, faith and obedience. Abel's sacrifice was a blood sacrifice while Cain’s was a fruit sacrifice (3-4). The blood sacrifice points forward - via the Old Testament sacrificial system - to the greatest sacrifice of all - ‘the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7; Hebrews 9:12). The blood sacrifice points to salvation by grace - ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’ (Hebrews 9:22). Abel’s sacrifice was an act of faith: ‘By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain did’ (Hebrews 11:4). The blood reminds us that true faith is always faith in Christ and never ‘faith’ in anything we can ever offer to God. Abel was obedient, bringing ‘the firstborn’ to God. ‘In the course of time Cain brought some...’. 4:6-16 In the story of Cain, we see the development of sin. Jealousy leads to anger, and anger l...
1 comment
Read more

Jeremiah 26-28

Jeremiah 26:1-24   -  ‘He has spoken to us in the Name of the Lord our God’ (16). Jeremiah was a true servant of the Lord. We need people like him today. He was faithful. He was unashamed of his Lord. He was unafraid to speak up for his Lord. We see this same faithfulness in Christ’s apostles: ‘Day after day, in the temple and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and preaching the Good News that Jesus is the Christ’ (Acts 5:42). We could do with people like that today, people who are enthusiastic about sharing the Gospel, people who are eager to win others for Christ. We can be people like that. God can make us like that - if we let Him! As you hear the Word of the Lord in Church, as you read His Word in your own home, pray that God will give you the strength to share with others the Word He has given to you. 27:1-22   -  ‘They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them. Then I will bring them and r...
Post a Comment
Read more