April 1, 2014 Holy Oil

Holy Oil

Exodus 30 

Ex 30:30-33 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.’”

GOD continues to precisely instruct his people. Exodus 30:22-25 contains a specific recipe for making the oil to anoint God’s priests. The sanctity of the priesthood is also prescribed as God warns that anyone who makes this oil for another purpose must be cut off from the nation.

      This sounds so “legalistic” in our culture. Why should it matter what’s in the anointing oil? Why should it matter whether the anointing oil recipe is used for anything else?

      It matters because God said it matters. Everything God has done, is doing and will do is designed to show you he is holy, separate from the world. Witness his words at creation, “God saw that it was good.” (Gen 1:25) And hear his words at the end of time, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. (Revelation 22:3)

      He is Master of all things. Why would we not immediately obey his every word, even if it seems legalistic, nit-picky or silly? Words from God are Holy. That’s why it’s called the “Holy Bible”. Separate yourself from the culture’s words and listen to God.

LIFE Link: Listen to the holiness in God’s commands and discover life.

March 31, 2014 Love

Love

Exodus 29

Exodus 29:44-46 “So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”

THERE’S a universe of competition for our devotion and love. God knew his chosen people would be tempted daily to follow other gods, to ignore his law, and to live life in the way they desired. Amid the competition, God acted so “They will know I am the LORD their God.” Yes, God formed this people, the Hebrews, to be his people.

      To truly make them his own, he acted into their lives to personally connect with them. One way he did so was through priests who would go among the nation to represent his love and his law to them. All the priests’ activities would be for the purpose of reminding them of God’s love to bless them as their God. Their sacrifices, rituals and feasts were to keep alive the memory of their LORD’s miracles that brought them out of Egyptian slavery.        

      Then centuries later the LORD sent his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus personally demonstrated God’s law and love to the Jews. Today the Holy Spirit is God’s presence to remind us that Jesus’ loving sacrifice freed us from sin’s bondage. In the Spirit’s power and knowledge, we read the Bible to know the truth and to keep God’s Word alive in our heart and our mind. The Spirit turns our hearts to believe in the Son of God that we are truly God’s own.

     

LIFE Link: God loves you.

March 30, 2014 A Beautiful View

A Holy View

Exodus 28

Ex 28:1-2 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor.”

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v. 29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord.”

WE live in a wonderful time to see the fullness of God’s salvation plan weave its way through history. Look back to this time as God formed the priestly office and see how he designed it to serve God as they took God’s ways of justice and forgiveness to his people. The priests would be sure to obey God’s sacrifice laws so Israel would be forgiven their sins and proclaimed innocent before God. As it is described how Aaron bore on his breastpiece the names of the sons of Israel, he is representing the whole nation in God’s presence.  

      Yes, look back at the priests and then view them as men who were a type—a picture of—the Servant Savior and Great High Priest Jesus. One day he would come in perfect obedience to God’s laws of sacrifice. Jesus would serve the Father in his obedience to the cross so that God’s forgiveness would transcend to his chosen people. Going to the Holy Place on Golgotha and dieing there, Jesus is now your great High Priest. He bore the names of Gods’ chosen people through time yet to come on his heart that day so that they (you?) would receive the forgiveness of sins. Joyfully, as you confess Jesus, your name is written in the Book of Life because the Father has fulfilled his plan of salvation in the Son.

       

LIFE Link: The view of God’s salvation picture is a beautiful view, isn’t it?  

March 29, 2014 God's Light

God’s Light

Exodus 27

Ex 27:20-21 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 21 The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant.”

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

THESE two scriptures are in a very different time of God’s plan of salvation. How does Jesus’ claim, “I am the light of the world.” connect to the light continually burning in the tabernacle, a movable structure in the desert? When you read the Old Testament and study what God is doing in that time in history, it becomes clear he had a specific plan for the future. During Israel’s desert journey, God gave the light to be at the altar of the tabernacle. He did so to show his people he is constantly present with them and to show them that proper worship is the way to his blessings of life with him.

      Jesus became the physical evidence of that lampstand light. His gospel teachings pierce sin’s darkness to show that worshiping God through confessing your sins and confessing Jesus as Lord is the way to the eternal light of heaven.

      God’s story of salvation is evident throughout the Bible as the stories describe how God is with us to welcome us into his light of eternal glory.

      Accept Jesus, the Light of the World. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fuel your heart that the Gospel truths will burn brightly in your life. Then be a beam of salvation’s light for your friends and family who live in darkness.

LIFE Link: Light leads to life.

March 28, 2014 Precise

Precise

Exodus 26  

Ex 26:1-3 “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. 2 All the curtains are to be the same size — twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.  3 Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five.”

FOR some reason we think we can be casual in our relationship with God. Perhaps we think this way because we’ve heard the Bible’s teachings, “God is love.” (1 John 4:16) and “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) thinking these words are, in effect, permission from God to live and worship in our own casual preferences. It seems our thoughts go along such lines as, “Certainly, God loves me, and he understands why I can’t worship in church this week. Certainly, God will forgive me if I put my time above time for him.”

      But what we read here and throughout the Bible is that God is very precise in his requirements. Many will consider reading the details of constructing the tabernacle a boring exercise, something that can be left to only the scholars who care. But in truth, God’s instructions are a fascinating read for anyone who cares to understand our Father, who is in heaven.

      We must understand God is holy. He has standards. He displays his glory in the precise creation of the universe, and his glory comes forth in the precise law and even in how to build a place of worship.

      Be glad and rejoice your God is precise. He precisely obeyed his own law to send Jesus to die because it was the supreme demonstration of the Father’s love, and it is precisely the only way you can be saved.

LIFE Link: Where in your relationship with God must you be more precise?