Today's Passage: Leviticus 17
Once again, we look at the title for Leviticus 17, "Eating Blood Forbidden", and most likely we think, "What in the world could God have for me in this today?" There are two very important principles that we would be wise to put into practice today.
First, notice that the location of the sacrifice was very important to God (verses 1-9). The Israelites were told not to offer these sacrifices anywhere but the tabernacle tent. They had apparently gotten into the practice of worshiping out in the fields instead of coming into the presence of the Lord. This practice had also meant that several of them were making sacrifices the wrong way...some even making sacrifices they thought were for God but were in the manner of idol worship.
There is something special about being in God's house when we worship. We can say that we worship God just as well on the boat, on the course, or staying in bed on a Sunday, but we all know that's just not the case. "Worshiping" somewhere other than God's house is like telling your wife you want to celebrate her birthday by playing golf with friends. You tell her you'll be thinking about her, playing in her honor, or even telling all your friends how great she is....but how do you think that would go over with her? It's awfully hard to celebrate someone when you don't give them what they want the most...your undivided attention. Many times these "worship" experiences turn into idol worship because we are separated from the source of holiness itself.
The other important idea from this chapter is the importance of the blood. Blood was considered the source of life. When a person sacrificed an animal for atonement of sin, it was the spilling of that life-blood that brought forgiveness. We now understand that while that blood offered a temporary solution, the life-blood of Jesus Christ was shed for eternal forgiveness of sin. That precious blood is the source for life! We should treat the sacrifice of Christ with the utmost respect by loving Him with all we have to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment
To help us in moderating our comments, we are asking all blog followers to e-mail michael@bearcreek.cc before their first comment. Please include in your e-mail your Blog user name. We are sorry for any inconvenience.