THURSDAY, 20 APRIL 2023
TEXT:
Leviticus 16:1-19
1:
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when
they approached the Lord.
2:
The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come
whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the
atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud
over the atonement cover.
3:
“This
is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull
for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4:
He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his
body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These
are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them
on.
5:
From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering
and a ram for a burnt offering.
6:
“Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for
himself and his household.
7:
Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance
to the tent of meeting.
8:
He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the
scapegoat.
9:
Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a
sin offering.
10:
But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the
Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a
scapegoat.
11:
“Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for
himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin
offering.
12:
He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and
two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the
curtain.
13:
He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the
incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law,
so that he will not die.
14:
He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the
front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger
seven times before the atonement cover.
15:
“He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take
its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He
shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it.
16:
In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the
uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He
is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of
their uncleanness.
17:
No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make
atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for
himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
18:
“Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement
for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and
put it on all the horns of the altar.
19:
He
shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse
it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
JESUS PAID IT ALL
Specific
instructions must be followed for the special sacrifice to be accepted. Any
mistake could lead to Aaron's death. An important aspect of the procedure was
that Aaron should never appear before the presence of God "whenever he
chooses" (verse 2).
Second,
he must first offer sacrifice for his personal atonement in order to purify
himself to be qualified to appear before God to offer the sacrifice for the
atonement of the sins of the rest of Israel.
This
is a process that must be repeated year in, year out. But all of those who have
accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord have been saved from this. We
have not only been redeemed but have also been granted the privilege of
becoming priests and a kingdom to serve our God (Hebrews 4:16; Revelation
5:10).
Also,
we don't have to approach God with the fear of death but as children to their
father (John 1:12) along with the confidence to always approach Him directly (2
Timothy 1:7).
All
of these are because Jesus paid it all for our salvation through offering
Himself once and for all time as our atoning sacrifice.
QUESTION:
Have you claimed your place in the kingdom of God through the atoning sacrifice
of Jesus?
PRAYER:
Your response to the above question should guide your personal prayer.
Remain
Blessed
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