Friday, July 14, 2017

Now looking into Leviticus...

Looking at Leviticus is like walking through a thicket of dos and don'ts. I am looking at sacrifices and I can see the sacrifice of Christ which was far superior to any animal sacrifice or combination of sacrifices and God seemed to be setting the value system of heaven for the dummies that we are. There is no comparison to the sacrifice of Christ.

Now, as I look at the clean and unclean animals, I say that is something that I now a little bit about. I grew up looking at this and that as yucky, not to mention Kosher or unKosher.

When I go into the laws, I remember the sheet that came down to Peter. God had to announce from Heaven, "Don't call something unclean that I have cleansed!" What an eyeopener, must this revelation have been to a believing Jew of the first century, much less Peter; who walked with Jesus. I am sure that they thought that the cleansing that Jesus came to do, was to make them more Kosher than even the Jews were. What is this about going down, instead of going up? God would spend the rest of New Testament history explaining that He is not an exclusivist, but an inclusiveness. He sets the ground rules and none of us deserve Heaven. Even with all of the sacrifices that have been from the earliest of times to now, piled up together; without Christ we all should be crumpled as a piece of paper and thrown into the fire. Not the righteous...Sinners, Jesus came to call.

Why do we know the ten commandments? says the catechism. Why do we study the book of Leviticus, with any real mental ascent? The Ten Commandments teach us our duty before God and show us our need of a Savior!

Lord, we should say, I am one of those unclean animals, but for the Grace of God and the sacrifice of God and am not even fit to be placed on the altar of sacrifice as for your use, but you have made me clean and you have made us a Kingdom of Priests, who were fit for the refuse pile and despised. How shall we escape that refuse, if we neglect so great a salvation? Grant grace and favor, dear Lord. Help us see our despised state and use it to be humbled to glorify you. In Jesus' only pure name. Amen.Amazing Grace is found in Leviticus, amen.

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