Leviticus 5-7, Catching Holiness

 “Any male among Aaron’s descendants  may eat it. It is a permanent portion , throughout your generations from the food offerings to the Lord. Anything that touches the offerings will become holy.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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It’s very interesting that most of the laws about touching things will bring the touches down to the level of the “unclean” thing…this seems logical.  Contamination of germs and illnesses work like this. But the sacrifices are the opposite, anything that touches them, becomes holy like they are!  This is a pointer to Jesus who had the same impact on people who were sick, they could touch Him and be healed…He would ultimately become the sacrifice for my  sin.

Leviticus 1-4, Sinful Ignorance

 ““Now if any of the common people  sins unintentionally by violating one of the Lord’s commands, does what is prohibited, and incurs guilt, or if someone informs him about the sin he has committed, then he is to bring an unblemished female goat as his offering for the sin that he has committed. He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭4‬:‭27‬-‭29‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Interesting that there is a whole chapter dedicated to sacrificing for people who unintentionally sin, but someone tells them about it.  Obviously when it domes to sin, ignorance is not absolution…you are still guilty of sin if it had been committed!  This is an example where Gods standards are so much higher than ours.

I am so thankful that God points this out, because I think it is easy to slip into shrinking God down to our size, or making Him like us, only a little better…but there really is no comparison!  He is incomparable to us, just so much higher and more holy.

Lord, thank You for caring enough about me to make a way for relationship with You.  And thank You that because of Jesus, the process is so much simpler.  Lord, help me to trust You at every moment of life!

Exodus 39-40, Organized & Orderly

 “So all the work for the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.  Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them. ”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭39‬:‭32‬, ‭43‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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The order and organization to accomplish all these things just the right way is pretty impressive.  God was clearly energizing this work and the people were blessed to have done it well!

Lord, help me to be as motivated and organized as the Israelites when You call me to a task!

Exodus 36-38, Superabundance

 “Then all the artisans who were doing all the work for the sanctuary came one by one from the work they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than is needed  for the construction of the work the Lord commanded to be done.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭36‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I love how we see God supplying superabundantly for the work He has commanded.  It is not just scraping by, but Moses has to tell the people to stop giving because they have too much!  

Exodus 33-35, Supernatural Equipping

 “Moses  then said to the Israelites, “Look, the Lord has appointed by name Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. He has filled him with God’s Spirit, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in every kind of craft”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭35‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God giving His people all the skill required to accomplish His plan is such a blessing.  This is one place where special gifts are given to unique individuals, but I know that if He asks me to do something He will equip me to accomplish that work…He doesn’t throw us into an impossible task and let us flounder.  This is something I need to remember more constantly.

Exodus 30-32, Ransom for Many

 “The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the Lord to atone for your lives.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭30‬:‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This atonement ransom interestingly points to the gospel.  The amount of the ransom is not correlated to how much they can afford, or their position or even reputation…they all needed the same ransom, just like we all need the same payment for our sins.  Jesus is the only possible payment for the ransom we owe and God was pointing that out here, thousands of years before He even sent Jesus.

Exodus 28-29, Set Apart

 “I will dwell  among the Israelites and be their God.  And they will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭29‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God is once again very particular about how they accomplish all these things…but then He tells us why at the very end of these last 5 chapters:

“And they will know that I am the Lord their God.”

It is an identity statement, a reminder that they/we are not like every other people, but rather they/we are Gods people.  We are consecrated, set apart, different, a holy priesthood… if that is how I viewed myself at all times, I suspect I would have less displeasing sin in my life.

Lord, help me to embrace the calling that I am not just another person, but rather the identity You give me in Christ!