Reading notes - week 10

Resist the temptation to skim over these chapters. Let’s don’t think of them as “the Law, which no longer applies to us”. Instead, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the connection to the New Testament and especially the foreshadowing of the glory of the coming Messiah.

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Reading notes -week 9

So much richness in these chapters!

I love how Exodus 31 tells us that God gifted Bezalel with wisdom, understanding, knowledge,and craftsmanship. God supplies and gifts the people He calls to accomplish His plan - then as well as today. What a beautiful message for the Church - not all of us are preachers or teachers - God gifts artists, carpenters, musicians and bakers, too!

Chapter 36 - the people brought more than was needed - wow! I wonder how many churches have that problem!!!!

Chapter 40 - the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. This filling is also prophesied for the Millennial Temple. What a beautiful reminder that we believers today are the temple of the Holy Spirit - this same glory and power fills us today! 2 Corinthians 4:7 - “but we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves”. Amen!

Leviticus 1-4 — the book of Leviticus details the work of the priests, the Levites. It’s like their instruction manual, which helps us better understand the information in here. This book describes the role of sacrifice in God’s plan of salvation. It is the way we grasp the fact of God’s holiness, our sin and consequent separation, and the cost of sin.

We see here the five types of sacrifices: burnt offering, grain offerings, peace offering, sin(purification) offering, guilt (reparation) offering. It is important to understand a couple of things about sacrifices - the sacrifices did not save a person. They were an outward expression of a person’s faith, their inward desire to restore the broken relationship with God. Salvation has always been by grace through faith alone! The sacrifices are a picture of God’s saying that those covered by the blood are free from the consequences of sin. That s true of the Old Testament sacrifices…and of the ultimate and final sacrifice of Christ.

One more thought about the sacrifices this week - all through these chapters, we are told that the burning of the offerings brought a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Whatever does that mean? That God likes the smell of burnt meat?

I think not. Rather, I believe the clue is found in Revelation 5:8, where John tells us that, in Heaven, there are golden bowls of incense burning. And that the incense therein is “the prayers of the saints”! How beautiful is that! The aroma from the Old Testament sacrifices are the smell of God’s people coming before Him in prayer and repentance, pursuing fellowship with Him….just like our prayers are today!