Being Of Service

Posted by Christina Scovone on Thursday, February 3, 2011

King James Daily Bible Study: Being Of Service
Date: Thursday February 03, 2011
Chapters: Leviticus 7,8
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-february-3
Details of Today's Reading: God concludes the instructions given to Moses regarding the sin and trespass offering, the wave and heave offerings, and the consecration of Aaron and his sons.

Hello My Friend/Guest,
The word reconciled is defined as to win over to friendliness, to bring into agreement or harmony, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior than you are reconciled with God, you have won Him over through your faith in His Son. Most people will be reconciled with God just enough to get their foot in the door to heaven, they will never really know what it is like to truly be reconciled with God until their last days here on earth. A few of us will go on and not only be reconciled with God, but be of service to Him as well. We will endure the tests, trials, and tribulations and become a testimony for others to follow. “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” - Romans 5:9,10.

Even though we can be of service to God we too can mess up, we are not perfect nor will we ever be. We are all sinners saved by grace, praise God! So, when we mess up, what happens? We make it right with God, we reconcile our relationship with Him through repentance. Before Jesus came to repent one had to bring a sin offering, and perhaps even a trespass offering, if the sin was really bad, one knowingly committed.

“Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar. And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away: And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.” - Leviticus 7:1-6.

The sinner was not allowed to partake of the eating of the flesh of a sin or trespass offering, the sacrifice was divided between the altar and the priest. The reason the sinner was not allowed to eat the sacrifice was because the offering was an expression of repentance and sorrow for the sin, therefore, it was more proper to fast than feast. There are times in our lives when we just have to cry before God and say I am sorry, even if we have not done anything wrong that we can remember. I have a habit of keeping things that bother me all bottled up and when that happens I can feel estranged from God and everything else in my life too. When I get to that point I just wrap my arms around my head, bow down, and cry out to God. He needs to hear our love and dependance of Him, there is no better way to be reconciled with God is by crying out to Him. “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” - Psalm 34:15-18.

Once a sinner brought forth his sin or trespass offering he was reconciled with God and able to communicate with Him once more. Next came the peace-offerings, which were an expression of thanks to God having shown him forgiveness.

“And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.” - Leviticus 7:11-14.

The heave offering meant that the offering was raised up to God, representing mercy and complete devotion to God. Since Jesus became our sin and trespass offering we are to give ourselves as a living sacrifice to show complete devotion to God. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” - Romans 12:1.

You think the sinner had to go through a lot to be saved, the priests had to do more than that. Before a priest could even accept a sacrifice from an offender, he too had to reconciled with God. He had to be completely cleansed and atone for his own sins before he was able to assist God in accepting the sacrifices that would be an atonement for others.

“And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim... And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he brought the bullock for the sin offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it...And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” - Leviticus 8:6-8,13-15,22-24.

Three animals had to be sacrificed, along with a meat offering, the ram of congregation was the sacrifice that would set them apart from the common people, it made them holy before God and able to receive the sacrifices. Upon killing the sacrifice each priest had to apply blood to parts of their body. When applied to the right ear, it meant that they were to keep their ears holy, meaning they were to avoid hearing anything that would violate their congregation to God or distract them from hearing His voice. When applied to the right thumb, it meant that the hands were qualified to accept the gifts and sacrifices for God and they were not to touch any unclean thing. When applied to the right big toe, it meant that they were now holy before God and had to be careful where they were walking as to not defile their bodies. This all represents presenting ourselves holy before God in all that we hear, touch, and step foot in. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,” - II Peter 3:11.

Jesus Christ Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through Moses as he consecrated the priests who were called for the work. Jesus consecrates all whom He chooses. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” - I Peter 2:9,10.