Day 32 or February 1 Offerings from Faithful Followers
Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus chapter 1 verses 1 and 2.
The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.
He said, Speak to the Israelites and say to them, When anyone among you brings an offering
to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
Now the big picture surrounding these verses.
The storyline of God's people has paused while they erect the tabernacle for the very first time.
Now in the book of Leviticus it's back to the lecture hall for a whole series of teaching about
the offerings and feasts of Judaism. This book takes place at the foot of Mount Sinai
and prepares the people to be God's holy people. Of course there have been no sacrificial offerings
since the Romans destroyed the temple almost 2,000 years ago in 70 AD. The sacrificial emphasis of
Judaism has been fulfilled in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is a sacrifice
once and for all. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 10. So there is no need for any more.
That's probably why God allowed the Romans to raise the temple to the ground. It was no longer
needed. Now today's action step. There are three sacrifices detailed in the first three chapters of
Leviticus. Each one of them is intended for the use of anyone who is in fellowship with God,
but who has failed in some way. All of us know this experience and we can all empathize with the
sinner. Our relationship with God through Jesus is not a once-for-all cure for daily sinning.
It's a once-for-all forgiveness, which we constantly need to hear as we are refreshed by the
Holy Spirit. Of course we do not offer an actual sacrifice nowadays, but a prayer for forgiveness
instead, because Jesus Christ has covered the cost of being the ultimate sacrifice. However,
every time we fail it's as if we are saying that the sacrifice of Christ is inadequate. None of us
would say that. So we need to live our lives to show that we don't believe it either.