The meat offering

Leviticus 2: 1-10, “And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar. And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.”

There were various kinds of offerings for various purposes. The burnt offering was for sin but the meat offering was to give pleasure to the Lord so that He could receive a sweet savour from the offering. Some of this offering was burnt for the Lord but the rest of the offering was for the priest. The same principle applies today. The people who serve the Lord in a full time capacity need to be supported without restriction. They are not to look for the money or force others to give but the people who are blessed by their service should give graciously and gratefully for the Lord has given us all so much.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Of the sheep or of the goats

Leviticus 1: 10-17, “And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.”

There was an offering available to everyone in the nation of Israel some could bring sheep while others could bring goats or cattle and others could bring birds. These offerings were available to every strata of their society, rich or poor. Everyone was able to bring what they could afford and all were acceptable to the Lord. No matter what was brought, it came up as a sweet savour to the Lord.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Let him offer

Leviticus 1: 3-9, “If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.”

When Noah first came out of the ark he offered a burnt offering to the Lord (Gen 8: 20, “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”) The Lord was pleased with this offering and He decided that He would never curse the ground again even though man’s heart was evil. The Lord is pleased with burnt offerings and He is satisfied with this kind of offering for sin. If a person in Israel wanted to give a voluntary offering to the Lord to cover their sin they could bring a burnt offering to the Lord and the Lord would accept the offering and make atonement. When atonement is made we are “at one “with the Lord again even though we have sinned. Even though the offering was burnt its blood was shed first and poured out on the altar. Blood represents a life given, in this case, the life is given as a substitute for the life of the sinner and the Lord is satisfied. We know this because the offering came up as a sweet smell to the Lord, making the Lord pleased.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Bring your offering

Leviticus 1: 1, 2, “And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.”

Exodus tells us how the Lord established His people with their ceremonial religion so that they could be His people and could have a way of dealing with their sin. However, this wasn’t the end of the story, it was just the beginning. They were given these divine procedures so that they could live a full and satisfying life to the glory of God. Day by day they could come to the Lord and offer him gifts from the bountiful things that He had already given them. The Lord gave them out of His own abundance and they could give back a part of what He gave them and keep far more for themselves. The Lord calls people today under the same circumstance. His calling is not the end point but the beginning of a rich and enjoyable life lived in relationship with Him.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

A summary of Exodus

The book of Exodus begins with a relatively long introduction to give the reader context for the significant part of the book. It probably only took a few months to get from Ex 3-Ex 12 but the first few chapter took many years. The rest of the book took fourteen days less than one year.

The book of Exodus begins with a story of betrayal. Joseph saved Egypt from destruction but his people were enslaved because the Egyptians were afraid of them. Pharaoh even tried to commit genocide by asking the midwives to kill all the male children that were born in Israel. The midwives refused to do that. One particular boy survived and he was called Moses. His mother tried to hide him at home but as he grew she was afraid so the committed him to the Lord and put him in an ark of bullrushes on the River Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and adopted him as her own but appointed his own mother as wet nurse.

Moses spent forty years being trained in the Egyptian palace and he learned all the wisdom of Egypt. However, he could not forget the things that his mother taught him when he was a child. When he was forty years old he tried to identify with his own people and then killed and Egyptian who was beating an Israeli. Moses had to leave Egypt and spent the next forty years in the Midianites desert where he was married and he cared for his father in law’s sheep. Moses met the Lord and the Lord told him to return to Egypt to free His people from slavery. Moses spent these forty years unlearning all the wisdom of Egypt so the Lord could use him.

Moses met his brother Aaron and they went to Pharaoh and asked him to set Israel free. At first Pharaoh refused even though the Lord bought plagues on Egypt. However the final plague involved the death of all the firstborn of Egypt and he was afraid that all the Egyptians would die so he let Israel go. The Lord gave Israel special protection under the blood of a sacrificial lamb during the last plague and Israel celebrated their first Passover. The Lord then gave Israel regulations concerning the Passover so that they would not forget where they came from, as long as they followed the Lord’s recommendations.

Israel went east from Egypt and through the Sinai peninsula. Pharaoh decided that he would bring the slaves back so he chased after them with his army but the Lord saved Israel and destroyed all the Egyptian armies when they tried to follow Israel through the parted Red Sea. Israel the Lord and the great victory that He had given them that day.

The people grumbles about food and water as they went through the desert and the Lord fed them and gave them water. Moses father in law, Jethro, visited Moses and gave him some good advice, really this advice came from the Lord but Jethro acted as His agent.

Moses made preparations to meet the Lord and make the covenant between the Lord and His people. The Lord appeared before the Lord on Mt Sinai and then He addressed the people directly giving the the Ten Commandments which were to be the foundation of their relationship with the Lord.

While the Lord gave the Ten Commandments as a simple foundation for all Israel’s activities as the Lord’s people, He also gave them instructions and regulations so that they would be able to apply these Commandments in a consistent way in all the different situations they faced from day to day. They were also sinners and the Lord established a system of sacrifices and offerings to deal with their sin.

Moses went up into the mountain to meet with the Lord and was given specific details concerning the Tabernacle, the priesthood and the Sabbath. While Moses was on the mountain, Israel rebelled against the Lord and worshipped the golden calf. Moses acted as a mediator between the Lord and the people and the Lord did not destroy them for their sin.

Israel began to build the tabernacle and make the priestly garments. Moses inspected the work and then the Tabernacle and all its instruments were put in place before the priests were sanctified and the Lord’s presence descended onto the Tabernacle.

In less than a year the Lord took a group of slaves and made them into a nation with an established ceremonial system of worship.

The book of Exodus is composed of blocks of material which usually have clearly marked beginnings and ends. The different episodes are rarely self-contained. They assume a knowledge of earlier material and anticipate later events. To understand Exodus it is important to follow the flow of the narrative and see how the various episodes relate to each other.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

A cloud covered the tent

Exodus 40: 34-38, “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.”

When everything was finished and the ceremonial part of Israel’s life was properly established then they were ready to move on at the Lord’s command. This is also true in our lives. We are not really ready to move forward in the Lord’s service unless we have everything in place to serve Him. However, all we have to do is believe God and then we are ready to serve Him.(compare Gen 15: 6, “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” and Gen 6: 6-8, “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”) The question is not a matter of what I can bring to the Lord but what I believe that the Lord can do for me.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

So Moses finished the work

Exodus 40: 16-33, “Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he. And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars. And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark: And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail: And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.”

Moses did what the Lord commanded him to do and the work was finished. King Solomon wrote a Psalm about the building of the Temple and he wrote, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalm 127: 1) The same is true of the Tabernacle, Moses built it but it was the Lord’s plan for it to be built so nothing could stop the plan from coming into being. Moses also had the right attitude for he did as the Lord commanded him to do and the work was finished. Anyone who wants to work for the Lord would do well to remember that work for the Lord is a matter of small people doing small things in a small way, in conjunction with Almighty God doing almighty things in His almighty way. If we remember this then the glory will always go the right person, the Lord Himself.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1