Leviticus
6-8 Preparation before Presentation
Intro: Over the past few
weeks we have been studying the SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM that is found in the first 7
ch. of LEVITICUS
A)There
are FIVE sacrifices prescribed by God whereby man could have fellowship with God
1.) The BURNT
OFFERING
Speaks of the consecration of self
All was laid on the altar and all was consumed on the altar
2.) MEAL The
OFFERING Speaks of consecration of service
The gifts that God has given to us are to be given back to
Him and used for Him..... empowered and energized by Him
3.) The PEACE
OFFERING Speaks of fellowship/ The Holy bar-b-que
Part waved before the Lord.... Part eaten by priest.... Part
eaten by the one brining the offering
4.) The SIN OFFERING
A) Deals with the FACT of sin
We have a sin nature that manifests itself daily
5.) The TRESPASS
OFFERING deals with the ACT of sin
A) Specific things that were committed
B)The TRESPASS OFFERING differed from
the SIN OFFERING in that
it required RESTITUTION/
That is... Making the wrong right
C)As far as our sin
offering goes, there is NOTHING that we can do
It is only what Jesus has done that can make that
situation right
D)BUT - In the TRESPASS
OFFERING there was to be restitution/ 20%
A) Was the Lord just giving
us extra reading when He did that?/ NO
In this account The Lord gives
some extra detail
B) Each of these offerings have 2 Purposes 1st they give PRACTICAL
APPLICATION to us
C) Burnt offering Total Consecration of Self The animal was
completely consumed - GOD WANTS TO TOTALLY CONSUME US
1)
Not
to Burn us out but to brighten us up He wants all
V. 9,13 Altar always
burning night & day
A)Our need to STAY ON THE
ALTAR -
Rom. 12 : I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to
God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
A)v.16 we are told that
Aaron & His sons were to eat of the offering
B) V.20 they were to give 1/10 back -
C) Speaks of our need to first receive from the Lord & then take what He
has given to us & give it back Filled & poured out
SIN
OFFERING V.24-30
A)V.28 Earthen vessel
Broken / Pot washed with the greatest care
B)Now The Purpose was not because the vessels had been defiled, but the reversebecause the flesh of the sin offering having been boiled in them, those vessels were now too sacred for ordinary use.
C)The design of all these minute ceremonies was to impress the minds, both of priests and people, with a sense of the evil nature of sin
1) and the care they should take to prevent the least taint of its impurities
from clinging to them.
A)Interesting v.8-10 the
Skin of the Sacrifice went to the priest
B) Misnah
believed that this pointed back to Gen. 3 Man sinned saw that He was
naked God clothed man w/ the skin of a trespass offering
C) The Sacrifice of Christ
not only pays the price for our Trespasses
1)
But
also the Lord doesnt leave us naked we are clothed in the Righteousness of
Christ
PEACE
OFFERING V. 11- 36
A)Reminder of two things
FREEWILL OFFERING
B) 2nd For
THANKSGIVING V.12 FOR FELLOWHIP
C) Also Aaron & His sons
received v. 28-34 the Breast & the Thigh or the Shoulder the Breast speaks of Christ Love for us
1)
The
Shoulder of speaks of Christ Power &
Strength
A)BUT - More importantly,
they POINT to Jesus- here is what is
interesting to me is the order is Changed
B) Starts w/ the Burnt
offering Christ Total Consecration of self
1) Jesus gave Himself totally to the Lord for us
C)Jesus is our BURNT OFFERING
Eph. 5:2 And
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet
smelling savor.
A)Consecration of service I always do those things that please the father
2Cor. 5:21 For
he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
A)He died for specific sins
Eph. 2
4But God, who is
rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even
when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace
you have been saved),
Rom. 5:1 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
What a WONDERFUL SAVIOUR we
have in Jesus
This brings us to CHAPTER 8 read v.1-5
A)Aaron and his sons...... Nadab, Abihu, Eliazer, Ithamar..... Are about to be presented to the people
B) But They are FIRST going through a time of PREPARATION
1) NOTE: Before PRESENTATION comes PREPARATION
C) Moses / David / Joseph / Paul 3 yrs Arabia / Disciples
D) You might feel like you are spinning your wheels
1) Word of God says: (ZECH. 4) Do not despise the days of small things
Those are the times of PREPARATION
E)Be faithful in those small things that he has called you to do
IF you are
faithful in small things, you will be made ruler over much
F) This PREPARATION before PRESENTATION is God's way
Now as we look at this I want to remind
you that we spent 3 whole studies in Ex. 28 / 29 similar picture
A)There
a great part of our emphasis was on Jesus as a picture of our High Priest
B) We noted there how the garments that Aaron wore Aaron H.P. pictured the person & ministry of Jesus in great detail GET TAPES
C) Here in Lev. 8 I want to make some comments concerning how this relates to us 1 Pet. 2 Royal & Holy Priest hood
1) Priest for the King of Kings
The Function of the Priest was to: Stand before People to represent God & to stand before God on behalf of the People
A)That is what
Priestly ministry is all about !!!
1st
We stand before People representing the Lord
A)At HOME Priest in your family stand before your
spouse and kids as a visible illustration to them of what the Lord is like !!
B)
They learn the Lords heart thru watching us listening to us seeing what
is important to the Lord what is important to us
C)So we represent the Lord at Home & in the World The world is our Pulpit
2nd
We also get to stand before the Lord on behalf of the people in Prayer in
interceding
Now we want to
notice that there were SIX things done to Aaron and his sons to SEPARATE
them to the office of the priest
A)The
emphasis for us is that they were DONE TO Aaron
and his sons, NOT DONE BY Aaron and his sons
NOTICE:
FIVE points of PREPARATION - VERSE 6
Point
#1 in PREPARATION for priesthood
A)To
be washed in water- Water is symbolic
of the Word of God
John 15:3
Now ye are clean through the word which I
have spoken unto you.
B)
The FIRST point of PREPARATION is
to be WASHED and IMMERSED and SATURATED with the water of the Word
1) 2 reasons:
1.) To SERVE the Lord we need to be washed from SELF SERVING motives and from
WORLDLY ways and wisdom
Rom. 12:2
2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God.
2.)
Because no matter what ministry you are called
to, you are going to be relating to people
B)As
you relate to people in service, they will be looking to you for ANSWERS to the things that matter to them
1) NOTE: It does NOT matter at all what your
opinion is / What matters is
WHAT does the WORD say
C)
It is the Word of God that MOVES people
It is the Word of God that is alive and
powerful
2nd Point of Preparation v. 7-9 ,v.13 First
washed then Robed
A)Spoke a lot about the different aspects of the High priest garment & how it related to Christ in Ex. 28 / 29
B) But I want to consider this as it relates to us Robing speaks of RIGHTEOUSNESS - Inward & the outward -
B) Girdle also inward & Outward - Heart of the servant
C)
Also note that their tunics were made of Lines Ezk. 44 No wool
1) Nothing that causes sweat = Striving in the works of
the flesh
D)
If you are involved in ministry always having to sweat it out
1) Not being motivated by the Spirit
God wants INSPIRATION and NOT PERSPIRATION
3rd thing to note is they were anointed v. 10-12
/ sons v.30
This speaks of the ANOINTING of the Holy Spirit
A)Zech. 4:6 Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,
B)There is an EMPOWERING that must accompany the CALLING
1)
WITHOUT
that Anointing you can NOT be effective
C) Teaching in a Class /
Witness in the World / APOSTLES be
my witnesses WHEN? after Baptized in the Spirit
4thThey were marked by
the Blood v.14-26
A) Blood was placed upon the RIGHT EAR, the RIGHT thumb and the RIGHT big
toe - Speaks of Covering and
Possession
POSSESSIONS
1 Cor. 6:19-20 do you not know
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and you are not your own? 20For you were bought
at a price; therefore glorify God in your £body and in your spirit, which are Gods.
To his EARS the things that he hears -
1) To his hands....ACTIVITY the
things that he does
To his feet..- LIFESTYLE the way that he walks Hands feet /
ears
C)
So first Possession / 2nd Covering
NOTE: The blood was applied BEFORE they went into service and AFTER they came out
A) We can NOT really be
effective without the CLEANSING of the blood of
Jesus Christ removing the STENCH and the STAIN of our sin
B)Then when you are THROUGH
ministering you need the blood
Because AFTER ministry you are vulnerable to 1 of 2 things
1)Puffed up or Put
down- If effective: Wow did I have it together
If ineffective: Wow did I blow
that one
C)The blood needs to be
applied in either case
1) I need the BLOOD of Jesus applied to my life AFTER I have ministered.... BECAUSE I miss the mark
D) I dont hear the Lord as clearly as I should/ Dont reach out / dont always walk as straight as I would like Need the Blood
5th Their hands were filled v.27- 29 Wave
offering
A)NOTE: The Lord filled their hands... they did NOT fill their own
What we have to give to the Lord is from Him in the first place
B) John the Baptist said: John 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
James 1:17 Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
C) That which they received they gave back to the Lord
6th
They ate of the sacrifice
A)Significance their nourishment was to come from
the Lord
B) He would supply & sustain Same w/ us -
After the sacrifice was
offered up the Priest took part of it and ate
1)
The
Laying of their hands upon the sacrifice was for identification the eating of
the sacrifice was for Appropriation
C) It was the Appropriation of everything that the
sacrifice stood for sins were covered / God in his love had saved them
1) That eating of the Sacrifice was also to Nourish them /
strengthen them
D) Jesus is not only the
Saving Sacrifice for ours sins but He is the sustaining Power for our lives
Spurgeon:
Let
not this distinction be forgotten; the eating of the sacrifice is not intended
to give life, for no dead man can eat, but to sustain the life which is there
already. A believing look at Christ makes you live, but spiritual life must be
fed and sustained, & the feeding of that life is explained by our Savior in
these words Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his
blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life;& I will raise
him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my Blood is drink indeed, spiritual meat
and spiritual drink to support the spiritual life which God has given.
7th Priority was Established v.
33-36
A)BEFORE they went out to the people they locked themselves in the Tabernacle
B)They spent time in ISOLATION and PRIVACY before the Lord
1) BECAUSE - What you are in public service and ministry will NEVER exceed what you are in your PRIVATE devotional life
C)The PRINCIPLE of ministry is to OVERFLOW to the people that which you are PERSONALLY and PRIVATELY before the Lord
PRIORITY
= Before PUBLIC service their needs to be a FULFILLING PRIVATE time
A)There are many who are willing to do much BEFORE people and WITH people without receiving from the Lord
C) It has been said that ministry is like the measles
You can't give it unless you've got it
D)You won't bless people until YOU are blessed yourself