Christ in all the scriptures
The Law of the Offerings Leviticus 6-7 part 1
The chapter concludes the ritual of the trespass offering and proceeds to lay down the laws for each of the offerings. As we approach a new section in the book, it is good to observe the way in which God presents His truth. He comes from a different perspective than ourselves, always working from the inward to the outward. Our perception of the offerings would begin with the trespass offering, where our transgressions are forgiven. God begins with the burnt offering (the heart of the matter), moving to our forgiveness. He does the same with the Tabernacle, where He begins with the Ark of the covenant and moves outward. This is the opposite to our thinking, who want to change the environment to better living conditions. God changes the hearts of people before He will change the externals. Paul, when speaking of the process of sanctification, put it like this, "I pray God that your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ"-1st Thess. 5v23-again the inward to the outward. This is seen also in the kingdom teaching of scripture. Ultimately the kingdom of God on earth will visibly change even the material universe, but for now it is invisible. Now "the kingdom of God is within you", but ultimately it will hold visible sway in all the earth. This is always how He works. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their outward religion, without any inward reality. God changes the person to His own likeness before He deals with his environment. It is interesting to trace this principle throughout scripture. Well has it been said that "God has much more to do in me, than He will ever do through me". This is verified from various scriptures, and it is wise to pay attention to the inner man, not the man people think us to be, but the man God knows us to be-character before reputation! When God has His place in our lives, everything else is well. We want to change our homes, God wants to change our hearts! We are to place the Divine perspective at the forefront of all we do.
The sin of fraudulent deception-v1-7 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein."
Deliberate, wilful stealing of your neighbours' possessions, either given for safekeeping, or in partnership with others, or by means of extortion, or by deception, or of chance finding of another's possession. There are many ways to steal, and it is forbidden by the straight command "Thou shalt not steal"-Exodus 20v15. Paul said to the believers at Ephesus, "Them that stole steal no more"-Eph. 4v28. For some it is a way of life, for most of us it is an ever present temptation. It is remarkable that there is no law against deception in the western world, yet it is a business practice that robs people of their hard earned possessions. This flouts the fundamental principle of Divine law to love your neighbour as yourself! Note, first of all, that this sin against your neighbour is a trespass against the Lord; it is a violation of the Divine mandate. Paul's perspective is to become GIVERS not TAKERS-"...working with your own hands the thing which is good, that he may HAVE TO GIVE...". This applies to defrauding the state of benefits, a practice rife in our modern world, as well as defrauding individuals. What was taken by fraud is to be restored fully, and compensation of one fifth added. This is reparation to the people who have lost possessions. Then there is repentance before the Lord who has been trespassed against, and the only offering for that is the ram without blemish, speaking of the sacrifice of Christ.
The law of the offerings chapter 6v8-7v38 Next there is a new section describing the laws of the offerings. These are summed up in chapter 7v37, "This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat (grain) offering, of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings".
The burnt offering is Christ in total dedication to God (all on the altar); the grain offering is the perfection of His life from cradle to grave and beyond; the peace offering is the reconciliation of man with God in a shared communion; the sin and trespass offerings are the provision for cleansing from all defilements of sin. This is the Divine order- when God is glorified, man can be blessed, and this will always be the order of things. Chapter 1v1-6v7 contain the ritual details for the worshipper; chapter 6v8-7v38 are the instructions for the officiating priests. The Hebrew word is torah which means precept or statute. The same word is used to describe the first 5 books of the bible, or again the law in its entirety. Brittanica.com defines torah thus; "Torah is the substance of God's revelation to Israel. It is God's teaching and guidance for mankind, and encompasses the entire Hebrew bible, the corpus of all religious knowledge". The details of the offerings are meticulous, they have to be, as they symbolise the one offering of Christ for the reconciliation of mankind. It was important for the priests to observe the divine principles of operation. Therefore there are certain rules of service which the operating priests must observe. It is in these we learn more of the wonders of the sacrifice of Christ for us. These laws of the offerings are the fundamental principles applying to each and emphasise important aspects of Christ.
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