LEVITICUS Windows into the Heart of God
Elder Candidates Michael Pate Guy Murphy
LEVITICUS Windows into the Heart of God
My Transition Leviticus 1-8 Leviticus 9-10 Pattern Presence Appreciation Action Ritual Response
Leviticus 9 records the inaugural service for the Israelites worship under their newly ordained high priest. The service provided a dramatic beginning for the sacrificial ritual through which they found assurance for their faith in experiencing the presence of the Lord. Allen Ross
Worship: Anticipating Glory On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. He said to Aaron, Take a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the Lord. Then say to the Israelites: Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb both a year old and without defect for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the Lord, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. Leviticus 9:1-6
Worship: Anticipating Glory For today the LORD will appear to you. They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the LORD. Then Moses said, This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you. Leviticus 9:1-6
Glory, Weight, Splendor (כ ב וד) The glory of God is His visible splendor and majesty. The word glory is related to the verb which means in a literal sense heavy and thus important. When the Bible refers to the glory of God it is usually referring to all the evidence of God s preeminence and greatness. It can be as a result of His creation, His salvation, or His presence being manifested clearly.
Theophany: The Presence of God s Glory The importance of the theophany in the newly consecrated tabernacle cannot be exaggerated. It renders the tabernacle the equivalent of Mt. Sinai: God s presence was made manifest in both places. But whereas the people experience God s voice at Sinai (Ex. 20:18), only the elite saw God (Ex. 24:10-11). In contrast, all of the people were privileged to see God sanction the inauguration of the regular [worship] in the tabernacle. Rabbi Jacob Milgrom
Worship: Anticipating Glory God s people anticipate meeting with Him and seeing His glory. Adjust your expectation.
They come seeking the face (i.e., gracious provisions) of the Lord, knowing that it is easier to see Him in the sanctuary within the whole service than during the week on their own. Allen Ross
Atonement: Approach by Blood Moses said to Aaron, Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded. So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, as the LORD commanded Moses; the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp. Leviticus 9:7-21
Atonement: Approach by Blood Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it against the sides of the altar. They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece, including the head, and he burned them on the altar. He washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar. Aaron then brought the offering that was for the people. He took the goat for the people s sin offering and slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he did with the first one. Leviticus 9:7-21
Atonement: Approach by Blood He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the prescribed way. He also brought the grain offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning s burnt offering. He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it against the sides of the altar. But the fat portions of the ox and the ram the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar. Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the LORD as a wave offering, as Moses commanded. Leviticus 9:7-21
Atonement: Approach by Blood God s people approach Him to worship on the basis of the blood of atonement. Remember Christ s provision.
Prayer: Access by Intercession Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. Leviticus 9:22-23a
Moses and Aaron entered into the tent of meeting. This was the place where God usually spoke to Moses (Ex. 40; Lev.1; Num. 12). So it seems probable that they went in at this time to commune with God, and to pray that He would fulfill his promise to appear in glory. Gordon Wenham
Prayer: Access by Intercession God s people have access to His presence through the intercession of their High Priest.
Christ: Our High Priest Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:23-25
Christ: Our High Priest Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22
Prayer: Access by Intercession God s people have access to His presence through the intercession of their High Priest. Approach with boldness.
Assurance: Confidence in Presence When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. Leviticus 9:23b-24
Fire is a fitting twofold sign of God's presence. To those who had reason to fear because their lives angered God, it spoke of his active holiness, warned of danger and threatened judgment. To those whose lives please him and had reason to know his grace, fire spoke of warmth, acceptance, purity and blessing. In both respects fire epitomizes the revelation of God's glory. Derek Tidball
Inaugurations Tabernacle Fire (Leviticus 9) Temple (2 Chronicles 7) Church (Acts 2) Fire Fire
Bless, Enrich, Gift (ב רך) The term is one of the most important in the Bible. The word carries the ideas of being enriched, filled up, and gifted with resources not your own. The idea is that God enriches us physically, materially, emotionally, and especially spiritually. God s blessing is not necessarily immediate and is not always and certainly not fully seen in this life.
The Priestly Blessing Provision Protection The Lord bless you and keep you; Pleasure the Lord make his face shine on you Favor and be gracious to you; Attention the Lord turn his face toward you Relationship and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
The full blessing of God may not always be realized at once, perhaps not even in this life; sometimes the answers to prayers and the rewards of spiritual investments are delayed. The immediate enrichment we enjoy is the satisfaction of serving, whereas the bounty from God might be fully realized only in life to come. Allen Ross
Assurance: Confidence in His Presence God s people find confidence for their faith in the evidence of His presence. Worship in spirit and truth.
The response was both vocal and visible. The worship of God resulted in both praise and humility. Kenneth Mathews
Cry Out, Shout for Joy ( רנ ן) The term always involves some type of audible noise. Most often a shout of joy, it can be a moan of lament. The most basic meaning would be crying out. The context would define the nature of the cry. The character and perspective of the person has an impact on the nature of their response.
Worship, Fall Facedown (ח ו ה) This word is a common word for worship. It is used 170 times in the Old Testament and always carries with it the idea of a visible response, either of bowing or often falling to the ground on the knees or facedown. The response is a recognition of the position and authority of a superior or provider.
Spontaneous, overflowing elation was tempered by sudden, submissive prostration in the presence of the awe-inspiring God. Derek Tidball
God s greatness and holiness cannot be ignored; he must be acknowledged by our whole being. Nothing less is adequate. Gordon Wenham
Fulfillment: Better Worship But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-15
Fulfillment: Better Worship The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:11-15
Fulfillment: Better Worship Christ is the High Priest of a new and better covenant which leads to better worship and better service. Worship freely and serve consistently.
Leviticus: Windows into the Heart of God Genuine worship is based on sacrificial atonement Genuine worship is based on sacrificial atonement and engages the presence of God. and engages the presence of God.
Worship: Worship should be LOUD. Listen to these commands: Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts (Psalm 33:3); Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! (Psalm 47:1); Praise him with loud clashing cymbals! (Psalm 150:5). Joy, again and again in the Psalms, seems to be associated with pushing the faders up, pressing the organ volume pedal to the floor, and turning the amps up to eleven. The joy of salvation and deliverance is expressed in shouts (Psalm 20:5; 27:6; 32:7). Trumpets were blasted (Ps 47:5; 98:6; 150:3). So it seems that the loud end of the dynamic spectrum is appropriate for worship music. Zac Hicks
Worship: Worship should be SOFT. Equally present in the Psalms is the expression on the other end of the sonic spectrum. I have calmed and quieted my soul is what one worship song sings (Psalm 131:2). Psalm 95 provides that contrast. Verses 1-5 express loud, thankful, jubilant worship. But Verses 6-7 encourage a different posture: bowed, quiet, reverent. Alongside the admonitions to leap, clap, and shout are the edifying words that whisper be still (Ps 37:7; 46:10) and wait (Ps 25:5, 21). As one desperate worship song puts it, For God alone my soul waits in silence (Ps 62:1,5). In the Psalms, therefore, we hear that low decibels, even a zero reading, are appropriate for worship. Zac Hicks
The Presence of God God Among Us (Leviticus 9) Jesus With Us (John 1) The Holy Spirit In Us (Acts 2)
Christ: God Present With Us The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)
Christ: God Present With Us About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. Luke 9:28-32
Holy Spirit: God Present in Us But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7
Holy Spirit: God Present in Us When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4
Stages of Worship External Manifestation (Leviticus 9; 2 Chronicles 7) Personal Appearance (John 1; Luke 9) Internal Presence (John 14,16; Acts 2) Eternal Reality (Revelation 21:3)
LEVITICUS Windows into the Heart of God