Lev. 2:3 Holy and Honor

He will not take our sacrifices when there is no respect to him. God said that it is most holy. (Lev. 2:3). When God says something is holy, that means that he is expecting an attitude in us. He said to Moses that the place he stood is holy. Then what? He said that he got to remove his shoes. Angel said to Joshua that the place he was standing is holy. So what? Angel said that he got to remove his shoes. There are many Christians, experienced, knowledged like Moses and Joshua, yet they wait until someone to tell them that they need to have an attitude of humbleness.

You may be good person. When it comes to holy things, the question is how you dealing with it and its not about your good character. Bible tells us to take care of our behavior when we are going to his sanctuary.

"Guard your steps when you go to the house of God..." Ecc. 5:1

God said that he will not accept their sacrifices and offerings because they did not honor him.

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? ...neither will I accept an offering at your hand." Mal. 1:6-10)

Tax collector's attitude gave him righteousness better than the experienced, knowledged pharisee. It has been our unrighteousness that closed some doors in heaven. Now the doors that so long were closed got a time to be opened.

Josiah, cried before the Lord and the curses over him were closed. If God closes the doors no one can open and if he opens then no one can close it. 

Lev. 1:9 Ascending in offering

When you worship, its all about God and not people. Same way when you give a sacrifice, heaven takes it as its all about you and not the victim. Its actually you that supposed to be burn on the altar. No sheep, goat or a cow has born to die. Its only because of you its throat is cut and the whole body is cut into pieces and burnt.

Actual sacrifice that God pleases in, is obedience. This is what we learn from Samuel the prophet. "To obey is better than sacrifice". 1 Sam. 15:22. Hebrew word for the burnt offering is olah. Literally Olah doesnt mean burnt offerings. Its actual sense is "ascending". 

There was a man who said to Jesus that he obeys all commandments from childhood. Mk.10.20. Yes, that pleases God better than any sacrifice. Yet Jesus found that he has been obeying without a sacrificial heart. This man did not understood the element of ascending in sacrifice. He got to sell his riches and give to the poor. Then what? Then what happens is that he will get riches in heaven. His sacrifice will ascend to heaven. Its like water evaporates to sky and takes the same form again. Whatever the riches you give to the poor will ascend to heaven and takes the same form again. You will get the riches in heaven.

Burning a sacrifice on the altar without understanding what is ascending to heaven, doesn't yield fruit.  Though we talked about this rich man here, the word in Lk. 6:38 "Give and it shall be given unto you." is actually spoken to the poor people. Compare this verse with the verse 20 in the same chapter which says, "Blessed are you who are poor..." When he was saying "give.." he was talking to the poor people there.

Lev. 1. Burnt Offering in New Testament

When Abel gave his offering God accepted him and then his offering. This tells us that the offering which we bring is not to escape but to show ourselves before the Lord. Its "me" that is important to the Lord than the animal i bring as an offering. It was Abel that God accepted first (Gen. 4:4). How can i compare then the sacrifice in this modern life?

1. If I could have mercy 

Hos. 6:6 "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice".

Didnt they give tithes? They did. Jesus said to them, "you give a tenth of  your spices- mind, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness." Matt. 23:23

2. If i could have love

Mk. 12:33 "To love Him with all your heart... to love your neighbor... is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

3. If I could have knowledge of God

(Hos. 6:6."For I desire mercy... and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings")

4. If I could have the obedience

1 Sam. 15:22 “...To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."

5. If I could have the faith 

Heb. 11:4, 6. "By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did..." "And without faith it is impossible to please God..."

6. If I could have a broken heart

Ps. 51:16  "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit."

Passion Week

Passion week starts with Matthew 21 to 27th chapter. A "week" in bible sometimes, is a period of a time rather than a literal 7 day week. Some times I believe that the believers go through a passion week. The same things that happened in these seven chapters will show up in their lives in that particular time. What are those things? There are several things but I just want to share only three.

1. Cleansing the temple (our body)

Jesus was proclaimed as the king while he was on the donkey. He did not go straight away to the palace but to the temple. A passion week reminds us that we made our body a den of robbers. We start cleansing the temple of our bodies. There was no Ark of the Covenant in that temple at that time which, symbolizes the presence of the Lord. But still Jesus said that it is the Father's house.

2. Confrontation (our conscience)

All this week Jesus has been confronting the religious leaders and he answered those who confronted him. In chapter 21 alone i see many questions between Jesus and the religious leaders and reminding the OT scriptures very often. Whoever loves the scripture will be confronted by the conscience and will go for repentance. Unfortunately those religious leaders did not repent. Pharisees are same yesterday, today and forever.

3. Carrying the cross (our worship)

We do not look for making our bodies happy rather we try to make it an acceptable sacrifice. A sacrifice has no choice to escape since it was killed before it was burnt. But when it comes to our body, Paul tells us to give our bodies a living sacrifice. Jesus said to worship with spirit and truth. Paul tells us to give our body as a living sacrifice and that is what an acceptable worship. Our bodies being burnt while living, honestly, a hard thing. We live but burn. Worship God in the spirit, truth and also with your body that is continually burning.

Ex 26:31-33 My Saviour on the Vail

It reminds me the Sacrifice of my Saviour

Exod 26:31 

"And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet"

These colors came because they got to kill a jelfish and some worms. So it is a vail of sacrifice. ".... And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?"(Heb. 1:14)

Jesus was that worm and the fish. He was killed. He said, "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people." (Ps. 22:6)

God wants to have the remembrance of Jesus on the vail of most holy place. Jesus was rejected by people like a worm and he also went through a painful thought of Father forsaking him. If someone looks us down like a worm or forsakes you, remember that you are nearest place to the Lord, near to his most holy place. He takes you to very near to him. 

It reminds me Faithful One

"with cherubims shall it be made"

Cherubims are the intimate angels of the Lord. They stand in the presence of the Lord. Faithful can watch the face of the Lord. Moses is a faithful man. The Lord said about him, "...and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold"  (Num. 12:8)

When Gabriel said "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee" (Luke 1:19), it was like he was questioning "how come you dont believe me?" The question at the moses' incident was "wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"

The punishment to Zacharias was to be dumb and the punishment at the Moses' incident was Leprosy. If FAITHFUL can watch the face of the Lord its like a WARNING to us if we dont believe them. According to John 1:18 Jesus is the only one that saw the Father. He is named "...These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness..." Rev. 3:14 What if we dont believe this faithful Jesus?

He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Heb. 11:28-31

It reminds me my Saviour on the nails

Exod 26:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.

This remembers the Lord who hanged on the nails. It is a vail on nails. Jesus hanged on the nails. 

It reminds me my Savior who rent his body

Exod 26:33 ... and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.

The word for dividing here is "parochet". This is from the word paroch which means divide or rend etc. Jesus was that veil divided. By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; Heb. 10:20

If God

If God gives your children's life to death, even if you give sacrifices and sanctify them, they still lose their life. Job and his sons are an example and Eli and his sons (Hophni and Phinehas) are an another example