One Year Bible, Wednesday, February 16th - Three Offerings the Israelites Gave to God! Jesus Heals And Delivers People of Demons Immediately!
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The term "Leviticus" means, "the Law of the Levites". Remember the Levites were the workers who oversaw and ministered in the temple.
"Most served in peripheral roles, playing music, opening and closing the gates, and standing guard. In the case of the portable Tabernacle (which preceded the Holy Temple in Jerusalem), they were responsible for packing up, transporting, and reconstructing the Tabernacle whenever the Israelites traveled to a new camp. The most sacred tasks, including bringing the sacrifices, were reserved for the kohanim (priests), descendants of Aaron, brother of Moses." (chabad.org)
The book starts out by describing the importance of the burnt offerings. An unblemished lamb or goat was brought to the altar and sacrificed as an atonement for the people's sins. The sacrifice was brought into the tabernacle where God was residing. The high priest placed his hands on the animal as a symbol that the people's sins were being transferred to the animal. Importantly the scripture says,
"Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him."
We were made right with God by the sacrificial death of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world.
In chapter 2, we learn about the grain offering. The grain offering was made with flour and olive oil, but no leaven. The unleavened bread, as we mentioned before, was a reminder of the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt, as they didn't have the time to let dough rise. Also leaven was seen as sin, as a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.
The purpose of this offering was to give a special gift in recognition of the blessings God had given the Israelites. "This offering will be considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord." Leviticus 2:3
The purpose of the Grain Offering is not atonement, but worship, acknowledgment of God's divine provision of the needs of the Israelites.
The final offering described in the first three chapters was the peace offering. The peace offering was similar to the burnt offering, but the animal could be either male or female. This was considered a special gift to the Lord.
"Today’s passage describes what was involved in the peace offering, which could be given any time people wanted to celebrate the peace they enjoyed with God. The peace offering was given under three circumstances — for thanksgiving, upon the payment of a vow, or as a free expression of the worshiper’s goodwill (7:11–18). Freewill offerings were given in response to God’s unexpected or unsought generosity. The peace offering was the only sacrifice worshipers could eat. Only part of the animal and cereal was offered up, and the rest was left for the person bringing the offering and anyone else in the vicinity of the sanctuary to consume" (Ligonier.org)
As we mentioned yesterday, in Mark's gospel the story moves quickly, as Jesus shows the people what the kingdom of heaven is like by healing and delivering them from demons. There was no one particular way or method that Jesus healed people.
Peter's mother in law was in bed with a fever that could have led to death, and he simply took her by the hand and helped her up. There was power in Jesus' lending a hand. Word must have spread fast because after sunset there were many people at his doorstep. Perhaps they came after dark because they were afraid to be seen approaching him during the day. And Jesus healed them all, and he drove out many demons. This reminds us that demons are real and there are a lot more than just one of them. But Jesus had power and authority over them and would not let them speak, knowing that the faster the word got out about who he truly was, the less time he would have to reach people.
We see where Jesus' power came from. He got up early, went to a solitary place and prayed. If Jesus needed this kind of discipline, so do we. Shortly after that a leper can came and asked Jesus saying, "If you are willing, you can heal me." He recognized Jesus' power and Jesus recognized his faith. He healed him simply by uttering the words, "Be clean", and the leprosy was immediately gone. Again we see the word "immediately" used two times.
Jesus also used his healing ministry to point to the true nature of who he was. A paralytic man was lowered through the roof and Jesus not only healed him physically, but also told him "his sins were forgiven." The same authority Jesus had to heal, gave him the authority to forgive sins. In fact, he told him his sins were forgiven before he healed him to indicate the forgiveness of sin is the ultimate healing. Though we are healed physically, we will still die. But when Jesus heals us of our sin disease, we will live forever.
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