Dedication In To Ministering To God

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, February 08, 2019
Chapters: Exodus 28-29
Message: Dedication In Ministering To God

Hello My Friend,

As I was reading the chapters for today something grabbed my attention that I never realized before. While I know God goes into great detail to make sure we worship Him in a way that benefits us, He also goes into great detail to make sure anyone who dedicates their life to Him can actually live to tell about it. All I keep thinking about is what Jesus said will happen to the millions, if not more, people who never took the time in all their service to God to get to know His Son. “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:23.

“ye that work iniquity.” Iniquity means injustice, just because you do something that you think is right that does not make it right, especially in the eyes of God. If we truly love God, and want to serve Him, we have to do it His way, not ours, otherwise we are doing Him and ourselves an injustice. It is not enough to serve God, we must be fully dedicated, and willing to take the steps necessary for what we do to accepted by Him. Yesterday, we read about the instructions for the tabernacle, today, we read about the clothes that the priests would be wearing when ministering to God. Special garments would be use specifically in the service of God.

“And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” – Exodus 28:1-4.

“And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.” These were to be holy garments to give glory to God, and to stand out so that all knew they were serving Him. First comes the instructions on how to make the pieces that would go over the robe, beginning with the shoulder pieces. “It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” – Exodus 28:7-10,12.

“bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.” This signified that Aaron would bear the burdens of the congregation upon his shoulders. Years ago, I became certified in CPR, and first aid, once I got it I was qualified to be able to minister aid to anyone I came in contact with, and it was actually a requirement to treat someone in distress or I could be responsible if I walked away and they died. When we dedicate our lives to Christ and choose to serve Him, it is our responsibility to minister the Gospel to anyone we see as it could save their life. Okay, and now comes instructions for the breastplate.

“And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.” – Exodus 28:22,28-30.

“and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel” Think about this, when Jesus stands before His Father He bears the judgment of all of us before Him continually. I see Jesus taking every soul that receives Him to the altar with Him, and standing before His Father, presenting them to Him as one who is sinless and blameless. Now, God gives Moses the instructions for the robe the high priest would wear. “And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.” – Exodus 28:31,33-35.

“and his sound shall be heard” Have you ever seen those high voltage security alarms, the ones that can kill a person if they crossed over into something that was off limits? Of course, that would be mostly in some kind of movie, but the point is, if they crossed that line without turning it off, whether they were going in or out, they would be killed. The holy place was the closest the high priest could get to God, he would go in there to minister to Him. Of course, He knew when someone was coming in, but it was the beautiful sound of the bells that could be heard that let Him know they were coming in and leaving so they would not get zapped. The high priest was also required to wear a band on his forehead, with a gold plate attached that had a special engraving on it.

“And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.” – Exodus 28:36-38,42-43.

“HOLINESS TO THE LORD.” When the people saw this upon his forehead they knew he was dedicated to the service of God, and that meant everything He did needed to be done that gave glory to God. If we are going to dedicate our lives to Christ we need to be holy, no, we are not perfect, but we are careful to make sure every single thing we do gives honor and glory to God. It was not enough for them to put on the clothes for them to be able to minister to Him, they must also be consecrated, meaning free from iniquities and sin.

“And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest’s office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.” – Exodus 29:1-7.

“to minister unto me in the priest’s office:” The first thing they had to do was wash themselves, put on the clothes, and be anointed. You can dress the part, but if you are not clean you cannot do the work of God, that is if you want it to have any meaning. People “serve” God daily, but they are not clean, they do not have the anointed one, who is Jesus Christ, upon their heads. Let me tell you, there are many who have dedicated their lives to the service God and they will go down in hell kicking and screaming because they thought that their works never saved them. Now, there were three offerings, the first was the sin offering.

“And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.” – Exodus 29:11-14.

“it is a sin offering.” Jesus’ flesh became our sin offering. When Jesus was hanging on the cross God could not even look at Him for all the sin of every soul He ever created was laid upon Him. When you think about that it should bring tears to your eyes. The sin offering was not enough for them to be consecrated to be able to minister to God, now come the two rams, these would be the burnt and the consecration offerings.

“And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him. Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:” – Exodus 29:16,18-19,21-22.

“it is a sweet savour,” After the sin offering made the atonement for sin, the burnt offering gave honor to God as a token of their dedication to God, and that is why He accepted it, and the second ram was a peace offering, which reconciled them with God. And finally the wave offering, which was the bread. “And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.” – Exodus 229:23-25.

“and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD” This is sort of like a white flag, you surrender to God, and He in return finds favor in your offering your life as a living sacrifice. Let me tell you, dedicating your life to Jesus Christ comes with a lot of responsibility, but it does not turn void, and remember, He chose you so you know that you are capable of doing it, you just need Him to be able to pull it off. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” – John 15:15-16.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.” – Exodus 28:30.

Today’s Prayer: God, We know that there is nothing we can do or say to merit salvation, it is a free gift to all who believe in the ultimate price that Your Son paid for our sins. Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life, and saving my soul. And thank You also for cleansing me so that I may be able to stand before You in glory and beauty. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, guidance, and the strength to be the minister that You want me to be, help me remove all the hindrances from my life that keep me from serving You with my whole heart. And fill me with Your mercy, grace, and the things that are acceptable to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength