KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Sunday, February 18, 2018
Chapters: Leviticus 16-18
Message: The Mercy Seat
Hello My Friend,
The mercy seat in the tabernacle and eventual temple was the most important piece of the entire assembly, it was the place in which God Himself would sit, it was as if it were His throne and He would have mercy upon all the guilty people who gave their gifts to Him. But, here was the thing, no one could come near him, a veil stood before the mercy seat and even the priests were not allowed to go past it when He was there or they would instantly die Today, there is still a mercy seat, praise God, but the veil has been removed, and there is only one sacrifice needed and that is Jesus Christ. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God;” – Hebrews 10:19-21.
Mercy; The act of sparing, or the forbearance of a violent act expected. With all the rules contained within the law and how so many things were an abomination to God one would have to wonder if they would be struck down if they looked and at Him the wrong way. Let me tell you, God is a just God, that means He will not tolerate one rule broken, look at what happened over one act of disobedience. The truth is, God really is merciful, He does not want to see one person die and end up in hell, but sin of any kind is cause for judgment. Why? Because He is holy, whole, perfect, and in order to stand before Him and live we too need to be holy. The Day of Atonement, a day set aside each year where all the congregation would dedicate the entire day to God and be cleansed from all their sins, a day in which and special offering would be made in addition to the daily sin, trespass, and peace offerings where two goats, one to be a sacrifice to God and one to be a scapegoat.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” – Leviticus 16:2-3,5,8-10,16,29-30.
“For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you,” It was Aaron’s (or the high priests) job to receive the offering that would be given to God and the entire congregation would be cleansed of their sins. You see, while we must individually bring our sin offering to God willingly we all become cleansed as one body the second come to the mercy seat. Today, Jesus is not only the sin offering He is the scapegoat as well, having taken all our sins to the cross with Him. He is our REDEEMER, He is our ATONEMENT, He is our HIGH PRIEST that allows is to be able to stand before God and live. “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” – Hebrews 9:11-12.
Blood is so important to God, as it is the lifeline of any creature, you know there are different types of blood, and if you get the wrong blood in you it could be deadly. All of the cattle offered by Israel or a stranger who chose to dwell among them, was to be presented before the door of the tabernacle, and the flesh was to be returned to the one bringing the offering, it was to be eaten as a peace offering. God gave strict warnings against offering animals away from the tabernacle.
“To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations. And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” – Leviticus 17:5-11.
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood:” Having poured out the blood improperly and in an unholy place they were considered as guilty of murder, not redeemed. Not every form of blood was acceptable, and today, there is only one door and one sacrifice acceptable to God, and that is Jesus Christ. No one can get to God without Christ, no amount of sacrifices, good deeds, or praying can save us, we must know Christ personally as our Saviour to be accepted by God, otherwise we will be cut off from among His people. One rule applies to all. “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:” – Luke 13:24,25.
If you ever wondered why God had so many rules to begin with, just ask Him, He tells Israel as well as anyone else who wanted Him in their lives why they were to follow His law. “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.” – Leviticus 18:2-5,29-30.
“and that ye defile not yourselves therein:” Think about all the rules God has, they all stem from the ten commandments, treat God with respect, do not lie, cheat, or steal, and do not be so envious of what others have that you do horrible acts to get them. God’s rules are never something that we are incapable of doing, I mean, keep yourself clean so you do not get some disease, keep your hands off of family members, and those who do not belong to you, worship and honor only God. The world is a mess and full of disease because, like God said, sin makes us unclean. Look at all the people dying from the flu this year, it was all an accumulation of bad germs that circulate the air and pass it around from one infected person to another because man is not the cleanest among God’s creatures. All it takes in being exposed to one infected person for a life to end, but since Jesus is our lifeline He makes it easier to be cleansed for all who come to Him for redemption. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” – I John 5:1-3.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.” – Leviticus 16:9-10.
Today’s Prayer: God, thank You for Your mercy and Your grace too in saving a sinner like me, I know my flesh and it can be wicked sometimes, thank You for Your indwelling Spirit that replaces my sinful nature with that of a spiritual one. As I walk in Your ways year after year, I am aware of sins that wreck my relationship with You, help me to understand and remove any sin that may be hindering my walk with You. Lead me and guide me with Your grace, teach me, grow me, and put You hedge around me so that I may not even be tempted to do the things of the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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