King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023
Chapters: NUMBERS 7
Study: Dedicating All Upon The Altar
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
[Dedicate; Devoting to a divine Being, or to a sacred purpose; consecrating; appropriating; giving wholly to.] There is something about dedicating something to God that makes it more than official, it also makes you more accountable. I dedicated my life to Christ as soon as I got baptized in 2006, I also rededicated my life to Him several times since then. Last week, I went up to the altar and dedicated my relationship with my betrothed to God. I was asked by several people when my beloved proposed to me and I did not have answer because we just set a date to get married. Then God pointed out something to me, my beloved gave me this rare pearl that he was saving to give to someone who was special to him. I opened that locket on February 18, 2023, and it was the most touching moment in my life thus far. I tell you what, when we give everything to God that is given to us, He returns it double.
[Matthew 25:15-17,20-21 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.]
As we continue in the reading of Numbers, the tabernacle is fully set up, anointed, sanctified, and ready for service. Now, the time had come that the offerings of the people would be accepted. The first offerings would be for the Levites to do what they needed to do for the work that God had given them to do.
[Numbers 7:1-3 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the instruments thereof, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; 2 That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: 3 And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.]
[had fully set up the tabernacle,] Until we accept Christ as our Saviour, nothing we do for God is recognized, we are not even recognized. Everything that we do thereafter needs to be done under the blood of Christ, [Luke 17:17-19 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.]
“Thy faith hath made thee whole!” Now, that is an understatement! Christ, does more than fill up that big hole that was in our soul, He fills up all those gaps in our flesh that left a bog void. I never thought that I could love someone apart from my love for Christ until I met my Ray, but each day that goes by I love him more. Next to dedicating my own life to Christ I am dedicating my beloved to Him because whether we like it or not, burdens will come. Now, each tribe was given a list of things needed for the dedication, it was the responsibility of the Levites to carry these things, except for the Kohathites, who had a big enough burden as it was.
[Numbers 7:5-9 Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service. 6 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. 7 Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: 8 And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders.]
[But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none:] God, will only give us what we can handle and will never make us carry the load on our own, He will always be there to assist. In fact, He takes on the load for us, and lets us just coast along with Him, [Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.]
It was important that they bring this offering as one family, they were telling God that they admitted that they were sinners, that it was God who they sinned against, and wanted to make things right with Him to keep Him blessing them. You see, no one is better than anyone else, no one can give more or less for their salvation, the same offering is required, and that is Jesus Christ. The reason it may seem as though some have more than others is not in the amount of time they spend doing His work, it is whether or not the time they are spending is done with all their heart and dedication to Him. Now, an account is made of all that was dedicated to God, one day for twelve days, each tribe will bring the same offering to the altar and present them to God.
[Numbers 7:11-17 And the LORD said unto Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar. 12 And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: 13 And his offering was one silver charger, the weight thereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering: 14 One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense: 15 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 16 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: 17 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.]
[for the dedicating of the altar.] When was the last time you brought something to the altar and dedicated it to God? I thought that just dedicating my life to Him was enough, but it goes beyond that. Everything we do, everything we touch, needs to be dedicated to God, even our burdens, [1 Corinthians 10:31-33 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.]
There is something else that I noticed since dedicating my relationship to God, my beloved shines Christ through him more each day as he is becoming more accountable to God and wanting our relationship to be centered around Him. I also am more accountable, in fact, my mind has been more focused and Christ driven more than it has in a long time. I tell you what, whatever it is that we dedicate to God, He sees and hears every bit of what is going on. Now, it has been twelve days, all twelve tribes brought the same offering, all brought to the altar.
[Numbers 7:84-85,89 This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: 85 Each charger of silver weighing an hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 89 And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.]
[then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat] It should be without saying that we need God’s mercy calling out to us every day. There is a reason why that seat, which was laid atop of the Ark of the Covenant, was called mercy, it was God’s way of saying that His mercy rests upon His Word. Let me tell you, God does not have mercy on just anyone, it only rests upon those who believe in who He is and in who His Son is, without Christ there is no mercy for us, [1 Timothy 1:15-17 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for the One and only sacrifice ever needed to not only seek forgiveness of my sin, but atonement and peace with You. Thank You, Jesus, for giving Your life so that we no longer need to give offering upon offering to make peace with our Father, You settled our debt once and for all, and for that I will be forever grateful. I do not want to live a life that is wasted on fulfilling every lust of the flesh for the sake of my salvation being given to me without works, I want to live a life that is dedicated solely to you, one that glorifies You, and gives honor to You. I know I mess up daily, and thank You for Your mercies and grace to keep Your promise of eternal life through my faith alone. Lord, Lead us and guide us, give us Your mercy, grace, and peace. All that I have is Yours, I offer it all freely to You, whatever it is that You want me to do or give, let my actions be of faith and obedience to Your Word so that everything I do brings glory to You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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