February 9, 2010, Exodus 29:1-30:10, Matthew 26:14-46, Psalm 31:19-24, Proverbs 8:14-26

Holy Father; We ask your forgiveness for those times we take your Holiness for granted and fail to show you the reverence you require. May our words and thoughts be acceptable in your sight and bring glory to your name.

Our Old Testament reading is from Exodus 29:1-30:10.

Ok, show of hands - how many of you read today's passage? How gory is that? This seems completely foreign and counter culture.  My biggest question is that if this were so important to Jewish culture, why is it not continued today. 

Yesterday, we took a look at I Maccabees and found that this ritualistic sacrificing was even performed in the Roman era by the Judean province for the empire in lieu of having to pay taxes. This ritual was honored by numerous rulers.  So, what's the point - and what was done?

I Purpose: Consecration and ordination of Priests
II  Ingredients:

1. 1 young bull without defect
2. 2 rams, again without defect
3. basket of baked goods made from fine flour without yeast: bread, cakes, wafers - all with oil.

III  Preparation of the priests:

1. Washed and dressed in their priestly garments (see Exodus 28 or Feb. 8)
2. Anoint the High Priests head with oil.

IV The Sin Offering

1. Slaughter the bull and wipe some blood on the horns of the altar and place the rest at the base.
2. Burn the inner organs on the altar, but burn the skin and hyde and byproducts outside the camp.
3. This shall be done for 7 days to consecrate the altar and to make atonement.

V  The Burnt Offering

1. Slaughter one ram and sprinkler blood against the altar.
2. Separate the ram in pieces and burn the entire ram on the altar

VI The Ram for Ordination

1. Slaughter the 2nd ram. wipe blood on the priests right ears, thumbs, and big toes. sprinkle the altar.
2. Take annointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkle the priests and their clothes.
3. Remove the inner fat, the liver, kidneys, and the right thigh for further use

VII The Wave Offering

1. Have the priests take baked goods from the basket and wave them before the Lord
2. Take these baked goods from their hands and burn them on the altar.
3. Take the breast of the second ram and wave it before the Lord - this shall be your portion.

VIII The Fellowship Offering

1. Consecrate the pieces saved from the Ordination ram and the breast of the wave offering
2. These represent the contribution of the Israelites and remain the priest's share of the offering.
3. Cook the meat in a sacred place.
4. Aaron and his sons shall eat this meat and the bread remaining in the basket at the tabernacle entrance.
5. Only the priests may eat these sacrificial offerings by which atonement and ordination was made.
6. Any leftovers must be burned.

IX Daily Sacrifices during the 7 days of atonement and ordination

1. sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering
2. each morning and at twilight, offer a yearling lamb with fine flour, olive oil, and wine as a drink offering

X  Altar of Incense

1. 3' high and 1.5' square. Made of acacia wood and covered in gold
2. sits between the lamp and the table with bread in front of the curtain of the Most Holy Place
3. Incense is to be burned each morning and at twilight, and blood of the atonement offering is to be applied to the horns of this altar once each year by the High Priest.

check this website for the New Testament Fellowship offering!

http://thecityofzion.com/temple/NTTemple/Fellowship/373p2.htm

Before I continue, I want to mention "this is a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire." (verse 18, 25, and 41). So often we see the mention of fire in the Bible as a terrible thing.  Again, fire is refining. Although we can never get rid of the yeast in our lives, fire is a great purifier.  A favorite saying of mine is "the refining fires of mortality and morality." meaning, the pain of our sins catches up with us eventually and hopefully molds us into better children of God. I pray for a refining of my ideologies so I can be more loving and accepting of my fellow man.  I challenge myself to find the positive and peace - probably because negative can become so overwhelming. What if Hell represents how far God will separate our sin from us? What if, when sin is kicked out of the kingdom of God, it just leaves a pleasing aroma? just a thought.


**** Ok, I hope that outline helped a bit with Exodus chapter 29. This ritual was followed for many generations - perhaps until the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD or beyond. If you have information, please share it with all of us. Inquiring minds want to know.

However, even in Jewish literature (ie; the Old Testament), the prophets questioned God's desire in sacrifices. Prophets were known among the people to speak the word of God. Listen to some of their writings: (these are taken from the RSV)

I Samuel 15:22b-23a; "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 1:11b-17; "I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats...16)Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; romove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17) learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Micah 6:7-8; "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God"

Hosea 6:6 "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings."

Psalm 50:13-15 "Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High; and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

Yet, as David continues here in Psalm 50, perhaps He displays the reason God instilled a Holy sacrifice so that the people would remember that He was God and He deserved their worship and Honor. (items within perenthesis are added for thought)

Psalm 50:16-23; "But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are a friend of his; and you keep company with adulterers. you give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; (did you see the bipartisanship @ the statehouse?) you slander your own mother's son. (how about your leader?) These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.  Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I rend, and there be none to deliver! He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!"

Now, taking a cue from that phrase "lest I rend, and there be none to deliver!", Thanks be to God, He has provided the lamb.  Jesus Christ was led as a lamb to the slaughter. His body was ripped open and nailed to the altar of the cross. His blood ran down and pooled at it's base and He died that all men might be reuinite with God. We shall see that this was God's plan for redemption from the beginning. Jesus said in John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day." Jesus made reference to the fellowship offering in John 6:54. He sacrificed His body to brutality and death and shed his blood and died on the cross so that you might once again have fellowship with your Father in Heaven. All God asks for in return is your love and acceptance.

But that isn't the end of the story! He rose again and ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father. And as he said to those sinner's on the sands of the seashore, He says to you "Come, follow Me!"

Response to Matthew 26:14-46

We start with Judas betrayal of Jesus.  I noted the reference to Zechariah 11:12 and found Zachariah 11:4-17a. This passage mentions the 30 pieces of silver and the worthless shepherd. It ends "Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock." Thank goodness Jesus did not desert us when the going got tough. If you have time, use the Bible Gateway tool to the right and look up Zachariah 11:4-17. Not only did Judas betray Jesus, but so did the majority of Jerusalem with him.

I also comprehend a tremendous hatred Matthew had for Judas.  I have mentioned before that Matthew was a tax collector before He became a disciple of Jesus. Tax collectors were hated by the religious culture of the Jews as they felt as the Holy nation, they should not have to pay taxes. As we have seen in Maccabees, this was often the case.  However, the fact Matthew was despised by the religion of the day made him specifically aware when Jesus chastised the religious leaders. He shares more about that admonition and more about Hell in relation to the religious culture than any of the four biblical gospel writers. Now, Judas - the only disciple who was not a Galilean - deals a blow to the only Rabbi who ever cared for Matthew. Can you imagine the hatred? Have you felt it? Peter and John were a bit kinder in Luke 22:3 and John 13:2 claiming Judas became possessed of the Devil. Whatever the case, the unthinkable happened to the utter shock of the 11 and the chain of events Jesus had been speaking of began to unfold.

One commentary I read said it is questioned whether Judas partook of the supper! I don't understand that question as Judas was the one who dipped his hand into the bowl with Jesus.  Both would die that weekend.

Throughout church history, some have felt that the communion bread and wine were actually the body and blood of Christ. It is clear in this passage that he took bread and said "this is representative of my body" and when he shared the wine "this is representative of my blood".  None of the disciples suddenly spit it out thinking it was anything but what it was.

Are you concerned that as clearly as this passage reads, and as clear as Jesus words were regarding His death and resurection that none of the disciples figured out what was going on? Given the words Matthew writes compared to the words as reflected in the other biblical gospel writer's accounts and the fact they have been traslated from original texts into the hundreds of translations we have today, one must assume we are hearing a second hand account and not the original words of Jesus. I feel this is common sense regarding all of our religious books being considered today. These are stories past down through history from the time they first transpired. Therefore, once again, I will not claim "Infalibility" in regard to scripture. However, the story rings true and we read the same story over and over from different points of view. We find historical documents verifying these events happened and we have an empty tomb. I am left to believe that there was a last Supper. That Judas Iscariot felt the blame and guilt for betraying His master and died. I am left to believe Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose on the third day and I challenge anyone to find proof it did not happen as history claims. What does this have to say about His claims about a loving God?

As Jesus leaves the disciples in the Garden in a relatively drunken doze, how are we to know what words He prayed? How could any of the disciples know? Should we assume this was some divine revelation that they made up after the fact? We do know that Jesus spent time with them after the resurection and we know they experienced His emotions on earth. I think that gives enough information for a reliable "they had a pretty good idea" answer.

Response to Psalm 31:19-24


I must be honest. I struggle with this Psalm. I do not always feel God is watching out for me. I struggle as a businessman. I struggle with family relationships. If any of you reading this think my life is all together, think again. I worry about tomorrow's bread just like many of you.

So, I sometimes ask: "Where is your goodness?" "Will you keep me safe?"

And yet; I can claim verse 21 "Praise be to the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me" It is here in His word. I have found in the Word of God the answers to life's problems and I am confident in a great end play! Although I do not know what tomorrow may bring, this book has given me a confident hope and an abiding peace and joy. Therefore, I will shout verse 23 and 24

"Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.  Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

Response to Proverbs 8:14-26

To my frustration, Tyndale House has cut my favorite Proverb in 2. Therefore, I will have to recite it here. Remember, Wisdom has been talking, but it sure sounds like the Word of God to me.  Consider John 1:1 "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God." as you read this passage:

Proverbs 8:22-31

The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.  When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, or any of the dust of the world.

I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea it's boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. 

He adds verse 32

Now my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways."

Well, I'm having fun, I hope you are too.

Stop by again tomorrow, won't you?

Until then;

Rick.