Skip to main content

Atonement

Today's readings come from Leviticus 16, 17, 18.

"For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."

Leviticus 16 is one of the most important passages in detailing "The Day of Atonement". Occurring in the Fall of the year, this is considered Israel's highest and holiest day. Besides Passover it serves as the great reminder of God's provisions for redemption, forgiveness and fellowship with his people.

Aaron's (or the High Priest at the time) enters into the Holy of Holies to take the blood of the bull for his sin, and then later the blood of one of two goats to sprinkle upon the mercy seat. There "atonement" is made for the sins of the himself first, and then the nation. Once every year this ritual takes place. The blood is the source of the atonement...the life of all flesh is wrapped up in the blood. The second part of the atonement is the second goat - the scapegoat - which the high priest symbolically places the sins of the nation upon and then has someone take it out in the wilderness to release it...let it go. Atonement brings about redemption and forgiveness. God forgives by "letting go", "releasing from us" the sins that he will not remember.

The atonement is freedom for the Israelites. They are not called to religion, to random acts of performance to try to curry God's favor. They are not to shed blood, but make atonement with the blood of the goat once a year. All of this anticipates the coming of Christ Jesus, who through the blood of the lamb, once and for all makes atonement for the sins of the people.

It's fitting after all of this that the last chapter defines laws concerning sexuality. People do not use people to gratify their own pleasures. They give honor and dignity to all people. Sexuality is a gift from God in marriage and it's to be treasured and enjoyed, but that is where the gift gives life...outside of that it leads to much pain and suffering.

Let's live as forgiven, free people...amen?

Peace


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing.  God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next.  He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly.  He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Joy to the World - Help is On the Way

It’s the first day of Advent– while you prepare for Worship this morning at church take a minute to ask God to direct you through this season that you might be prepared to “receive your King”. In the first week of Advent we celebrate the PROMISE of His Coming. His promise is based on our need. We were made in his image, but there is emptiness in our soul that is the result of the Fallen nature of sin. But why did Jesus come? What in his coming announces God's heart? His desire for us to know and experience? 10 BUT THE ANGEL SAID TO THEM, "DO NOT BE AFRAID; FOR BEHOLD, I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY WHICH WILL BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE; 11 FOR TODAY IN THE CITY OF DAVID THERE HAS BEEN BORN FOR YOU A SAVIOR, WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD. GREAT JOY! Did you know that God is Joyful? 1 CHRONICLES 16:23-27 (NASB) 23 SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH; PROCLAIM GOOD TIDINGS OF HIS SALVATION FROM DAY TO DAY. 24 TELL OF HIS GLORY AMONG THE NATIONS, HIS WONDERFUL DEEDS AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES....
46 comments
Read more

The Gospel of Matthew - Coming: An Exposition and Devotional on the Life of Jesus

Preface  I just finished writing a daily devotional of the book of Matthew with an emphasis on expositing the text and bringing some daily devotional thoughts to the text.  It will be a 40-day journey reading the book of Matthew and the things I wrote within it. Why do it?  Well, first of all, I have loved reading the Scripture for over 50 years now.  I taught the Scriptures on multiple levels from Sunday messages in a Church, to Bible Studies, to Young Adults' discipleship formation, to lectures in a college setting.  I love the Scriptures because it is the Word of God delivered to us from God through human authors, and as Paul reminded Timothy, “it is profitable”. Matthew was a disciple of Jesus, also called Levi, he was not like most of the other disciples. Many of the disciples were middle-class, some commoners, and several were fishermen by trade (which made them middle-class commoners).  We don't know what all of them did, but we do know what Matthew ...
Post a Comment
Read more