The Presence of the Lord is now in the Holy of Holies and the children of God begin their second year of exodus from Egypt. Two years. Two years of being lead by the cloud and fire as well having their fill of manna and quail. The words second year struck me. Two years seems like such a long time to wait on a promise to be fulfilled, doesn't it?
Today, we witness the dedication of the Levites to the Lord's service and join the Israelites as they celebrate the second Passover. Remember Passover is a day the Lord instructed His people to observe. Observing Passover gave the Israelites the opportunity to praise and thank God for sparing their lives as He took the lives of the first-born in Egypt. Jesus is our Passover Lamb. Everyday should be a celebration for us as Believers.
We are introduced to three types of offerings: burnt, grain, and peace. Each offering has it's own specifications and purposes as well as degree of sacrifice based on the economic status of the giver. But they all had one thing in common. The sacrifice was to be without blemish or physical defects. For the grain offering(also called meal offering) the flour must be of the finest quality and purest olive oil. This is foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice to come in Jesus. Reading words like without blemish, quality, and purest reminds me of the earlier post I made concerning our personal offering to the Lord.
We are to symbolically place ourselves on the altar of sacrifice each day, presenting our bodies has a whole sacrifice with the best, purest, and highest quality of intentions to obey, serve, and honor the Lord in everything we do. The leftovers of sacrifice were not be saved. The sacrifice was new every day suggesting that we can't use yesterday's "Lord, I want to obey, serve, and honor you in all I say and do" prayer to cover today.
The altar is not a comfortable place to be. Visualize the sacrifice on the altar. The sacrifice is in an open and vulnerable position. We don't like uncomfortable and vulnerable do we? It is only when we present ourselves in this way do we see the transforming power of the Lord at work in our lives and become the fragrant offering that draw others to Him.
We are introduced to three types of offerings: burnt, grain, and peace. Each offering has it's own specifications and purposes as well as degree of sacrifice based on the economic status of the giver. But they all had one thing in common. The sacrifice was to be without blemish or physical defects. For the grain offering(also called meal offering) the flour must be of the finest quality and purest olive oil. This is foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice to come in Jesus. Reading words like without blemish, quality, and purest reminds me of the earlier post I made concerning our personal offering to the Lord.
We are to symbolically place ourselves on the altar of sacrifice each day, presenting our bodies has a whole sacrifice with the best, purest, and highest quality of intentions to obey, serve, and honor the Lord in everything we do. The leftovers of sacrifice were not be saved. The sacrifice was new every day suggesting that we can't use yesterday's "Lord, I want to obey, serve, and honor you in all I say and do" prayer to cover today.
The altar is not a comfortable place to be. Visualize the sacrifice on the altar. The sacrifice is in an open and vulnerable position. We don't like uncomfortable and vulnerable do we? It is only when we present ourselves in this way do we see the transforming power of the Lord at work in our lives and become the fragrant offering that draw others to Him.
10 Comments:
Good Morning,
Gives you that extra push to make and keep yourself and Body in good order. As I am working towards getting my body in balance and in better health and proportion, and knowing that it is a sacrifice (the temple of the Holy Spirit,) it makes me more determined to keep going. The Best for the Best.
Have a blessed Day.
Lynn
Thank you Wendy for helping me envision myself on the alter as a sacrifice to God. I had never thought of it in that way.
My nuggets for today: the foreshadowing once again of Jesus on the cross: Numbers 9:12 "They must not leave any of the lamb until the next morning, and they must not break any of its bones".
I also noticed that only the peace offering could be a female animal. All the rest were male. I wonder about that? Anyone?
President's Day....I have it off from work so I'm gonna do some shopping. Don't worry; not a shop-a-holic here.
Have wonderful days, sista's!
Morgen - MN
Hi, Wendy.
"Without blemish" and "a fragrant offering pleasing to the Lord"...both of those phrases kept popping out to me. Our Redeemer is without blemish. How beautiful. And how I pray my life in some small way, by His grace, is a fragrant offering pleasing to the Lord.
His Word is alive.
Oh, how I desire to be pleasing to the LORD! When we are obedient to Him, His presence enlightens our minds, and guides our steps. Presenting myself to God today...I want to obey and serve the Lord!
Loving everyone's comments!
Thank you sisters!!!
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I Cor. 10:31
ENJOY today! Lori - Mesa, AZ
In the beginning of today's passage, I was impressed by the seven lamps, and God's instructions to "place them so their light shines forward in front of the lampstand."
My prayer today, that I wrote in the margin of my Bible was this...
Lord, Reflect your light in front of me to all in my path today. May you be glorified.
It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord is repeated 7 times throughout the text. I desire for the aroma from the words of my mouth and the deeds done in my body to always be a sweet aroma in the nostrils of my LORD. Reading the Word of God is a sanctification method all by itself! St. John 17:17
Striving!!!
Debbie - North Carolina
Luanne
I love the lampstand vision also. It jumped off the pages at me.
Wendy
Well, it's taken me a while to get here today. (It's "Family Day" in Ontario so everyone is off work/school and businesses are closed. I've resolved NOT to be on the computer if my 'guys' are home. They left a little bit ago for some down-hill skiing!)
Wendy, I so appreciated all you wrote about 'sacrifices'. Yesterday my post was entitled, "God' Altar, My Surrender". Oh that my life would be a fragrant offering that draws others to Him.
Luanne, God also caught my attention right away with the seven lampstands and I almost chose to focus on that today. Instead I wrote about Numbers 9:1, "...the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness...".
The 'wilderness' can be a deserted place, disordered, confused and wild, yet it can also be a santuary, an escape, a place away from pressures. It's a place where you can feel lost or found.
I was reminded of Hosea 2:14 that says, "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her."
God is into transformation and the wilderness is His classroom. It's often a time of testing where we settle the question, "Who is in control?"
Praying as I journey through my own 'wilderness' right now that I will listen to His voice; that the mighty wind of His Spirit will fall fresh on me and that I will abide in the true Vine.
Listening in the be-wilderness,
Joy
I was also drawn in by the lampstand, and how all the lamps fit into the one large stand. That passage alone drew me into the comfort of His Light, like a warm embrace. God doesn't need us, yet He choose to include us... right there in His holy sanctuary!(Another analogy of being grafted into the True Vine?)
Because I don't have all the resources on hand right now, I was wondering about the almond blossoms - what is their significance? In my own creative thinking, it reminds me of spring and re-birth (resurrection).
Resting in His light,
Susan
December Rose
Check out this blog about the blossoms.
http://chrishamer-hodges.blogspot.com/2006/06/almond-blossoms.html
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