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5:31
Taking place immediately after the Tabernacle was built, God gives Moses more instructions for the Israelites, and they still influence the way we should live today!
Hello and welcome to the Christians on College Campuses podcast. My name is Will from the University of Oklahoma, and today we are talking about Leviticus chapter 1. Now, in a new book, we have to, you know, remember the context because when reading the Bible, it is always important to remember that Jesus is King and context is everything. So at the end of Exodus, we just finished watching God lead the Israelites out of Egypt and then give them instructions on how to build the tabernacle so they can spend time with God. And God did this through working through this person named Moses. The book of Leviticus actually takes place directly after that, and most scholars believe that Moses himself wrote this book. This chapter, Leviticus chapter one, has Moses going to the tabernacle to hear instructions from God on how to prepare a burnt offering. It says that the Lord called Moses from the tabernacle and said to him, Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle, or your flock of sheep and goats. If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be a male with no defects. Bring it to the entrance of the tabernacle so you may be accepted by the Lord. Lay your hands on the animal's head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him. Then slaughter the young bull in the Lord's presence, and Aaron's sons, the priest, will present the animal's blood by splattering it against the sides of the altar, and stands at the entrance to the tabernacle. Then skin the animal and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron, the priest, will build a wood fire on the altar. They will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the flock, it may be either a sheep or a goat. It must be a male with no defects. Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the Lord's presence. And Aaron's sons the priest will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. Then cut the animal into pieces, and the priest will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat on the wood burning on the altar. But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtle dove or a young pigeon. The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar. The priest must also remove the crop and the feathers and throw them into the ashes on the east side of the altar. Then grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird open, but without tearing it apart. Then he will burn it as a burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. So there are actually a few differences between the offering that the Israelites are giving and the ones that we give today. What's important about the offering that they are giving is that it's so they can be made right with the Lord. Right? It says If you lay your hand on the animal's head, the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him. This is because the wages of sin is death, and Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for us. He was the last sacrifice to the Lord in that kind of way, that offering to the Lord, because Jesus paid the price for all of our sins forever. Animals, deaths, animal sacrifices only last so long, but Jesus' sacrifice will last for all eternity. Another thing is that we are called to give our first 10% of income back to the Lord. The Israelites also did this. For the Israelites, their income was animals and you know, like different materials like gold and silver. So that was what they would give back to God. For us, our income is money. We get back in the form of money. The first 10% of our income is called the tithe, and then anything after that is called an offering. And so Jesus said, Come here now, and I thank you that because of Jesus, we don't have to give animal sacrifices to you. I thank you that also we get to give you our offering, and you tell us to test you in giving you our money. It is the one part of the Bible that you say, test me in this and see if I won't bless you. And I thank you that you stand true to your word. That if we give you the tithe, you will bless us. And thank you that you sent Jesus down as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so that we can spend eternity with you. And in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
