WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:04.799 Today's reading is from Leviticus 10, 1 through 7. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:15.839 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censor and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:20.559 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.760 Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord has said. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:28.960 Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:30.640 And Aaron held his peace. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:41.039 And Moses called Mishel and El Zaphan, the sons of Uziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:45.520 So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:56.240 And Moses said to Aaron and to Eliezer, and Ithamar his sons, Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes lest you die, and wrath come upon all the congregation. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:06.239 But let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled, and do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting lest you die, for the anointing of the Lord is upon you. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:08.400 And they did according to the word of Moses. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:11.680 So we're studying this Old Testament book of Leviticus. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:13.599 We're in Leviticus 10 this morning. 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:16.640 Like I said, the two young men are dead. 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:24.000 And then in verse 6, their dad is told, Yeah, you lost your sons, and by the way, um you're not even allowed to grieve. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:31.120 Uh I uh, you know, open this passage on Monday morning, and it's you know, it's not like, oh, what a week of study. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:33.359 Like let's uh let's dig into this one. 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.480 This is really the one I want to deliver to the church. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:45.680 Uh so I have to kind of like press pause on like me reacting to the story because I can just react and be like, and this is why I just don't read these stories. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:48.400 Or maybe for you, it's like, and this is why I don't read the Bible. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.400 Like maybe that's the conclusion you've come to. 00:01:50.719 --> 00:02:02.000 If we can just press pause on that reaction, just for 20 minutes, just press pause on it and just ask, why is this story here in the first place? 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:06.480 Like, why would you why would anybody put this in the Bible? 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:08.240 Like, why is it here? 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:13.759 Um where is our God of love and mercy in a story like this? 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:18.159 Because this just feels brutal and it feels like it's lacking compassion. 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:22.159 Well, let's start with King Charles of England. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:24.560 King Charles, he waited his turn. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:32.479 He feels like his mama held on there uh for about half of the like, you know, thousand years of monarchy that England has had. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:37.919 Uh the king has always had power and wealth and influence. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:45.919 And so I went and I researched for us, in case we ever meet him when that big day comes for you, uh, how you will greet him. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.680 What you will do is you will walk into his presence. 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:58.319 So we walk in front of the king, men, we will walk and we will bow our head, just from the neck, okay? 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:03.199 Don't get, you know, don't try to impress him, just just from the head. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:10.000 And ladies, you will curts just a small little curtsy, just a little, just a little curtsy, okay? 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:14.400 And we will always call him your majesty. 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:16.560 And we will always use sir. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:19.280 And we defer to him. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:28.639 The full conversation is deferred to him for him to steer the conversation, and we defer to him for him to end the conversation. 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:30.800 When he wants to end the conversation, it's over. 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:31.599 He gets to end it. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:32.639 We don't get to end it. 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:39.039 And what is really, really clear in this is you are not in charge. 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:40.319 Right? 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:41.120 You're not. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:42.879 You are not the power. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:45.439 That's over. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:47.439 They, he is the power. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:51.599 So we would never walk up to King Charles, what's up, Charlie? 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.520 Like we would never, right? 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.400 Like never be like, no, like what never. 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:09.120 And the point is of the passage in this little illustration, point number one is this ultimate power and position demand our utmost respect and reverence. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:17.519 Verse 1 says that these guys, these young guys, offered unauthorized fire and their censors. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:19.519 A censer, here's a picture of a censer. 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:20.399 That's a censer. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:31.040 They would put fire in it, some coals, some incense, and they would swing it as they come into the temple, and that would create smoke and fragrance. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:33.839 We don't know exactly why the fire is unauthorized. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:40.079 The passage doesn't say it, but they did something, some break of the rules, something that we we're not quite sure. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:47.519 But what we do know is that these two guys, uh, they do not treat the holiness of God with reverence. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:49.920 And they're burned up. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:50.959 They die. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:53.120 But that's not the full story. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:54.720 That's the story, but it's not the full story. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:01.519 We may wrestle with that story, but this story exists to take us somewhere else. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:09.040 Point number two is this God is the source and sustainer of all that is good and right. 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:12.639 He is the source and sustainer of all that is good and right. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:32.480 A few weeks ago on spring break, I was at the beach with my family, and we got there, and the first evening we went down to where the pool was, and we were eating like a little dinner over kind of back behind the pool, over to the side, and then there was a pool, and there's some adults in the pool, and then there was a bar over to the left, and there was like a big lawn area, and there's some families out on the lawn. 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.959 And so we're eating this lovely little dinner. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:42.399 We just got there, and I noticed there's two kind of younger guys, hopefully they're 21, over at the bar. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.240 They didn't, you know, it's like you're really stretching it here, guys. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:52.160 Uh they're over there, and they're they've they're having and have had a good time, and that's apparent. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:58.560 And I did notice one of them leaves that bar area, walks over to the lawn area where the families are. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:00.480 And I'll go back to the little dinner. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:07.600 All I know is all of a sudden, one of the old guys in the pool is screaming. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.120 Get out of here, you're out of here, you'll never come back here. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:17.600 You're and he is out of the pool, he is charging toward this young guy. 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:21.199 At the same time, there's a young dad over in that little family group. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:27.360 He's moving, he's yelling at this young guy, 21, you know, he's yelling at this guy. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:31.600 I'm not quite sure at this point what's happened, but I'm like, let's go, what's going on? 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:33.439 What is what's going on? 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:35.519 I'll come over, see what's going on. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:42.399 And they yell this young guy out of the entire, they yell him back to his house. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:43.439 Is what they do. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:45.040 Get him out of there. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:52.319 Because he had left the bar area, gone over to the lawn area, and he had just relieved himself. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:54.560 I actually have a picture. 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:55.519 No, I don't. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:57.759 I don't picture. 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:00.480 No picture. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:02.160 Just relax. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:15.439 So two dads are near, two dads are near, and all the good in them responds. 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:22.160 Because all the good in those two dads demanded to get rid of inappropriateness. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:25.199 In the Old Testament, just hold on to that. 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:32.079 In the Old Testament, Isaiah has a vision of God and exclaims, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:33.279 Triple repetition. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:36.000 Very rare in the scriptures, it's kind of triple repetition. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:42.079 It's God saying, I am really, really, really holy. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:50.000 The triple repetition is a literary device to stretch our imaginations of how pure God is. 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.360 He is utterly otherly. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:08:01.279 Holiness is from the Hebrew word kadosh, meaning cut off or separate from everything else. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:08.800 Also meaning entirely morally pure all the time, in all ways. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.600 Author Paul Tripp explains it this way. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.439 This was very helpful to me this week. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:18.560 God is holy in every attribute and every action. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:37.200 He is holy in justice, he is holy in love, he is holy in mercy, he is holy in power, he is holy in sovereignty, he is holy in wisdom, he is holy in patience, he is holy in anger, he is holy in grace, he is holy in faithfulness, he is holy in compassion. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:42.080 So holy compassion is not at odds with holy anger, not in God. 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:44.960 We don't do those things well together. 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:49.360 But in God, holy compassion and holy anger, He's holy. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:57.120 Now, what we do understand is a good person, if they do something bad, they're not fully good. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.519 I love how theologian Frederick Brunner brings this together for us. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:02.240 I've read this before. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:04.879 It helps me when I think about this wrath of God. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:13.440 The wrath of God is not the irritability of God, it is the love of God in friction with injustice. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:16.320 See, his holy justice is coming out. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:20.639 But it's not it's the love of God in friction with injustice. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:29.120 It is the warm, steady, but absolutely fair grace of God in collision with manifest selfishness. 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:33.679 All the good in him demands him. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:39.840 Last week we looked at two images of fire, if you remember these two images. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:44.080 The reality of fire as consuming and scary. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:48.799 If you're on a hike, something like this, it all consuming and scary, this kind of fire. 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:52.000 But then the reality of fire can be experienced really differently, right? 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:57.200 Like it can be in a fireplace, and it can be it can be wooing, and that's not my house. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:09:58.480 Wouldn't that be great? 00:09:58.639 --> 00:09:59.360 Wouldn't that be lovely? 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:00.720 You're like, look at Russ's house. 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:01.440 That's amazing. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:03.039 Where does he live? 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:06.559 It can be wooing and warm. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:11.600 I mean, that's about the only thing I like on a night like that, like a cold winter night. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:20.879 That's the only thing I like about winter, is like, can we nestle in and I'm gonna turn on the gas fireplace with the gas logs, gas log people, raise your hand. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:21.679 Go ahead. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:27.360 Now, I know wood, wood people, raise your hand, wood fire people, and all of you think you're better than us. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.000 And you aren't, because we're lazy. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.879 But we enjoy our fire like five times a day. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:40.720 This is a little bit like holiness. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:53.759 Uh fire is, because fire can be consuming and scary or wooing and warm, and holiness can be consuming and scary, or it can be wooing and warm. 00:10:53.840 --> 00:10:56.240 So, but what does the holiness of God mean for us? 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:57.840 How could it possibly benefit us? 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:05.519 Well, first off, by faith in Jesus there's no condemnation, and then in Jesus, holiness begins to benefit us. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:08.399 Here's what I mean: point number three. 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:12.159 Our holiness is not our own record. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.759 Our holiness is Christ's record for us. 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:19.840 1 Corinthians 1 30. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:21.519 This is the new living translation. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:24.639 God has united you with Christ Jesus. 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:29.120 For our benefit, God made him to be wisdom itself. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.600 Christ made us right with God. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:33.600 He made us pure and holy. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.799 Jesus made you pure and holy. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:38.799 And he freed us from sin. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:43.679 The world's way and the religion's way for holiness is your record. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:49.919 These two boys doing everything perfectly every time. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:52.799 How well you perform. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:59.120 But God's source of holiness for you and the new covenant of grace is Jesus. 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:00.960 Christ in you for you. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:04.399 That's where the Leviticus story takes us. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:13.679 Christ is our holiness, and the holiness of Christ in us empowers a life of holiness coming out of us. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.159 Leviticus 10, 8 through 11. 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:25.519 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:29.600 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:34.639 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:40.000 Then you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:48.000 Last point, point number four, is this the demand of God's holiness always drives us to our need of his grace. 00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:52.480 Aaron is left without his sons, and yet God speaks to him. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:54.639 God doesn't dismiss Aaron also. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.120 God stays with him. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.720 God restores Aaron back to his calling. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.360 Total dedication as a priest. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.440 Total dedication. 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:09.679 Which there's one really big problem with that. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.840 And that is that Aaron cannot do that perfectly. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:16.080 Just like his boys. 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:17.600 They were not perfect. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:22.320 Sooner or later, the word of holiness breaks all of us. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.919 The word of holiness always drives us to the word of grace. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:29.840 And we need both. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:32.080 We need both. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:34.240 Our need takes us to Jesus. 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:38.480 Remember, Hebrews is like the New Testament commentary on the book of Leviticus. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:46.240 Hebrews 10, 4, and 5, and also verses 9 and 10 say this for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:49.120 Consequently, when Christ came into the world. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:50.720 Now what does Jesus do? 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:51.600 Verse 9. 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:55.279 He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:02.399 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:06.720 Now in the Old Testament, the general address of God was Yahweh. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:14.159 In the Old Testament, Jewish people had such reverence for God in this name of Yahweh, they wouldn't even speak it. 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:15.440 That's the amount of reverence. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:22.000 I mean, you can imagine if you knew Leviticus 10, the application coming out of that is just like do anything, right? 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.399 To be as reverent as possible. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:27.360 Don't risk your face being burned off, right? 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.200 Like we're going to be reverent people. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:32.080 So they didn't even like to speak his name. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:40.240 And then you can imagine Jesus comes along, and like in the Garden of Gethsemane, Mark 14, 36, Jesus prays Abba Father. 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.840 Like tinder, Papa, Heavenly Father. 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:46.240 He prays, all things are possible for you. 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.960 Remove this cup from me, because he's headed toward the cross. 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:57.759 But that term Abba Father, you can see how the Jews who do the Leviticus type stories, they would say, Jesus, you're a heretic. 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.480 Like you're gonna get your face burned off, Jesus. 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:02.320 Like that's what's this is your future. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.600 Like, how dare you speak of God like this? 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:07.679 God is a loving Papa. 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:12.320 So we need this Old Testament. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:16.159 And we need it to drive us and take us to the New Testament. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.480 It is one story. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:20.399 One story. 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:28.960 The first covenant of law, which we learn in the Old Testament, which takes us to the new covenant of grace, which we learned mainly in the New Testament. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.919 So let's read back Hebrews 10, 9, and 10 again. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:32.399 Hear it. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:36.320 He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:41.519 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:45.519 The Leviticus story is strange, but it's a really strange story. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:47.919 But it's leading us somewhere else. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:55.200 We need a holy creator who would love us like a tender papa. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:59.679 The term Abba Father, the Greek worder is the word father. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:04.799 Father is used for God 15 times in the Old Testament. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:13.360 That term for father, that term father is used for God 245 times in the New Testament. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:18.240 I mean, did you see how the Bible is leading us somewhere? 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:20.080 One story. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:27.200 And then this term Abba is the most intimate way to relate to God like a child, like a child to their papa. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:32.879 We have a holy creator who relates to us like a tender papa. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:38.080 Last week after service, after worship service, I was talking to Richard and Lindsay. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:43.200 They have this little girl, Hillier, and Hillier is this cute, the cutest little thing. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:46.720 She's got these little brown curls that are curled up. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:56.559 And so I'm talking to Richard and Lindsay, and Hillier's kind of running around down there, and she's kind of like circling her parrot's legs, and she's smiling and giggling. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.440 And a couple times I kind of, you know, I smile at her and give her a little way. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:01.039 Like I'm kind of like warming up, right? 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.039 Like I'm warming up, talking to them, warming up. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:07.440 And I think at one point I think, like, okay, she'll I'm I can't resist anymore. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:08.960 Like I'm gonna I'm gonna hold her. 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:09.839 Like I'm gonna hold her. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.920 And we know each other enough, it's not too weird here. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.160 And so it'd be weird for some of y'all. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.759 He's like, why is he taking my child? 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:16.559 This is strange. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:24.720 So Lindsay's holding her, and I I'm like, hey, hill, you're and and like she's giggling, oh she's so oh she's so cute. 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:31.680 And so I I go to take her, and I can see it about halfway across, is like, oh, this is not gonna go well. 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:36.240 Like this is, and all the smiles and giggles, it goes to absolute terror. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:37.839 But I'm like, I'm a dad. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.079 Like I'm a dad of three girls. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:42.400 Like I can I can do this. 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:47.039 And so I'm like, I'm gonna toss her a few times. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:49.039 That's really gonna win her, you know. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:56.240 When a strange man takes you from your mother, the next thing you want is for him to throw you in the air. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:08.240 So I throw her a few times, you know, and it's just terror, just terror, and then it's like tears are about to come, and it's like, I've I've lost, this is not a winnable situation. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:12.319 And so she's about to flip out into all out crying. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:18.160 As I hand her back to Richard and like that, she's completely fine. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:19.759 Right? 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:22.480 Because he's her papa. 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:29.759 She has just like this little trust in her dad. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:31.599 Full trust. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:38.240 And then she's also gonna learn over time that there's so much more to her dad. 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:42.319 Like she's gonna come into like an intelligent understanding of her father. 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.680 And that's the fullness of this address, Abba Father. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.720 Abba is like childlike trust, like little Hillier trusting her papa. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:55.359 And then father is the name that means intelligent comprehension. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.160 And it's why we study Leviticus. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:04.160 That we can understand the holy character of God, that he is holy in all things. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.440 And he's a tender father. 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:15.200 So that our faith, our faith is childlike trust with intelligent comprehension. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:22.000 And what we learn is we learn that the Abba is holy, the tender Papa is holy. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.799 An ultimate power and position demands our utmost respect and reverence. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:35.839 And this strange Leviticus story takes us to Jesus, the holy one, who he becomes the sacrifice for us. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:42.319 Our sin is put upon him, our imperfection is upon him, all our inability to hold all the rules perfectly is put upon him. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:46.880 And his record and his performance and his righteousness is put upon us. 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:50.960 So the holiness of God is fully met. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:55.920 And what we have in our relationship with God is a walk of grace. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:01.200 That we are already holy and we're still becoming holy. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:03.680 So we live not by law but by grace. 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:05.039 Let's pray together. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:11.440 Heavenly Father, thank you that you do not leave us alone in Leviticus under the law. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:25.279 But that your law is holy, you are holy, your demands are right and pure, and while we are imperfect to even live up to our own standards, that your grace is enough for us. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:31.839 And that your new covenant of grace is sufficient more than enough. 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:38.480 And that Jesus on the cross is our sacrifice and his righteousness is ours. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:44.000 But we trust all the more in Jesus and what our lives honor him in Christ's name. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:44.559 Amen.