compensation for consecration

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (16)

Leviticus 7:8-10

Lev 7:8 And the priest who offers any man’s ascending offering will have for himself the skin of the ascending offering that he has offered.
Lev 7:9 And every tribute offering baked in the oven and all that is prepared on a pan or a griddle will belong to the priest who offers it.
Lev 7:10 And every tribute offering, mixed with oil or dry, will be shared equally among all the sons of Aaron.

compensation for consecration

How we treat those who minister in God’s name is a reflection on how we value the ministry, and our relationship with God himself. The priests under the Mosaic covenant did not live lives of affluence, nor were they forced into a vow of poverty. They were to be appropriately compensated.

In the church today, appropriate compensation should be our goal as well. That will look different for different faith communities. Some seek to do ministry entirely without compensation, which is alright if they are truly free to do so. But most will need to tread the grain unmuzzled (Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9; 1 Timothy 5:18). They will need money to live on, and it is only right to expect that money to come from those they serve among.

LORD, show us how to treat those who minister among us fairly.

Posted in Aaron, employment, ministry, money | Tagged | 1 Comment

one law for them

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (15)

Leviticus 7:1-7

Lev 7:1 “This is the law of the reparation offering. It is most holy.
Lev 7:2 In the place where they kill the ascending offering they will kill the reparation offering, and its blood will be thrown against the sides of the altar.
Lev 7:3 And all its fat will be offered, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails,
Lev 7:4 the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he will remove with the kidneys.
Lev 7:5 The priest will burn them on the altar as a fire offering to Yahveh; it is a reparation offering.
Lev 7:6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It will be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy.
Lev 7:7 The reparation offering is just like the mistake offering; there is one law for them. The priest who provides reconciliation with it will have it.

one law for them

Built into the sacrificial system is a complex portrayal of the nature and consequences of sin. We can see this when we look at two very similar kinds of offering: the mistake offering and the reparation offing. Both symbolised what Christ did for us by dying on the cross, so there was one law prescribing both. The difference is in the effect desired. The mistake offering was intended to pay for a personal sin. The reparation offering was intended to undo the consequences of that sin. The similarity of these two offerings draws our attention to the one sacrifice for sin who was to come: Jesus. His death paid the price for our mistakes, and undid the eternal damage of mortality.

LORD, thank you for reconciliation and restoration.

Posted in atonement, Jesus Christ, restoration | Tagged | 1 Comment

after the blood

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (14)

Leviticus 6:24-30

Lev 6:24 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 6:25 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and this is what you should say, this is the law of the mistake offering. In the place where the ascending offering is killed will the mistake offering be killed in Yahveh’s sight; it is most holy.
Lev 6:26 The priest who offers it for a mistake will eat it. In a holy place it will be eaten, in the court of the conference tent.
Lev 6:27 Anyone who touches its meat must be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on clothing, you will wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place.
Lev 6:28 And the clay pottery container in which it is boiled will be broken. But if it is boiled in a bronze container, that will be scoured and rinsed in water.
Lev 6:29 Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy.
Lev 6:30 But no mistake offering will be eaten from which any blood is brought into the conference tent to provide reconciliation in the Holy Place; it will be burned up with fire.

after the blood

If any of the blood was accidentally splashed onto the garments of the priest during the mistake offering, it had to be washed in a holy place. In other words, it was an offence to carry the blood away from the sanctuary and back into normal life. Even containers used for boiling the mistake offering had to be cleaned. The mistake offering represented the blood of Christ, which was shed on the cross once for all to provide reconciliation. If the blood of the sacrifice were left on the clothing of the priests, or on the containers, it would be a lasting reminder of that terrible cost. Rather, the LORD wants us all to keep in mind life after the blood is shed. That is what God wants for us. He wants us thinking of his eternal purpose, our eternal future.

LORD, we set our minds on our inheritance, thanking you for the cost, but celebrating the glory of permanent holiness.

Posted in atonement, deliverance, eternal life, future, holiness | Tagged | 1 Comment

his alone

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (13)

Leviticus 6:19-23

Lev 6:19 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 6:20 “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons will offer to Yahveh on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular tribute offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.
Lev 6:21 It will be made with oil on a griddle. You will bring it well mixed, in baked pieces like a tribute offering, and offer it for a soothing aroma to Yahveh.
Lev 6:22 The priest from among Aaron’s sons, who is anointed to succeed him, will offer it to Yahveh as a permanent prescription. The whole of it will be burned.
Lev 6:23 Every tribute offering of a priest will be wholly burned. It will not be eaten.”

his alone

The tribute offering given by Aaron and his sons was like that offered by others — except it was not to be eaten by them. Their tribute to the LORD was to be burned completely on the altar. This showed how sacred they were as priests. This also showed how dependent they were on the LORD. Ministry to the LORD is entirely dependent on the LORD for strength and success.

No matter what our occupation, each of us who is part of the Church of Jesus Christ today is a priest. What we offer to him is his alone. It is not to be shared by others.

LORD, we declare our dependence upon you. we offer ourselves to you entirely.

Posted in dependence upon God, ministry | Tagged | 1 Comment

representing his holiness

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (12)

Leviticus 6:14-18

Lev 6:14 “And this is the law of the tribute offering. The sons of Aaron will offer it in Yahveh’s sight in front of the altar.
Lev 6:15 And one will take from it a handful of the fine flour of the tribute offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the tribute offering and burn this as its reminiscence on the altar, a soothing aroma to Yahveh.
Lev 6:16 And the rest of it Aaron and his sons will eat. It will be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the conference tent they will eat it.
Lev 6:17 It will not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my fire offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the mistake offering and the reparation offering.
Lev 6:18 Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as a permanent prescription throughout your generations, from Yahveh’s fire offerings. Whatever touches them will become holy.”

representing his holiness

The priests represented the holiness of God, so they had to make sure they never defiled themselves with ordinary things. Under the new covenant, we do not have a tabernacle, and the bodies of we saints ourselves are the temple. That means we have the same requirement. We need top be done with ordinary things, and focus our lives on his holy things. How sad it is that so few even seek to obtain this kind of dedication. We think we can be God’s priests while remaining just as much people of the world as we were before we converted. It does not work that way. Priests have to be different, and we are all calloed to be his priests.

LORD, show us how to represent your holiness today.

Posted in commitment, holiness | Tagged | 1 Comment

prayer twenty-four-seven

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (11)

Leviticus 6:8-13

Lev 6:8 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 6:9 “Command Aaron and his sons, and this is what you should say, this is the law of the ascending offering. The ascending offering will be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar will be kept burning on it.
Lev 6:10 And the priest will put on his linen uniform and put his linen undergarment over his skin, and he will take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the ascending offering on the altar and put them beside the altar.
Lev 6:11 Then he will take off his clothes and put on other clothes and carry the ashes outside the camp to a pure place.
Lev 6:12 The fire on the altar will be kept burning on it; it will not go out. The priest will burn wood on it every morning, and he will arrange the ascending offering on it and will burn on it the fat of the offerings for healthy relationships.
Lev 6:13 Fire will be kept burning on the altar continually; it will not go out.

prayer twenty-four-seven

The altar for the ascending offering was to keep burning continually. There had to be a substance being consumed by that fire on a perpetual basis. It represented the access to God which was available so that his people could worship him, and pray to him, and receive blessing from him. It would have been a serious mistake to let the fire die out. It would have essentially implied that Israel did not need God all the time.

Our prayer habits tell the world our assessment of the importance of our relationship with God. We should pray so regularly that those who know us recognise that we need God all the time.

LORD, teach us to pray perpetually — to show our dependence upon you.

Posted in dependence upon God, faithfulness, prayer | Tagged | 1 Comment

he wants to love through us

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (10)

Leviticus 6:1-7

Lev 6:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 6:2 “If any soul makes a mistake and commits an act of betrayal against Yahveh by deceiving his associate in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has exploited his associate
Lev 6:3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely– in any of all the things that a human does and make a mistake thereby–
Lev 6:4 if he has made a mistake and has realised his offence and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by exploitation or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found
Lev 6:5 or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he will restore it in full and will add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realises his need for reparation.
Lev 6:6 And he will bring to the priest as his reparation to Yahveh a perfect ram out of the flock, or its equivalent for a reparation offering.
Lev 6:7 And the priest will provide reconciliation for him in Yahveh’s sight, and he will be forgiven for any of the things that he may do and thereby bringing the need for reparation upon himself.”

he wants to love through us

Offences against my associate are regarded in the Law of God as offences against the LORD. That is because the covenant with the LORD demands that we love those we associate with in the same way that we love ourselves. It is also because the LORD loves them in the same way that he loves us. We are all his children, and he does not show partiality. That is why one could not even be devout if he entertained hatred, deception, or envy of his fellow human beings.

The LORD loves us as individuals. But he also wants to love other individuals through us. Failure to love required a reparation sacrifice. It was a serious offence. It still is.

LORD, love our associates through us.

Posted in faithfulness, love, loyalty | Tagged | 2 Comments

forgiveness for starts

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (9)

Leviticus 5:17-19

Lev 5:17 “If any soul makes a mistake, doing any of the things that by Yahveh’s commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realises his offence, he will be responsible for his violation.
Lev 5:18 He will bring to the priest a perfect ram out of the flock, or its equivalent for a reparation offering, and the priest will provide reconciliation for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.
Lev 5:19 It is a reparation offering; he has indeed committed an offence in Yahveh’s sight.”

forgiveness for starts

God’s way of reparation starts with access to forgiveness from the throne. Without it, we can never hope to repair the damage done inside us by our walking away from God’s holiness. Before we can take advantage of God’s reparation system, we have to remove the barrier between us and God. The LORD removes this barrier by forgiving us — based not on our worthiness — but upon the effectiveness of the blood of Christ. His worthiness, and his sacrificial death make reparation possible.

LORD, thank you for the Way — who makes a way for us to restore our spiritual health. Thank you for the forgiveness he bought by his blood.

Posted in dependence upon God, forgiveness, Jesus Christ, the cross, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

reparation is possible

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (8)

Leviticus 5:14-16

Lev 5:14 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 5:15 “If any soul commits an act of betrayal and makes a mistake inadvertently in any of the holy things of Yahveh, he will bring to Yahveh as his reparation, a perfect ram out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a reparation offering.
Lev 5:16 He will also make reparation for his mistake in the holy thing and will add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest will provide reconciliation for him with the ram of the reparation offering, and he will be forgiven.

reparation is possible

There were standards of holiness set up to reflect the holiness of the presence of God among his people. If some soul transgressed those standards, it was a serious mistake because the Israelites were intended to represent the uniqueness of Yahveh among the nations. Consequently, the ministers at the tabernacle had a reparation sacrifice system to provide reparation for that offence.

It is a beautiful thing to have a way of dealing with a serious problem — a way to undo the spiritual damage that sin causes. For believers today, our way of reparation prescribed under the new covenant involves surrender to the Holy Spirit. His indwelling power can help us repair the damage that walking according to the sinful nature does.

But there is an evil in this present age: an evil that blames God for the mistakes, identifies with them, and demands the right to be accepted even when one keeps making them. Christians need to avoid that attitude. It only leads to more sin.

LORD, thank you for the repair that is possible for us through obedience to your Holy Spirit.

Posted in deliverance, holiness, Holy Spirit, repentance | Tagged | 1 Comment

the same forgiveness

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions July 2016 (7)

Leviticus 5:11-13

Lev 5:11 “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he will bring as his offering for the mistake that he has made a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a mistake offering. He will put no oil on it and will put no frankincense on it, because it is a mistake offering.
Lev 5:12 And he will bring it to the priest, and the priest will take a handful of it as its reminiscence and burn this on the altar, on Yahveh’s fire offerings; it is a mistake offering.
Lev 5:13 Thus the priest will provide reconciliation for him for the mistake which he has made in any one of these things, and he will be forgiven. And the remainder will be for the priest, as in the tribute offering.”

the same forgiveness

The most meager of the mistake offerings is similar to the tribute offering. It is the barest of essentials for an offering, and is reserved for the poorest of the poor. It is a reminder that God’s standards of morality and faithfulness to the covenant are the same for everyone, yet he does know our situation. He is aware of our need, as well as our weaknesses. He offers the same forgiveness for the repentant heart, no matter how it is expressed, because he looks not on the outside — on the herd or flock, or on the bank account. He looks at the heart, and gives grace reflecting the giver, not the gift.

LORD, thank you for loving us enough to look past our weakness, and respond to our repentance.

Posted in atonement, forgiveness, grace | Tagged | 2 Comments