WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.280 Let's pray. Lord, we thank You for this opportunity to gather. 00:00:03.280 --> 00:00:06.240 We thank You for the Holy Bible that You've given us, 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.759 and we thank You for the heart of the Pentateuch, Leviticus. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.160 And so we ask that You would use this Holy Word, 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:16.080 this Levitical system to teach us more about who we are 00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:17.000 and what the gospel is. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:19.160 And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:22.320 All right, so we are thinking about Leviticus together, 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.679 and this is our second opportunity to do that. 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:29.679 And the biggest thing to just review from last time, 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:31.399 if you weren't here, 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:36.240 if you weren't here, the audio for that will be up on the podcast. 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:37.519 It may be up, I haven't checked. 00:00:37.519 --> 00:00:41.079 No, it will be up soon, and so you can go back. 00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:44.480 But the biggest thing we saw last time is Leviticus 00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:47.280 is the heart of the Pentateuch, the Torah. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:50.320 It's the third of five books, which is right in the middle. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:53.920 And at the very center of Leviticus, the question, 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:56.640 the question of the Torah, the first five books, 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:58.679 is the question of the whole Bible, 00:00:58.679 --> 00:01:01.840 which is how can a sinner, 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:04.120 how can a person who is sinful like us, 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.120 enter the presence of God? 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:08.200 So that's the question that Leviticus starts with 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:09.640 and offers to us. 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:12.560 How can the dust of the earth, sometimes the Old Testament says, 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.079 enter the holy presence of the living Creator? 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:17.480 Right, so we are unclean people and we are dusty people, 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:18.760 made from the dust. 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:21.240 How can we enter the presence of God? 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:25.479 The temporary answer of the Old Testament is Leviticus. 00:01:26.479 --> 00:01:30.839 And the temporary answer in Leviticus is sacrifice. 00:01:30.839 --> 00:01:32.239 And so that's what we're thinking about tonight, 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:35.759 is the sacrifices that take place in Leviticus. 00:01:35.759 --> 00:01:40.560 But before we do that, and just let's take 90 seconds or so, 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:45.159 if you have a Bible turned back to Exodus chapter 40, 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:47.199 you don't have to turn actually, 00:01:47.199 --> 00:01:49.719 because it's on the same page, 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:52.480 same if you're in one of these Bibles. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.200 Exodus 40, look down at verses 34 and 35. 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:57.879 Just to remember what we said last week, 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.200 though I didn't pull this verse out last week. 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:03.400 The cloud covered the 10 of meeting, 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:04.439 that's the Tabernacle, 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:06.439 that's what we're talking about here in Leviticus. 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:07.359 So it's already been built. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.120 The Tabernacle has already been built 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.199 by the time we get to Leviticus one. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:12.479 And the glory of the Lord, 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:14.879 the presence of God fills the Tabernacle. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:16.599 And Moses, and here's the big thing, 00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:19.639 was not able to enter the Tabernacle. 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:21.879 All right, and then you flip over to Leviticus one one, 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:24.039 and this is what we did look at last week. 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.319 The Lord called Moses and spoke to him 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.319 from inside the tent of meeting. 00:02:29.559 --> 00:02:31.559 So God's presence has come down, 00:02:31.559 --> 00:02:34.399 and Moses, the mediator, cannot enter, 00:02:34.399 --> 00:02:36.279 we're told, at the end of Exodus. 00:02:36.279 --> 00:02:38.919 And then the voice of the Lord comes from inside the tent 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.000 to Moses who's outside the tent. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:43.079 And then if you have a Bible very quickly, 00:02:43.079 --> 00:02:44.560 just to remember, if you were here, 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.519 you will remember, over to Numbers one one. 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:52.439 And it says, that's on page 108. 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:54.640 This is what it says in Numbers one one. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:59.120 The Lord spoke to Moses and the wilderness of Sinai 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.760 inside the tent of meeting. 00:03:01.760 --> 00:03:04.400 So from the beginning of Leviticus, 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.439 Moses cannot enter God's presence. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:09.640 And in the book of Numbers, 00:03:09.640 --> 00:03:12.680 verse one, Moses is in God's presence. 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.600 So that tells you that Leviticus worked. 00:03:15.600 --> 00:03:17.800 Whatever the temporary sacrificial system 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:20.040 that is on offer here, it worked. 00:03:20.040 --> 00:03:21.719 Moses is now able to go in. 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:25.120 And that's exactly what we have here in Leviticus. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:26.400 The answer is sacrifice. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:27.960 That's what worked. 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:30.719 And so today, we looked last time at the fact 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:33.719 that Leviticus is structured in seven parts. 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:36.800 It's a, if you remember this phrase, a chiasm. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:41.800 It goes A, B, C, D, C, B, A. 00:03:42.640 --> 00:03:44.240 I had to get that right in my head. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:48.439 A, B, C, D, the day of atonement, C, B, A. 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:50.439 That's a chiasm like the Gruffalo. 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:52.920 So if you know, you know. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:59.879 And the tabernacle before we dive in to the sacrifices. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:04.360 The last thing I'll say is in Exodus, the back half, 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.760 this tabernacle, this temporary temple 00:04:08.760 --> 00:04:12.040 that we have here in Leviticus, it's given two names. 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:17.039 One is tabernacle and a tabernacle is simply a word 00:04:17.159 --> 00:04:18.360 that means dwelling. 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:20.800 So it's called the tabernacle 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:22.719 because it's the place where God dwells. 00:04:22.719 --> 00:04:23.719 It's his house. 00:04:23.719 --> 00:04:26.519 So sometimes Leviticus calls it the house of the Lord. 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:31.439 And the other name is the tent of meeting. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:33.599 Sometimes that name's used. 00:04:33.599 --> 00:04:38.000 And that's because you hope to go meet God in that tent. 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:40.480 And so the question of Leviticus 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.759 is how could the tabernacle also be a tent of meeting? 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:50.000 How can sinners actually go inside the tabernacle? 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:51.640 How could the tabernacle be a tent of meeting? 00:04:51.640 --> 00:04:52.720 Same question, right? 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.759 How can sinners enter the presence of the Lord? 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:57.200 All right, so the answer is sacrifices. 00:04:57.200 --> 00:05:00.160 Let's think about that tonight for just a few minutes. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.400 So if you look down in Leviticus chapter one, 00:05:03.640 --> 00:05:06.640 verse two, right after the Lord calls to Moses 00:05:06.640 --> 00:05:07.759 from in the tent of meeting, 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:10.439 that's not a tent of meeting yet for Moses. 00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.000 Verse two, speak to the people of Israel, the Lord says, 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:16.079 and say to them, when any of you brings an offering 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:17.920 to the Lord, so there's the word. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.360 It's a word that's gonna show up hundreds of times 00:05:20.360 --> 00:05:22.319 in this book, an offering. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:24.480 When you bring an offering to the Lord. 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:25.920 It's the Hebrew word. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:27.560 I'm gonna, we're gonna just list 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:29.759 a number of Hebrew words tonight. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:32.159 This one's actually listed explicitly 00:05:32.159 --> 00:05:34.480 in the English translation in the New Testament. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:35.959 It's the word Corbonne. 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.959 And it's the word Jesus uses in Mark chapter seven, verse 11. 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:42.839 He says Corbonne, and that's how it's translated 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:45.239 in the ESV exactly as that Corbonne. 00:05:45.239 --> 00:05:46.079 That's the word. 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:46.919 It's an offering. 00:05:46.919 --> 00:05:47.759 What's an offering? 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.039 If any of you brings an offering, a Corbonne, 00:05:51.039 --> 00:05:56.039 an offering is something we give to God that costs us 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.399 in order to enter his presence. 00:06:01.599 --> 00:06:03.719 Right, so that's an offering. 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.120 We often call it a sacrifice 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:09.520 because of its association with animal death, 00:06:09.520 --> 00:06:11.920 but it doesn't have to be a sacrifice 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:13.160 in the sense of death. 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:14.520 Sometimes it's grain. 00:06:14.520 --> 00:06:16.720 So the better word is offering. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.320 Anything that you lose to give to God 00:06:20.320 --> 00:06:22.120 so that you can enter into God's presence. 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:23.920 That's the concept of the offering. 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:27.120 And one of the really important things to know 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:31.520 is that there are five Corbonne offering types listed 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:34.919 in Leviticus in chapter one to seven, the first section. 00:06:34.919 --> 00:06:38.319 And one of the things that is absolutely key 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:41.319 for unlocking Leviticus, I think when you read it, 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:44.319 is that you learn in Exodus 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:48.319 that these five types of offerings 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.919 are sometimes all enacted at once. 00:06:52.919 --> 00:06:55.719 And what I mean by that is when we read about 00:06:55.719 --> 00:06:58.719 the burnt offering and the grain offering 00:06:58.719 --> 00:07:00.120 and the peace offering 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:02.519 and the guilt offering and the sin offering 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:06.120 that one sacrifice can be all of five. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.120 So you can bring one animal 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:14.120 and it be simultaneously peace, grain, burnt, etc. 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:15.920 All five. 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:18.720 And that actually helps unlock the meaning 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.920 of Leviticus for you to see that that process 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:24.920 is sometimes happening in one event. 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:27.319 All five sacrifices, not always, 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:29.120 but it can be done that way. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:32.519 And so there's so much in Leviticus that we don't know, 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:35.720 so much that's between the lines of how exactly 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:37.920 did all of this happen every single day, 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:41.720 how many times did every worshiper come, things like that. 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:44.319 We don't have exact details on, 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:46.720 but we can put together a pretty good picture of it. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.319 And one of the most important things, 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:50.519 this will make, give you, I think, 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:51.920 be more meaningful in just a minute, 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:55.120 but that you can enact all the sacrifices. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.319 Everything's going on in this one event 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:00.319 when you come to the Tabernacle to offer a sacrifice. 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:04.719 Okay, so let's quickly say, what are the five sacrifices? 00:08:04.719 --> 00:08:05.920 All right, and I'm not going to take them 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.319 in order of Leviticus, I'm going to go backwards with them, 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:11.920 because in some sense, the backwards order 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:16.120 from Leviticus seven back to one, or five back to one, 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:19.120 is actually the logic of the sacrificial system. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:24.120 And so if you flip over to chapter four, Leviticus four, 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:29.120 it says, chapter four, verse one, 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:31.920 the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:33.720 speak to the people of Israel saying, 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.320 if anyone sins unintentionally 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:39.519 in any of the Lord's commandments about things not to be done, 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:42.519 and does any one of them, if it is the anointed priest 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:46.120 who sins bringing guilt on the people, then he shall, 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:49.419 there's the word Corban, offer for the sin 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:50.919 that he has committed a bull. 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:53.620 All right, so you can see on your outline, 00:08:53.620 --> 00:08:57.320 I think there, the first offering is called the Hattah, 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:00.220 offering, and that is this word here, 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.220 that's translated sin. 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:06.620 Hattah is the word sin in Hebrew, 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:10.620 but Hattah actually has a slightly different connotation, 00:09:10.620 --> 00:09:14.820 and it's the purification from sin offering. 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:16.919 So the first offering we read about in chapter four 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:19.919 is this notion of purification, 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:22.820 and we're told it's for an unintentional sin, 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:24.520 which is a little confusing in English. 00:09:24.520 --> 00:09:27.820 It actually means sins done 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:32.320 that are not particularly defiant and obstinate against God. 00:09:33.420 --> 00:09:35.460 So intentional sins are sins that, 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:37.320 there is no forgiveness and the Levitical code 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.220 for them at all, not in this life at least. 00:09:40.220 --> 00:09:41.520 And those are sins that are done 00:09:41.520 --> 00:09:44.460 with very particular defiance against God. 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:48.180 But these are unintentional, they're done in softer ways, 00:09:48.180 --> 00:09:49.020 lesser ways. 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:51.920 And one of the ways the scholars talks about this 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:56.919 is he says that the Hattah offering is for issues of theft 00:09:58.179 --> 00:10:00.779 from God, that's one of the ways Leviticus puts it. 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:02.819 And so you've actually, in this offering, 00:10:02.819 --> 00:10:07.819 you are purifying yourself from stealing God's glory from him. 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:11.259 So like if you use God's name in vain, 00:10:11.259 --> 00:10:14.120 you have stolen his glory, it's an act of theft, 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:15.620 is how the book puts it. 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:18.319 And so you need a Hattah offering. 00:10:18.319 --> 00:10:19.659 All right, so that's the first one. 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:22.459 And the issue, if it's a purification for sin, 00:10:22.459 --> 00:10:26.319 the issue is that sin makes you impure, not pure, 00:10:26.319 --> 00:10:29.259 and a lack of purity keeps you out of the presence of God. 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:33.259 Second one, if you look at Leviticus chapter five, 00:10:33.259 --> 00:10:36.779 these are the final two here, down at verse 14. 00:10:37.980 --> 00:10:39.019 The Lord spoke to Moses saying, 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:42.179 if anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:44.259 in any of the holy things of the Lord, 00:10:44.259 --> 00:10:47.360 he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation, 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:49.940 a ram without blemish out of the flock, 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:51.860 valued in silver shepherds, 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:54.539 according to the shuckle of the sanctuary for a, 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:57.419 and here's a different word, guilt offering. 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:00.620 All right, now this sounds almost identical, but it's not. 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:04.960 And the word here is an Assam offering translated guilt, 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:07.500 but actually it means reparation. 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:09.080 And so you can hear in this language, 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:14.080 the difference is that this offering is for compensation. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:17.920 So you are paying back something in this offering. 00:11:17.920 --> 00:11:21.960 You can do these simultaneously in the the sacrifice or can, 00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:24.600 the worship or can, but what are you paying back? 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.240 You've stolen from God or later on we learned 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.639 you could have stolen from somebody else. 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:32.840 And so what you have to do is you have to make justice. 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:36.680 You have to bring the amount that you stole. 00:11:36.680 --> 00:11:39.000 Let's say you stole a heifer from somebody, 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.800 then you owe a heifer, you owe a bull, 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.839 and you have to add 20%. 00:11:45.839 --> 00:11:48.159 We learned just a little while after that. 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:52.959 So there's an act of compensation to achieve justice. 00:11:52.959 --> 00:11:55.319 Now these are the two negative sacrifices, 00:11:55.319 --> 00:11:56.639 meaning these are the two sacrifices, 00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:59.799 the only two commanded for sin, 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:03.620 where you come in and you have to satisfy 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:07.240 your sin by purification and then by justice 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.559 through, through reparation, through paying back. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:11.639 Those are the two. 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.679 Those are the negative sacrifices offerings, 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:15.639 as we call them. 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:18.799 Now the final three are what people have often called 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:22.199 the positive and they're the first three that show up. 00:12:22.199 --> 00:12:25.759 So flip over to Leviticus three, verse one. 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.639 If the worshippers offering is a sacrifice of peace, 00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:34.120 if he offers an animal from the herd male or female, 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:36.000 he shall offer it without blemish. 00:12:36.860 --> 00:12:39.559 So there's the peace offering and the peace offering 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:41.599 is not an offering for sin. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:46.439 It's an offering that you proclaim to God 00:12:46.439 --> 00:12:48.839 and he then proclaims to you when he receives it, 00:12:48.839 --> 00:12:53.000 that friendship has been had between you. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:55.039 So this is the offering of reconciliation. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.479 So these offerings are not in logical order, 00:12:57.479 --> 00:12:59.639 they actually move backwards. 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.639 And so when you offer for your sin purification 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:07.000 and then you offer for justice, repayment, 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:10.200 then you can offer in that same moment peace 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:12.840 and say reconciliation and friendship 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:14.879 has actually taken place. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:18.480 And then number four, chapter two, verse one, 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.139 just back up one chapter, you see how they're going backwards. 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:22.840 When anyone brings a grain offering 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:23.919 as an offering to the Lord, 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:26.259 his offering shall be a fine flower. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:28.080 Now this one's a little tricky 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:32.720 because it doesn't actually say grain here at the beginning. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:35.820 Instead, it uses the word Mina. 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:38.560 You can see on point four, what are the offerings? 00:13:38.560 --> 00:13:42.080 Mina and the word Mina in Hebrew is the word tribute 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:43.160 or thanksgiving. 00:13:44.160 --> 00:13:46.240 All right, so think about it. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.040 When you come and you bring your bull for a sacrifice, 00:13:51.040 --> 00:13:54.680 you first are saying, I have sinned against the Lord 00:13:54.680 --> 00:13:57.400 and I'm impure and I need purification. 00:13:57.400 --> 00:14:02.400 Then you are offering a repayment that establishes justice. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:07.319 Then in the same moment, you are offering peace 00:14:07.319 --> 00:14:08.879 and God says when he receives it, 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:11.600 now we are friends again, there's reconciliation. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:15.519 And then after that, you can offer alongside the animal 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:19.120 grain, baked grain, like a little cake. 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.679 And that is a thanksgiving offering 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:25.039 that we would call a tithe. 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:28.360 So the Mina is your gift from your labors. 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.360 It's the gift you give God from out of your labors 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:33.039 after you've received forgiveness, 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.039 after you've received reconciliation. 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:38.000 And then lastly, and this is the most important, 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:42.840 number five, which is the first in Leviticus is 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:44.159 in chapter one, verse three, 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:46.600 if his offering is a burnt offering. 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:52.019 Okay, the word here, burnt offering is not the word burnt. 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:54.759 It's Ola, it's ascension. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:59.600 And this language of burnt has been carried over 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:01.240 from past translations, 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:03.360 but it actually says, it says, 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.519 if this offering is an ascension offering from the herd. 00:15:08.560 --> 00:15:10.120 Okay, now the ascension offering, 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:13.060 and this is a key here, a couple of keys. 00:15:13.060 --> 00:15:16.820 One, all of this can happen in the same instance. 00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:19.399 Number two key, the ascension offering 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:23.320 is the core offering that describes all that's going on 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.039 in the offering. 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:26.700 And so here at the very beginning, 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:29.759 we're simply being told when you come to the temple, 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:32.080 the tabernacle to give an offering, 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:34.919 it is an ascension offering. 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:37.720 Whatever it is, it's an act of ascension. 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:39.240 It's an act of going up. 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:40.679 That's what it's called here. 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:41.720 It's the core offering. 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:43.240 All right, so let's put it all together. 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.159 That's enough of all the offering talk. 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:47.240 Let's put it all together. 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.279 And the idea here is when you go 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:51.939 and you give an animal as an offering, 00:15:51.939 --> 00:15:55.039 it's an act of purification 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:58.340 and substitutionary justice taking place through the animal. 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:02.899 And then there's a pronouncement of shalom, 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:05.899 shalom peace, the peace offering. 00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:09.460 Now you are reconciled, God says to me. 00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:13.980 And then there in response is the Mina, the thanksgiving, 00:16:13.980 --> 00:16:15.820 where you say, now I'm bringing something 00:16:15.820 --> 00:16:18.220 of my work labors to you, God. 00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:19.259 Do you do that? 00:16:19.259 --> 00:16:20.620 Do we do that? 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:23.820 We bring a gift from our labor to the Lord 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:26.060 after we've heard from the Lord, you're purified 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:28.819 and you've been pronounced just in worship. 00:16:28.819 --> 00:16:31.099 We gift our offering, right? 00:16:31.099 --> 00:16:34.519 And then the whole thing is an act of ascension. 00:16:35.699 --> 00:16:37.179 And where do you ascend? 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:39.979 You ascend into the presence of the Lord. 00:16:39.979 --> 00:16:42.899 So how can Moses go into the Ten of Meeting? 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:46.019 He has to go by way of ascension going up 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:49.339 into the presence of the Lord, all right? 00:16:49.339 --> 00:16:52.259 So let's take one step back from those details 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:53.819 that can be a little, you know, 00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:57.620 you gotta go for it when you do these details. 00:16:57.620 --> 00:16:59.700 Take one step back and think about the big picture 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:02.440 and what's going on here theologically. 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:04.820 The big picture is this, we brought this up last week 00:17:04.820 --> 00:17:07.500 and we said, who can ascend the mountain 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:09.259 of the Lord, Psalm 15? 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:11.380 Who can go up into his presence? 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:13.860 What is the tabernacle? 00:17:13.860 --> 00:17:15.820 What is the temple in the Old Testament? 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:21.059 In Genesis chapter one, God made the heavens and the earth 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:24.299 and out of the land we're told the mountain of the Lord 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:25.139 was created. 00:17:25.139 --> 00:17:28.259 And we know that from places like Ezekiel 28 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:32.039 where Eden is called the top of the mountain of the Lord. 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:36.779 And so in the beginning, God raised up this holy mountain 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:38.259 in creation. 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:40.299 And at the very tip top of that mountain 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:42.259 was the Garden of Eden. 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:45.619 And so in the Old Testament, the later references to Eden 00:17:45.619 --> 00:17:47.859 help us understand that there's the Garden of Eden 00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:49.740 at the top of the mountain of God. 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:52.900 And then there's Eden, which is a broader part 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:54.140 of the mountain of God. 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:56.779 And then there are the lower parts of the mountain of God. 00:17:56.779 --> 00:17:58.420 All right, so the mountain of the Lord 00:17:58.420 --> 00:18:01.299 in the Old Testament has three tiers. 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:05.519 The Garden, Eden and the bottom of the mountain, the court. 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:10.440 And the Garden of Eden we learn is like the Holy of Holies. 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:13.460 Adam was a priest, he was the first priest. 00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:15.740 And he was inside the Holy of Holies. 00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:18.019 And you remember that when he sinned, 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:19.900 he was kicked out of the Garden of God. 00:18:21.139 --> 00:18:23.220 And which gate did he go out of? 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:26.819 We're told that he exited out of the East gate. 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:29.980 And at the East gate, cherubim were put there 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:31.059 to guard the way. 00:18:32.139 --> 00:18:34.740 And then in the very next chapter, we learn, 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:37.299 and this is something maybe that you might not have called 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:40.379 before, but that Cain, Abel and Adam's family 00:18:40.379 --> 00:18:41.900 are still in Eden. 00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:44.139 They're not in the Garden of Eden, 00:18:44.139 --> 00:18:46.940 they've been kicked out of the Garden, but they're in Eden. 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:48.259 And how do we know that? 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:51.420 Because Cain and Abel offer the first offering to God 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:55.779 on an altar in Eden, in the temple. 00:18:55.779 --> 00:18:57.500 They're still inside the temple, the first temple, 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:58.779 the mountain of the Lord. 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:01.140 And Cain fails in that. 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:02.620 And where does he go? 00:19:02.620 --> 00:19:05.340 And this is where John Steinbeck got the famous phrase. 00:19:05.340 --> 00:19:09.019 He goes, east of Eden, Adam and Eve were kicked out 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:10.960 of the East gate of the Garden, 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:13.299 but they're still in Eden on the mountain of the Lord. 00:19:13.299 --> 00:19:16.980 But then when Cain fails to offer properly an offering, 00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:19.899 a whole burn offering, an ascension offering actually, 00:19:19.899 --> 00:19:21.539 is the language that we see here again, 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:23.099 Genesis four and Leviticus one, 00:19:24.139 --> 00:19:27.359 then he's kicked out east of Eden, off the mountain, 00:19:28.379 --> 00:19:32.279 away from God's presence, into the erits, the land. 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:35.299 And so the whole Bible is framed in this lens 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:37.980 that we were made to be in the Holy of Holies 00:19:37.980 --> 00:19:40.259 with God in the Garden, 00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:42.139 or rather the whole world was meant to be 00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:43.860 the Holy of Holies eventually, 00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:45.500 if Adam and Eve would have obeyed, 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:48.540 but we got kicked east of Eden and east of Eden 00:19:48.540 --> 00:19:50.140 and went into Exilic land. 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:54.259 And the whole Torah, the whole Pentateuch, 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:58.300 is this movement of can the people of God ever get back 00:19:58.300 --> 00:19:59.600 on top of the mountain again? 00:20:00.580 --> 00:20:03.080 And so you have condescension narratives 00:20:03.080 --> 00:20:06.259 and ascension narratives taking place all throughout. 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:09.660 And the lowest you can get is into the chaos waters, 00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:12.300 the dark waters, like the flood. 00:20:12.300 --> 00:20:13.820 But then you come out of the flood, 00:20:13.820 --> 00:20:16.700 think about Egypt is often associated 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:20.259 in the Torah with Sheol, the place of death. 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.779 And the people of Israel are down in Sheol, 00:20:23.779 --> 00:20:25.740 and then God comes and rescues them. 00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:26.860 And what do they do? 00:20:26.860 --> 00:20:28.400 They go through the water. 00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:31.180 And then when they go out of the water, 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:34.540 they get to the land, the place of exile, the wilderness. 00:20:34.540 --> 00:20:36.300 And then from the wilderness, the land, 00:20:36.299 --> 00:20:41.220 where do they arrive, the mountain of God, Sinai. 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:43.299 And they go up the mountain, Moses does, 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:45.139 but he can't quite get to the Garden of Eden. 00:20:45.139 --> 00:20:47.579 He can't quite enter into God's presence, right? 00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:50.940 And so the entire story is one of ups and downs. 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:53.579 Can the people, can we ever enter into the presence 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:55.779 of God again, into the mountain of the Lord? 00:20:56.700 --> 00:20:58.460 And lastly, on the big picture, 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:00.059 we'll move to the final thing. 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:02.899 Can we ever enter the mountain of the Lord? 00:21:02.899 --> 00:21:03.740 Well, what happens? 00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:06.460 Moses comes down the mountain and the tabernacle 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:08.299 instructions are given. 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:11.579 And it just so happens that the tabernacle has three parts. 00:21:12.620 --> 00:21:13.460 Right? 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:17.220 The court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:20.339 And that means that the tabernacle is being constructed 00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:22.819 as an image of the mountain of God. 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:24.620 Right? 00:21:24.620 --> 00:21:25.980 The Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:27.620 and Eden is the holy place, 00:21:27.620 --> 00:21:30.500 and the outer court is the lower parts of the mountain. 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:33.539 So this whole image is meant to be that you now, 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:34.740 as an Israelite worshiper, 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:38.019 can step to the bottom of the mountain, 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:39.619 just like Israel was at Mount Sinai, 00:21:39.619 --> 00:21:40.460 but what did God say? 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:41.379 Don't touch the mountain. 00:21:41.379 --> 00:21:43.220 Don't get any closer to the mountain. 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:44.859 You can come to the bottom of the mountain, 00:21:44.859 --> 00:21:47.619 and you can give a sacrifice of what? 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:48.460 What's the word? 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:49.940 Ascension. 00:21:49.940 --> 00:21:52.460 So that's why it's called an ascension sacrifice. 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:55.940 Because if you do well here, if you're received, 00:21:55.940 --> 00:21:59.619 if you give a sacrifice, you can ascend, you can go up. 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:00.460 Right? 00:22:00.460 --> 00:22:04.460 It's called here the mountain of ascension. 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:06.299 All right, lastly. 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:08.100 Lastly, and then I'll just give a few quick points 00:22:08.100 --> 00:22:09.019 of application. 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:11.900 That brings us back to Leviticus, 00:22:11.900 --> 00:22:13.420 Leviticus one of the sacrifices, 00:22:13.420 --> 00:22:15.100 just to ask how does this work? 00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:18.180 And so this is listed for you really clearly 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:20.819 in Leviticus one versus two to nine. 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:25.819 So the ascension offering covers the whole act of sacrifice. 00:22:26.299 --> 00:22:28.100 It tells you everything that took place. 00:22:28.100 --> 00:22:28.940 What took place? 00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:29.819 All right, look down with me. 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:32.139 We'll just run through this list. 00:22:32.139 --> 00:22:34.099 Chapter one, verse two, first, 00:22:35.099 --> 00:22:38.419 when the people bring an offering, 00:22:38.419 --> 00:22:40.339 when any of you brings an offering to the Lord, 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:42.419 you shall bring your offering of livestock 00:22:42.419 --> 00:22:44.179 from the herd or from the flock. 00:22:44.179 --> 00:22:45.019 That's the first step. 00:22:45.019 --> 00:22:47.500 Now we learn later in Leviticus that when you bring 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:49.539 your offering, the first thing that happens 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.460 is the priest inspects it. 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:55.700 So the priest looks around and lifts up all the hooves 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:58.179 and all that, that's what would have happened. 00:22:58.179 --> 00:22:59.179 And what is he looking for? 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:00.740 He's looking for blemishes. 00:23:01.580 --> 00:23:03.580 He's looking for disease. 00:23:03.580 --> 00:23:07.620 He's looking for that boil that's hidden 00:23:07.620 --> 00:23:11.380 on the back leg of the cow, of the bull 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:13.779 that you were hoping he does not see. 00:23:14.820 --> 00:23:17.980 And you know that that bull is gonna die 30 days from now. 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:20.860 So this is an easy giveaway for you. 00:23:20.860 --> 00:23:21.700 This is not hard. 00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:23.460 It's not gonna cost you anything. 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:26.340 That is what you call stealing from God. 00:23:26.340 --> 00:23:29.100 That's the type of sacrifice that gets condemnation. 00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:31.659 And so later in the Bible and the prophets, 00:23:31.659 --> 00:23:34.379 God condemns the priest and says, 00:23:34.379 --> 00:23:38.019 are you not bringing diseased animals before me? 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:40.379 And is that not evil in my sight? 00:23:40.379 --> 00:23:41.419 Because it doesn't cost you anything. 00:23:41.419 --> 00:23:42.859 They're gonna die anyway. 00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:45.019 So first step is the presentation. 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:47.419 You have to actually have your sacrifice, 00:23:47.419 --> 00:23:50.539 what you're offering to the Lord inspected. 00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:53.139 And then when you pass that, the next step we see 00:23:53.139 --> 00:23:56.939 in verse three is the handling, verse four. 00:23:56.940 --> 00:24:00.340 So if his offering is an ascension offering from the herd, 00:24:00.340 --> 00:24:02.299 he'll offer a male without blemish. 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:03.860 He'll bring it to the entrance of the Ten of Meeting. 00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:05.620 That's verse three. 00:24:05.620 --> 00:24:08.019 So that you could be accepted to go up the mountain 00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:09.980 of the Lord to ascend, right? 00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:13.980 And verse four, you, the worshiper will lay your hand 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:16.220 on the head of the burn offering 00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:19.420 and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement. 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:22.860 Now the word here for lay is not just the word lay the hand, 00:24:22.860 --> 00:24:24.820 but it's, there's an adjective there 00:24:24.820 --> 00:24:26.740 that's heavy handed laying. 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:29.500 That's where we get the idea of heavy handedness. 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:33.660 And it's, so it's actually says that you push here 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:36.620 the head down of the bull with your hand. 00:24:36.620 --> 00:24:37.740 So it's a heavy hand. 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:40.019 And he, it's an, it's, what is it? 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:42.539 It's an, it's an act of transfer. 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:46.460 It's an act of transferring your pollution symbolically, 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:49.339 your impurity to the sacrifice. 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:52.259 So there's this heavy handed hand laying 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:53.660 and it's, it's substitution. 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:55.420 It's exchange. 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:58.539 Now think back to the first step, the presentation. 00:24:58.539 --> 00:25:01.539 It has to be unblemished, right? 00:25:01.539 --> 00:25:02.380 Why? 00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:04.860 Because in the heavy handed laying, 00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:06.860 there is an act of transfer taking place 00:25:06.860 --> 00:25:09.180 symbolically, ceremonially, 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:14.180 that that unblemished animal, blameless, we would say, 00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:19.539 takes on your impurity and you are symbolically receiving 00:25:21.060 --> 00:25:22.820 its blamelessness, right? 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:25.659 So there's a, there's a great exchange that's taking place 00:25:25.659 --> 00:25:26.500 in this act. 00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:27.339 That's the point. 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:31.619 Third, right after that, then in verse five, 00:25:31.619 --> 00:25:34.059 then he shall kill the bull before the Lord. 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:36.059 That's the next step. 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:38.859 So who, who is it that actually does the act of killing? 00:25:40.139 --> 00:25:42.500 Did you catch who, who, who does the act of killing? 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:44.500 The worshipper, we do. 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:47.859 You do, if you were living in this time, you kill the bull. 00:25:47.859 --> 00:25:49.579 So that would be with a knife, 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:51.500 you would kill the bull in that moment. 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:54.180 And in that moment, Michael Morales, 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:56.220 his wonderful book on Leviticus, he says that, 00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:58.220 it's an act of you saying, 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:02.220 I'm confessing by my action, my sin deserves death. 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:08.819 So it's this unspeakably difficult act of confession 00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:11.980 that this is what my sin deserves. 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:13.380 It deserves death. 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:17.299 God must be approached through a substitutionary death. 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:19.700 That's the confession that's taking place here. 00:26:19.700 --> 00:26:22.740 And then finally, forth, sorry, not finally, but forth. 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:24.900 And then you read right after that. 00:26:24.900 --> 00:26:28.180 And then Aaron's son, the priest will bring the blood 00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:30.900 and throw the blood against the sides of the altar. 00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:34.860 So that's a box altar just outside the tent of meeting 00:26:34.860 --> 00:26:37.460 in the courtyard, and he's throwing the blood, 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:38.940 catching the blood and throwing it 00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:40.580 on all the sides of the altar. 00:26:41.580 --> 00:26:43.980 Now you'd think maybe that the blood would be thrown 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:47.819 upon the worshipper as an act of cleansing 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:51.220 that the blood we learn later in Leviticus 17, 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:53.819 the life is in the blood symbolically. 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:55.419 And so it's a symbol of life. 00:26:55.419 --> 00:26:58.379 And so you would think, and that does happen, 00:26:58.379 --> 00:27:02.700 Exodus 24, there is blood thrown on the people in Exodus 24. 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:04.939 But here we learn that actually the furniture 00:27:04.939 --> 00:27:06.460 represents the people. 00:27:07.659 --> 00:27:10.619 Think about in the Holy of Holies, 00:27:10.619 --> 00:27:11.899 we talked about this last time, 00:27:11.899 --> 00:27:15.500 there's this table with 12 pieces of bread 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:18.700 and those 12 pieces of bread represent the 12 tribes of Israel. 00:27:18.700 --> 00:27:22.099 So it's even the furniture that's representing the people. 00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:23.940 So instead of it being thrown upon you, 00:27:23.940 --> 00:27:27.420 it's being thrown upon the temple as a representation 00:27:27.420 --> 00:27:29.420 that God can dwell amongst His people 00:27:29.420 --> 00:27:31.500 who are encamped all around it. 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:36.500 So this is an act of cleansing that the scholars call it 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:39.579 the blood spreading or something like that. 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:44.460 And then lastly, not lastly, 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:46.700 I keep saying lastly, it's not lastly. 00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:48.140 That's because I'm not looking at the handout, 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:49.100 I'm looking at moments. 00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:53.660 Fifthly, then the burning. 00:27:53.660 --> 00:27:55.220 So then they would actually, 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:58.220 the priests would have to fillet the animal 00:27:58.220 --> 00:28:02.500 and put parts of it on the altar and it would be burned. 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:07.140 So your hope of ascension and reconciliation 00:28:07.140 --> 00:28:09.700 is particularly in this act of burning. 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:13.660 And what happens in this act of burning is that smoke, 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:15.460 who is it that ascends? 00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:18.420 The worshipper does not go into the tabernacle. 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:21.420 You do not get to go into the tabernacle. 00:28:21.420 --> 00:28:22.660 Only the priest does. 00:28:23.860 --> 00:28:25.860 And only the high priest wants a year 00:28:25.860 --> 00:28:27.980 into the Holy of Holies, right? 00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:29.460 What does go up? 00:28:30.820 --> 00:28:32.660 It's the offering of ascension. 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:33.580 What goes up? 00:28:33.580 --> 00:28:35.300 The smoke goes up. 00:28:35.300 --> 00:28:37.100 That's what ascends. 00:28:37.100 --> 00:28:39.100 And we're told here that the Lord receives it 00:28:39.100 --> 00:28:40.259 as a pleasing aroma. 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:42.340 In other words, he sees it and says, 00:28:42.339 --> 00:28:44.339 you have given, you have counted the cost, 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:47.619 you have confessed that your sin deserves death. 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:49.139 And it's an act of the Lord 00:28:49.139 --> 00:28:51.779 of receiving and symbolic reconciliation. 00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:54.539 So the ascension offering is about the ascension 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:58.019 of the smoke, of what goes up in burning. 00:28:58.779 --> 00:29:01.980 And then sixthly, it says that the Lord receives it. 00:29:03.179 --> 00:29:07.779 I didn't mark the verse, but later on in chapter one, 00:29:07.779 --> 00:29:09.859 here it is down in verse 13. 00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:13.339 The priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar. 00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:18.339 It is a burn offering, a food offering to the Lord. 00:29:19.259 --> 00:29:21.059 So it's cast in terms, that word food, 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:23.500 there is actually also the word bread. 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:25.779 Sometimes it's translated bread, sometimes it's food. 00:29:26.699 --> 00:29:28.299 And a lachem bread. 00:29:28.299 --> 00:29:33.299 And it's saying there that this is God eats. 00:29:33.899 --> 00:29:36.059 God eats, he receives this as bread. 00:29:36.059 --> 00:29:39.500 And that means that in every single one of the sacrifices, 00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:42.179 there is always a meal at the end, a communion. 00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:45.099 And we learn in chapter three, 00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:48.659 that in the peace offering after God eats, 00:29:48.659 --> 00:29:51.339 we turn around and then the people eat. 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:54.659 You the worshipper are given some of the food 00:29:54.659 --> 00:29:56.460 from the table of the altar, 00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:58.460 because reconciliation and peace has happened. 00:29:58.460 --> 00:30:00.700 And then you eat and the priest eats. 00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:03.259 And so the last step is a communion meal 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:04.940 and then a benediction. 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:08.340 And then a benediction, number six is the benediction. 00:30:08.340 --> 00:30:09.940 May the Lord bless you and keep you. 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:13.539 The Aaronic benediction, the Levitical benediction 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:15.580 is the one the priest pronounces over you 00:30:15.580 --> 00:30:18.220 at the communion meal after you eat. 00:30:18.220 --> 00:30:21.420 Now that should sound relatively familiar. 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:26.340 That there's an act of purification and justice 00:30:26.340 --> 00:30:30.900 by way of substitutionary atonement, reconciliation. 00:30:30.900 --> 00:30:33.340 And then a pronouncement that now you have been accepted 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:37.099 by God and there's peace, not war between you and God. 00:30:37.099 --> 00:30:40.699 And so now let us come and let us eat, the Lord says. 00:30:40.699 --> 00:30:43.659 He takes the bread from you and he gives you bread and wine. 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:47.619 And then at the end of that, he pronounces over you, 00:30:47.619 --> 00:30:50.859 may the Lord as you go bless you and keep you. 00:30:50.859 --> 00:30:55.619 All right, so we still worship like this, 00:30:55.619 --> 00:30:59.179 but only because there has been a once for all sacrifice 00:30:59.179 --> 00:31:00.179 in Jesus Christ. 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:02.820 And all of these things have been accomplished in him. 00:31:02.820 --> 00:31:06.500 And so now we come here and we come straight 00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:09.259 to the communion meal, straight to it. 00:31:09.259 --> 00:31:11.620 And we receive the feast and the benediction 00:31:11.620 --> 00:31:14.100 and the pronouncement that we've been purified 00:31:14.100 --> 00:31:15.539 and justice has been served. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:20.060 Let me just note these things in one to two minutes 00:31:20.060 --> 00:31:21.299 and we'll finish. 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:26.299 So what, so many so what's first so what, 00:31:26.299 --> 00:31:29.019 why does every single religion contain elements 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:30.180 of sacrifice? 00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:32.940 So every single religion in world history, 00:31:32.940 --> 00:31:35.619 it's almost impossible to find a religion 00:31:35.619 --> 00:31:37.980 that doesn't do sacrifice. 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:40.379 A people group that doesn't have sacrifice 00:31:40.379 --> 00:31:43.220 and act of giving to a God at the core. 00:31:44.139 --> 00:31:46.539 And just really quickly I'll answer it like this, 00:31:46.539 --> 00:31:50.500 sacrifice, substitutionary sacrifice was instituted 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:53.299 by God from Genesis three. 00:31:53.299 --> 00:31:55.579 We even see that in probably the clothing 00:31:55.579 --> 00:31:58.139 that Adam and Eve are given when the animals 00:31:58.140 --> 00:32:02.580 are sacrificed in Genesis three to clothe Adam and Eve. 00:32:02.580 --> 00:32:03.780 God did that. 00:32:03.780 --> 00:32:05.940 I think that's the moment he instituted sacrifice. 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:09.740 Genesis four can't enable sacrifice. 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:12.100 Genesis nine after the flood, 00:32:13.020 --> 00:32:16.180 the first thing Noah does, sacrifice. 00:32:16.180 --> 00:32:19.420 And so in this, in the noeik, this moment with Noah, 00:32:19.420 --> 00:32:22.259 when there's nothing but one family on the face of the earth, 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:25.060 it begins with a substitutionary sacrifice 00:32:25.059 --> 00:32:28.740 and from Noah all the peoples of the earth spread, right? 00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:33.379 So Noah taught from God every nation 00:32:33.379 --> 00:32:35.139 of all the earth's sacrifice. 00:32:35.139 --> 00:32:36.899 That's where it comes from right after the flood. 00:32:36.899 --> 00:32:40.139 It started again with Noah right after the flood. 00:32:40.139 --> 00:32:41.500 I think it's also because we all, 00:32:41.500 --> 00:32:44.139 every single human being, we all know we're guilty. 00:32:45.139 --> 00:32:48.779 I think that I haven't been a pastor for that long, 00:32:48.779 --> 00:32:51.819 but the more time I've been able to be one, 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:53.980 I think I have learned from talking to people 00:32:53.980 --> 00:32:56.220 from all sorts of backgrounds and traditions 00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:58.740 that every single person knows 00:32:58.740 --> 00:33:00.579 that they don't deserve what they have. 00:33:01.620 --> 00:33:04.740 And that is the core of the act of sacrifice, 00:33:04.740 --> 00:33:07.299 of counting the cost and saying, 00:33:07.299 --> 00:33:09.579 I know what I really deserve. 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:11.620 I think everybody knows that deep down. 00:33:11.620 --> 00:33:12.460 I think that's the reason. 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:14.380 Secondly, an existential question. 00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:15.299 What are we for? 00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:16.980 Who are we? 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:18.900 Leviticus answers that question. 00:33:18.900 --> 00:33:22.339 And the answer is the, we are for Sabbath. 00:33:22.339 --> 00:33:24.740 So we are for, what is Sabbath? 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:29.299 Sabbath is delightful resting in the holy presence of God. 00:33:30.379 --> 00:33:32.099 God's Sabbaths too, right? 00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:35.659 At the end of creation, it's his delightful entrance 00:33:35.659 --> 00:33:37.619 into the Garden of Eden. 00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:38.980 Or he enjoyed, that's his Sabbath. 00:33:38.980 --> 00:33:42.619 He enjoys entering into the presence of humanity. 00:33:42.619 --> 00:33:43.819 We are made for Sabbath. 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:45.539 God wants to Sabbath with us. 00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:48.859 Leviticus tells you that this is how you Sabbath with God 00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:50.939 through atonement, through sacrifice. 00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:52.539 Last thing I'll say about that. 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:56.620 I wish we had more time, but the first seven chapters 00:33:56.620 --> 00:33:59.620 of Leviticus, which covered the sacrifices, 00:33:59.620 --> 00:34:02.019 there are seven movements where it says, 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:04.580 and the Lord spoke to Moses. 00:34:04.580 --> 00:34:06.420 And then in chapter eight and chapter nine, 00:34:06.420 --> 00:34:09.220 there are seven acts of concentration for the priest. 00:34:09.220 --> 00:34:12.380 It's trying to convey, it's a Sabbath story. 00:34:12.380 --> 00:34:13.980 How can you Sabbath with the Lord, right? 00:34:13.980 --> 00:34:14.820 What are we for? 00:34:14.820 --> 00:34:17.220 We're made for the presence of God. 00:34:17.220 --> 00:34:19.820 Lastly, what's the gospel? 00:34:19.820 --> 00:34:20.940 Here we learn the gospel. 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:24.740 Hebrews chapter 10, the blood of bulls and goats 00:34:24.740 --> 00:34:27.539 could never really accomplish the act 00:34:27.539 --> 00:34:29.740 of purification and forgiveness. 00:34:29.740 --> 00:34:31.340 And so Hebrews chapter 10 says, 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:36.340 we now have a better sacrifice, Jesus Christ, once for all. 00:34:36.780 --> 00:34:40.380 Never again will the worshiper have to give 00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:43.740 and count something like this for in the place of themselves. 00:34:43.740 --> 00:34:46.140 Jesus Christ is better, that's Hebrews 10. 00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:49.059 And I just wanna end with this. 00:34:49.059 --> 00:34:53.579 One maybe more personal bit of application for us. 00:34:53.579 --> 00:34:57.139 Hebrews 13, 15, the very end of the book of Hebrews says this, 00:34:57.139 --> 00:35:01.099 that we now offer, because of Jesus fulfilling this event, 00:35:01.099 --> 00:35:04.059 these sacrifices, we now offer the sacrifice 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:06.299 of praise to the Lord. 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:09.699 And that means that's picking up on this idea 00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:11.980 of the tribute offering, the grain offering. 00:35:11.980 --> 00:35:14.539 We now come with our tribute. 00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:16.179 We don't count the cost of a bull. 00:35:16.179 --> 00:35:17.820 We don't count the cost in any of those ways. 00:35:17.820 --> 00:35:21.179 Jesus did that for us fully and finally. 00:35:21.179 --> 00:35:24.820 But we come and we do offer what's called 00:35:24.820 --> 00:35:26.940 a sacrifice of praise. 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:29.380 In other words, Hebrews is ending by saying, 00:35:29.380 --> 00:35:30.739 all of this has been paid for you, 00:35:30.739 --> 00:35:33.960 but worship actually should cost you something. 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:36.460 It should cost you something. 00:35:36.460 --> 00:35:38.699 You should come and lose your time, 00:35:38.699 --> 00:35:41.420 lose your Sunday morning sleep, 00:35:41.420 --> 00:35:44.019 lose the little pleasures you would have 00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:47.380 in playing an Xbox on Sunday morning or whatever it is. 00:35:47.380 --> 00:35:48.340 It should cost. 00:35:48.340 --> 00:35:50.380 There's a sacrifice of praise. 00:35:50.380 --> 00:35:52.059 And when you do that, what you're saying is, 00:35:52.059 --> 00:35:55.860 I am happy for worship to cost me something 00:35:56.699 --> 00:35:58.579 because of all the Lord has done for me. 00:35:59.780 --> 00:36:01.739 And so in that sense, actually, 00:36:01.739 --> 00:36:04.019 it sort of flips worship on itself for us 00:36:04.019 --> 00:36:06.219 where the primary question is not, 00:36:06.219 --> 00:36:08.219 did I get something out of that today? 00:36:09.619 --> 00:36:13.500 Instead, it's, I came to give to the Lord 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:15.820 my sacrifice of praise 00:36:15.820 --> 00:36:17.780 because Jesus gave everything for me. 00:36:18.940 --> 00:36:19.780 Let's pray. 00:36:19.780 --> 00:36:21.860 Father, we thank you for this great word, Leviticus. 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:23.539 And we ask that you would use it 00:36:24.539 --> 00:36:27.300 to help us encourage us to offer a sacrifice of praise. 00:36:27.300 --> 00:36:29.659 Thank you, Jesus, for being our purification 00:36:29.659 --> 00:36:31.719 and expiation and propitiation. 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:33.300 We didn't get to those words today, Lord, 00:36:33.300 --> 00:36:34.619 but we thank you for that. 00:36:34.619 --> 00:36:39.539 And for our peace, our shalom, our cleansing, 00:36:39.539 --> 00:36:42.659 our wine, our bread, we thank you, Lord. 00:36:42.659 --> 00:36:46.059 And so we come just offering our sacrifice of praise tonight, 00:36:46.059 --> 00:36:47.460 counting the cost in the middle of the week, 00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:49.779 coming to the city center, Lord, 00:36:49.780 --> 00:37:13.780 may you be glorified in Jesus' name, amen.