The Sacrificial Offering is God-ordained.
After man
had sinned the first time, they tried to cover themselves using
leaves.
"As soon as they had eaten
it, they were given understanding and realized that they were
naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves." (Gen
3:7)
This
however was ineffective, sin cannot be covered up, it must
be atoned
for.
Nothing
emphasizes the terrible nature of sin more than the slaughter of an
innocent little lamb. This same principle was later incorporated into the
tabernacle of Moses.
"Indeed, according to the Law
almost everything is purified by blood, and
sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out." (Heb
9:22)
God
therefore corrected their error.
"And the LORD God made
clothes out of animal skins for
Adam and his wife, and he clothed them." (Gen 3:21)
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Cain
should have learned from this incident, but he did
not.
"After some time Cain brought
some of his harvest and gave it as an offering to the LORD. Then
Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it,
and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The LORD was
pleased with Abel and his offering, but he rejected Cain and his
offering. Cain became furious, and he scowled in anger." (Gen
4:3-5)
Instead of
offering the grain, Cain could have used the grain to purchase an
animal for the sacrifice, because blood had to flow.
He didn't.
The end result was that blood flowed anyway ...
his brother's blood.
"Then Cain said to his
brother Abel, "Let's go out in the fields." When they were out in
the fields, Cain turned on his brother and killed him." (Gen
4:8)
Sin must
never be dealt with lightly.
Otherwise it will catch up with you and overtake
you!
Note:
Jesus was the Lamb slain for your sins in the tabernacle
of heaven. No other sacrifice is needed anymore.
- Pieter de
Waal
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God
requires a perfect sacrifice.
"When you bring a blind or
sick or lame animal to sacrifice to me, do you think
there's nothing wrong with that? Try giving an animal like that to
the governor!
Would he be pleased with you or grant you any favors?" (Mal
1:8)
"A curse on the cheater who
sacrifices a worthless animal to me, when he has in his flock a
good animal that he promised to give me! For I am a great king, and
people of all nations fear me."
(Mal 1:14)
Jesus is the lamb, the first born, the perfect sacrifice, that
was offered for
us on the altar of the tabernacle of heaven. His blood flowed for
our sins.
"It was the costly sacrifice
of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw."
(1Pe 1:19)
"Through the eternal Spirit
he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will
purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve
the living God." (Heb 9:14)
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To
stop the epidemic that was killing his people, king David
decided to offer a sacrifice. Because the tabernacle of Moses
was
not available any more, he went to
Auronah instead.
Auronah asked him: "Your
Majesty, why are you here?" David answered, "To buy your threshing
place and build an altar for the LORD, in order to stop the
epidemic." "Take it, Your Majesty," Araunah said, "and offer
to the LORD whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an
offering on the altar; here are their yokes and the threshing
boards to use as fuel." Araunah gave it all to the king and
said to him, "May the LORD your God accept your
offering."
"But the king answered,
"No, I will pay you for it. I will not offer to the LORD my God
sacrifices that have cost me nothing." And he bought the
threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver.
Then he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings. The LORD answered his prayer, and the
epidemic in Israel was stopped." (2Sa 24:21-25)
Just
think. What would have happened if
David had accepted Araunah's offer?
- Pieter de
Waal
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The altar
in the tabernacle of your life should always be burning with the
fire from heaven. Once God has lit the fire on the altar of your
life, you should never let it die.
"The fire must always be
burning on the altar. It must never go out. The priest will
burn wood on it every morning. He will lay the burnt offering on
the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offering. The fire
must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out."
(Lev 6:12-13)
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Aaron did
not light the fire of his altar. God lit it from
heaven!
"Moses and Aaron went into
the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people.
Then the LORD'S glory appeared to all the people. Fire came out
from the LORD'S presence and consumed the burnt offering and the
pieces of fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they
shouted and bowed with their faces touching the ground." (Lev
9:23-24)
Allow God
to light to the fire in the tabernacle of your life!
Elijah
took this to the extreme. Instead of lighting the
fire for the altar, he poured water all over
it!
"With these stones he
(Elijah) rebuilt the altar for the worship of the LORD. He dug a
trench around it, large enough to hold about four gallons of water.
Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and
laid it on the wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water and pour
it on the offering and the wood." They did so, and he said, "Do it
again"---and they did. "Do it once more," he said---and they did.
The water ran down around the altar and filled the trench." (1Ki
18:32-35 GNB)
"The LORD sent fire down, and
it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the
earth and dried up the water in the trench." (1Ki 18:38)
- Pieter de
Waal
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The altar
of the Tabernacle of Moses.
The altar in the tabernacle was made of
wood.
"Make an altar out of
acacia wood. It is to be square, 7 1/2 feet long and 7 1/2
feet wide, and it is to be 4 1/2 feet high. Make projections at the
top of the four corners. They are to form one piece with the altar,
and the whole is to be covered with bronze. (Exo
27:1-2)
The
original dimensions given for the altar in the tabernacle was five
cubits
by five cubits square. Five is the number of grace. This indicates
clearly that
salvation is entirely and exclusively from the Lord.
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Who ever
heard of an altar made of wood?
The tabernacle of Moses was.
It was only
recently "discovered" that wood overlaid with copper was virtually
fireproof as long as the copper was properly sealed. Yet, the altar
in the Tabernacle of Moses was made exactly like that, long before
this "discovery".
Surely the
Bible is far ahead of Science!
- Pieter de
Waal
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The design
for the altar of the tabernacle required that the
bronze-covered
wooden panels be used to form a box that could be filled with earth
or uncut stone.
The box was held together with a metal grate that went around
it.
"Make a grate for it out of
bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring for each of the four corners of
the grate. Put the grate under the ledge of the altar so that it
comes halfway up the altar. (Exo 27:4-5)
Each
corner of the altar of the tabernacle contained a horn on top to
which the animal that was to be sacrificed could be tied unto. The
metal grate also served to protect the altar panels from any damage
that could be inflicted upon it by these animals.
"Make a horn at each of its
four corners. The four horns and the altar must be made out of
one piece of wood covered with bronze." (Exo 27:2)
The horns
of the altar of the tabernacle also served an alternate
purpose.
It was an appointed place of safekeeping for the
innocent.
"Whoever hits someone and
kills him is to be put to death. But if it was an accident and he
did not mean to kill him, he can escape to a place which I will
choose for you, and there he will be safe. But when someone gets
angry and deliberately kills someone else, he is to be put to
death, even if he has run to my altar for safety. (Exo
21:12-14)
Jesus is
the Horn of our salvation. There were four horns on the
altar of the tabernacle, pointing to the four corners of the
earth.
This speaks of the sufficiency of the sacrifice for
everyone.
"The God who is my Rock, in
Him will I trust. He is my Shield, and the Horn of my
salvation,
my High Tower, and my Refuge, my Savior. You save me from
violence." (2Sa 22:3)
"Jehovah is my strength, and
my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock; I will trust in
Him;
He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high
tower." (Psa 18:2)
We can now
obtain the riches of the tabernacle of life because Jesus is also
the sacrifice that was tied to the altar of the cross to atone for
our sins.
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