Bible Study: Feast With God

Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Wednesday February 03, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Leviticus, chapters 7-8. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-february-3

Title: Bible Study: Feast With God
In today's reading we learn of the trespass, peace offering, and the ten steps that the priest had to take in order to be cleansed and able to receive the sacrifices of the congregation. The trespass offering was an offering that was given to express repentance and sorrow for sin, “Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.…....And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.” - Leviticus 7:1,2,5-7. The person offering the sacrifice was not allowed to eat the flesh of the animal as it was a time for reflection and fasting, therefore, it was to be eaten only by the priest who accepted the offering, this was the offenders atonement for his sin. Today, we as Christian's should still follow this command and offer ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice to reflect and fast over the atonement of our sins which only comes from the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Peace offerings were not a requirement, they were given to express thanks and praise to God for not only the atonement of their sins, but other blessings as well. “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.” - Leviticus 7:11-15. Unlike the sin and trespass offerings, the person offering the sacrifice was allowed to eat the flesh and bread along with priest accepting the offering. The peace offering was the last one to be offered because there could be no peace or fellowship with God until all the regulations of the sin and trespass offerings had first been obeyed. The special feature of the peace offering was the sacrificial meal wherein the priest and the worshipper shared together what was offered, and part of the offering was presented to God upon His altar, as though it were being consumed by Him. After these sacrifices the worshipper was acceptable to God and could enjoy fellowship with Him, it was a joyful feast celebrating restored peace and communication with God. Today, we too can enjoy a great feast with God as we celebrate the restored peace that only comes by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. All who accept Christ are acceptable to God. Praise God! I remember this past Christmas, we had an extra chair at the table, we used it to invite Christ to eat with us. God rejoiced that day because we wanted Him there and rejoices whenever we invite Him into our daily lives.

Before a priest could accept a sacrifice from an offender, he too had to restore fellowship with God. He had to be completely cleansed and atone for his own sins before he was able to assist God in accepting the sacrifices that would be an atonement for others. This was unlike any sacrifice that a common person had to make, ten steps were taken in order for a priest to be cleansed. “And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.........And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” - Leviticus 8:6-9,22-24. Three animals had to be sacrificed, the ram of congregation was the sacrifice that would set them apart from the common people, it made them holy before God and able to receive the sacrifices. The right ear, right hand, and right foot were to have blood applied to them. When applied to the ear, it meant that they were to keep their ears holy, meaning they were to listen to no conversation that would violate their congregation to God or distract them from hearing His voice. When applied to the thumb, it meant that the hand was qualified to accept the gifts and sacrifices for God. When applied to the big toe, it meant that they were now holy before God and had to be careful of their daily activities as to not defile their bodies. As Christian's, we too are to apply the blood of Christ upon our right ear, thumb, and big toe, for we are the Temple of God and are holy before Him. Our daily activities need to be thought out and reflected upon Christ, even the people we are around can distract us, keep us from hearing God, and defile our bodies. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” - I Corinthians 3:16,17. We are so blessed that Christ offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy fellowship with God and atone for all of our sins for good. Therefore, we can all enjoy fellowship and feast with God, but we must be willing to keep the blood of Christ applied to us daily if we want it to stay that way..

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
http://www.readytofollow.com

Missed A Lesson?
Go to: Daily Bible Study
http://www.readytofollow.com/daily-bible-study

Learn About Salvation Only Made Through Jesus Christ
Go to: I'm Ready to Get Saved
http://www.readytofollow.com/salvation

Want To Receive These Devotions in Your Email?
Send me a blank email with the word Subscribe in the Title to:
devotion@readytofollow.com