In the last post, we learned about the protocol God required for the sin offering in the Old Testament. At the time of the confrontation of the false prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel, God chose the prophet Elijah, to rebuild the altar to the Lord Most High and offer up the sin offering according to the Levitical laws to restore the people and the land to Him.
We also learned that this sin offering was another type and shadow of the sacrificial offering Jesus volunteered Himself to become for the new covenant that freed us and cleansed our conscience from dead works once for all and also gave us access to the Holy of Holies. Thus, the people no longer needed to go once a year and sacrifice a bull, a goat, or a ram to be ceremonially cleansed.
However, 1 Kings 28:40 says that what followed the sin offering that restored the Israelites to God, was that Elijah commanded the prophets of Baal to be seized and not one be allowed to escape. Then they were brought to the brook Kishon and killed as the law also required. This law in Leviticus 17: 1-4 describes why this was a necessary measure,
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Any man from the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp and has not brought it to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, that man shall be guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].” AMP
Verses 3-4 mention that this law was first for the people of Israel, but as we continue to read in verses 5-9, we will see that this command was also extended to the strangers living among them. Therefore, even those that were not of the house of Israel by birth were required to follow the Levitical laws of God and could not escape the punishment that came for disobeying the law. The verses show,
“This is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing [to idols] in the open field [where they killed them], that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord . The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and offer the fat up in smoke as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord. So they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to goat-idols or demons or field spirits with which they have played the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.’’ ‘Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel or any of the strangers living temporarily among you, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to offer it to the Lord shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].” AMP
All this was required for the rain to return that ended the famine. Idolatry and those who caused it were to be removed because of their unrepentant hearts and haughty attitudes. This reminds me of the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13:27-30 which tells us, “The servants of the owner came to him and said, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how does it have weeds in it?’ He replied to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull them out?’ But he said, ‘No; because as you pull out the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘First gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; but gather the wheat into my barn.’’” AMP
The weeds represent those who have chosen to impose on others their pagan, repulsive ways and ignore God’s calling to repentance. For this reason , now God has reserved the right to choose their punishment according to what they have done.
Isaiah 5:20-23 says,
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!
Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!” NKJV
Isaiah 66:3-4 also says,
“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood; He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol. Such people have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their repulsive acts; So I will choose their punishments, And will bring the things they dread upon them Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen or obey. But they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.’” AMP
In the same way, in the New Testament, we are commanded to take a stance concerning those whose pollution brought by their lawlessness, even in the Church, have made a mockery of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins. Instead, they have chosen to not only remain in their darkness but take others naive and unsuspecting Christians away from their belief and trust in the saving sacrifice of Jesus and back to engaging in dead works.
This bewitching of the people has caused them to live defeated because although they live what outwardly looks like godly lives, their wrong beliefs and unholy practices deny the power of God that comes from the Holy Spirit and His manifestation of the truth of God’s Word as they pursue and follow His guidance. 2 Timothy 3:2-5 tells us,
“You see, the world will be filled with narcissistic, money-grubbing, pretentious, arrogant, and abusive people. They will rebel against their parents and will be ungrateful, unholy, uncaring, coldhearted, accusing, without restraint, savage, and haters of anything good. Expect them to be treacherous, reckless, swollen with self-importance, and given to loving pleasure more than they love God. Even though they may look or act like godly people, they’re not. They deny His power. I tell you: Stay away from the likes of these.” VOICE
Galatians 3:1-5 adds,
“Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.” NLT
Jesus took a stance against the mockery of these people in Mark 5:36-43. In this scenario, Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus because his daughter was sick. Jesus went to the house of the ruler in the same way that He’s coming to His house to revive what was presumed dead. But to succeed in this accomplishment, He needed to get rid of the mockers that were in the way of the rising of the girl from sickness by His hand. Only those authorized by God could enter in and participate in this revival, so the girl (the Church) can receive the right kind of nourishment. The Scripture says,
“But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.’ Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, ‘Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.’ The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ which means ‘Little girl, get up!’ And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.” NLT
That’s why we’re in the times of a wave of the Spirit of God where His fire has been released to devour the works of the enemy beginning in the house of God. The bewitching of the people beginning with many leaders, that has infiltrated the Church, has deprived many of receiving the promises of God and offering to Him the right kind of sacrifices from their heart in obedience to His commands and His Word of truth. Malachi 3:1-4 says,
“‘Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ‘But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.” NLT
God has chosen His servants, including His apostolic and prophetic people to release this fire intended to destroy the demonic strongholds that have gripped the people through fear so they can now grow in their faith and their individual and corporate knowledge of the Son of God, and also so that they can mature in the Lord until we can walk in unity as well as reach the complete standard of Christ, according to Ephesians 4:11-13,
“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” NLT
Verses 14-16 also add, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” NLT
To God alone be all the glory. *
Image by Google Images
No comments:
Post a Comment