I continued my reading in Leviticus (Chp 9)–which was the inauguration of the tabernacle services that they had been being prepped for and actively involved in preparing for since about the previous 24 chapters (Exodus 25-Leviticus 8). My first thought was centered around “I’m so glad we have Jesus!” The next one was centered around the forgiveness of our sins.
Under the New Covenant, sin is sin no matter who it is committed by. If we sin we only need to sincerely ask for forgiveness of all parties involved (as applicable) and of God, and God forgives us. Our slate is clean; our sin cup is empty. That’s it. But under the Old Covenant, it wasn’t as simple and direct. There was an entire mandatory ritual of atonement required of everyone–the priests (Exodus 4:3-12), the congregation as a whole (Exodus 4:13-21), for rulers (Exodus 4:22-26), and for individuals/common folk that were not a priest or a ruler (Exodus 4:27-35)–based on:
*the mindset of the individual (Was the sin committed ignorantly? Or, on purpose??), and
*the classes/ranks/positions of the individuals committing the sins.
But, even after doing all of the exact requirements for getting forgiveness, that WAS NOT it! They had to repeat the same ritual of atonement a year later for the same sin(s) plus whatever they needed to do for any new sin(s) committed during that interim of 365 days. The sins just kept rolling forward. Who wants to be constantly reminded of something they did wrong in their past? There is consolation and comfort in knowing that once we have asked for forgiveness from those we sin against [or with], then from God, and then have forgiven ourselves, that we can move forward with our lives and not have sin baggage dragging behind us everywhere we go. Thank you God for the better Covenant!
So, my take away: Sometimes, we don’t realize how truly blessed we are. From now on, then, when studying with those using the Old Testament to justify their acts of religion, I’ll simply need to start by asking them one question: “When you apologize, which forgiveness do you want? The one-and-done, or the one where it looks like you’re forgiven but it keeps being thrown back up in your face over and over again??” If they opt for one-and-done, then we can skip the dive into the Old Testament [Covenant] altogether, and jump right into the New Testament [Covenant]. If they say the second one [clearly out of spite for what they see I’m trying to reroute to] then we need to start our study in Exodus 4 with all of the precise requirements for sin offerings THEN hop on over to Acts 13:37-39, Hebrews 10:1-17, and I John 1:8-10 (as needed).
What did you learn from today's reading? Cancel reply
Do not throw away God’s blessings.
God will comfort us at the right time.
1) We should be grateful, for what God has done in our lives.
2) Give a tenth of your earnings to God (the church).
I guess it is okay to still your brother’s birthright and blessings and still receive God’s blessings.
I continued my reading in Leviticus (Chp 9)–which was the inauguration of the tabernacle services that they had been being prepped for and actively involved in preparing for since about the previous 24 chapters (Exodus 25-Leviticus 8). My first thought was centered around “I’m so glad we have Jesus!” The next one was centered around the forgiveness of our sins.
Under the New Covenant, sin is sin no matter who it is committed by. If we sin we only need to sincerely ask for forgiveness of all parties involved (as applicable) and of God, and God forgives us. Our slate is clean; our sin cup is empty. That’s it. But under the Old Covenant, it wasn’t as simple and direct. There was an entire mandatory ritual of atonement required of everyone–the priests (Exodus 4:3-12), the congregation as a whole (Exodus 4:13-21), for rulers (Exodus 4:22-26), and for individuals/common folk that were not a priest or a ruler (Exodus 4:27-35)–based on:
*the mindset of the individual (Was the sin committed ignorantly? Or, on purpose??), and
*the classes/ranks/positions of the individuals committing the sins.
But, even after doing all of the exact requirements for getting forgiveness, that WAS NOT it! They had to repeat the same ritual of atonement a year later for the same sin(s) plus whatever they needed to do for any new sin(s) committed during that interim of 365 days. The sins just kept rolling forward. Who wants to be constantly reminded of something they did wrong in their past? There is consolation and comfort in knowing that once we have asked for forgiveness from those we sin against [or with], then from God, and then have forgiven ourselves, that we can move forward with our lives and not have sin baggage dragging behind us everywhere we go. Thank you God for the better Covenant!
So, my take away: Sometimes, we don’t realize how truly blessed we are. From now on, then, when studying with those using the Old Testament to justify their acts of religion, I’ll simply need to start by asking them one question: “When you apologize, which forgiveness do you want? The one-and-done, or the one where it looks like you’re forgiven but it keeps being thrown back up in your face over and over again??” If they opt for one-and-done, then we can skip the dive into the Old Testament [Covenant] altogether, and jump right into the New Testament [Covenant]. If they say the second one [clearly out of spite for what they see I’m trying to reroute to] then we need to start our study in Exodus 4 with all of the precise requirements for sin offerings THEN hop on over to Acts 13:37-39, Hebrews 10:1-17, and I John 1:8-10 (as needed).