Happy Campers

murmured: past participle, past tense of mur·mur.  murmur: (Verb), Say something in a low, soft, or indistinct voice.

And it came to pass that when the people murmured, it was evil in the ears of Jehovah; and Jehovah heard it, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of Jehovah burned among them, and consumed [some] in the extremity of the camp. Numbers 11:1

These were not happy campers.  These were chronic complainers.  They were unhappy, ungrateful, and unappreciative. These were the redeemed of Israel that hung out out with others of their ilk in the extremities of the camp, afar off, far away from the tabernacle, the worship center.  If one would walk by or come close, I’m sure they would keep on complaining, just their volume would get lower.  People are no different today.  I’m sure you know some who are unhappy chronic complainers.  Hey, what are you looking at me for?

If the unhappy campers were the thankless chronic complainers, who were the happy campers?
The thankful -- and there was an offering for that!  The peace offering was offered for thanksgiving.  

Let’s see what we already know about the peace offering: it was sweet smelling, voluntary, provided an atonement for sins and included blood shed.  Even though the primary purpose of the peace offering was not food, everyone got a piece of this offering: God got the best parts (of  the sacrificed animal), the priests got the flame-broiled right shoulder (or thigh) and the breast meat, and the offerer to bring home the rest.  He was to share the remainder of the barbecued animal with friends and family for a day or two (anything left on the third day were to be incinerated).  It was a means of fellowship.  Some English translations even call it the fellowship offering.

Since happy campers were thankful, they must have offered peace offerings frequently.  They probably hung out closer to the entrance of the tabernacle than the murmurers. They had to draw nigh to the tabernacle to make the sacrifice (remember, an offering that requires blood shed).   Those murmurers were probably a couple miles from the tabernacle. Who knows, maybe that’s one of the things that they complained about.  If they made an offering, they would have to travel a couple miles with a prize animal, to what? Give it away? They could have been more thankful and complained less.  Come to think of it, I could be more thankful and complain less.

So, the happy campers drew nigh and the unhappy campers remained afar off.  

Let’s see what Paul says (emphasis added):

...but now in Christ Jesus *ye* who once were afar off are become nigh by the blood of the Christ. For *he* is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of enclosure, having annulled the enmity in his flesh, the law of commandments in ordinances, that he might form the two in himself into one new man, making peace; and might reconcile both in one body to God by the cross, having by it slain the enmity; and, coming, he has preached the glad tidings of peace to you who [were] afar off, and [the glad tidings of] peace to those [who were] nigh. For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father. So then ye are no longer strangers and foreigners, but ye are fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the  household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the corner-stone, in whom all [the] building fitted together increases to a holy temple in the Lord; n whom *ye* also are built together for a habitation of God in [the] Spirit. --Eph. 2:13-22

The tabernacle was a type of Christ.  Today, you can tell who among the redeemed are close to Christ.  They have become nigh by the blood of the Christ, and offer [the] sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, [the] fruit of [the] lips confessing his name. - Heb. 13:15

What about us? Maybe we start our day close to our Lord Jesus the Christ, this is good.  Maybe we end the day close to Jesus, and this is good.  But where do we spend the rest of the day?  Close to Jesus? or murmuring with others of our ilk afar off,  far away from Jesus, who ought to be continually the center of our worship?

Come close to the Savior, O why dost thou linger?
He knoweth thy heart oppressed.
His promise believing, His message receiving,
O come unto Him and rest. - F. Crosby

More Like Jesus

Did I mention that the Levitical offerings can be divided into two groups? ones that there is a reason given for the offering and those that no reason is given.   The sin and trespass offerings were for sins and trespasses.  Reasons given for the peace offering included the giving of thanks and the making of vows.  There is no reason given for the burnt and the meat offerings.
So, what was the reason that Jesus offered up Himself to die on the cross? Was it not for our sins and and our trespasses? Shouldn't any thanks we give, or vow we make, be based on what Jesus did for our sins and trespasses?

No reasons are given for the burnt and meat offerings.  The ancient Israelite offered burnt and meat offerings simply because God asked for it.  Jesus, when he was on this planet, submitted to the will of His Father, simply because.  We need to be more like Jesus.

I want to, I need to, be more like Jesus.
I want to, I need to, be more like Him.
Our father’s will was done,
By giving us his son,
Who paid the highest cost,
To point us to the cross.
And when I think of Him,
Taking on the whole world’s sin,
I take one look at me,
Compared to what I’m called to be. -- Keith Green

BAM! Gone...


Did I mention that the Levitical offerings can be divided into two groups?  the ones that involve blood shed and the one that does not.  The continual burnt offering, the peace offering, and the sin and trespass offerings all involve the slaughter of animals.  The meat offering was the only meat-less offering.  This used to really humor me...The only meatless offering was called the meat offering.  Those of you not using a King James probably have no idea what I am taking about.  In the days of King James, when people shared a meal, they didn’t come for dinner, they came to meat. John Nelson D. simply calls the meat offering an oblation, which is an offering to be used as food.

Did I mention that the Levitical offerings can be divided into two groups? the ones that atoned sins, and the one that was primarily for food.  Each of the blood-shedding offerings made atonement for sins.  The meat offering did not include bloodshed and was for food, not atonement.  Atonement is one of those words that I would like to define.  Here again, my definition, may or may not hold true 100% of the time.

Atonement is simply a covering.  With respect to sacrifices, it is a covering of/for sin.  Offering a sacrifice was like picking up the edge of the carpet and sweeping the sin under it.  The sin is still there, just covered.  Sin again, offer another sacrifice, pick up the edge of the carpet to sweep new sin in.  The old sin is still there, and both are covered.  The process was repeated innumerable times. Atonement was an Old Testament thing.

In the beginning of the Gospel of John, John the Baptist ...sees Jesus coming to him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).  The people that heard this were accustomed to the tabernacle/temple system of worship.  They knew that a lamb (an innocent animal) could be offered as a sacrifice.  The ritual included the laying on of hands (signifying the transfer of sins from the guilty to the innocent); death by bloodshed; sprinkling of blood; and burning of the carcass.  They knew that there was atonement of sin with the sacrifice.  

But John is introducing two new principals, paradigm shifts (TQM, anyone? anyone?) of the ancient world: a person (not an animal) for a sacrifice and the actual removal of sin.  Peek  under the carpet and BAM!  Those sins are gone!

The author of Hebrews explains this further.  For blood of bulls and goats [is] incapable of taking away sins. Heb. 10:4.  For this reason, offerings were made continually, day by day, year after year (Heb. 10:1-2).  The priests job was never done. But when Jesus offered one himself a sacrifice, once, completed the work, and our sins and iniquities are remembered no more (Heb 10:17).  There is no more need for additional offerings (10:18). There is no need for a covering since BAM! sins are gone!

All my sins are gone,
All because of Calvary;
Life is filled with song,
All because of Calvary;
Christ my Savior lives,
Lives from sin to set me free;
Some day He’s coming,
O wondrous, blessèd day,
All, yes, all because of Calvary. -- Wen­dell P. Love­less

Indebted to Jesus

The four gospels writers paint four different pictures of one person, Jesus.  Reading trough the gospel of Mathew, you get the feeling that Mathew is trying to convince Jewish readers that Jesus is the Christ, the promised anointed one that was promised and anointed before the beginning of time.  Mark paints a picture of Jesus, the servant.  Luke gives us the Son of Man.  And John presents Jesus as God.  Four different authors, four different facets of one person.

In the beginning of the book of Leviticus, we are presented with five different offerings, each showing a different facet of Jesus. Just like the four gospels present the same person, from four different perspectives and seemingly written to four different people groups, the Five different offerings, illustrate five different aspects of the same person, Jesus, the Christ.  

Before we to study these offerings, I will like to define some terms. The problem with Bible dictionaries, is that if you look up one word in 6 different dictionaries, you can get 7 different definitions. Maybe it’s just me, but when I look up definitions of terms related to the service of the tabernacle, things get really muddled. For the purpose of this study, these are my definitions based on my understanding at this point in time.  These are gleaned from various sources over the years.  They may not be 100% accurate 100% of the time, but I tried to make them simple.  I like simplicity.

A gift is simply something given.
An offering is simply a gift from a lesser to a greater.
A sacrifice is simply an offering that involves blood shed.
An oblation is simply a food offering.

The five Levitical offerings can be divided into two groups: the ones that were smelled sweet and the ones that stunk.  The sweet smelling offerings included (using the King James vernacular) the continual burnt offering, the meat offering and the peace offering.  Each one was a sweet smelling savor.  The stinky offerings were the sin and trespass offerings. I guess God has nostrils and can distinguish between odors.  Listen to what He says by the prophet Amos:

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will not smell [a sweet odour] in your solemn assemblies. For if ye offer up unto me burnt-offerings and your oblations, I will not accept [them]; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fatted beasts. Amos 5:21-2       

Hey, man was created in His image, if we can discern between something that smells sweet and something that stinks, so can He.

Generally, the sweet smelling offerings were to be burned on the altar of burnt offering.  The stinky offerings (for the most part) were to be burned outside the camp, that was probably miles from the nostrils of God.  

So, is there anything in the New Testament that point to sweet smelling odors regarding an gift, offering, or sacrifice?

Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, even as the Christ loved us, and delivered himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. Eph. 5:1-2

So, Jesus’ offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.  Notice this verse indicates that Jesus voluntarily delivered Himself.

Did I mention that the Levitical offerings can be broken down into two groups? The voluntary offerings and the compulsory offerings.  The voluntary offerings included the burnt offering, the meat offering and the peace offerings.  The sin and the trespass offerings, the stinky ones, were compulsory.   

God demands offerings for trespasses and sin.  Peace, meat and burnt offerings were made on a totally voluntary free will basis.

Death is the compulsory penalty for sin....the wages of sin is death (Rom 3:23). Starting in the garden Death was required (Gen 3:21).  Starting with the garden a substitutionary death (death of an innocent animal to pay for the debt of the guilty sinner) was acceptable to God. Jesus voluntarily went to the cross and died to pay that debt that we owe but we cannot pay. He voluntarily paid a required debt.  Do you feel indebted to Him for it?

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow. -- Elvina M. Hall

Stupid Sheep

'Let's roll.' Todd Beamer's last words with Lisa Jefferson, a customer service supervisor at GTE Airfone's Chicago call center, just before he and other passengers on Flight 93 became the first heroes in the war against islamic terrorists on September 11th. Just before he uttered 'lets roll', some news reports said that he recited the so-called Lord's Prayer. Some news reports said he recited Psalm 23. Some news reports said he recited both.

Psalm 23 is probably the most well known psalm. If I were a betting man, I would bet that if one were to survey church-going folks and ask what their favorite psalm is, Psalm 23 would top the list. If I were a betting man, I would bet that more people have it memorized than any other passage in the Bible (the so-called Lord's prayer being a close second). If I were a betting man, I would bet that Psalm 23 has been put to music more than any other Psalm. I learned, the hard way, a long, long, long time ago, not to bet. Good thing it was only a 25 cent bet!

Did you know that Psalm 23 is the middle psalm of a trilogy? A trilogy of Messianic Psalms -- Psalm 22 is the suffering dying messiah, Psalm 23 is the risen messiah, and Psalm 24 is the returning messiah.

Psalm 22 is past, Psalm 23 is current, and Psalm 24 is future.

Psalm 22 we have the Crucifixion. It has been said that there are 30 specific references to the Crucifixion in the psalm and was written centuries before crucifixion was invented by the Romans. Some have even suggested that Jesus quoted the entire psalm while hanging on the cross beginning with My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ending with that he hath done [it] that may be translated: He hath finished it or, it is finished.

Psalm 23 we have a picture of the 'good shepherd' who leads and provides for His flock. This is the relationship between Jesus and believers now. He provides, as we let Him, and He leads, as we let Him. We are no more than stupid sheep trying to pave our own way as we travel through the valley of the shadow of death.

In Psalm 24 we have the returning Savior; the King of Glory triumphantly entering the gates. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle.

In Psalm 22 we are in the court of the tabernacle between the door and the altar of burnt offering, where the innocent is dying for the guilty and His precious blood being shed.

In Psalm 23 we are in the Holy Place, where a table is being prepared before me in the presence of mine enemies. Table...presence...get it? In the tabernacle there was the table of shewbread, also known as the bread of presence. Prepare a table in the presence of...maybe it is just me(?). The table in the tabernacle was set before the Lord, continually. The table in this psalm is set in the presence of ...enemies...interesting.

In psalm 24, we are ushered into the very presence of God in the Holy of Holies. ...who shall stand in his holy place? and what makes Him worthy of the position? He that hath blameless hands and a pure heart; who lifteth not up his soul unto vanity, nor sweareth deceitfully. Only certain Old Testament priest were permitted to approach God and those priests could not be defiled. They had to be perfect in their outward appearance and clean. They had to wash their hands at the laver before they entered the holy place that they die not. How does one get defiled? ...but the things which go forth out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those defile man. Matt. 15:18. Jesus was undefiled. His hands needed no cleansing because he was blameless and had a pure heart. And did He ever lift His soul unto vanity, or swear deceitfully?

Notice, He is to stand in the holy place. We sometimes make a big deal about Jesus sitting, ...having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down ... at [the] right hand of God... Heb. 10:12. But Stephen got a glimpse into heaven, into the Holy of Holies, and saw Jesus standing ...But being full of [the] Holy Spirit, having fixed his eyes on heaven, he saw [the] glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, Acts 7:55

He died (past). He is preparing something (right now). He is returning (future).

Do you believe He died for you (past)? Do you believe He is preparing something for you (right now)? Do you believe He is coming again for you, or with you (future)?

Reminds me of what He said on the eve before His death: In my Father's house there are many abodes; were it not so, I had told you: for I go to prepare you a place; and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be. John 14:2-3

He prefaced this by saying: Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe on God, believe also on me.

Do you believe on Him? If you do, your heart shouldn't be too troubled. If your heart is troubled, let him lead, let him provide. Well, we really don't have a problem with His provisions (at least I don't), it is the letting Him lead that takes faith. Stop being a stupid sheep.

And remember, He is coming again...

Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, ye gates; yea, lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is he, this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. Ps. 24:7-10

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The Physically-Perfect-in-His-Outward-Appearance Priest

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,Speak unto Aaron, saying, Any of thy seed throughout their generations that hath any defect, shall not approach to present the bread of his God;for whatever man hath a defect, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or one limb longer than the other,or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed,or hump-backed, or withered, or that hath a spot in his eye, or hath the itch, or scabs, or his testicles broken.No man of the seed of Aaron the priest that hath defect shall come near to present Jehovah's offerings by fire: he hath a defect; he shall not come near to present the bread of his God.The bread of his God, of the most holy and of the holy, shall he eat;only he shall not come in unto the veil, nor shall he draw near unto the altar; for he hath a defect: that he profane not my sanctuaries; for I am Jehovah who do hallow them.And Moses told it to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.Lev 21:16-24

One thing that struck me as I taught through this passage recently (yes, I bore kids with stuff like this...) is that each one of these defects are physical, you can look at someone and tell that they are blind, lame or flat-nosed. Apparently, according to this passage, a physically deformed priest could serve other priestly duties, since he could eat his portion of the sacrifices, but he was forbidden to approach God. In order to approach God, a priest had to be perfect in his outward appearance.

The Old Testament priest is a type of New Testament believer (1 Pet. 2:5, Rev. 1:6)

Our (believers) outward appearance, should be blemish free to the outside world; we ought to be different, noticeably different, in a good way.

Remember, the physically-perfect-in-his-outward-appearance priest was permitted to approach God only if he washed at the laver first. Not only did the priest had to be physically perfect in his outward appearance but he had to be clean, too! Washing at the laver is a type of cleansing of the Word. We now get cleansed by the confession-forgiveness cycle (1 John 1:8-9)

What do people see when they observe you? You may not be physically perfect in your outward appearance, but what about your character? Is it spotless? Do they see Jesus?

If not, maybe you need a little more cleansing. Spend sometime in confession. If you have a hard time getting your sins to the surface, back up to the Altar of Burnt Offering. Consider the crucifixion and what Jesus accomplished for you at the cross. In the light of the cross, your sins will surface.

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;
And from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess;
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness. -- Eliz­a­beth C. Cle­phane

Take Me to Your Leader!

And Jesus coming up spoke to them, saying, All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. Go [therefore] and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you. And behold, *I* am with you all the days, until the completion of the age. Matt. 28:18-20

The gospel according to Mathew ends thus. Jesus gives a command to make disciples. Notice, He doesn’t say to make converts. He doesn’t say to make believers. He doesn’t say to win souls. His command is simply to make disciples. A disciple is one who follows with the intent to learn. The command is to make Christ-followers.

Try to follow me here...

A believer may or may not be following Christ. Just like the nobleman in John chapter 4, a believer may not be a follower. Three times we are told that the nobleman believed, but, he returned home and, as best I can tell, never became a follower of Jesus. Believers today may be non-Christ-followers. The reasons for this could be because they may not know that they are supposed to, they may not letting Jesus lead, or they may be following some earthly charismatic leader instead of the One that set aside His rights to royalty to come and die on their behalf. If you point a non-following believer to Christ and they begin to follow, you have then fulfilled the command to make a disciple, even though they were a believer to start with.

Are you following?

Non-believers are not generally followers of Christ, but they may be. The Biblical example being Judas. Judas was a disciple, but Jesus called him the ‘son of perdition’. Judas was a Christ-follower, yet was heavily influenced by the devil. Since he held the money bag, Judas must have been trusted by the other disciples, yet for 30 pieces of silver, he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Judas was named among the disciples, a trusted Christ-follower, but not a believer. So, if you point a non-believer towards Christ, and they begin to follow to learn, even if they do not convert or believe right away, you have fulfilled the command to make a disciple.

Ah, I see you are still following (you may not be agreeing with me, but you are still following).

Judas was a disciple, but did not follow to the end. During the Passover feast, he stopped following, he left the group of true believers. Did you ever consider the timing of his departure? He left the feast after the foot washing, but before the institution of the Lord’s supper. This is a turning point in John’s gospel. After Judas departs, Jesus is left with His followers who also believe.

Follow me on a walk through the John’s gospel and I will try to show how it is like a walk through the tabernacle:

• First time we see Jesus in John’s gospel, He is declared the Lamb of God that takes away sin.
• The first piece of furniture we see when we enter the court of the tabernacle, is the altar of burnt offering, where lambs were continually slaughtered to atone for the sins of the people.
  

• Between the first sighting up to chapter 13, Jesus interacts with four different groups of people: believers that follow Christ (the 11), believers that do not follow Christ (the ‘nobleman’ in John 4), non-believers that follow Christ (Judas), and non-believers that did not follow Him.
• The high priest in the court of the tabernacle interacted with his sons, the priests, and the offerers. According to the book of Hebrews, Jesus is now our high priest. According to Revelation 1:6, we believers are all priest. In John chapter 13 Jesus enters the upper room with his disciples only, leaving all others outside.

• The feast begins and there is a foot washing.
• In the tabernacle the laver, in the court, was the place where the priest washed their feet.

• Judas leaves leaving the 11 true believing followers in the upper room.
• At first Aaron had four sons but two never made it to serve as priests. Nadab and Abiyu (Aaron’s eldest) apparently washed at the laver, but were killed by God for offering strange fire on the last day of their of their consecration as priests. After the laver, there is the the Holy place, a room in the tabernacle only for the priest (a type of true believers).

• In the upper room Jesus says to His true believing followers that He is the way...no one comes to the Father but through Him.
• The veil separated the Holy Place from the Holiest of Holiest, where God, the Father dwelt. In Hebrews 12 we are told that the veil was Jesus’s flesh. The only way to the Father on the other side of the veil was through the veil.

• Jesus broke bread with His true-believer followers.
• In the tabernacle, the high priest breaks bread with the priests, on each Sabbath.

• Jesus had fellowship with His true-believing followers and talks to them for three chapters (the end of John 13 to the end of 16).
• The high priest had fellowship only with the priests in the Holy Place.

• In the beginning of John 17, Jesus turns His back, as it were, on His disciples and turns to His Father in prayer. He prays as if His followers aren’t even there -- even refers to them in the third person.
• In the tabernacle, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest leaves the Holy Place to enter the Holiest of Holiest where he is one on one with the Father.

(Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be, and I didn’t even cover the great “I am” statements in John!)

Are you following? Are you a Christ-follower? Great! Then go teach the gospel and point others to Christ. Keep your eyes focused on Christ and others will follow. Heck, I will follow! Take me to your leader!

Who will follow Jesus,
In His work of love,
Leading others to Him,
Lifting prayers above?
Courage, faithful servant!
In His Word we see,
On our side forever
Will this Savior be. -- Eli­za E. Hew­itt