Levit 8-9

Gentlemen, 

This morning was a very beautiful picture of the Lord's presence extended.  I woke up rested, alert and eager to dive into God's word and spend time in prayer.  Unfortunately, this is not the norm but I know it is the way God intended our commune to be.  Sin is an ugly enemy but when we walk in the light and bath ourselves in the truth sins grip begins to loosen ever so slightly and that is a time of rejoicing and utter fear, for you know it is at this very moment that sad bastard is pinning his ears back and preparing for a full-on assault.  Bring it on!  I am victorious in Christ, no one has power over me.

I really enjoyed my studies this morning as Moses begins to unveil God's commands to Aaron and his sons.  The attention to detail is mind-blowing.  Moses is God's chosen servant to convey his message to the people of Israel but he is not responsible for shouldering the entire load. God is ordaining Aaron as high priest and his son's as heirs to the position.  The chain of command was very interesting to me.  God is clearly in control and he choses to speak to one person, Moses.  Moses is responsible to pass along the very words of God to Aaron and his sons who in turn are responsible for leading the entire nation of Israel through the santification process.  Could you imagine the weight Aaron is feeling?  The pressure to know God's commands and follow them out would be overwhelming.  But, Aaron and his son's listen and follow the lead of Moses who walks them through the entire process before handing over the reigns.

Once Aaron and his sons are ordained Moses calls them to duty and their first task is a simple one: offer three sacrifices on behalf of the nation of Israel.  But the first thing Aaron and sons do is offer sacrifices for their own sin.  If we are ever going to be effective workmen for God's kingdom we must first cleanse our own lives.  Aaron and sons did this very thing.  We are so eager to help others, to teach others, to give advice to others but what about you.  Are you clean?  Have you sought atonement for your own sin?  The call to Christianity is way more selfish than I think most make it out.  We serve a very selfish God.  He wants us and expects all of us.  He doesn't want a part or portion he wants our complete surrender and worship.  If we want to be an impact player for the kingdom we must be most concerned with keeping ourselves in the game.

wg