Bible Story of the Day: Faith and Obedience

https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Bible-Story-of-the-Day-Faith-and-Obedience

Bible Story of the Day

Scripture is the story of Jesus, from Genesis to Revelation. There are over 400 prophecies and representations of Jesus in the Old Testament alone. The Old Testament pointed forward to the coming Christ, and the New Testament points back to Jesus. The Bible is a record of redemption through Jesus Christ who conquered sin and death when He died on the cross and resurrected three days later. The New Testament was written almost 2000 years ago. Some of the Old Testament was written over 4000 years ago. The Bible Story of the Day not only shows Jesus throughout scripture but shows how scripture is relevant to our lives today. Seeing Jesus in scripture is a major step into understanding who our God is, and how He impacts and affects our lives in every moment. I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your mind to understanding the verses and how they affect your life and gives you a better understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will post a link to the chapter that each passage is from, so that you can read further on your own.

Faith and Obedience

Leviticus 16:25-28

²⁵ Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶ The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁷ But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. ²⁸ Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp. (NASB).

Where is Jesus and What Does This Mean to Us?

John 1:27 says, “The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The two goats offered as a sacrifice represent Jesus in this passage. As written in John 1:27, Jesus takes away the sins of the world. The slain goat in verse 27 represents Christ taking away our sins. The sins of Israel were taken away with the goat as the sin offering. The slain scapegoat represents our justification in Christ. Justification is God’s act of removing the guilt and penalty of sin while at the same time making a sinner righteous through Christ’s atoning sacrifice. We are cleaned of sin by the blood, and we are made righteous through the atoning grace of Jesus Christ.

Let’s wrap our minds around what is going on in Leviticus 16. Jesus has not come during this time to make a once-for-all sacrifice of Himself for all sins. God demanded atonement for sin before Jesus. God gave the Laws to the nation of Israel so that they may have a way to pay the price for their sins. Realize, that sacrificing an animal for the sins done by humans is and was an inadequate substitute for the penalty of death that would come. The priests, led by Moses brother, Aaron, made these sacrificial offerings to God on behalf of the people. The blood then represents the blood today. The blood of the animals covered their sins, as compared to the blood of Jesus that washed away the sins. One is temporary, and one is permanent. Additionally, the priests would carry a portion of the sacrifice outside the camp or later the city to represent the freeing of the burden of those sins from the people. If you were to have a heavy weight on your shoulders and I lifted it off and sat it outside you would no longer feel the burden of the weight you carried. This process worked much the same in a spiritual fashion. However, the burden was never fully lifted until Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice.

What does this mean to us? We can take away two learning points: obedience and faith. The animal sacrifices were never enough. The people were faithful in their obedience to the Lord in doing what was told to them. They were faithful that their Savior would come even if it happened after their physical death. The reason I chose to do Bible stories from the Old Testament is to show everyone and to understand better myself how Jesus has always been available. The prophets pointed to the coming of Jesus. The people had faith in Jesus that was to come. They were obedient to God’s Laws, knowing one day they will be made righteous. We have the benefit of looking back to the sacrifice of Jesus. We no longer must sacrifice animals. We no longer must wait for the coming Savior. He has come. God calls us to be faithful and obedient. Jesus has come to take away the sins of the world. His blood washes away sin, not just covers it, and through His grace we are made righteous.

Resource

• Lev16 NASB – Law of Atonement
  Law of Atonement – Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died.