Leviticus
chapter 9 explains the first thing that Aaron, the high priest, was
commanded to do after spending eight days at the entrance of the Tent
of Meeting to complete the ordination. “Take
a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering,
both without defect, and present them before the Lord“.
Our natural tendency is to think, after spending eight days before
the Lord, he must be holy. The fact is, the more time we spend in
the presence of God the more we realize our need for forgiveness.
“The
entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord“.
Moses then explains to Aaron, “This
is what the Lord commanded you must do so that the Glory of the Lord
will appear to you… make atonement for yourself and for the
people“.
At a time in our lives we may have felt separated from God, we may
have even made a personal dedication. Before we can experience the
glory of God, we must first receive the atonement for our sins. For
believers today that simply means accepting by faith that the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ was payment in full for all our your sins.
Many today resist the simplicity of God’s plan of salvation; they
cannot accept it as a free gift. 1 Corinthians 1:18 explains, “The
word of the cross is to those who are perishing is foolishness, but
to us who are being saved, it is the power of God“.
After
Aaron first makes atonement for himself, he performs all of the
offerings for the people. “Having
sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship
offering, he stepped down“.
And as always, it is God that is faithful, “The
glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came from the out
of the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the
fat portion on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they
shouted for joy and fell face down“.
God accepted the sacrifice and acknowledged the people as His
people, and their reaction is Joy and worship.
This
is exactly the same reaction that happens individually today. When
we confess our sins before God and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior,
we receive God’s Holy Spirit as a sign of God’s faithfulness. As
soon as we receive the Joy of restoration, we are compelled to
worship our God of Grace. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 calls us
“ambassadors
for Christ”
and the apostle explains that all of the blessings we have are from
God, “Who
reconciled us to Himself, through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation“.
We are restored again each time we confess our sins before God, but
like Aaron, it is only when we bless others that we assume the role
to which we were ordained. May you be filled again with God’s Holy
Spirit and experience His faithfulness.