Pastor's Note from February 9, 2014

This week we will be working through Leviticus and Hebrews in our daily reading.  This is intentional as these two Books naturally go hand-in-hand.

The reason I love Leviticus so much is that it speaks so powerfully about the Holiness of God.  You couldn’t just come casually strolling into God’s presence like you did your mom’s living room.  Anyone who tried that ended up dead (Ex 19:10-12; 40:35; Lev 10:1-2).  Leviticus is all about how OT believers were supposed to live in the presence of the Holy God who now dwelt among them in a unique way at the Tabernacle.  We tend to underestimate God’s Holiness and the implications of His Holiness upon us.  Did you catch how the sacrifices were made in the first several chapters of Leviticus?  Check out Leviticus 1 again and pay attention to who actually kills, cuts up, and washes the burnt offering.  Is it the priest or the person bringing the sacrifice?  As we continue through Leviticus, pay attention to how many things God changed about how they were to live from that time on. 

Hebrews is the perfect partner of Leviticus in that Jesus is the final and ultimate sacrifice and High Priest in One.  Consider the opening verses, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His Power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…”  It just takes your breath away, silences your soul, and drains the strength from your knees.  That is Jesus, the risen Lord and King.  Jesus was/is the perfect fulfillment of all the requirements given in Leviticus and having fulfilled all, “He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb 5:9).

Bible reading:

2/10	Monday	Leviticus 13	Hebrews 3
2/11	Tuesday	Leviticus 14	Hebrews 4
2/12	Wednesday	Leviticus 15	Hebrews 5
2/13	Thursday	Leviticus 16-17	Hebrews 6
2/14	Friday	Leviticus 18-19	Hebrews 7
2/15	Saturday	Leviticus 20-21	Hebrews 8
2/16	Sunday	Leviticus 22-24	None

Bible memory verse: Hebrews 2:9

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering to death, crowed with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.”