God created human beings out of love! God desires a loving relationship with people! Even after Adam and Eve sinned against God, God provided for them, maintained His commitment to them, and made a promise to provide a way to have an eternal loving relationship with people. God chose a people, the Israelites, to reveal how He will provide a way to have an eternal loving relationship with people! We have been noting from the Book of Exodus the foundations for a loving relationship with God as the Israelites were on their way to the Promised Land.
God called Moses to lead the people and gave him instructions how the Israelites were to relate to God. Please open your Bibles to Exodus 28 to begin with… read along with me Exodus 28:41-43…….. Moses was to consecrate the priests (i.e. a holy dedication)! God is holy and a loving relationship with god requires holiness!
I have asked Tim Jaenchen to read for us Exodus 29 this morning…..
And so we note….
v1-3: needed are a bull, 2 rams, bread, cakes, and wafers without yeast
v4: Aaron and his sons (the priests) are to be washed with water in the Tent of Meeting
Let us note that water had always been a symbol of cleansing; it was not something John the Baptist invented!
v5-9: Moses was to dress Aaron and his sons, anoint them with oil, ordain them as priests
v10-14: a bull is to be prayed over but slaughtered as an offering; flesh and hide is to be a sin offering
v15-18: a ram is to be prayed for then slaughtered for a burnt offering (a pleasing aroma to God)
v19-22: another ram slaughtered and its blood, along with anointing oil, is to be sprinkled on the altar and the priests for ordination (i.e. for holy service)
v23-25: unleavened bread is to be a wave and burnt offering pleasing to the Lord
v26-34: parts of the slaughtered ram are also to be a wave offering and given only to the priests for their meals
v35-41: seven days to ordain the priests
• daily sacrifice a bull and purify the altar as sin offerings
• sacrifice year old lambs, one in the morning and one at twilight, by fire to the Lord
v42-46: Moses, the Priests, and all Israel must do their part then God will dwell among them; the law established by God for the Hebrews.
What does this all mean to us Christians? Let us turn again to the Letter to the Christian Hebrews in the New Testament, Chapter 10……. Let us highlight a few verses: Hebrews 10:1….. 11-14….
1. Today, the Law for the Hebrews of old is only a shadow of the reality with Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus Christ is the final sacrifice for sins and is now the Most High Holy Priest!
Hebrews 10:19-22…..
2 main points from this passage as we connect it with Exodus 29. God desired a loving relationship to the Hebrews of old and He still does to all people today; but as we will note in Exodus 32, the Hebrews of old turn their backs on God and chose to worship idols and themselves instead. This can also happen to us Christians today and so God instructs us.
Hebrews 10:22 tells us to draw near to God with a sincere heart; in other words, have Jesus Christ in your heart always; Ephesians 6 notes this as the Breastplate of Righteousness! Remember the Priest’s turbans in Exodus 28 to keep their minds on the holiness of God and we noted it is similar to the Helmet of Salvation in the Full Armor of God; and so… #3. Always put on the Full Armor of God, which includes the Breastplate of Righteousness, to keep near to God always! Remember that we have messages in sermoncentral.com which includes messages about the Full Armor of God for you to review.
Now look again how Hebrews 10:22 ends….
Hearts of Christians are sprinkled for cleansing and our bodies are washed with pure water by God. The Priests in Exodus 29 were consecrated by Moses and made holy by God. Today, Christians are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and let us note that the word washed in Hebrews 10:22 is actually both past and active. Did you notice how often the priests had to be cleansed in Exodus 29? - Everyday the Hebrew Priests were to be made holy.
Take a look again at Exodus 29:37…..Didn’t God say work 6 days and make the 7th day a Sabbath day of rest? - But here in Exodus 29, God calls for atonement everyday!! God calls for holiness of the Hebrew priests everyday. There is no Sabbath Day of rest for holiness!
In our vernacular today, Christians are priests and we are called to be holy 24/7! God is holy and we Christians are to be holy as well; there is no rest day for holiness!
How does this relate to Hebrews 10:22 of being washed? God through Moses made the Hebrew priests of old holy. Today, Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit helps Christians to be holy everyday! And so, the final thing we need to note from our message today is…
3. Be made holy everyday by yielding to the Holy Spirit!
We Christians, Believers of Jesus Christ, are saved, being saved, and will be saved! Note our diagram of the Process of Salvation (Salvation, Sanctification, Glorification!).....
