Leviticus 8
The Priests’ Offerings
(1) 1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, a bull as the sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; 3and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."
4So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. And the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 5And Moses said to the congregation, "This is what the LORD commanded to be done."
18Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 19and Moses killed it. Then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.
22And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
24Then he brought Aaron’s sons. And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.
With 2004 just having started many turn their minds to resolutions that they desire to follow through on for the New Year. As I was perusing the Internet, I ran across a humorous article entitled: New Year’s Resolutions You Can Keep. Here was some of the resolutions suggested:
1.Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
2. Stop exercising. Waste of time.
3. Read less. Makes you think.
4. Watch more TV. I’ve been missing some good stuff.
5. Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
Hopefully we will be more ambitious in our resolutions! There does, however, often seem to be a disparity between what we hope to accomplish and what we actually do accomplish. A common resolution that people often make is to lose weight. I found an interesting article from a British magazine dated February 3,2003.
“Failed New Year’s resolutions to get fit and fight the flab have cost the nation over £300 million. (Bad joke to add if reading this: That’s 300 million pounds in British currency—not in human flab.)
“An estimated 15 million people made health-related pledges, but half have already thrown in the towel, according to a recent survey.
“The seven million quitters, who joined gyms, bought sports equipment and attended slimming classes, spent an estimated £335 million between them on their short-lived exercise regimes.
“The survey of 1,000 people by Norwich Union Healthcare found that 32 per cent of those questioned made a resolution to get in shape this year. But nearly half of those have already quit - 47 per cent saying they lacked the willpower, 42 per cent saying they were too busy, six per cent blaming the expense, and five per cent accusing family and friends of not giving enough support.”(www.newwoman.co.uk)
This morning I would to speak about three resolutions that would be worth trying to keep this year and for every year of our lives. Let’s consider the passage we read earlier.
Leviticus 8
22And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram, 23and Moses killed it. Also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24Then he brought Aaron’s sons.
And Moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar.
It seems like a pretty bazaar ritual being described here. Moses in consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests was to kill a ram and then touch their ears, thumbs, and big toes. Why did he do this? I believe even the order with which he does the things is important.
There are things that Moses does here and I believe these are three things that God is saying that He desires for His people to do in their lives. All three of these things are essential resolutions for the New Year.
I. Listen---“tip of the ear.”
When Moses touched the ear tips of Aaron and his sons while consecrating them, God was saying to them that they need to be committed to hearing His voice. They needed to listen to God’s commands so that they would be careful not to disobey Him.
God had just given the nation of Israel many new commandments and regulations on holiness and it was essential that Aaron and his sons were careful to listen to what He was commanding.
God is a loving parent and like any child growing up, we need to listen to his voice in order to be safe. Consider the child who is told by his parents not to touch the pretty red rings on the stove.
It is important for the child to be safe to listen to the instructions of his parents. Likewise, God gives commands to His children in order to keep them safe.
A. Ways we listen to God
1. We read and learn His word. This is how we develop our spiritual inner ear. David understood this when he wrote Psalm 119:
Psalm 119
129Your testimonies are wonderful;
Therefore my soul keeps them.
130The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
131I opened my mouth and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.
133Direct my steps by Your word,
And let no iniquity have dominion over me.
Solomon in Proverbs wrote:
Proverbs 8
32 "Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.
2. We need to discern the voice of God. We need to be able to tell the difference between God speaking to us and the devil trying to deceive us.
Discernment between life and death
1 Peter 5
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Being able to discern sounds can be life and death in the animal kingdom. Consider the cricket and bat. The bat emits an ultrasound that is quite similar to the cricket love chirp.
Imagine it’s Saturday night and you have this lonely single cricket hoping to find true love. Instead of finding his soul mate, however, he ends up as an entrée on the bat menu. Not all crickets are fooled, however.
Some have learned to discern the fake sounds from the real ones. Consider the following report from Cornell University:
“Crickets and probably many other types of animals have found a simple way to build a system that responds quickly," said Robert A. Wyttenbach, the Cornell postgraduate associate of neurobiology and behavior who gave crickets a perception test originally developed for human infants.
"Crickets have to make a yes-or-no decision in a hurry, and ones that waffle become bat bait."
“For a cricket flying through the night air, life is a sound spectrum-filling cacophony, Wyttenbach said, but only two sound sources really matter: other crickets, calling at 4 to 5 kHz (the familiar chirping that is just above the highest note on the piano), and insect-eating bats, emitting ultrasound that helps echolocate their prey at 25 to 80 kHz. (Humans with good hearing can detect sounds up to 20 kHz.)
“Steering toward the low-frequency cricket sound might help the flier find a mate, or at least the company of other crickets.
However, failing to steer away from bats’ ultrasound could cost the cricket not only its life but its place in the gene pool, explained Ronald R. Hoy, the Cornell professor of neurobiology and behavior…” http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/96/9.26.96/crickets.html
Just as wily crickets have learned to tell a love song from a call to become bat food, Christians need to learn to discern the voice of God from that of the devil. The way we do this is by spending time in the word and prayer. Only then can we truly discern between the Voice of Love and the voice that seeks to devour us.
3. We need to learn to hear Him speak into our individual lives. God has a unique purpose for all of us and He desires to speak to us individually. We need to learn to tune our hearts to His voice.
How are ways you can improve your spiritual listening for 2004?
II. Act—thumb of the hand
The next thing that Moses does is that he touches the right thumbs of Aaron and his sons. I believe it is significant that Moses touches the thumbs on the hands.
Thumbs are that which enables us to grasp things. Hands are that which we carry out most of actions with. What God was saying to Aaron and his sons was that they were not merely to listen to His commands, but carry them out.
James 1
Doers--Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
There have been many cases when God gave commands and the Israelites didn’t follow them with disastrous results. Consider how God in Numbers 13 had commanded that the Israelites prepare to take Canaan. They refused, however, and as a result had to roam the wilderness for forty years without partaking of the blessing that God had for them.
In I Samuel 15 we see that God had commanded Saul to kill the Amalekites and destroy all of their possessions. However according to I Samuel 15:8-10, failed to follow God’s command:
He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves [2] and lambs-everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.—I Samuel 15:8-9
As a result of Saul’s failure to obey God he lost his kingship.
Roger Staubach, the former quarterback of the Cowboys, was once upset at Coach Landry because he wouldn’t let him call his own plays like other quarterbacks. Staubach, however, learned to trust in the coaching brilliance of Tom Landry.
Staubach later admitted: "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to accept the authority of my coach, there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."
We in our lives need to let God call the plays and then humbly act them out. It is only then that we will have real victory in our spiritual lives!
What is God calling us to do in 2004? How can we be more obedient?
III. Walk—He touches the big toes.
Psalm 86
11Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.(NKJV)
Moses finally touches the right big toes of Aaron and his sons. It is interesting that he touches the big toes. He could have touched another part of the foot, but I believe that it is significant he touches the big toe because it is the big toe that gives the foot support and balance when walking. Without big toes we could not run or even walk straight.
The foot obviously here symbolizes walking…walking in the ways of God and holiness. I believe that it speaks of destiny and commitment. It is a commitment to stay true to our walk with God—a commitment to walk straight the path that He has ordained for us.
Consider this life resolution written by a young African pastor titled the “Fellowship of the Unashamed”:
“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ.
“I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
“My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.
“I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
“I no longer need preeminence, property, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
“I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.
“I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
“My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear.
“I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed.
“I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
“I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.
“I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me.
“And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me -- my banner will be clear!”
How can we strengthen our walk with God in this New Year? Will we this year take the time to listen to Him? Will we choose to be obedient to what He is calling us to do? Will we remain committed to walk the path that He has ordained for us? These are all resolutions we cannot afford to fail! Have a blessed year!
