Good Friday

O. T. #271  "Good Friday"
April 18, 2014
Leviticus 5-6 Part 1
It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.  Leviticus 5:19

LET IT GLOW

Today is Good Friday. Today is a sad day, yet a good day of which we Christians acknowledge the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. However, on Sunday, we celebrate His resurrection from the dead.
I wondered what the world had to say about such an event, so I looked in my encyclopedia. Here's what I found.

"It is the Friday before Easter, a time set apart to mourn the death of Christ on the cross. It was set apart as a holy day as long ago as the 300's, in the time of Constantine." (The World Book Encyclopedia)

No, the world cannot deny that there was such a man named Jesus Christ, who lived over 2,000 years ago. History records the birth, life, and death of this man. Will they believe now that He was more than a good man or prophet, but God in the flesh, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose from the dead on the third day, just as He had said He would do? It was because of God's love for us that He did all of this. Will you believe He is the Messiah of the Old Testament and the Savior of the New Testament and the King of Heaven?He is the only way to God?
I hope you will continue to read about the Old Testament sacrifices which God required for the Israelites to give so their sins could be covered.

Today we will discuss the fifth of the sacrifices for the sins of the Israelites which God established for them while in the wilderness. We discussed the first four already, so if you missed them, you can still read about them on previous posts. They were the Burnt Offering, the Meal Offering, the Peace Offering, and the Sin Offering. The last of this chapter describes the requirements for the trespass offering.

In Hebrew, the word for trespass means treachery, falsehood, sin, transgression.

The Trespass Offering, which is to atone for specific acts of sin, through ignorance, such as:

• failure to give God His proper tithes, offerings, first fruits, first-born, etc.; (verses 14-16)
• when a person did forbidden things as God commanded; (verses 17-19)
• sin against one's neighbor. (6:1-3)

How was the trespass offering to be given?

• If the offense was against the Lord, a restitution of 20% penalty besides what was owed was required before a sacrifice was offered for atonement. It was according to the priest's judgment as to the value of the trespass.
• A ram was to be offered as restitution, also.
• To the offended neighbor, an additional 20% was to be given plus the reimbursement; then a ram was sacrificed. (Falwell)

The trespass offering symbolized an atonement for sin unknowingly committed, where restitution was possible. Like the sin offering, this one was compulsory. For sins against the Lord's property, restitution was made to the priest, while restitution was made to the person who suffered loss in other instances.

Have we offended another or the Lord today?
Have we withheld our tithe to the Lord?
Do we pay our debts?
Do we stop to consider the debt we owe to Christ?


LET IT GROW

It is interesting that Warren Wiersbe points out the significance of the order in which the sacrifices are listed in the Bible.

Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament states:

God begins with the burnt offering, the complete consecration of His son to the work of redemption, for this is where the plan of salvation begins in eternity past. From man's point of view, the order is reversed. First, we see ourselves having committed various sins and in debt to God and man. This is the trespass offering. but as the work of conviction continues, we realize we are sinners. This is the sin offering. Then the Spirit reveals Christ to us, the One who made peace by the blood of His cross, and we discover the peace offering. As we grow in grace, we come to understand the perfections of our Lord, and that we are "accepted in the Beloved"; this is the meal offering. The result of all of this must be our complete consecration to the Lord-the burnt offering. 

Today, we do not need any sacrifices of animals. Hebrews 10:14 tells us, For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

We can see Christ in the Levitical offerings:

1. He provided atonement for our sins; He was the sinless sacrifice (burnt offering).
2. He was wholly devoted to the Father's purposes, as dedication/consecration (grain offering).
3. Christ was at peace with God, providing reconciliation/fellowship for us with God.
4. Christ's substitutionary death in our place was our propitiation (sin offering).
5. He paid it all for redemption through our repentance (trespass offering). (MacArthur)

 Jesus Christ willingly sacrificed His body and blood for us because He loved/loves us. He knew the requirement for sin to be covered was by the blood. And to think, all of this was planned out before God created anything. He became man in the flesh for this purpose, to take our place of dying for our sins.
Hallelujah! What a Savior Jesus my Lord is!

We can't leave Him hanging on the cross, friend. On the first day of the week, Jesus arose from the dead. During the 40 days between His resurrection and ascension He appeared to at least 557 people:

• Mary Magdalene and other women at the tomb (Matt. 28:9-10)
• followers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32)
• Peter (Luke 24:34)
• 10 of the disciples (John 20:19-25)
• 11 disciples (John 20:26-29)
• 7 disciples by the Sea of Galilee shore (John 21:1-23)
• 11 disciples on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16-20)
• 500 at one time (1 Cor. 15:6)
• James in Jerusalem and Bethany (1 Cor. 15:7)
• John on the Island of Patmus (Rev. 1:10-19)
• the apostles when He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3-11)
• Paul, in the temple (Acts 22:17-19), at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:55) near Damascus after His ascension (Acts 9:1-9)

Jesus Christ is alive, friend! Will you believe in Him and ask Him to be your Savior? Will you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins? Will you ask Him to come into your heart as Lord? It takes faith to believe all of this.

The next time Jesus appears will be when He comes in all His glory. (Matt. 24:29-31) Are you ready to meet God? I pray you are or will be today. Will you be worshiping the Risen Savior on Sunday?

LET IT GO

Bless the Lord! Praise His holy name!

My sins are covered with the precious blood of Jesus!

HE IS ALIVE!!