Finding the Messiah in Leviticus, December 8 Leviticus 17
We often forget that the Israelite worship center was a slaughterhouse. It was a place where birds were torn apart with bare hands, where the plunge of knives turned livestock into dead-stock, where blood flowed in trenches, and the odor of charred flesh filled the nostrils of worshipers. Death was ever present in the house of God—a reminder of the consequences of sin.”
“We are spared the necessity of such a messy corollary to our worship. Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice we need to escape the penalty due to our sin, becoming effective for us when we put our faith in him. Nothing we can do will either earn or add to our acceptance by God through Christ.”
“Yet there is this: God desires the free offering of our worship. “With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name” (Hebrews 13:15). It pleases God when we praise him, not in the hope of receiving anything in return, but just because we love him for all he is and all he has done.
Our worship is always a response to God giving to us. And as his mercy and grace are infinite, so our worship must never be ending, daily, even moment by moment. Death will only modulate our singing of “Holy, holy, holy” upward to richer chords of praise.
Such worship resounds with goodness. In this sense, it is no “sacrifice” at all; it takes nothing away from us but only gives. Worship is a circular system of blessings. God is the source, and we are the happy participants.
[I pray]
Lord, may my praise to you flow more freely than the blood of bulls in temple days. I worship you for your great goodness to me.”
Excerpt From: Thomas Nelson. “NLT, Personal Worship Bible, eBook.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/B1p_7.l
We often forget that the Israelite worship center was a slaughterhouse. It was a place where birds were torn apart with bare hands, where the plunge of knives turned livestock into dead-stock, where blood flowed in trenches, and the odor of charred flesh filled the nostrils of worshipers. Death was ever present in the house of God—a reminder of the consequences of sin.”
“We are spared the necessity of such a messy corollary to our worship. Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice we need to escape the penalty due to our sin, becoming effective for us when we put our faith in him. Nothing we can do will either earn or add to our acceptance by God through Christ.”
“Yet there is this: God desires the free offering of our worship. “With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name” (Hebrews 13:15). It pleases God when we praise him, not in the hope of receiving anything in return, but just because we love him for all he is and all he has done.
Our worship is always a response to God giving to us. And as his mercy and grace are infinite, so our worship must never be ending, daily, even moment by moment. Death will only modulate our singing of “Holy, holy, holy” upward to richer chords of praise.
Such worship resounds with goodness. In this sense, it is no “sacrifice” at all; it takes nothing away from us but only gives. Worship is a circular system of blessings. God is the source, and we are the happy participants.
[I pray]
Lord, may my praise to you flow more freely than the blood of bulls in temple days. I worship you for your great goodness to me.”
Excerpt From: Thomas Nelson. “NLT, Personal Worship Bible, eBook.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/B1p_7.l
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