I am the Lord their God

                                                          Exodus 29​-35-46

 

October 18, 2024

 

I am the Lord their God

“Thus, you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them,  and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also, you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it.  Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old, day by day regularly.  One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.  And with the first lamb, a tenth measure^[c] of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering.  The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord.  It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there.  There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.  I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.  I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.  And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

As a follower of Christ, how are we to consecrate ourselves to God?  I often look to “Got Questions,” and I believe this part is key to setting ourselves apart from the world to our Lord for His use.  

“Being consecrated is a critical component in our relationship to God and to those in the world. Paul tells us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).

In other words, as true believers in Christ, the act of consecration involves our lives being a living sacrifice to Him; we are totally separated from the defilement of the world. Each day, we are to live out our lives as a “holy” and “royal” priesthood to the glory of God, for we are now God’s people (1 Peter 2:9-10).”  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

But how can we live in the world and not be part of it?  Jesus prayed for you and me in John 17:14, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”  Why does the world hate followers of Christ?  Because their God is the devil, you will find that in 1 John 5:19, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”   

Once more, I look at “Got Questions”; “We must also understand that being in the world, but not of it, is necessary if we are to be a light to those who are in spiritual darkness. We are to live in such a way that those outside the faith see our good deeds and our manner and know that there is something “different” about us. Christians who make every effort to live, think, and act like those who do not know Christ do Him a great disservice. Even the heathen knows that “by their fruits, you shall know them,” and as Christians, we should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit within us.

Being “in” the world also means we can enjoy the things of the world, such as the beautiful creation God has given us, but we are not to immerse ourselves in what the world values, nor are we to chase after worldly pleasures. Pleasure is no longer our calling in life, as it once was, but rather the worship of God.”

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice