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| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Dr. Wes Bredenhof > How a Sinner Can Enter into God’s Holy Presence | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) Psalm 100 Psalm 102:1,2,9 (after the Law of God) Psalm 15 Psalm 61:1-3 Hymn 10 Scripture reading: Exodus 40:34-38, Leviticus 1 Text: Leviticus 1:1-9 |
Beloved congregation of Christ,
If you were to think about the book of Leviticus, what sorts of things come to mind? I imagine you would be thinking it’s a book of old laws with no relevance for us today anymore as Christians. There are many laws about sacrifices, there are dietary laws involving animals that are clean and unclean, laws about priests, laws about lepers, and none of this impacts us. All these laws may have been important for the Old Testament Israelites, but for us after the coming of Christ, they don’t really matter anymore.
Yet 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture was breathed out by the Holy Spirit. When Paul wrote that, he was speaking first about the Old Testament. He said, “All Scripture” – that includes Leviticus. Then he added that all Scripture is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Including Leviticus. If we think Leviticus is irrelevant and outdated, unimportant for us as Christians, we’re contradicting what the Holy Spirit says about it in 2 Timothy 3:16.
So it’s good for us to give some attention to this neglected part of God’s Word. Over the next while, I’m going to do a series of sermons on Leviticus. We won’t go through it verse by verse. Instead, I’ll take some verses from each important section and we’ll cover it in about 7 or 8 sermons.
Before we get into our passage for this morning, there a few things you need to know about the book in general. Some of these things will keep coming back throughout the series. Leviticus was written by Moses during the time of the Exodus, while the people of Israel were on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. The book of Leviticus is in the middle of the five books of Moses known as the Pentateuch or as the Torah. It isn’t in the middle by accident. It holds a central place in the first five books of the Bible. Leviticus resolves an issue that first arose in the early chapters of the book of Genesis.
Adam and Eve were living in the blessed presence of God in the Garden of Eden. Then they sinned against God. They were cast out from his presence, no longer able to dwell with the Holy God because they had made themselves sinners.
During the Exodus, God revealed his intention to again dwell in the midst of his people. He came down on Mount Sinai to meet with Moses, the appointed representative of Israel. The Garden of Eden was on a mountain and so it was only fitting that God’s holy dwelling was on a mountain in the desert too.
Then God commanded the tabernacle to be built. As one scholar put it, the tabernacle was designed to be a sort of portable Mount Sinai. The tabernacle or tent of meeting was going to be where God would dwell in a special way with his people. At the end of Exodus 40 the glory of God that dwelt on Mount Sinai came to fill the tabernacle.
Now a crucial thing to realize is that the same problem presented in Genesis 3 resurfaces at the end of Exodus 40. Adam and Eve could not dwell with God. Similarly, Exodus 40:35 says that “Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” If Moses could not enter, who can? Moses was the leader of Israel and the mediator, the one who went between God and the people. If he couldn’t enter, who can? Can any sinful person enter and dwell with the holy God? That question is posed in Psalm 15. There the answer is that there are these impossibly high moral standards. But the book of Leviticus gives a strikingly different answer to this pressing question.
Our passage this morning follows straight on from Exodus 40. Moses wasn’t able to enter in the tent of meeting, but God called to him from within. He began giving vital instruction about how it would be possible for sinful people to enter into God’s holy presence. Anyone, man or woman, could enter with an offering. But it had to be an offering of livestock/farm animals. It couldn’t be a wild animal and it couldn’t be a selection of fruits and vegetables. It had to be a creature the worshipper owned and a creature which was flesh and blood. Then we get into the specifics of different types of offerings, beginning with the burnt offering. That’ll be our focus this morning as we learn how a sinner can enter into God’s holy presence.
We’ll consider the burnt offering and its:
- Nature
- Procedure
- Outcome
There were three different types of burnt offerings. Verses 3-9 focus on a burnt offering involving cattle or oxen. This was the most costly. Slightly less costly would be a sheep or a goat. That’s described in verses 10-13. Least costly of all would be the burnt offering of a turtledove or a pigeon described in verses 14-17. It’s not that the worshipper could choose between these three possibilities. An Israelite was expected to bring the best option he or she could. But in his grace God allowed for the reality that some Israelites were better off than others. Your economic situation, whether you were rich or poor, would never be an obstacle to entering into God’s holy presence.
Focussing our attention on the burnt offering of cattle or oxen in verses 3-9, the first thing to notice was that it was to be a male. Males were the most valuable cattle and oxen because of their roles in breeding and work. To offer a male from your herd would have been the more costly sacrifice.
Moreover, the animal had to be a perfect specimen, “without blemish” as it says in verse 3. The temptation might be there to take an animal that was diseased or dying, an animal with a deformity, take one of these animals that was less valuable to the worshipper and then offer that to God. Later on, the Israelites gave into this temptation. Malachi 1 speaks of Israelite worshippers bringing blind, lame, and sick animals to offer to God. God says, “Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favour?” If you were going to offer a burnt offering to God, it had to be the best you could bring and nothing less. By approaching things in this way, you would demonstrate how God was worthy of your best. If you cheaped out and brought a blemished or diseased animal, you were saying God wasn’t worth the best you could bring.
The last thing we ought to note about the burnt offering is that it was the only sacrifice which involved burning up the entire animal. The only exception was the skin of the offering. With the other sacrifices described in Leviticus, portions of the sacrificial animal would be given for food to the priests and sometimes to the worshipper. But with the burnt offering, every last bit of the meat was burned up on the altar. It was entirely converted into smoke, smoke which rose up to heaven. That again underlines the costliness of this sacrifice. For the one worshipping, he or she would get nothing material or physical from this animal. It would be entirely offered up to God in fire and smoke.
So the nature of this sacrifice can be summarized by saying that it would be costly to the worshipper. For a sinner to enter into God’s holy presence takes a costly sacrifice. Now think ahead to the New Testament. Do we read there about a costly sacrifice made to allow sinners to enter into God’s holy presence? Who makes this costly sacrifice? Who bears the cost? We’ll come back to these questions in a few minutes.
Right now let’s look at the procedure required for the burnt offering of cattle or oxen. The worshipper would bring the animal to the tabernacle and pass through the entrance into the courtyard. This is where the most important symbolic actions would take place.
It begins with the worshipper laying his hand on the head of the burnt offering. This wasn’t a light touch, it was actually pressing down hard on the head. What did this mean? It symbolized a connection between the animal and the worshipper. Most likely it meant that this animal, his or her animal, was going to be the substitute. This animal would be offered in the place of the worshipper. That would make the most sense as we think about the New Testament fulfillment of this at the cross and the substitutionary sacrifice that takes place there.
Verse 5 tells us how the worshipper was to kill the animal before the LORD at the tabernacle. Exactly how the animal was to be killed isn’t detailed, but given what it says next about the blood, it seems a fair assumption that this involved slitting the throat. That would be the quickest way to kill the animal and at the same time collect the blood.
All the blood was to be collected by the priests. They would take the blood in a container of some kind and then splash it against the sides of the altar. The blood couldn’t be burned, but it would still be part of the offering, representing the life of the animal and then also the life of the worshipper.
The animal was then flayed or skinned. It was cut into pieces. That had to be done because otherwise it wouldn’t be easy to lift the carcass up onto the altar to be burned. Remember: these were large farm animals. The priests would arrange the wood and the fire and they would put all the pieces on the altar. Notice how verse 8 mentions the fat. That refers specifically to the fat around the kidneys. Fat was considered a delicacy in the Ancient Near East. This reference is telling us that the most highly regarded pieces of the animal were offered up to God too.
Last of all, verse 9 tells us the entrails and legs were washed with water. Why? Because they were dirty. The entrails and the legs are the dirtiest parts of a farm animal and they needed to be cleaned up before they could be offered up in fire to God. The offering has to be perfect and clean. With that done, the whole entire animal would go up in smoke.
Some time ago King Charles III made his first visit as monarch to Canada. Various people met with the King. As they came into his presence, they would have had to follow certain protocols. For example, if you should speak to him, you begin by calling him “Your Majesty” and then afterwards refer to him as “Sir.” You are not allowed to touch the King. So no handshake -- unless he initiates it first. Now just as with earthly royalty, when you approach heavenly royalty there are all these protocols to follow. The Israelites had to follow these precisely.
The protocols in Leviticus 1 see the worshipper having a part. Yes, the priests are important too – they take care of everything involving the altar. As we look ahead to the New Testament, we should ask: what is our place in the sacrifice which has allowed us to enter into God’s holy presence? The Israelite worshipper had to bring the offering, had to kill it, had to flay it and cut it into pieces. What about us as Christians? Think about it. Again, we’ll come back to these questions and the other ones in a couple of minutes.
First let’s look at the outcome of the burnt offering. The outcome has to do with the holy God and how he regards the sinful worshipper. There are three things to notice.
In verse 3, it says that the worshipper brings the burnt offering “that he may be accepted before the LORD.” Without the sacrifice, without the blood and fire, there is no possibility of being accepted by God. As it says in Hebrews 9:22, “...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” The burnt offering provided a way to come into God’s holy and blessed presence and find his favour.
Then verse 4 says that the burnt offering would be “accepted for him to make atonement for him.” The idea of atonement is crucial here. This sacrifice makes atonement. Because it brings peace between God and the sinner, it allows the sinner to come into God’s presence.
Last of all, at the end of verse 9, it says that the burnt offering would be “a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” This is a word picture. It’s not as if God literally has nostrils with which he can smell the smoke of a burnt offering. The picture is of the animal being transformed into smoke and then rising up to heaven. There God is pleased with what has taken place. His pleasure isn’t related to the animal itself that’s been sacrificed – no, it’s directed to the worshipper who offered the animal. It’s as if the worshipper has been carried up into heaven with the smoke of this burnt offering and now the worshipper is pleasing and acceptable to God. The worshipper is able to enter into God’s presence.
This is one of those ceremonies of the law that our Belgic Confession refers to in article 25 as being shadows. The Old Testament was a time of shadows. When you see someone’s shadow, you don’t see everything there is to see about a person. It’s only when they’re in the light that you see the full picture. Nevertheless, even these shadows of the Old Testament are instructive for us. To see how, let’s read together from Hebrews 10:11-14 [read].
How many burnt offerings do you think were offered in the Old Testament before the coming of Christ? There must have been hundreds of thousands, if not millions. That’s a lot of cattle and oxen. Those sacrifices had to be made repeatedly. And in and of themselves they didn’t take away sins. It says in Hebrews 10:4, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” God only accepted them in the Old Testament because they were pointing ahead to Christ. On the cross Christ offered a one-time sacrifice which has fulfilled all of them and made them obsolete. Christ has offered the best offering which could be offered: himself as the God-man, a sacrifice without any blemish. This is the offering which God himself has graciously provided for our atonement. The Israelite worshipper had to bring his own sacrifice. God has provided the sacrifice for us as Christians.
This is the best offering, but also the most costly offering. Who did it cost? Not us. John 3:16 famously says, “For God so loved the world, he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” It was at the cost of God’s Son that we sinners have been welcomed into his presence. His was not only the most perfect sacrifice, it was the infinitely valuable sacrifice.
Then that brings us to the other question we need to answer. We saw how the Israelite worshipper had a role in bringing the burnt offering, killing it, flaying it, and cutting it into pieces. Does that somehow transfer over to Christians today? You might be tempted to think that it was sinners who killed Jesus and put him on the cross. Maybe that’s the parallel: sinful people killing the sacrifice. But when they did that, they didn’t do it with the idea that they were making a sacrifice to God to atone for sins. That idea was far from their minds.
This is a contrast, an important difference between the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament shadows, believers brought their burnt offerings for atonement. They had to keep bringing them. There was this endless cycle of human work. But in the New Testament, the gospel has brought us rest. The gospel says that Jesus Christ has made the sacrifice for us once and for all. The gospel simply calls us to rest from our own efforts at atonement and instead trust entirely in what Christ has done for us. Loved ones, I urge you to look only to the sacrifice that Jesus made for you on the cross and trust in that alone. There’s nothing you can add to that – it’s already perfect and completely sufficient to cover all your sins. It’s the only way that you as a sinner can enter into God’s holy presence. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life – no one can come to the Father except through him.
Today for us as Christians there is only one sacrifice left to bring. It’s the sacrifice mentioned in Romans 12:1-2. It’s not the dead sacrifice of cattle, but the living sacrifice of ourselves offered in thanksgiving to God. Having had access to the Holy God opened to us through the blood of the cross, we’re now called to commit our whole lives to God’s service in love and gratitude.
Loved ones, Leviticus reminds us that we are sinful human beings. It reminds us of the eternal truth that God is holy and we’re not. In its own Old Testament way, it teaches us that there is a way to come to this holy God, but it has to be on his terms, not ours. And it ultimately all points us to Jesus Christ as the only atoning sacrifice for our sins. With him as our Saviour, we can be confident that some glorious day the holy God will dwell with us in the new creation. AMEN.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that through Christ we have access to you, the holy God. Thank you for the gospel which promises that we sinners can not only enter into your holy presence, but even remain there for eternity. We worship you for providing the sacrifice which secured these benefits for us. We adore you for receiving us in favour, for atoning for our sins with the blood of your Son, and for declaring that we are now a pleasing aroma to you. With your Holy Spirit, please let none of these benefits and blessings be lost on us or taken for granted. Create in our hearts more awe and thankfulness for the gospel. With your Spirit, please give us also the whole-hearted willingness to offer ourselves to you as living sacrifices of love and gratitude.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Dr. Wes Bredenhof, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
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