Title: God Prescribes the Way to Him
Text: Leviticus 1: 1-2
Date: July 31, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Leviticus 1: 1: And the LORD called unto
Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 2:
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring
an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of
the herd, and of the flock.
The
only way to find acceptance with God, and to worship God, is to come to God in
the way God has prescribed. Christ is
God’s Way. Christ is the sacrifice God has accepted. Faith in Christ is God’s
Way. Christ is the believer’s only acceptance with God. We must come trusting
Christ.
That is
what we see in these first two verses of Leviticus. Here God makes a statement concerning
offerings. Every aspect of these ceremonies pictures Christ and the sinner’s
way to God only through faith in Christ.
In Hebrews
9, the Holy Spirit tells us that the
law was not given by God to take away sin.
God used the law to give pictures of Christ who by himself perfected his
people by his one offering. Even under the old covenant, true believers beheld
Christ in the ceremonies.
Hebrews 9: 8: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the
way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first
tabernacle was yet standing: 9: Which was a figure for the time then present, in
which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did
the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10: Which stood only in
meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them
until the time of reformation. 11: But Christ being come an high priest of good
things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,
that is to say, not of this building; 12: Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us.
Hebrews 10: 1: For the law having a shadow of good things
to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect…9:
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he
may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once.
This whole book uses physical, earthly things
to teach spiritual, heavenly things:
·
God is Spirit—John 4:24: God is a Spirit: and
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
·
The law is spiritual—Romans 7: 14: For we
know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
·
The book is discerned spiritually—it is not
discerned naturally—the book is spiritually discerned—1 Corinthians 2:14: But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
Earthly promises made to natural men in this
book is to picture spiritual promises made to God’s spiritual people. Miss this
and miss salvation by grace; miss this and miss salvation by Christ alone through
faith in Christ alone.
Proposition: In
Leviticus 1, we will take the first two verses, and see, by way of a picture,
that sinners can only come to God in God’s prescribed Way—and that one way is
through faith in Christ the Way.
I. FIRST, GOD INITIATES COMMUNICATION HOW HE
WILL AND TO WHOM HE WILL.
God is First to Call
God
will receive all the glory for teaching and calling his people. We are sinners with no desire to come to
God. Therefore, it is God who must first
initiate the work of grace toward us—Leviticus
1: 1: God called…
In eternity,
it was God who first called Christ his Son and his people in his Son. In time,
it is God who first calls his people.
Romans 9:11 (For
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that
calleth;)…16: So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that sheweth mercy.
We are born dead in sins so we are not the
first to seek God.
Romans 3:11: There is none that understandeth, there is
none that seeketh after God.
If we
learn this about ourselves then we will rejoice to know the truth:
1 John 4:10 Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
God Communicates Only Through a Mediator
Also, we
see here that God only communicates through a Mediator—Leviticus 1: 1: God called
unto Moses…. he told Moses to Leviticus 1: 2: speak unto the children. Moses stands here as a type of Christ.
1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
God is
holy and a Spirit. We are sinners and human flesh. The only way God will
communicate to a sinner, or accept a sinner, is through Christ the Mediator,
who is both holy God and sinless Man in one person.
Acts 4:12: Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
God Speaks From Heaven to his Church
Also,
notice the particular place where God spoke through the Mediator—Leviticus 1: 1: out of the tabernacle of
the congregation.
The
tabernacle pictures two things: One, it pictures God’s heavenly abode—the
holiest of holies—from where Christ our Mediator, Mercy Seat and High Priest
speaks.
Hebrews 8: 1: Now of the things which we have spoken this
is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2: A minister of the sanctuary, and of
the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man….9: 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Two, it
pictures Christ’s church, the congregation which Christ assembles, and each of
his people in particular.
Ephesians 2: 21: In whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22: In whom ye also are builded
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
We have
seen in Ephesians 4, how Christ speaks from heaven—from the sanctuary, the
holiest of holies above—through his gospel—into his body, the tabernacle of the
congregation, into the heart of his child.
·
So it is in the picture in Leviticus, God
spoke to Moses who spoke to the people, as they congregated at the tabernacle
of the congregation.
This
past weekend you heard God’s faithful preachers declare that the most important
aspect of our lives is to congregate together in the public worship of Christ.
This is where God will speak to his people through Christ through the
declaration of his word. That is the picture we have in our text. God promised
to meet with the children of Israel from the mercy seat in the tabernacle of
the congregation. So it is in this
gospel age. God speaks through Christ our Propitiation from the holiest of
holies in heaven to his church into the hearts of his people.
God Speaks to His Elect
Also,
note, God only communicated to the children of Israel—Leviticus 1: 1: And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out
of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 2: Speak unto the children of
Israel,…
At this
time there were millions of people outside of and surrounding the children of
Israel. But God did not command the Mediator to speak to the people outside of Israel.
God commanded the Mediator to speak only to the children of Israel.
The
children of Israel are a picture of God’s elect scattered all over the world. God’s
elect are God’s spiritual Israel. Scriptures are crystal clear on that fact.
Roman 9: 6: Not as though the word of God hath taken none
effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7: Neither, because
they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy
seed be called. 8: That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are
not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed.
The
natural children of Israel—the natural sons of Abraham, of Isaac and of
Jacob—are not all the true spiritual Israel of God simply because they are
natural sons—but it is the elect who God counts as his true Israel.
“In
Isaac shall thy seed be called” means in Christ shall thy children be called.” That
was the promise God the Father made to Abraham and to Christ his Son.
Galatians 3: 7: Know ye therefore that they which are of
faith, the same are the children of Abraham….9: So
then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham…29: And if ye be
Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The
children of the promise are the elect called out from both Jew and Gentile
races. The elect are called out from every nation, tribe, tongue and people on
earth. That is why God said to Abraham, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.’”
(Gal 3: 8: Gen 12: 3)
Brethren,
we must not imagine God will do some future special thing for the political,
natural Israel simply because they are the natural sons of Abraham. To do so,
is the same as saying God’s salvation is based on blood [natural ancestry], or
on the will of man or on the will of the flesh.
But scripture says clearly that those born of God are born “not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn
1: 13)
What
about the promises God made to the natural sons of Abraham? Every good promise
God promised to the natural seed were earthly promises which God fulfilled. So
was every evil promise God promised and fulfilled
Joshua 23: 14: And, behold, this day I am going the way
of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not
one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake
concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed
thereof. 15: Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come
upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon
you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which
the LORD your God hath given you. 16: When ye have transgressed the covenant of
the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods,
and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled
against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath
given unto you.
God
gave the natural sons of Abraham all good things he promised to show us a
picture that God fulfills all spiritual promises to the true spiritual Israel
who believe on Christ. Also, because of Israel rejected Christ our Savior, Christ
said “your house is left to you desolate”.
God destroyed them from off their land just as God promised to show us
that those who seek to come to God some way other than Christ shall be
destroyed in God’s wrath. So all God’s elect in Israel were scattered to the
four-winds amongst the Gentiles in 70 AD. When all God’s elect—no matter their
ancestry—are called out from among the Gentile nations then shall all God’s true,
spiritual, Israel be saved. That is declaring salvation by grace, not by blood
or by works; that is giving God the glory rather than showing a respect unto
man based on race.
So get
the point. God has not sent Christ our Mediator to call out all men and women
on the face of this earth. He is sent to
call out his true lost sheep, his true spiritual Israel, the elect of God. When God gives grace to receive this, it will
humble his elect child. That is the purpose.
The
unregenerate man puffs up and cries not fair.
Is it fair that every guilty man on death row is there? They each received a fair trail from a just
judge and were sentenced fairly. So were
we before God the just Judge. But if God
is pleased to deliver some and God does so in a way that upholds God’s justice—God
carries out the death penalty, crucifying his own Son in their place then gives
each one spiritual life by the Spirit of his Son—what is unjust about that? Justice
and truth have met in harmony. So cannot God do with his own what he will? Sure he can. (Rom 9: 20-21) We must first be
brought to see we are sinners with no rights and that God is God with every
right to do with us as he pleases. Only then will our heart be broken and
contrite to receive the truth of God.
So we
see God speaks first, God speaks how he will and to whom he will—through Christ
the Mediator, to his people.
II. SECONDLY, GOD PRESCRIBES THE WAY IN WHICH
GOD WILL BE APPROACHED BY A SINNER.—Leviticus 1: 2:… say unto them, If any man
of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the
cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
All God’s Elect are Sinners in Need of a
Sacrifice
First,
notice, this applies to all of God’s elect alike—Leviticus 1: 2: If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD…
The
reason all God’s people must come to God with an offering is because God is
holy and we are all sinners, no exceptions.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;
All God’s Elect Must Come to God through
Faith in Christ
Then
note, God declares where the offering must come from—Leviticus 1: 2: If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye
shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
Several important points are taught here.
First,
it declares, we, as sinners, can only have our sins forgiven by God through the
shedding of blood. That blood is Christ’s own blood. These animals best showed
Christ’s blood and the remission of our sins by his blood. The New
Testament—the everlasting covenant—is God’s will for his people, it is the
Testator’s will for his elect children of promise. Christ is the Mediator of
that New Testament from God to his people. What is required for a child to
receive the inheritance through the will and testament of his father? The Testator must die.
Hebrews 9: 15: And for this cause [Christ] is the
mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of
the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are
called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. 16: For where a
testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17: For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of
no strength at all while the testator liveth. 18: Whereupon neither the first testament
was dedicated without blood. 19: For when Moses had spoken every precept to all
the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with
water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the
people, 20: Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath
enjoined unto you. 21: Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle,
and all the vessels of the ministry. 22: And almost all things are by the law
purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 23: It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be
purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these. 24 For Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true;
but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 25: Nor
yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the
holy place every year with blood of others; 26: For then must he often have
suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27: And as
it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28: So Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him
shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
So
first, these offerings were taken from animals because they show the truth that
sinners can only come to God who have been purged of our sins by the blood of
Christ.
Secondly,
these animals best pictured Christ. The ox or bullock pictured Christ in his
strength and ability to labor--“I’ve laid help on one that his Mighty”, God
said. (Ps 89: 19) The
sheep pictured Christ for his harmlessness, innocence, and patience--“He is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth.” (Is 53: 7)
The goat pictured Christ when “he made him, who knew no sin, to be made sin
for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor 5: 21) One animal, not even one sacrifice,
could picture the glory of Christ. It took several animals, and several
sacrifices to bring out various aspects of Christ and his glory on the cross.
Thirdly,
these animals were to be taken from among the flock to picture that Christ was
made like unto his brethren and chosen from among us.
Hebrews 2: 17: Wherefore in all things it behoved him to
be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people. 18: For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted.
Psalm 89:19:…I
have exalted one chosen out of the people.
Fourthly,
the offering must be of their own herds because the people were most attached
to those animals and most dependent upon them for life. The offering was to be
dear to their hearts so that it was a real sacrifice to them. It was to be an
animal which they needed and depended upon for life so that it was a real
sacrifice to them.
This
was one of the great offenses of those Christ cast out who were selling animals
at the synagogue. They took away the
heart aspect, and the sacrificial aspect, of the offering, making it just a
cold ceremony for the people.
To
those given a new heart, Christ is dear to our hearts; Christ is needed and
depended upon for life by us. We see
Christ laying down his life as a true sacrifice for us. What we, by our sins, have done to Christ is
the sorrow of true repentance!
Jeremiah 6:26: O daughter of my people, gird thee with
sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation:…
This is
what God does in conversion when he makes us behold Christ who shed his blood
to purge our sins:
Amos 8:10: And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and
all your songs into lamentation; [all your charade of false religion] and I
will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, [repentance in the inward parts] and baldness
upon every head; [God’s takes away that so-called wisdom in our head which we
once trusted in] and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end
thereof as a bitter day. [God puts a true mourning in our hearts over
our sin in light of Christ]
Zechariah 12:10…they shall look upon me whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall
be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
We see
an example at Pentecost:
Acts 2:37: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in
their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do?
God
continues to work repentance in believers by showing us our sin in light of
Christ. We saw an example in the Corinthian church:
2 Corinthians 7:10: For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Cain
and Abel—Cane came without blood; Abel came in the blood of a lamb that was
dear to his heart and depended upon for life. That is why God had no respect to
Cain’s offering but received Abel.
What
have seen here? God initiates communication how, where and to whom he will. God
first speaks to man, God only speaks through the Mediator, God speaks from and into
the tabernacle of the congregation, and God speaks only to his elect, the children
of Israel, not to all sinners.
Secondly,
God prescribes the way in which God will be approached by the sinner. We, as
sinners, can only have our sins forgiven by God through the shedding of Christ’s
own blood. It is only through faith in the blood of Christ that sinners may
approach unto God.
All of
this is to humble us: to teach us to come down off our high horse and bow to
holy and sovereign God who does as he will. Sinners can only come to God on
God’s terms in God’s way, not on our terms, not in our way. In the ceremony,
God’s terms and God’s way were the best emblems of Christ; in Christ, God’s
terms and God’s way is simply the best.
Submit
to God, repent from your way, believe on Christ, trusting his blood to be
remission of your sins, confess him publicly and God will receive you. May God
make it so for you today!
Amen.