Numbers 4:1-5:31; Mark 12:18-37; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26
God is Holy! As you read through all these passages about the Tabernacle and how careful people had to be around the sacred objects, it re-enforces the Holiness of God. You see, God’s Holiness cannot allow any impurity around it.
Many people will read the Old Testament and not understand how a loving God can have such strict rules and extreme punishments. God can neither deny His holiness nor His love! He is both. All these Old Testament rules were put in place to protect the priests and people from crossing His holiness and incurring His wrath. Remember this was NOT the way God wanted it. He desired for us to be as He is: holy. But, through Adam and Eve, sin entered humanity and made us impure. We could no longer enjoy that close fellowship with God in our sinful state.
All through the Old Testament, God came as close to us as He could, through still small voices, pillars of cloud and fire, prophets, and angels. He even set up his Tabernacle in the center of the tribes. But, God could get no closer in the Old Testament because it would violate His Holiness and the Israelites would die!
Thank God for Jesus! Jesus was God’s way to get us back to Him. If someone died to satisfy (pay the price for) our sins, then we would be in right standing with God (Righteous), then we could be back in fellowship with God. No one was qualified because they needed to be a perfect sacrifice. So, God sent His only Son, who was tempted just like we are yet He never sinned. When He died on that cross, He paid all of our sin debts (past, present and future) so we can enjoy close fellowship with God every moment of every day.
Praise God today for Jesus and the fact that we can have a real relationship with our Heavenly Father! Oh, how He loves us!
Tomorrow’s Reading: Numbers 6:1-7:89; Mark 12:38-13:13; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 10:27-28