Renewed Reverence
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Leviticus 9, 10 and Psalm 83 (NIV)
(Yap Siew Ling, Pastoral Team Member & Counsellor)
READ:
As I read Leviticus 9 & 10 and Psalm 83, the verses that stood out for me were:
Psalm 83:18 … “that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”
Leviticus 9:6 … “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord appear to you.”
Leviticus 9:7 … “as the Lord has commanded.”
Leviticus 10:1 “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorised fire before the Lord, contrary to his command.
Leviticus 10:2 … “and they died before the Lord.”
OBSERVE:
Leviticus is a book about the sacrificial offerings necessary for the atonement of sin. To present these offerings, the Lord gave Moses details. Besides the physical items, the instructions prescribed the persons and the ways to present the offerings.
Because Jesus Christ has come, we no longer need animal sacrifices. Jesus was, once for all (burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt), offered up on our behalf as the mediator between God and men.
Nadab and Abihu were two of the ordained priests. Before the ritual of offering, they had diligently attended the seven days of consecration and kept the charge of the Lord. They also had spiritual experiences with God. They were familiar with God and His ways. However, at the critical moment, they chose to offer a fire that was not kindled by God and not in the manner prescribed by God. Perhaps they were motivated by what they knew and what they thought was the better and more efficient way of worship.
APPLY:
Even though the detailed rituals of the Book of Leviticus are no longer physically performed, it is still very relevant today spiritually with Jesus as the ideal sacrifice and the centre of our lives.
We can have great encounters with God but these great encounters do not keep us in right standing with God. While we are made right with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are to consistently walk right with God through a life of intimacy and obedience.
These questions came to me – How is my posture today? Do I always have a reverence for God and His commands? Is my censer often flaming with ‘strange fire’ conjured by my pride? Is my worship one filled with self-will?
DO:
I am reminded of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ did, as Deity in human form for all our sins. Through Jesus, I can come to God just as I am, but I may not come to Him any way I please.
I cannot let my past glorious experiences with God, my human reasoning or the world’s need for expediency override God’s commands. I need to intentionally choose to pursue Jesus daily, hear His voice and obey.
PRAY:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for being the perfect sacrifice for us all.
Forgive us when we focus on your great love and grace at the expense of Your holiness.
Forgive us when we choose to rely on our past experiences, our human reasoning or yield to the pressure of this hurried world instead of plain obedience to Your commands.
Help us to walk each day in holy reverence of what You have done and accord unto You the worship that is worthy, in manner and method, in attitude and action, in spirit and in truth.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
