The first five chapters of Leviticus are pretty much what I expected. Books like this show me what a lazy reader I am. I found myself skimming and have to be more disciplined to read carefully.
What did come through loud and clear was how gracious God is. The definition for grace that we learn in Awana is “God giving me a free gift I don’t deserve.”
We didn’t deserve salvation at all. Yet God’s plan right from the start, knowing just how vile we would be, was to send His Precious Son to take our punishment in order to provide a way for us to be redeemed.
At the time of the events documented in Leviticus, that Son wouldn’t come for hundreds (thousands?) of years yet. Rather than letting all those people get what they deserved, God provided a way through these sacrifices that they, through faith, could trust in the Son who would one day come and be the Sacrifice to end all sacrifices.
God carefully explains how each sacrifice must be carried out, and even gives alternatives – with so many options no one could say they couldn’t meet the standard. He provided for everyone. He even allows an offering for those who sinned unintentionally. Sin is sin and it must be dealt with, whether it was premeditated or truly unintentional. God is so good!
In the past when I’ve read through the offering requirements, I’ve wiped my brow with a loud “Phew!” and felt so relieved that I live in the age of grace! How cumbersome to live under the law and have to offer sacrifices for every little sin! This time, however, I was struck with a new and sobering thought. It’s not a new thought, but in light of the Old Testament sacrifices, I saw it in a new way.
Grace does not mean license to sin, but that is exactly how we treat it. Not having to offer careful sacrifices and knowing that Christ already paid the price for all my sins can make me a little lazy about it all. Even an unintentional sin in the Old Testament times required a sacrifice. My sins, unintentional or otherwise, seem to require only a shrug of the shoulders and an “I’ll do better next time” or worse yet, “It wasn’t my fault”. Sin is still sin. Grace is Christ dying in my place, and I need to do a much better job of not taking it for granted!
God didn’t sacrifice His Son and His Son didn’t willingly do it just so that I could do whatever I want and still be forgiven without the inconvenience of all those sacrifices. He did it so that I could be forgiven and submit to His Holy Spirit in order to sin less! Studying the Bible is the only way I begin to understand just how much sin is in my life, yet how many of us really make it a priority? We take His grace for granted every day of our lives.
Book Review Friday has been a huge blessing in my life. It keeps me accountable. I have so far to go, but I am reading the Bible more than ever before. I am learning more about sin, and God is showing me areas in my life that up to now I thought were just fine. That’s a scary thought. We think we’re doing just fine, when we’re not! That’s why we need His Word. It is the way He has provided for us to know truth. Reading the same portion over and over again may sound like drudgery if you’ve never done it before, but I’m now convinced it is the only way to go. I am understanding more than I ever have before and so I am learning more than I ever have before. It’s terribly exciting. If you’re not on board yet, what are you waiting for? Just do it.
I didn’t pick up on any of this in my reading. It’s so good to read others’ thoughts and revelations from Scripture! Great review.
Love it. I’m thinking that the next 5 chapters are going to have the same lessons. But I’m going to read them and just see what else I’ll be surprised with learning.
yup, another great review…all three of you challenged me and I realized I really missed the point in that reading. I’m going to look harder this week