Date of message: 07 June 2003
Subject: The Lord Found Fault With The Old
Covenant
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
This week I am reminded of the Day of Atonement and the events that took
place on that day every year before Jesus came into this world. As the
name implies, it is on this day that the high priest brought the sins
of the whole nation of Israel before the LORD on their behalf. And if
the LORD accepted the high priest and the sacrifice, God would cover their
sins for one year until the following year when the high priest would
again come before the LORD to repeat the ritual. The Jewish name for the
Day of Atonement is Yom (day) Kippur (covering) and that is what the Lord
did for the nation of Israel. He covered their sins but for one year.
In Leviticus chapter 16, we read how, on Yom Kippur, Aaron the high priest
would wash himself thoroughly early in the morning and put on his high
priestly garments. When he was ready, he would then take the two kids
of the goats that had been selected and prepared as a sin offering and
present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the LORD.
Then he would cast lots for the two goats; one for the LORD and the other
lot for the scapegoat. The goat on which the LORD's lot fell would be
offered as a sin offering for the whole nation but the goat on which the
lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD,
to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the
wilderness.
He would then proceed to bring the bull of the sin offering to atone for
himself and his family before the LORD. He would kill the bull for himself
and taking the blood of the bull and the golden censer full of burning
coals from the burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD and
with his hands full of the finely beaten sweet incense, he would then
enter behind the veil into the Holy of Holies.
There he would take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with
his finger on the mercy seat on its east side and before the mercy seat,
he would sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
After he had done that, Aaron would come back outside, kill the goat of
the sin offering which was for the people and bring the blood inside the
veil and to sprinkle the blood of the goat offering as he had done with
the blood of the bull offering, on the mercy seat and before the mercy
seat.
The high priest, after he had finished offering the blood within the veil,
would then come out and with some of the blood, sprinkle every piece of
the furniture found in the tabernacle and also on the people gathered
within the compound of the tabernacle.
According to the temple records kept by the priests and the scribes, they
would tie a piece of rope around the ankle of the high priest so that
they could pull his body out from the Holy of Holies should he be struck
dead because of the sins of the whole nation. As the high priest moved
about within the veiled area, there would have been the sound of the bells,
sewn onto the high priestly garments, ringing.
Also the high priest would tie a piece of scarlet thread around the horns
of the scapegoat. This piece of scarlet thread would miraculously turn
white even as the high priest was still inside the Holy of Holies performing
all those rites. The changing of the color of the thread signified that
the sin offering was accepted by the LORD.
When the high priest had completed the cleansing of the furniture and
the people by the sprinkling of the blood, he would then place his hands
on the head of the scapegoat and confess over it all the iniquities of
the children of Israel and then he would send this scapegoat away into
the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.
The fate of the whole nation on the Day of Atonement hung on two conditions:
-
" The high priest was accepted by the LORD.
" The sin offering of the goat was accepted by the LORD.
Any one of the two conditions could disqualify the whole nation and then
their sins would not have been forgiven them and they would experience
the judgment of God on them. However, when the LORD accepted their high
priest and the blood of the sin offering, the scarlet thread would turn
white and they would rejoice for they had received the forgiveness of
their sins for yet another year (until the next Yom Kippur).
The nation of Israel had to keep offering the sacrifice every year because
their sins were only covered (or atoned for). The LORD told Moses in Exodus
34:6 - 7: -
6. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the
LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness
and truth,
7. keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth
generation."
The LORD found fault with this covenant and so He Himself came to this
world and became not only the Sin Offering for us on the cross but He
also became our great High Priest when He arose from the dead and brought
His own Blood and sprinkled the precious blood of the Son of God on the
heavenly mercy seat and this pleased the Father forever.
Therefore, by so doing, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had established
for us a better covenant. Because it was His Blood that was shed, it is
an everlasting act done once and for all eternity. Our great High Priest
lives on forever and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of
grace and He lives on to carry on the work of the High Priest, to intercede
for us before the Father.
Under the Old Covenant of Law, God swore that He would by no means clear
the guilty. We are all guilty of falling short of the standard set by
God and according to the Law, all of us deserved to die. But praise the
LORD for what our Lord Christ Jesus accomplished for us when He took all
our sins upon Himself, died and thus fulfilled all the demands of the
Law on us. Because of our faith (or believing) in Him, the Lord promised
in Isaiah 1:18, "…though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as
wool."
Again the Lord has promised us in Hebrews 10: 16 -17: -
16. "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their
minds I will write them,"
17. Then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember
no more."
The price had already been exacted by Christ Jesus on our behalf and all
that is left is for us to receive what He had done for us. We need to
appropriate the Blood of the Lamb on our own lives and all our sins will
be taken/ done away with; it is as simple as that.
Have you placed your faith in our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus? Received
Jesus into your life and He will come into your heart and give you eternal
life. By believing in Jesus and receiving His Holy Spirit into our lives,
God confers on us the position of sons and daughters in His Family, special
positions reserved only for those whom He loves dearly (John 1: 12). Rejection
of what Jesus had done for us on the cross signifies the rejection of
God's gift of salvation and if one rejects the Gift, there is therefore
no more hope.
The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks come to pass and He had
promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him will
not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8: 1).
Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite Him into your heart and immediately
you will experience the peace of Jesus coming your way.
O God our Heavenly Father, thank you for what Jesus did for me on the
cross. He did not come into this world to cover my sins but by His death,
He had removed all my sin and in its place You have given me eternal life.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You loved us so much that You were willing
to die for us on the cross. Thank you that You became that Sacrificial
Lamb for us and because of Your death, the judicial righteousness of the
Father had been satisfied. And now, because You rose from the dead, we,
who believe in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die
but we receive Your eternal life. Thank you for coming into my heart and
making my heart Your home.
Thank you that what You have accomplished for us on the cross has qualified
me to become a child of God the Father. Thank you that I am now eternally
forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely
protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah,
I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain
good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local
Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will
be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for
fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 -26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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