In chapter 8, God gives Moses commands that he is to pass on to Aaron, his brother, about preparing a sin offering. In this chapter it is mentioned five times that Moses did exactly as the Lord had told him. God gave him detailed descriptions about how to go about making themselves pure again after sinning. Aaron and his sons, who were to be the priests, were to follow these instructions to the letter, and did so at the beginning.
In chapter 9 Moses gives more instructions and says a few times that if they follow the commands of God, then the glory of the Lord will appear to them. Sounds to me like, even though there's a lot of detail to keep in mind, it very important to follow just as God instructs.
In chapter 10 we read what happens when Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu get sloppy and don't follow exactly. These boys were destroyed by fire right there on the spot.
This makes me wonder why I don't always listen to God, I need to respect and honour God more than I do and listen without questioning. I hope I won't be taken out that quickly if I sin, but I nevertheless need to honour God more by listening to Him.
In Hebrews 9:15 we read,
"so Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. He brings this agreement so that those who are chosen by God can have the blessings God promised, blessings that last forever. This can happen only because Christ died to free people from sins committed against the commands of the first agreement."
When Jesus came and died for us, their was then a new way to be forgiven. The old law was over. At this Easter time especially we're thankful for the sacrifice He made for us.
3 comments:
Nadab and Abihu experienced immediate death upon not listening to one of God's commands. We experience death too when we sin, just not in a physical sense as Aaron's sons did.
When we disobey God, we are drawing further away from God which will lead to our eternal death too. A great reminder to listen to God and obey everything He has commanded.
Sometimes I think if God was so specific in my life about what exactly he wanted me to do, it would be easier for me to do it. However, maybe He is specific and I am just not listening???
These two verses stood out for me from Hebrews:
16 In the case of a will,[d] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living....
A will is a plan that you will actually never know if it is followed. Any plans I make about what will happen to my body or any assets I may have do not necessarily have to come about depending on whether my wishes are followed....and really does it matter in the end??
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
We all die. We all will face judgement for our sin. I'm thankful my debt has been paid.
God's punishment of Nadab and Abihu's sin is a huge example of how seriously God takes sin. Sin separates us from God and is the reason He had to sacrifice His only Son.
Our Hebrews passage ties in well with this, and is also very fitting for Easter time. I love how it brings up the Most Holy Place which was separated from the Holy Place by a huge thick veil - which was supernaturally torn in half at the moment of Jesus' death, signifying the end of the sacrificial system forever. Love that!
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