The miraculous and glorious notion of the perfect order that was borne out of the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of the only wise, living and true God is on full display in His Word, the Bible. We will embark upon this sacred journey via the orderly book of Leviticus. And thereby unpacking its critical content (included in Exodus as well) en route to the sound doctrine and primary principles and practices associated with the following: Holiness, Worship, Sacrifice and Covenant. More specifically, these are also referred to as the Laws of Moses, and the teachings of the five (5) vital sacrifices are actually types and shadows of the crucifixion of Christ on Calvary and at the cross. These include: The Law of Burnt Offerings, The Law of Meat Offerings, The Law of the Peace Offerings and The Law of the Trespass Offerings.
Notice the ORDER instituted by God as He issues very specific commands to Aaron's sons. And in turn, this necessitated their immediate and obedient response. Thus, and by the letter, they followed these orders with care, caution and precision in carrying out the tasks of The Law of the Burnt Offerings: "And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:" (Leviticus 1:10-12). Furthermore, there exists One, and only One Wise and SOVEREIGN God. He is self-existent, self-governing and self-sufficient. He formed and fashioned all of creation and established the unaltered and original order of the universe.
The God of all creation is SUPREME and there is neither none above, nor none greater than God Most High: "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Psalm 83:18; Colossians 1:16-17).
He, being the tamer of turbulence, and the stiller of the worst of storms would put His eternal and living Word into the mind, heart and spirit of the prophet Isaiah. Thus, the prophet Isaiah would declare the truths surrounding the advent of our Great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, He is the epitome of order and the foundation of splendor and glory, and in penning these immortal words, Isaiah brings to our attention the vastness of His perennial rule and righteousness: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (John 6:63; Isaiah 9:6).
In the wisdom literature of Proverbs, it teaches that disharmony, disunity and divisiveness among humankind, would ultimately serve as the root cause of the disorder and chaos that would literally flourish as a result of the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Invariably, and so goes the Genesis narrative: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." (Genesis 3:6-13).
In the preceding narrative we witnessed the fall of innocence, which resulted in the collapse of the rule of God's moral law and order, or death; that is, the state of being spiritually dead. And the introduction of the rise and reign of disorder and chaos is now in motion. In other words, the stains, stench, contamination and sickness of SIN permeates the world and all therein. Tragic but true, and despite our humanity and sinful condition, a compassionate and caring God of perfect order persists in loving us unconditionally.
And He is truly worthy of limitless praise, honor, thanksgiving and glory. We are reminded in the Scripture that we are, and remain, God's crowning achievement, and a product of His "everlasting love"! What a surprise (???). I think not: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 31:3).
In keeping and holding firmly to this message of divine order, and needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, God wielded or exercised His divine authority while utilizing His Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding to bring the universe into existence! Words are outright inadequate, and the human mind is plainly and simply incapable of doing it justice, and in the description of this remarkably creative process. Hence, the following Proverb: "The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." (Proverbs 3:19-20).
Because of the tendency of humankind to stumble, which is another way of expressing "our walk with the Lord”, at some point over the course of our walk, one can expect to stumble over stumbling blocks. If it has not happened, keep walking. A stumbling block will eventually be the cause of periodically or regularly stumbling. And where there are those whom are described as "good", we know from both a physical and spiritual perspective that the source of any and/or all "good" is, and always will be God: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and the Lord delights in everything that he does. And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Psalm 37:23; Mathew 19:16-17).
The work of God the Father in and through the redemptive work of His son, would serve as the restoration of the divine moral code of conduct, and in conjunction with the new and eternal order of our living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Disciples of Jesus Christ would also spring forth by virtue of the restoration or re-institution of righteousness, and ending the terror wreaked by the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
The advent of the new and living way would also dissolve the longstanding division between the seed of the woman and the serpent, and forever dissolve the serpent's stranglehold: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God;" (Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 10:20-21).
As I bring closure to this message, I am compelled to share the fact that I am saturated with thankfulness and unspeakable praise for our Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ. Let us all cease not to honor him by faithfully and regularly assembling in His Church, The Body of Christ. Besides, were you aware of the fact that Jesus himself attended church on a regular basis? He shares this with us in His Word. And let us not forget the immortal words of Paul the apostle, a professed bond-servant (or slave) of Christ Jesus: "And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. Let all things be done decently and in order." (Mark 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 14:40).
This infinitely humbling experience has brought me immeasurable joy, my Beloved. And never forget that our blessed Lord is still on the throne, and the journey towards the Lord's ultimate salvation rest is nigh and remains on schedule... His SCHEDULE. (Isaiah 30:15).
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