Exodus 42:32 - Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
2 Chronicles 11:14 - One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest
2 Chronicles 11:14 - Going Through the Motions
Psalm 147:3 - Atonement
Amos 5:24 - Justice and Righteousness
John 15:11 - Joy Unspeakable
Hebrews 7:25 - Atonement - Saved to the Uttermost
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses. Exodus 40:32
I remember seeing a cute sign in a bathroom when I was a kid: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. It didn’t set well with me. I remember thinking, evaluating: Was that really true? I didn’t think so. I knew there were people who might be clean on the outside, but inside they were not so clean. They were not what I would call godly. They needed to wash their hearts from evil. (Isaiah 1:16; Jeremiah 2:22; Jeremiah 4:14)
Still the rituals of washing were important to God. In Leviticus 16, during the activities done on the Day of Atonement, the high priest washed before He put on the holy linen garments (Lev 16:4). Then, after he’d taken the blood into the Holy of Holies and after he’d confessed all of the sins of the Israelites on the head of the second goat, he took off the holy linen garments and washed again (Lev 16:24) before offering the burnt offering on the altar.
Did you notice what two things were sandwiched between the first and second washing, the two things that were done while wearing the white linen garments? First the high priest made atonement for the Holy Place, which was in the midst of the uncleanness of the people (Leviticus 16:16). The Holy Place had to purified. Second, all the sins of the people were confessed on the head of the second goat (Leviticus 16:22). The people’s sins were taken away.
Titus 2:14 talks about these two aspects of atonement as well. Jesus gave Himself to 1) redeem us from all lawlessness (the second goat taking away all iniquities) and 2) to purify for himself a people for his own possession (the first goat purified the Holy Place).
We are the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16). We must purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit out of reverence for God (2 Corinthians 7:1).
We are also the priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). God promised in Malachi 3:3 that He would purify the sons of Levi - the priesthood.
This is what Jesus Christ accomplished when He gave Himself for us, to sanctify us, having cleansed us by the washing of water with the word, “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27).
We, God’s people, are analogous to the temple, the priesthood, and the bride of Christ. All three must be clean, washed, purified. And all three must be righteous - the opposite of lawless, workers of iniquity. Both our redemption and our purification is accomplished in Christ.
Maybe cleanliness is next to godliness.
Going Through the Motions
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 11:14
When I think of Jeroboam, I think of the two golden calves he made. I think of him changing the time for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But I don’t usually think of him ousting the Levitical priesthood. And yet, he did! Think about the implications: first, he fashioned idols for Israel to worship - telling the people that these were the gods which brought them up out of Egypt (1 Kings 12). He set them in Bethel and in Dan, telling the people that Jerusalem was too far for them to go worship God. Then he changed the Feast of Tabernacles celebration to the eighth month, instead of the seventh, so that it’d be more convenient for the people and further distance them from the right time to celebrate. Then, to cap it all off, he got rid of the authorized priesthood, those who knew very well what he was doing was wrong, and he replaced them with anyone who wanted to be priest (1 Kings 13:33). It was so incredibly senseless. God had told Jeroboam that if he would serve Him faithfully that God would establish his kingdom (1 Kings 1:38). It seems the Jeroboam didn’t trust God to deliver on that promise! So he went through the motions of serving God, but it was only skin deep.
It reminds me of the passage in 2 Timothy 3:5. At the end of this list of vile conduct characterizing the end times is this phrase: having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. The note in the ESV study Bible says: Godliness (the Greek eusebeia) means genuine piety, including holiness, reverence, faith, and love and devotion to God. Jeroboam’s actions did not show godliness by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t have even one of those characteristics listed!
So what about us? Do we obey God’s law? (It’s not a matter of salvation; that’s only available to us through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.) Our obedience to God’s law demonstrates our devotion to Him. Are we going to do what He says? Is He our King and Savior or not? There’s not some fine print at the bottom of the covenant with God which gives us an out, saying that we don’t have to obey God if we don’t understand why He’s commanding us to do something. Why am I bringing this up today? One of the hardest things that we intentionally do every year is a complete fast for twenty-four hours on the Day of Atonement. It’s not one of those days that we look forward to. But God commands us to afflict our souls, and there’s enough evidence throughout the Bible to indicate that this means fasting. (Obviously, if there are serious health issues, fasting is not possible, and perhaps that’s why it says to afflict yourself instead of blunting stating that you must fast.)
Fasting is an intentional act, an act of humility, an act of obedience before God.
Fasting is also a very physical object lesson. It is so tangible. We physically experience the reality of subjecting our will in reverence to God’s will. It helps us to understand how very much more difficult it may be to completely bring every thought into submission to Jesus Christ. That’s our goal. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5. That’s the object lesson we learn in Atonement. Because really, Jesus Christ is the only One who can make propitiation for our sins. We cannot repair that relationship with the Father. We have to give up our will and become a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2); that’s our reasonable service to God, the One who redeemed us by His blood!
It did not work out very well for Jeroboam to go through the motions of serving God. And it won’t work out very well for us either.
Matthew West’s song, “The Motions,” expresses this very well:
"The Motions"
This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break
At least I'll be feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?
No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something (Chorus)
Bridge:
Take me all the way
(Take me all the way)
Take me all the way
(‘Cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
Take me all the way
(Lord, I'm finally feeling something real)
Take me all the way (Chorus twice)
One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 11:14
Let’s consider two pertinent facts that Jeroboam should have considered before casting out the Levites from serving as priests of the LORD:
Jeroboam backed himself into an inescapable corner. He had no way to be reconciled to God. He couldn’t go into the Holy of Holies. He couldn’t be reconciled by one of the people he appointed to be a priest; they were not acceptable before God. This is the quintessential example of Robert Burn’s line, “The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.” Jeroboam thought to solidify the northern kingdom of Israel in his hand and in that of his descendants. He should have spent more time thinking of Israel’s history. When Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them (Leviticus 10:1-3). Jeroboam could also have thought about Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:3), when Korah and 250 leaders challenged Moses’ authority, the position that God had put Moses in. Korah and those with him were devoured by an earthquake. The incidents with Nadab, Abihu, and Korah highlight that God has the right to choose who will serve before Him; you cannot choose to serve God that way just because you want to (Hebrews 5:4). God chose Aaron and his descendants; no one else was acceptable.
Why?
The Aaronic line typified Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest (Hebrews 5:5). Jesus Christ is the only one who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Jesus Christ is the only one able, as High Priest, to enter into the Holy of Holies (not the physical tabernacle, but the throne room of God) to make atonement for us, not with the blood of goats, but with His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12).
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Romans 3:25). It’s not only paying the price for our sins; it’s also the restoration of the relationship with the Father. God the Father, in His great mercy, gave His own Son to reconcile us to Himself.
John 14:6 says that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Acts 4:12 says there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved.
Revelation 5:9 says the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. . .” And thousands and thousands and myriads and myriads of angels respond, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
The institution of the worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel is synonymous with Jeroboam’s rule. And we often think of how he changed the time of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But the ousting of the Levitical priests from serving the LORD under Jeroboam’s reign is likewise profoundly significant. God does not consider it a small thing to break the type. [Just think about Moses striking the rock (Numbers 20:8-13, 1 Corinthians 10:4, Exodus 17:6) and being subsequently prohibited from entering the Promised Land.]
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that we must obey God. If He is truly our God, then we must show that reality by doing what He says - regardless of how difficult it is, even if we don’t understand why - and we must obey with our whole heart. That’s what it means to be in a covenant with God where He affirms that He is our God and we are His people. There is One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest.
Atonement
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalms 147:3
Materials: bandages, tape, glue, paper, first aid kit, needle, thread, patch, cloth
If I tear a piece of paper, is there anyway I can put it back together again?
I could tape it. But you’d still see where the tear was.
I could use another piece of paper and some glue. But you’d know it’d be repaired.
I could completely shred the paper, add some water, and some more glue. Then I could spread it out and let it dry. It wouldn’t look like the original paper, but you wouldn’t see where the initial tear was.
But that’s paper. What about cloth? What if I get a tear in my shirt? What can I do?
I can tape it, but that’d come off the next time I washed it.
And glue would act similarly.
I could sew it. If it’s a small tear, I could just use thread to cinch up the hole.
If it was large tear, I could sew a patch over the top of it. But you’d always know it was there.
What about you? What if you get a cut? What can you do?
You can put a band-aid on it.
You can use NewSkin.
Sometimes you need stitches.
You can do some surface repairs, but it is really God who heals us - either allowing the body to heal itself as God has designed it or directly as an answer to our prayers.
But that’s outside. What about the inside? What about the damage that has been done to you heart and mind because of your sinful choices? What can you do to heal that? Is there any way to put your mind back together - the way it was before you sinned?
You can ask for forgiveness.
You can try to make amends by telling the truth, repairing something, admitting your mistake, replacing something damaged, etc.
But for the damage to really be healed requires God’s healing. He has given us His Son to not only save us from our sin, to heal our diseases, to bind up our wounds and heal our broken hearts; Jesus also is our Advocate before the Father, ever living to make intercession for us, to restore the relationship that we have with God. Jesus makes things right again!
When we’ve sinned, made a mistake, created a tear, we can only do so much to make repairs. It takes God to heal the situation and to heal us. As we come before Him on this Atonement, we can never forget that it completely a work of God to make us whole.
Justice and Righteousness
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24
I walk my dogs every morning. I have an understanding with them that I’ll bring treats. That way they’ll come when I call. I have an understanding with Ron that I’ll take my cell phone with me. That way, if something should happen, I can get some help quickly. One morning when I was walking, I called Ron. I had fallen. It was no big deal and I wasn’t hurt, but something quite unexpected had happened, and I wanted to tell him about it. As soon as I hit the ground, Velvet and Pepper came running. It wasn’t that they were worried I was hurt. Rather, they were delighted that I was on the ground. They both proceeded to wash my face and climb all over me. They saw my fall as a delightful treat. Their perspective of what had happened was totally different from mine.
In a similar way, my perspective of justice and righteousness is very different from what I see portrayed around me in our world today. What God defines as wrong and right is totally turned on its head. Our society says it’s okay to murder babies; it’s okay for two men or two women to get married; it’s okay for people to do whatever they want to do as long as it doesn’t bother anyone else. Our court systems are a travesty of justice. If you are Christian, law-abiding, and of modest means, your chances of getting a just verdict are increasingly remote. If you are anti-God, have had several brushes with the law, and are wealthy, you’re likely to be acquitted. There is little justice and little righteousness in our society today - at least, that’s my perspective, my observation of what I see. Things are not right. Things are not just. Things are not fair.
So as I was sitting on the ground with the dogs licking my face, I thought about perspective. What about God’s perspective? If I think that there is a lack of right and just behavior in this world, what is God’s perspective? When God looks at people He sees sinful, rebellious hearts. Or does He?
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” What Jesus Christ did for us, in dying in our place on the cross, has released us from the penalty of sin. What the Day of Atonement pictures (as described in Leviticus 16) is the High Priest - Jesus is our High Priest - taking the blood of the lamb to make atonement for the tabernacle. Jesus’ blood makes atonement, pays the penalty for our sins and reconciles us to the Father, for us. We, as vessels of the Holy Spirit, are the tabernacle of God. Then the High Priest laid his hands on the head of the goat and confessed all of the sins and all of the iniquities of the Israelites on the head of the second goat and sent that goat away. That second goat represents Jesus carrying all of our sins away from us - as Psalm 103:12 says - as far as the east is from the west. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
The picture of Atonement is our Just and Righteous Father God Almighty providing a way through His Son, our High Priest, the Lamb of God to make us wholly clean and holy so that we can be reconciled to Him and have fellowship with Him. Our Father made the way for justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. It is in the Person of Jesus Christ. We have nothing to do with it! And in reality, that’s part of the picture of Atonement: The people watched the High Priest act on their behalf just as we affirm that Jesus acts on our behalf. Their responsibility was to afflict themselves, to come humbly before God. Our responsibility is to afflict ourselves and to come humbly before our God. What an incredible picture of love and mercy, justice and righteousness!
You know, God’s holy days are such a blessing! They give us an incredibly precious glimpse into God’s plan, helping us see things from His perspective. I couldn’t help thinking about all these things as I was sitting on the ground having my face washed by two happy dogs.
Joy Unspeakable
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
What makes you feel joy?
I can be moved to joy by music. Certain songs fill me with a sense of rightness and peace. I love singing them and could almost, almost, start dancing whenever they pop into my head.
I feel great joy about celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. It’s the highlight of the year for me. I not only get to worship the King of kings for eight days, I get to see people who are likewise worshipping my Lord, people that I haven’t seen for a year or twenty years or people that I haven’t yet met but are destined to be great friends. (Incidentally, the first time the word “rejoice” is seen in the Bible is in connection with rejoicing before the Lord at the Feast of Tabernacles.
I felt great joy when my babies were placed into my arms for the very first time. What an incredible blessing and responsibility God placed into my hands! I remember counting little fingers and toes and being in complete awe at the perfect child in my arms.
Jesus told his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” What things had He told them? He had told them He was going to prepare a place for them. He’d told them they would receive the Holy Spirit to help them. He’d told them He was giving them peace. He’d encouraged them to keep His commandments and to abide, not only in His love, but also in the love of the Father. These things would indeed bring joy!
But this wasn’t the complete picture. Jesus had also told them, that evening, that one of them would betray Him, that Peter would deny Him three times, and that He was going where they could not follow; Jesus was going to the Father. The disciples were understandably upset by these things. They were not feeling joy.
But Jesus knew the betrayal, the denial, and His death were necessary for the rest of the promises of God. It’s kind of like the joy of having Jonathan was worth what it would take to have Christopher. And the joy of holding Christopher in my arms after he was born was worth it enough to go through it all again to have Jennifer. The pain was worth the joy that would come. Jesus’ death would be followed by His resurrection, a place being prepared for us, for the gift of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on God’s people, and the gift of true peace.
Atonement is very much like this! We are told to afflict our souls. That’s not something we look forward to. It’s afflicting. It’s not fun. But it’s part of this day - this day when atonement was made for the meeting place and for the people, for what they had done and for who they were. It points to Jesus Christ who ever makes intercession for us before His Father. It points to a time in the future when we are, once and for all, reconciled to God, when complete atonement is made for the meeting place and for us. What an incredible feeling of joy we will have at that time!!
Atonement isn’t a fun day. Nevertheless, look past the affliction part of the day, to the reason for the day. Set your mind on the incredible blessing of being one with God.
When Jesus was facing the cross, this was his mindset, according to Paul: “for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). For the joy that is set before you, being in God’s kingdom, being part of the very family of God, having true peace, afflict your soul on Atonement. It’s for joy unspeakable.
Atonement - Saved to the Uttermost
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
Materials: dry erase board, dry erase markers, permanent markers, eraser
Sin is the transgression of God’s law - and we all sin. We all fail to obey God perfectly all the time. So then what? Well, we either have to pay the penalty for our sin, or we have to find someone who can pay the penalty for us. The penalty for sin, the consequence of disobeying God, is death. And unfortunately for us, there’s only One Person who can pay that penalty for us: Jesus Christ. No other person can die in our place. No other person can be the proper payment for our sins. But Jesus’ payment for us goes beyond just paying for our sins; He also reconciles us to God. We are then restored to a position of relationship to the Father because of what Jesus did on our behalf. And yet, it’s more than payment and reconciliation. After Jesus died, He sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven - and ever lives to make intercession for us. So when we sin, we know that we have an Advocate before the Father.
Take a dry erase board. Write an example of a sin in permanent marker on the board. Once you’ve written it, you can’t erase it. It’s permanent ink. That’s what sin is like. Once you’ve committed a sin, you can’t just erase it.
On the Day of Atonement, however, a very important ceremony was observed every year. Two goats were killed as a sacrifice. The first goat’s blood was taken into the Holy of Holies (which could only be entered once a year) and sprinkled on the mercy seat. This first goat made atonement for the tabernacle, the place where God would meet with His people.
The second goat had all of the sins of the whole congregation - all of them - for all of the people - confessed on its head. Then it was led into the wilderness. Symbolically, the goat carried away all of the sins of the people.
Jesus Christ is both the One whose blood provided a covering for our sins and carried our sins away when He died on the cross. The dry erase board looks like it’s completely ruined; it can’t be redeemed again for any use. But use the dry erase marker. Mark completely over the permanent marker until you can’t see the permanent marker any more. Now use the eraser. The permanent ink is gone.
That’s what God says about our sins. He will remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
This dry erase marker, which was unusable because of the marking on it, is now useful again. And we all, whose sin has made us unholy and unusable, is now made clean and is a useful vessel again for God’s glory.
The Day of Atonement is all about redemption and cleansing and being made useful again for our God. The picture of this day is one of being saved to the uttermost because Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us. Amen.
2 Chronicles 11:14 - One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest
2 Chronicles 11:14 - Going Through the Motions
Psalm 147:3 - Atonement
Amos 5:24 - Justice and Righteousness
John 15:11 - Joy Unspeakable
Hebrews 7:25 - Atonement - Saved to the Uttermost
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses. Exodus 40:32
I remember seeing a cute sign in a bathroom when I was a kid: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. It didn’t set well with me. I remember thinking, evaluating: Was that really true? I didn’t think so. I knew there were people who might be clean on the outside, but inside they were not so clean. They were not what I would call godly. They needed to wash their hearts from evil. (Isaiah 1:16; Jeremiah 2:22; Jeremiah 4:14)
Still the rituals of washing were important to God. In Leviticus 16, during the activities done on the Day of Atonement, the high priest washed before He put on the holy linen garments (Lev 16:4). Then, after he’d taken the blood into the Holy of Holies and after he’d confessed all of the sins of the Israelites on the head of the second goat, he took off the holy linen garments and washed again (Lev 16:24) before offering the burnt offering on the altar.
Did you notice what two things were sandwiched between the first and second washing, the two things that were done while wearing the white linen garments? First the high priest made atonement for the Holy Place, which was in the midst of the uncleanness of the people (Leviticus 16:16). The Holy Place had to purified. Second, all the sins of the people were confessed on the head of the second goat (Leviticus 16:22). The people’s sins were taken away.
Titus 2:14 talks about these two aspects of atonement as well. Jesus gave Himself to 1) redeem us from all lawlessness (the second goat taking away all iniquities) and 2) to purify for himself a people for his own possession (the first goat purified the Holy Place).
We are the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16). We must purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit out of reverence for God (2 Corinthians 7:1).
We are also the priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). God promised in Malachi 3:3 that He would purify the sons of Levi - the priesthood.
This is what Jesus Christ accomplished when He gave Himself for us, to sanctify us, having cleansed us by the washing of water with the word, “so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27).
We, God’s people, are analogous to the temple, the priesthood, and the bride of Christ. All three must be clean, washed, purified. And all three must be righteous - the opposite of lawless, workers of iniquity. Both our redemption and our purification is accomplished in Christ.
Maybe cleanliness is next to godliness.
Going Through the Motions
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 11:14
When I think of Jeroboam, I think of the two golden calves he made. I think of him changing the time for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But I don’t usually think of him ousting the Levitical priesthood. And yet, he did! Think about the implications: first, he fashioned idols for Israel to worship - telling the people that these were the gods which brought them up out of Egypt (1 Kings 12). He set them in Bethel and in Dan, telling the people that Jerusalem was too far for them to go worship God. Then he changed the Feast of Tabernacles celebration to the eighth month, instead of the seventh, so that it’d be more convenient for the people and further distance them from the right time to celebrate. Then, to cap it all off, he got rid of the authorized priesthood, those who knew very well what he was doing was wrong, and he replaced them with anyone who wanted to be priest (1 Kings 13:33). It was so incredibly senseless. God had told Jeroboam that if he would serve Him faithfully that God would establish his kingdom (1 Kings 1:38). It seems the Jeroboam didn’t trust God to deliver on that promise! So he went through the motions of serving God, but it was only skin deep.
It reminds me of the passage in 2 Timothy 3:5. At the end of this list of vile conduct characterizing the end times is this phrase: having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. The note in the ESV study Bible says: Godliness (the Greek eusebeia) means genuine piety, including holiness, reverence, faith, and love and devotion to God. Jeroboam’s actions did not show godliness by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t have even one of those characteristics listed!
So what about us? Do we obey God’s law? (It’s not a matter of salvation; that’s only available to us through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.) Our obedience to God’s law demonstrates our devotion to Him. Are we going to do what He says? Is He our King and Savior or not? There’s not some fine print at the bottom of the covenant with God which gives us an out, saying that we don’t have to obey God if we don’t understand why He’s commanding us to do something. Why am I bringing this up today? One of the hardest things that we intentionally do every year is a complete fast for twenty-four hours on the Day of Atonement. It’s not one of those days that we look forward to. But God commands us to afflict our souls, and there’s enough evidence throughout the Bible to indicate that this means fasting. (Obviously, if there are serious health issues, fasting is not possible, and perhaps that’s why it says to afflict yourself instead of blunting stating that you must fast.)
Fasting is an intentional act, an act of humility, an act of obedience before God.
Fasting is also a very physical object lesson. It is so tangible. We physically experience the reality of subjecting our will in reverence to God’s will. It helps us to understand how very much more difficult it may be to completely bring every thought into submission to Jesus Christ. That’s our goal. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5. That’s the object lesson we learn in Atonement. Because really, Jesus Christ is the only One who can make propitiation for our sins. We cannot repair that relationship with the Father. We have to give up our will and become a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2); that’s our reasonable service to God, the One who redeemed us by His blood!
It did not work out very well for Jeroboam to go through the motions of serving God. And it won’t work out very well for us either.
Matthew West’s song, “The Motions,” expresses this very well:
"The Motions"
This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break
At least I'll be feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?
No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something (Chorus)
Bridge:
Take me all the way
(Take me all the way)
Take me all the way
(‘Cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
Take me all the way
(Lord, I'm finally feeling something real)
Take me all the way (Chorus twice)
One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest
For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD. 2 Chronicles 11:14
Let’s consider two pertinent facts that Jeroboam should have considered before casting out the Levites from serving as priests of the LORD:
- The priesthood belonged to Aaron and his descendants forever by a statute of God. (Exodus 29:9; Numbers 18:7) Anyone else who came within the veil was put to death.
- It was only the high priest who could go into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the holy place - and then only once a year. (Leviticus 16:16, 20; Hebrews 9:6-7)
Jeroboam backed himself into an inescapable corner. He had no way to be reconciled to God. He couldn’t go into the Holy of Holies. He couldn’t be reconciled by one of the people he appointed to be a priest; they were not acceptable before God. This is the quintessential example of Robert Burn’s line, “The best laid schemes of mice and men, often go awry.” Jeroboam thought to solidify the northern kingdom of Israel in his hand and in that of his descendants. He should have spent more time thinking of Israel’s history. When Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them (Leviticus 10:1-3). Jeroboam could also have thought about Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:3), when Korah and 250 leaders challenged Moses’ authority, the position that God had put Moses in. Korah and those with him were devoured by an earthquake. The incidents with Nadab, Abihu, and Korah highlight that God has the right to choose who will serve before Him; you cannot choose to serve God that way just because you want to (Hebrews 5:4). God chose Aaron and his descendants; no one else was acceptable.
Why?
The Aaronic line typified Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest (Hebrews 5:5). Jesus Christ is the only one who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Jesus Christ is the only one able, as High Priest, to enter into the Holy of Holies (not the physical tabernacle, but the throne room of God) to make atonement for us, not with the blood of goats, but with His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12).
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Romans 3:25). It’s not only paying the price for our sins; it’s also the restoration of the relationship with the Father. God the Father, in His great mercy, gave His own Son to reconcile us to Himself.
John 14:6 says that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Acts 4:12 says there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved.
Revelation 5:9 says the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sing a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. . .” And thousands and thousands and myriads and myriads of angels respond, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
The institution of the worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel is synonymous with Jeroboam’s rule. And we often think of how he changed the time of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles to the eighth month. But the ousting of the Levitical priests from serving the LORD under Jeroboam’s reign is likewise profoundly significant. God does not consider it a small thing to break the type. [Just think about Moses striking the rock (Numbers 20:8-13, 1 Corinthians 10:4, Exodus 17:6) and being subsequently prohibited from entering the Promised Land.]
It cannot be too strongly emphasized that we must obey God. If He is truly our God, then we must show that reality by doing what He says - regardless of how difficult it is, even if we don’t understand why - and we must obey with our whole heart. That’s what it means to be in a covenant with God where He affirms that He is our God and we are His people. There is One Way, One Atonement, One High Priest.
Atonement
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalms 147:3
Materials: bandages, tape, glue, paper, first aid kit, needle, thread, patch, cloth
If I tear a piece of paper, is there anyway I can put it back together again?
I could tape it. But you’d still see where the tear was.
I could use another piece of paper and some glue. But you’d know it’d be repaired.
I could completely shred the paper, add some water, and some more glue. Then I could spread it out and let it dry. It wouldn’t look like the original paper, but you wouldn’t see where the initial tear was.
But that’s paper. What about cloth? What if I get a tear in my shirt? What can I do?
I can tape it, but that’d come off the next time I washed it.
And glue would act similarly.
I could sew it. If it’s a small tear, I could just use thread to cinch up the hole.
If it was large tear, I could sew a patch over the top of it. But you’d always know it was there.
What about you? What if you get a cut? What can you do?
You can put a band-aid on it.
You can use NewSkin.
Sometimes you need stitches.
You can do some surface repairs, but it is really God who heals us - either allowing the body to heal itself as God has designed it or directly as an answer to our prayers.
But that’s outside. What about the inside? What about the damage that has been done to you heart and mind because of your sinful choices? What can you do to heal that? Is there any way to put your mind back together - the way it was before you sinned?
You can ask for forgiveness.
You can try to make amends by telling the truth, repairing something, admitting your mistake, replacing something damaged, etc.
But for the damage to really be healed requires God’s healing. He has given us His Son to not only save us from our sin, to heal our diseases, to bind up our wounds and heal our broken hearts; Jesus also is our Advocate before the Father, ever living to make intercession for us, to restore the relationship that we have with God. Jesus makes things right again!
When we’ve sinned, made a mistake, created a tear, we can only do so much to make repairs. It takes God to heal the situation and to heal us. As we come before Him on this Atonement, we can never forget that it completely a work of God to make us whole.
Justice and Righteousness
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24
I walk my dogs every morning. I have an understanding with them that I’ll bring treats. That way they’ll come when I call. I have an understanding with Ron that I’ll take my cell phone with me. That way, if something should happen, I can get some help quickly. One morning when I was walking, I called Ron. I had fallen. It was no big deal and I wasn’t hurt, but something quite unexpected had happened, and I wanted to tell him about it. As soon as I hit the ground, Velvet and Pepper came running. It wasn’t that they were worried I was hurt. Rather, they were delighted that I was on the ground. They both proceeded to wash my face and climb all over me. They saw my fall as a delightful treat. Their perspective of what had happened was totally different from mine.
In a similar way, my perspective of justice and righteousness is very different from what I see portrayed around me in our world today. What God defines as wrong and right is totally turned on its head. Our society says it’s okay to murder babies; it’s okay for two men or two women to get married; it’s okay for people to do whatever they want to do as long as it doesn’t bother anyone else. Our court systems are a travesty of justice. If you are Christian, law-abiding, and of modest means, your chances of getting a just verdict are increasingly remote. If you are anti-God, have had several brushes with the law, and are wealthy, you’re likely to be acquitted. There is little justice and little righteousness in our society today - at least, that’s my perspective, my observation of what I see. Things are not right. Things are not just. Things are not fair.
So as I was sitting on the ground with the dogs licking my face, I thought about perspective. What about God’s perspective? If I think that there is a lack of right and just behavior in this world, what is God’s perspective? When God looks at people He sees sinful, rebellious hearts. Or does He?
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” What Jesus Christ did for us, in dying in our place on the cross, has released us from the penalty of sin. What the Day of Atonement pictures (as described in Leviticus 16) is the High Priest - Jesus is our High Priest - taking the blood of the lamb to make atonement for the tabernacle. Jesus’ blood makes atonement, pays the penalty for our sins and reconciles us to the Father, for us. We, as vessels of the Holy Spirit, are the tabernacle of God. Then the High Priest laid his hands on the head of the goat and confessed all of the sins and all of the iniquities of the Israelites on the head of the second goat and sent that goat away. That second goat represents Jesus carrying all of our sins away from us - as Psalm 103:12 says - as far as the east is from the west. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus “is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
The picture of Atonement is our Just and Righteous Father God Almighty providing a way through His Son, our High Priest, the Lamb of God to make us wholly clean and holy so that we can be reconciled to Him and have fellowship with Him. Our Father made the way for justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. It is in the Person of Jesus Christ. We have nothing to do with it! And in reality, that’s part of the picture of Atonement: The people watched the High Priest act on their behalf just as we affirm that Jesus acts on our behalf. Their responsibility was to afflict themselves, to come humbly before God. Our responsibility is to afflict ourselves and to come humbly before our God. What an incredible picture of love and mercy, justice and righteousness!
You know, God’s holy days are such a blessing! They give us an incredibly precious glimpse into God’s plan, helping us see things from His perspective. I couldn’t help thinking about all these things as I was sitting on the ground having my face washed by two happy dogs.
Joy Unspeakable
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
What makes you feel joy?
I can be moved to joy by music. Certain songs fill me with a sense of rightness and peace. I love singing them and could almost, almost, start dancing whenever they pop into my head.
I feel great joy about celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. It’s the highlight of the year for me. I not only get to worship the King of kings for eight days, I get to see people who are likewise worshipping my Lord, people that I haven’t seen for a year or twenty years or people that I haven’t yet met but are destined to be great friends. (Incidentally, the first time the word “rejoice” is seen in the Bible is in connection with rejoicing before the Lord at the Feast of Tabernacles.
I felt great joy when my babies were placed into my arms for the very first time. What an incredible blessing and responsibility God placed into my hands! I remember counting little fingers and toes and being in complete awe at the perfect child in my arms.
Jesus told his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” What things had He told them? He had told them He was going to prepare a place for them. He’d told them they would receive the Holy Spirit to help them. He’d told them He was giving them peace. He’d encouraged them to keep His commandments and to abide, not only in His love, but also in the love of the Father. These things would indeed bring joy!
But this wasn’t the complete picture. Jesus had also told them, that evening, that one of them would betray Him, that Peter would deny Him three times, and that He was going where they could not follow; Jesus was going to the Father. The disciples were understandably upset by these things. They were not feeling joy.
But Jesus knew the betrayal, the denial, and His death were necessary for the rest of the promises of God. It’s kind of like the joy of having Jonathan was worth what it would take to have Christopher. And the joy of holding Christopher in my arms after he was born was worth it enough to go through it all again to have Jennifer. The pain was worth the joy that would come. Jesus’ death would be followed by His resurrection, a place being prepared for us, for the gift of the Holy Spirit to be poured out on God’s people, and the gift of true peace.
Atonement is very much like this! We are told to afflict our souls. That’s not something we look forward to. It’s afflicting. It’s not fun. But it’s part of this day - this day when atonement was made for the meeting place and for the people, for what they had done and for who they were. It points to Jesus Christ who ever makes intercession for us before His Father. It points to a time in the future when we are, once and for all, reconciled to God, when complete atonement is made for the meeting place and for us. What an incredible feeling of joy we will have at that time!!
Atonement isn’t a fun day. Nevertheless, look past the affliction part of the day, to the reason for the day. Set your mind on the incredible blessing of being one with God.
When Jesus was facing the cross, this was his mindset, according to Paul: “for the joy that was set before him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). For the joy that is set before you, being in God’s kingdom, being part of the very family of God, having true peace, afflict your soul on Atonement. It’s for joy unspeakable.
Atonement - Saved to the Uttermost
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
Materials: dry erase board, dry erase markers, permanent markers, eraser
Sin is the transgression of God’s law - and we all sin. We all fail to obey God perfectly all the time. So then what? Well, we either have to pay the penalty for our sin, or we have to find someone who can pay the penalty for us. The penalty for sin, the consequence of disobeying God, is death. And unfortunately for us, there’s only One Person who can pay that penalty for us: Jesus Christ. No other person can die in our place. No other person can be the proper payment for our sins. But Jesus’ payment for us goes beyond just paying for our sins; He also reconciles us to God. We are then restored to a position of relationship to the Father because of what Jesus did on our behalf. And yet, it’s more than payment and reconciliation. After Jesus died, He sat down at the right hand of the Father in heaven - and ever lives to make intercession for us. So when we sin, we know that we have an Advocate before the Father.
Take a dry erase board. Write an example of a sin in permanent marker on the board. Once you’ve written it, you can’t erase it. It’s permanent ink. That’s what sin is like. Once you’ve committed a sin, you can’t just erase it.
On the Day of Atonement, however, a very important ceremony was observed every year. Two goats were killed as a sacrifice. The first goat’s blood was taken into the Holy of Holies (which could only be entered once a year) and sprinkled on the mercy seat. This first goat made atonement for the tabernacle, the place where God would meet with His people.
The second goat had all of the sins of the whole congregation - all of them - for all of the people - confessed on its head. Then it was led into the wilderness. Symbolically, the goat carried away all of the sins of the people.
Jesus Christ is both the One whose blood provided a covering for our sins and carried our sins away when He died on the cross. The dry erase board looks like it’s completely ruined; it can’t be redeemed again for any use. But use the dry erase marker. Mark completely over the permanent marker until you can’t see the permanent marker any more. Now use the eraser. The permanent ink is gone.
That’s what God says about our sins. He will remove our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
This dry erase marker, which was unusable because of the marking on it, is now useful again. And we all, whose sin has made us unholy and unusable, is now made clean and is a useful vessel again for God’s glory.
The Day of Atonement is all about redemption and cleansing and being made useful again for our God. The picture of this day is one of being saved to the uttermost because Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us. Amen.
