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Awesome Hands – part 104

Bullocks

September 14, 2016

In our previous study we learned that the priests were given the role of priests to serve God by serving the tabernacle. The Lord is very particular in this role and gave Moses and Aaron very specific instructions on how to sanctify Aaron and his sons for this service.

In our study today, we are going to continue to examine the spiritual applications of the physical types given to us as it pertains to being priests in the tabernacle of the Lord.

Bullocks as sin offerings

The verses we will cover for our study today are found in Exodus 29:10-14.

As always, the disclaimer for this series of studies is that the focus is on the aspect of the Lord working His awesome hands into our lives. Even though we are studying the Old Testament, the fact we are READING the old testament right now is a testament that it applies to us right now.

In other words, the Lord is working His will in our lives for the current moment so that we will be influenced and directed by the verses we are studying. So, how does the mentioning of hands apply in our study today?

Exo 29:10  And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
Exo 29:11  And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Placing the hands on the head of the animal you are about to kill is applicable to us today, as Christians, in many ways.

This bullock was about to become an offering to the Lord. For this consecration ceremony, Aaron and his sons were identifying with the animal they were sacrificing. How then does that apply to us today?

Exo 29:12  And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
Exo 29:13  And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
Exo 29:14  But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.

At first glance, these verses seem very simply. Yet they hold a lot of applications when we know what to look for. Let’s look for the spirit behind the Word.

What then are aspects of a living bull that would be important to the Lord? The particular attributes of the bullock mentioned here is one in its full strength, one that is in its youth.

H6499
par/pâr
BDB Definition:
1) young bull, steer, bullock
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H6565
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1831a

H6565

pârar
BDB Definition:
1) to break, frustrate
1a) (Hiphil)
1a1) to break, violate
1a2) to frustrate, make ineffectual
1b) (Hophal)
1b1) to be frustrated
1b2) to be broken
1b3) to break
1c) (Pilpel) to break to bits, shatter
2) to split, divide
2a) (Qal) to split, crack through
2b) (Poel) to break apart
2c) (Hithpoel) to be split, be cracked through
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1829, 1830, 1831

Strong’s defines this bullock as:
H6499
par  pâr
par, pawr
From H6565; a bullock (apparently as breaking forth in wild strength, or perhaps as dividing the hoof): –    (+ young) bull (-ock), calf, ox.
Total KJV occurrences: 133

H6565
pârar
paw-rar’
A primitive root; to break up (usually figuratively, that is, to violate, frustrate): – X any ways, break (asunder), cast off, cause to cease, X clean, defeat, disannul, disappoint, dissolve, divide, make of none effect, fail, frustrate, bring (come) to nought, X utterly, make void.
Total KJV occurrences: 51

If you ever want to get to the root of a matter with the Lord, all you have to do is look at the rest of His Word to know what He wants you to know. Of course, He also will give the Holy Spirit the ability to reveal His hidden secrets to those whom He has chosen to understand His mysteries.

In the case of the bullock, it is the root of what it means to be a bullock that really brings home what the bullock represents to us.

H6499
par/pâr
Total KJV Occurrences: 134
bullock, 89
Exo_29:1, Exo_29:3, Exo_29:10-12 (4), Exo_29:14, Exo_29:36, Lev_4:3-4 (3), Lev_4:7-8 (2), Lev_4:11-12 (2), Lev_4:14-15 (3), Lev_4:20-21 (4), Lev_8:2, Lev_8:14 (2), Lev_8:17, Lev_16:3, Lev_16:6, Lev_16:11 (2), Lev_16:14-15 (2), Lev_16:18, Lev_16:27, Lev_23:18, Num_7:15, Num_7:21, Num_7:27, Num_7:33, Num_7:39, Num_7:45, Num_7:51, Num_7:57, Num_7:63, Num_7:69, Num_7:75, Num_7:81, Num_8:8 (2), Num_15:24, Num_23:2, Num_23:4, Num_23:14, Num_23:30, Num_28:12, Num_28:14, Num_28:20, Num_28:28, Num_29:2-3 (2), Num_29:8-9 (2), Num_29:14, Num_29:36-37 (2), Jdg_6:25-26 (3), Jdg_6:28, 1Sa_1:25, 1Ki_18:23 (2), 1Ki_18:25-26 (2), 1Ki_18:33, 2Ch_13:9, Psa_50:9, Psa_69:31, Eze_43:19, Eze_43:21-23 (3), Eze_43:25, Eze_45:18, Eze_45:22, Eze_45:24, Eze_46:6-7 (2), Eze_46:11

Eighty-nine of the 134 times “bullock” is used in the old testament, but it is the ROOT that really reveals to us the mind of God.

What then is the root of bullock?

H6565
pârar
Total KJV Occurrences: 50
break, 14
Lev_26:15, Lev_26:44, Deu_31:16, Deu_31:20, Jdg_2:1, 1Ki_15:19, 2Ch_16:3, Ezr_9:14, Neh_4:3, Jer_14:21, Jer_33:20, Eze_17:15, Zec_11:10, Zec_11:14
broken, 9
Gen_17:14 (2), Num_15:31, Job_16:12, Isa_24:5, Isa_33:8, Jer_11:10, Jer_33:21, Eze_44:7, Zec_11:11
void, 5
Num_30:11-13 (4), Num_30:15, Psa_119:126
brake, 2
Jer_31:32, Eze_17:16
breaking, 2
Eze_16:59, Eze_17:18
defeat, 2
2Sa_15:34, 2Sa_17:14
disannul, 2
Job_40:8, Isa_14:27
nought, 2
Neh_4:15, Isa_8:10
brought, 1
Neh_4:15
castest, 1
Job_15:4
cease, 1
Psa_85:4 (2)
clean, 1
Isa_24:19
disappointed, 1
Pro_15:22
disappointeth, 1
Job_5:12
dissolved, 1
Isa_24:19
divide, 1
Psa_74:13
effect, 1
Num_30:8
fail, 1
Ecc_12:5
frustrateth, 1
Isa_44:25
none, 1
Num_30:8

I am going to read just a few of these verses to give us some context on the root of bullock.

Lev 26:15  And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Lev 26:16  I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Well, that sounds a bit bleak doesn’t it?

Ezr 9:13  And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
Ezr 9:14  Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

That doesn’t seem too promising either. How about another example?

Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Isa 14:27  For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

Isa 8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

All of these words seem very negative, and indeed they are for the old man in us all. I am going to read one more example of the root of bullock, but I am going to read it in context.

Ecc 12:1  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecc 12:2  While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
Ecc 12:3  In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
Ecc 12:4  And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Ecc 12:5  Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Ecc 12:6  Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecc 12:8  Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Wow, that all seems so bleak and it is! Yet, if we listen diligently to the Words that we just read we will notice that there is a hidden message to those who are “young”.

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,” because if we do them we will know how it is we can keep ourselves from SINNING against the Lord “in our youth”. Yep, I said we sin against our Lord.

We just read several verses that associate the bullock with “breaking the covenant or commandments” of the Lord.

Getting back to our verses today, it is the priest who sacrifice the young bullock and are associated with being directly involved because they place their hands on the head as they slay the beast.

That sounds to me like there is a spiritual message there in what role priests play in the tabernacle for those who are brought before the priests.

The ministry duty of the priests is to kill the beast with the commandments of God. If you think that is a stretch, then consider that very specific directions are given on what to do during the process of making this sacrifice.

Exo 29:12  And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
Exo 29:13  And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
Exo 29:14  But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.

The life that is in the bullock, that which is in the blood, is specifically placed on the altar or beside it. This is not to be confused with the blood that is going to come from the ram.

With the bullock, the blood is place on the horns to signify that the power of the bullock is being sacrificed. The power of the bullock is that this beast is VIOLENTLY DISOBEDIENT. This disobedience is “walked out” in the life of the bullock, so the blood from the bullock is place at the base of the altar at its foundation.

The best parts of the inner beast are sacrificed on the altar. Anything that is given INCREASE inside the bullock is sacrificed upon the altar. I say increase because fat is that which is an increase to the animal.

Those things which are on the outside, the covering of the animal and the toxins from within it, the dung, are all taken and burned outside the camp, because it is a sin offering.

That should sound familiar because that is exactly how Christ is and was our sin offering.

Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
Heb 13:11  For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.
Heb 13:12  Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Heb 13:13  Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

It should be clear that the bullock represents the sin that so easily besets us all in our hearts and minds. This disobedience is what gives us our supposed and superficial power to think we are something in and of ourselves.

It is especially when we are in our strength, in our youth, that we exhibit such a mindset. However, being “young” is not simply about age in the spirit. Rather, it is much more about being immature and a BABE in CHRIST.

Without even knowing it, babes in Christ and their carnal minds and disobedience sacrifice Christ without the camp and we ARE ALL FOUND GUILTY of BEING this by NATURE.

In our next study, we are going to cover the rams which represent other spiritual aspects of who we are in the Lord and how we are, at our appointed times, the rams being sacrificed or those sacrificing the rams as the priests of God.