Ezekiel 46:1–24 The Prince and the Feasts

[Study Aired Feb 3, 2025]

Introduction

In today’s study, we see that this latter temple was shut for most days and was opened only on the Sabbaths and the New Moons. This differs from the initial temple which was opened on a daily basis. The Prince, as mentioned in this chapter and in other chapters of this vision of the latter temple, represents our Lord Jesus Christ. He also signifies His elect. When the temple is opened, the prince offered voluntary offerings of burnt offering, peace offering and grain offering. In order to understand today’s study, we need to look closely at what these offerings signify. 

A burnt offering is an offering of an animal to the Lord where this sacrificial animal is burnt completely on the altar. It is therefore a complete destruction of the animal in an effort to renew the relationship between God and sinful man. The Hebrew word for “burnt offering” actually means to “ascend” and it literally means “to go up in smoke”. The smoke from the sacrifice ascended as a soothing aroma to the Lord”.

Lev 1:1  And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 
Lev 1:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. 
Lev 1:3  If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. 
Lev 1:4  And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 
Lev 1:5  And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 
Lev 1:6  And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 
Lev 1:7  And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
Lev 1:8  And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: 
Lev 1:9  But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Technically, any offering burned over an altar was a burnt offering, but in more specific terms, a burnt offering was the complete destruction of the animal (except for the hide) in an effort to renew the relationship between Holy God and sinful man. The burnt offering therefore signifies our admission as being sinful or having sinned and therefore giving the Lord the occasion to destroy our flesh through His fiery trial or judgment denoted by the fire. It is through this experience that we learn righteousness and become a sweet aroma of Christ.

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 
2Co 2:16  To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 
2Co 2:17  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.  

This fire destroying our flesh is a life-time experience and not a one-time fire. The fire is the word of the Lord, and our evil deeds represent the wood which serves as fuel for the fire. The burnt offering is carried out in the morning which implies that it is not every time of our lives that we are being judged. The fact that the burning is in the morning means that the destruction of our flesh is what causes the sun, which is Christ, to rise in our lives. 

Lev 6:12  And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.   

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people (our deeds) wood, and it shall devour them.

The peace offering was a sacrificial gift made to express gratitude and fellowship with the Lord. It was voluntary and included animal, grain and bread. Peace offering is also called fellowship offering. Most sacrifices in the Old Testament system were not eaten by worshipers. However, regarding the peace offering, it was meant to be eaten by the worshipers with only a portion of the animal or grain brought to the altar for burning. It signifies that fellowshiping with the Lord is through knowing Him through His words which is denoted by what is offered to the worshiper to eat. The fact that the whole of the sacrifice was not given to the offerer means that in this life, we don’t see the whole picture of the word of the Lord.

1Co 13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 

Lev 7:11  And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.
Lev 7:12  If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. 
Lev 7:13  Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. 

Lev 7:15  And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. 

The grain offering or meat offering was also a voluntary sacrifice of grain to God as a way to express devotion and recognize God’s goodness. While other sacrifices had very specific instructions from God as to how they were to be offered, the rules governing grain offerings had some flexibility. The grains offered in the grain offering must be finely grounded and have oil and salt in it. The person bringing the offering to the priest can choose what amount of grain to present. When the priest receives the grain offering, only a small portion was burnt as a memorial to God. The rest of the grain offering is given to the priest to eat. 

Lev 2:1  The LORD continued, “Now, if any of you bring a grain offering to the LORD, your offering must be flour. Pour olive oil on it, and put incense on it. 
Lev 2:2  Then bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. Take from this a handful of flour with olive oil, and all the incense. The priest will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the LORD. 
Lev 2:3  The rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is very holy, set apart from the LORD’S offering by fire. (GW) 

The grain offering being flour mixed with olive oil and given to the priests signifies that it is only the Lord’s elect who are given to know the spiritual significance of the Lord’s words as the oil represents the spirit. This is the portion of the Lord’s elect or priest. It is instructive to note that the grain must be finely grounded. That means we must rightly divide the word of truth.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The part that is burnt on the altar represents the false doctrines we have imbibed which must be burnt out of us. It is through understanding His words that we come to see the goodness of the Lord, and it causes us to offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice.

With this understanding of the burnt offering, peace offering and meat or grain offering, it becomes easier to understand today’s study where the priest is required to offer these offerings.

Worshiping on the sabbath and on the New Moon

Eze 46:1  Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 

The east is where the sun rises in our lives. This implies the beginning of our walk with the Lord as the sun represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Our walk with the Lord starts with our lives in Babylon or the physical churches of this world before the Lord comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to drag us to Himself. It is instructive to note that the first time the word “east” is used in the Bible, it has to do with the river that flows east towards Assyria (Babylon) with the river becoming the Euphrates. The next use of the word “east” has to do with the judgment we must go through because of our sins in order to access the tree of life which represents Christ.

Gen 2:14  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

The east gate of the inner court being shut for the six working days in verse 1 therefore shows us that we could not worship the Lord in truth and in spirit for six working days which symbolizes the period of our walk in the churches of this world or Babylon where we lived like the people of the world (significance of the number six) when we thought we could work out our own salvation. It is insightful to note that it is until the sabbath or the New Moon that the door of the east gate is opened for us to worship. The sabbath signifies rest. It is only when we come to rest in the Lord that we can worship the Lord in truth and in spirit. This period is herald by the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh which causes us to learn righteousness by knowing that we do not have our own righteousness but that our righteousness is of Christ. In other words, it is the Lord’s imputed righteousness that matters and not ours.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.  

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 
Gal 2:21  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

The New Moon is the beginning of the month in Israel, and it is a time to sit with the king to eat and also to hear the voice of the Lord, as shown in the following verses:

1Sa 20:5  And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.

1Sa 20:24  So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 

Psa 81:3  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 
Psa 81:4  For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.

The king here is Christ who comes to us with His brightness to cause us to hear His voice distinctively like a trumpet and to understand what He is saying. Hearing His voice means that our hearts and minds (the inner court) are open during our new beginning (New Moon) in Christ. 

The inner court which was closed during the six working days of the week also indicates our inability to receive Christ in our hearts and minds which is filled with the smoke of the burning of our flesh with the coming of the Lord into our lives with His judgment.  

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Eze 46:2  And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 
Eze 46:3  Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. 

The prince here in verse 2 represents our Lord Jesus Christ who comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness into our hearts and minds. As we have learned in the introductory portion of this study, His coming is the time for the burning or destruction of our flesh signified here by the burnt offering that we, His priests prepare for the Lord. The peace offering or the fellowship offering that we, His priests, offer symbolizes the strengthening of our fellowship with the Lord through our understanding of His words as shown by the fact that most of the peace offering was to be eaten by the worshiper.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

As priests, we are to worship at the entrance of the gateway and then leave. This is to remind us of our role as saviors in the sense that our brothers and sisters in Babylon must pass through us to enter the inner court, since we are at the entrance of the gateway. As shown in verse 3, our brothers and sisters in Babylon are currently worshiping at the door of the gate before the Lord. This implies that the gate has not yet been opened to them to enter the entrance of the gateway, where the Lord’s elect are worshiping. This gate in verse 3 represents the gulf between us as shown in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Luk 16:24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 
Luk 16:25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 
Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 

In verse 3, the sabbaths and the new moon have negative application. These sabbaths and New moons represents the beggarly elements which has kept our brothers and sister in bondage in Babylon, such that they cannot go beyond the gate to worship the Lord. 

Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 
Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 
Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 
Gal 4:11  I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. 

Eze 46:4  And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. 

The six lambs represent the Lord’s elect who are living their lives without blame before the Lord. The ram represents the Lord who was without sin and offered Himself to God for our sake. The fact that these were offered as a burnt offering means that it is through the judgment of the Lord that we are offered without blame before God, just as Christ was judged to offer Himself blameless to God. 

Eze 46:5  And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah.

The grain offering that we must present to the Lord with a ram must be an ephah, which was a Hebrew measure equivalent to about 9 gallons. In the case of the lambs, the grain offering is dependent on what we can offer. All these offering must go with a hin of oil to an ephah. The hin is a Hebrew unit of liquid measure equivalent to one gallon. All of these are offered on the sabbath day. The significance of this is that it is when we come to rest in Christ that we are given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Eze 46:6  And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. 

The young bullock and the ram all represent our Lord Jesus Christ. As indicated, the six lambs represent us, His elect. It is in the day of the New Moon or the beginning of our lives in Christ as we are now part of the church of the first born (New Moon) that we can offer ourselves to God even as Christ offered Himself for God’s purpose.

Eze 46:7  And he shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 

Again, it is our new beginning in the assembly of the Lord’s elect (New Moon) that we are given to understand spiritually, the truth of the Lord’s words.

Eze 46:8  And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. 
Eze 46:9  But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. 
Eze 46:10  And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go forth, shall go forth. 

The prince enters the gate from the east (verse 1) and exits through the same gate. As indicated, the east represents the rising of the sun, which is Christ. Thus, what we are being told is that the Lord’s presence in our hearts and minds is a lasting experience. In other words, in our going out and coming in, we are assured of the Lord’s presence. On the other hand, in the case of our brothers and sisters in Babylon, represented by the people of the land, they shall encounter the north gate which symbolizes the Lord’s judgment either when they are coming into the temple or going out. This means that they shall be judged by the Lord to also experience Christ in them in the fullness of time.

Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Jer 4:6  Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

In verse 10, we are told that the prince shall be in their midst in their going in and coming out of the sanctuary. This implies that we shall be in their midst during the lake of fire age throughout their going in and their coming out as Christ comes to live in them. 

Eze 46:11  And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. 
Eze 46:12  Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate. 
Eze 46:13  Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning. 

The grain or meat offering here in verse 11 that the prince shall prepare consists of an ephah of bullock, ram and lambs as well as a hin of oil. As indicated in the introductory section, the purpose of the meat offering is to express devotion to the Lord and recognize the Lord’s goodness. The fact that we are instructed to have an ephah of bullock, ram and lambs and an hin of oil suggests that the words of the Lord that we receive are measured out to us according to our capacity. 

The peace offering is also called fellowship offering, and it is a sacrificial gift made to express gratitude and fellowship with the Lord. The fact that the east gate is opened for the prince to offer his burnt and peace offering is to let us know that it is when Christ rises in our hearts that we can offer these offerings.

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 

As shown in the introduction section of this study, the essence of the burnt offering is to destroy our flesh through the judgment of our flesh. The peace offering is to deepen our fellowship with the Lord through knowing Him through His words which is denoted by what is offered to the worshiper to eat. 

The gate that must be shut when the prince leaves signifies that without us, His elect, the way to Christ is shut to our brothers and sisters in Babylon and the people of the world.

Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.   

The requirement to offer a daily burnt offering unto the Lord means that we die daily.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

The offering of a lamb of one year old without blemish for a burnt offering indicates that offering ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice entails being one with Christ or having the same mind of Christ. 

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

Eze 46:14  And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD. 
Eze 46:15  Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering. 

We are to prepare a meat offering to the Lord every morning. As shown earlier, the purpose of the meat or grain offering is to enlighten our understanding of the word of the Lord as we study daily. The grain being finely grounded indicates that we must rightly divide the word of truth. 

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.   

As indicated in the comments on the previous verses, the continual nature of the burnt offering (verse 15) reveals to us that we must die to the flesh daily.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

The Inheritance of the Lord’s Elect

Eze 46:16  Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons’; it shall be their possession by inheritance. 
Eze 46:17  But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons’ for them.
Eze 46:18  Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession. 

As the Lord’s elect, we are His sons, and as sons, we are heirs of the Lord’s promises. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 
Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Our status is therefore different from servants who are to return a gift of an inheritance on the year of liberty. The servants here signify our brothers and sisters in Babylon who work as servants in the Lord’s vineyard but are not qualified to become children or sons.

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.     
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

In verse 18, we are warned as the Lord princes, not to take by force the property of the people. In other words we are not to be envious of what people have. However, in Babylon, the prosperity messages that these false teachers carried are all based on covetousness. No wonder we could not worship the Lord in a strange land. 

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 
2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 

Boiling Places for Offerings

Eze 46:19  After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. 
Eze 46:20  Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people. 

Being brought into the holy chambers of the priests which were towards the north is to let us know that it is through the judgment of our flesh that we are made holy or separated for the Lord’s purpose, since the north signifies judgment. 

Jer 1:13  And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
Jer 1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

Jer 4:6  Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.

There were places for the boiling of the offerings and the baking of the meat offering at the entry into the inner court. The boiling places is where the food and the meat for consumption are prepared. They therefore represent the preparation of the gospel of peace which means being ready and prepared to share the word of the Lord. 

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

Here we are cautioned not to bring the offerings into the outer courtyard so that we do not transfer holiness to the people. This is another way of saying to the Lord’s elect that we should not give what is holy to those who do not appreciate the truth of the word of the Lord.  

Mat 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. 

The holy and the pearls in the verse above all signify the truth of the word of the Lord. The prophet Haggai was also led by the Lord to say the same thing as follows:

Hag 2:12  If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 
Hag 2:13  Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 
Hag 2:14  Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. 

We cannot make anybody holy through the word of the Lord except those that the Lord drags to us. 

Eze 46:21  Then he brought me forth into the utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 
Eze 46:22  In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure. 
Eze 46:23  And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. 
Eze 46:24  Then said he unto me, These are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people. 

The outer court is the place for the people of Israel who are not priests to come and worship. It therefore represents the physical churches of this world where our brothers and sisters in Babylon worship. The fact that Ezekiel was caused to take note of the four corners of the court in verses 21 and 22, is to emphasize that it is the whole of the church system of this world that is not given to be holy. This implies that the worshipers in the church system of this world are not holy. The negative application of the measurement of the length and width of the court speaks volumes of the nature of the worshipers. The court was 40 cubits in length and thirty cubits in breadth. The number forty represents those who continue to err in their worship of the Lord and therefore are not given rest in the Lord. 

Psa 95:10  Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 
Psa 95:11  Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.   

The number thirty in the negative context signifies those who are being put to death through the sword, that is, false doctrines.

Jdg 20:31  And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 

Jdg 20:39  And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.

There were rows of boiling places in the outer court for the offerings of the people. However, these boiling places, which represent the preparation of the word of the Lord, do not make the worshipers and their ministers holy. 

We thank the Lord for showing us mercy at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Babylon. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

Amen !!!

Ezekiel 43:1–27 The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

[Study Aired January 13, 2025]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study is about the Lord coming with His glory to fill His temple. As we already know, our bodies are the temple of the Lord and therefore today’s review shows us how the Lord comes to take residence in our hearts and minds.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

If we are to understand today’s study, then we need to know what the glory of the Lord means. The first time the glory of the Lord appeared in the Bible was in Exodus chapter 16, when the people of Israel thought that Moses and Aaron had brought them into the wilderness to kill them because of the lack of food and water. They forgot about the Lord’s mighty deliverance from their captivity in Egypt and therefore grumbled against Moses and Aaron who represent the Lord’s elect. It is against this background that the Lord appeared to the people of Israel in the cloud as follows:

Exo 16:10  And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
Exo 16:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

We know from the word of the Lord that the cloud represents the Lord’s elect.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

We can therefore say that the glory of the Lord appears in His elect.

Exo 40:34  Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

The fact that the cloud covered mount Sinai for six days is to show us that the cloud represent the Lord’s elect since the number six is the number of man. What we also need to understand is that anytime there is the glory of the Lord in the cloud, there is the speaking of the Lord. This glory of the Lord is therefore being able to hear the voice of the true shepherd or our Lord Jesus Christ from the midst of the fire.

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

From the midst of the fire signifies that seeing the glory of the Lord also means being judged. At the end of the day, this is what the glory of the Lord does to us, His elect:

1Sa 2:8  He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.

The glory of the Lord is therefore His works in us His elect, first, and later, in another age, the rest of all humanity.

Psa 104:31  The glory of the LORD shall endure forever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works.

Isa 4:5  And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

Hab 2:14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The works of the Lord is preparing His temple, which is our bodies for Him to dwell in. The study for today which deals with the glory of the Lord filling the temple is therefore about the works of the Lord in making His elect’s hearts and minds habitable for Him to dwell in.

In the Book of Isaiah, the Lord filling His temple is preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness. It is also the same as making straight in the desert a highway for our God. The way in the wilderness and the highway in the desert are His judgement as He comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to us in our spiritual poverty (wilderness or desert). This way in the wilderness or a highway in the desert that the Lord prepares in our hearts and minds for Him to live in, is what the glory of the Lord is about. The glory is therefore His works of preparing us for a place to live in.

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

2Th 2:14  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today’s study is therefore about how the Lord comes to take residence in our hearts and minds. Specifically, it is about the glory of the Lord as He comes to fill His temple, the measurement of the altar and the offerings.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

The Glory of the Lord Fills the Temple

Eze 43:1  Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: 
Eze 43:2  And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. 
Eze 43:3  And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. 
Eze 43:4 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 

Verses 1 and 2 show us that the glory of the Lord came from the way of the east. The east is where the sun rises in our lives. This implies the beginning of our walk with the Lord as the sun represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Our walk with the Lord starts with our lives in Babylon or the physical churches of this world before the Lord comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to drag us to Himself. It is instructive to note that the first time the word “east” is used in the Bible, it has to do with the river that flows east towards Assyria (Babylon) with the river becoming the Euphrates. The next use of the word “east” has to do with the judgement we must go through because of our sins in order to assess the tree of life which represents Christ.

Gen 2:14  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

As indicated in the introduction portion of this study, the glory of the Lord is His work towards making us His habitation. It is while we are in Babylon that the Lord comes to us with His words and His judgement to cause the rising of the sun, or Christ, in our lives. The Lord’s coming with His brightness is His illumination of His words so that we can unmistakenly hear His voice as the noise of many waters. That is when our earthen vessels shines with His glory (verse 2).

In verse 3, we are reminded that the appearance of this vision is similar to the one Ezekiel had when the Lord came to destroy the city, when he had the vision by the river Chebar. This is to let us know that the vision of the glory of the Lord coming from the way of the east is for the Lord to destroy, in this case, our old man or flesh through His judgement. This destruction also includes the false doctrines, symbolized by the river Chebar, which we believed in when we were in Babylon.

Again, we are prompted to know in verse 4 that the glory of the Lord coming into the house is by way of the east. That is to say that the Lord’s work of coming to dwell in us entails the judgement of our flesh.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Eze 43:5  So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. 
Eze 43:6  And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 
Eze 43:7  And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 

The glory of the Lord filling the house in verse 5 is to show us the end result of the works of the Lord in our lives, which is, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

When the temple was built by king Solomon and was dedicated, the temple was filled with a cloud as the glory of the Lord occupied the building. As a result, the priests could not minister.

1Ki 8:10  And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
1Ki 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

As we have shown earlier, the glory of the Lord comes in a cloud. The cloud filling the temple is the glory of the Lord filling the temple. The fact that the priests could not minister when the Lord takes residence in our hearts and minds, means that we do no work. That is to say that we rest in Him, or cease from our own strivings, as the Lord does His works in us.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

The man standing beside Ezekiel while he hears someone speaking to Him from inside the temple in verse 6 is our Lord Jesus Christ. It is His voice that comes out of the temple to assure Ezekiel in verse 7 that it is within the temple, or our hearts and minds that His throne is, and the resting place for His feet. The Lord also assured Ezekiel that no longer will the people of Israel and their kings dishonor His holy name by acting like prostitutes, nor will they dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings.  The people of Israel here represent the Lord’s elect. No longer acting like a harlot means that we shall not be under the sway of the harlot woman who signifies Babylon or the physical churches of this world. The Lord cleansing and establishing His throne in our hearts and minds is the same as we dwelling in the sacred place of the most high and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

In verse 7, we are also told that when the Lord establishes His throne within the people of Israel, they shall not dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings in their high places. The high places represent the place of worship of their gods. The kings here are the kings of the earth or the leaders of Babylon who had led us astray during our sojourn in Babylon with their false doctrines. When the Lord opens our eyes to see and ears to hear, we come to see these messengers as spiritually dead. Adhering to any doctrine of these false messengers means defiling our temple with the dead bodies or carcasses of these kings.

Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her (the harlot) fornication.

Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Eze 43:8  In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 
Eze 43:9  Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcasses of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever. 
Eze 43:10  Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. 

Putting their doorway by the Lord’s doorway and their doorpost by the Lord’s doorpost such that there is only a wall that separates the Lord from our brothers and sisters in Babylon in verse 8 means that the entry to serving the Lord is similar for Jerusalem which is above and that which is in bondage. The only difference between them is a wall. This wall or difference is that the worship of the Lord leads to bondage for those who serve under Jerusalem which is in bondage, while that of Jerusalem which is above leads to liberty in Christ.

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

As stated in verse 8, the worship which leads to bondage incurs the wrath of the Lord as He comes with His judgement to consume our flesh. We, His elect, start our walk with the Lord incurring the wrath of the Lord and therefore are judged, before we are given the liberty in Christ which serves as a wall separating us from our adulterous way of worship.

Here in verse 9, we are shown that the work of the Lord is to take away our whoredom far from Him and also put away the carcasses of our kings. As we have shown earlier, the carcasses of the kings represent the false doctrines propagated by the false messengers of Christ parading as angels of light. The putting away of these is the requirement for the indwelling of Christ in us.

In verse 10, the Lord told Ezekiel, a symbol of the elect to show the temple to the people of Israel for them to be ashamed of their iniquities. Showing the temple to the Lord’s elect means measuring the temple pattern. It is therefore imperative that we come to see the pattern that was shown Moses on the mount so that we can know how the Lord builds His temple within us.

Exo 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Exo 25:40  And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

Eze 43:11  And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. 
Eze 43:12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. 

Verse 11 is saying that we have to be ashamed of what we have done in terms of our whorish behavior to our husband Christ before we are given to know how the Lord builds His temple within us. According to verse 11, coming to know how the Lord builds His temple within us entails understanding the design of the temple, its arrangements, its exits and entrances – its entire design. It also means knowing about all its rules and regulations. We come to know the rules and regulations of the temple through studying the word of the Lord.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

In verse 12, we are told that the law of the house is that the whole area on the top of the mountain all around must be holy. This whole area on the top of the mountain all around refers to our hearts and minds which must be cleansed to become holy.

1Pe 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

The Altar of Sacrifice

Eze 43:13  And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. 
Eze 43:14  And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. 
Eze 43:15  So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns. 
Eze 43:16  And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. 
Eze 43:17  And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east. 

The altar is where our sacrifices are burnt. Spiritually, the altar represents our hearts and minds which are purified through the Lord’s judgement such that we can offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are told that the measurements of the altar are in cubits and that the cubit used in the sanctuary is different from the normal cubit used for everyday measurements. The cubits in the sanctuary is the normal cubit plus a handbreadth. The handbreadth is approximately 4 inches. This is to show us that the standard applied by the Lord to His elect, who represent His temple are higher than the standard applied to Babylon and the world. The verses below show us that the Lord’s standards for us are far higher than that of the world including Babylon.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

The base of the altar was a cubit and a cubit wide. All around the edge of the altar was a rim measuring about one span. The number one signifies unity. Thus, the Lord is enjoining all His elect, to have the mind of Christ.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

The height of the altar is as follows: from the base on the ground to the lower ledge was two cubits high, and from the lower ledge to the upper ledge was four cubits high and a cubit wide.

The two cubits height from the base on the ground to the lower ledge signifies that the Lord is preparing us to serve as His witnesses.

2Co 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

The height from the lower ledge to the upper ledge being four cubits and one cubit in width means that it is the whole of the Lord’s elect (the significance of the number four) that the Lord is requiring us to have one mind and therefore serve as His witnesses.

The place where the sacrifices were to be burnt shall be four cubits and there were four horns above it. As indicated the four cubits show us that what is being discussed here pertains to the whole of the Lord’s elect. Horns signify strength as shown in the following verse:

1Sa 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

The four horns therefore means that the whole of the strength of the Lord’s elect is in our oneness or unity. That is when we can serve as witnesses of Christ.

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

In verse 16, we are told that the altar hearth or fireplace shall be twelve cubits long by twelve cubits wide. This implies that it is a square. The number twelve is the number of Christ. The fireplace represents our judgement and therefore what we are being told is that the judgement of the Lord is to make us like Christ. The fact that the altar fireplace is a square is to let us know that no matter where we are coming from in terms of our background, we must all go through the Lord’s judgement to makes us like Christ. In verse 17, the upper ledge being a square affirms to us that we all go through the same experience to become like Christ.

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

The upper ledge was fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. The number fourteen means spiritual progression. The judgement we face is all to help us progress spiritually. It is instructive to note that the steps to the altar faced east. This is to let us know that the rising of the sun or the Lord in our lives is through the Lord’s judgement.

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

The Offerings

Eze 43:18  And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. 
Eze 43:19  And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. 
Eze 43:20  And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. 
Eze 43:21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
Eze 43:22  And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. 

These verses deal with the cleansing of the altar. As indicated earlier, the altar is our hearts and minds and so these verses show us what the Lord has done for the cleansing of our hearts and minds. In verse 18, we are informed that the altar is for the offering of burnt offerings and the sprinkling of blood. The burnt offerings signifies the destruction of the flesh through fire, and the sprinkling of blood is the blood of Christ which was shed for our sins. The priests from the seed of Zadok, which symbolize the Lord’s elect, are the only ones permitted to approach the Lord and minister to Him. The young bullock for our sin offering represents our Lord Jesus Christ who was offered for our sins. The bullock being young is in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ who was offered at a very young age for our sins.

Heb 10:4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Heb 10:8  Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
Heb 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

2 Corinthians 5:21: For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

In Verse 20, Ezekiel was to take some of the bull’s blood, and put it on the altar’s four horns, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all the way around the altar. This is to cleanse and purge the altar of sin. The spiritual reality of this verse is shown in the following:

Heb 9:21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

In other words, the purification of our hearts and minds is the heavenly things themselves in Hebrew 11:23 and it is there that the Lord is cleansing us with His blood.

The body of the bullock for the sin offering must be burnt outside the sanctuary. This shows us how our Lord died outside the gate of Jerusalem to sanctify us with His blood. As Christ is, so are we. We must also go forth outside the camp of Babylon to suffer or be judged for the destruction of our flesh, for the sake of Christ.

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.

Verse 22 tells us of the sacrifice of a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering. Again, the kid of the goats without blemish is our Lord Jesus Christ whose blood cleanses our hearts and minds.

Eze 43:23  When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. 
Eze 43:24  And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 
Eze 43:25  Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. 
Eze 43:26  Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves. 
Eze 43:27  And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD. 

Verses 23 to 26 show us the repetitive nature of the sacrifice as part of the law of Moses. Seven days of these sacrifice means the complete period of our walk in the churches of this world or Babylon, when we were under the law of Moses.

Heb 9:25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

The eighth day represents new beginnings where we had left behind the law of Moses and are now operating under the law of the spirit of life which sets us free from the law of sin and death (law of Moses). During this period as priests of the Lord, we are to make burnt offerings upon the altar and peace offerings. As stated earlier, the burnt offering results in the destruction of the flesh. However, the peace offering is the only offering in which all three parties partake of the offering; God gets His share, the priest gets his part, and the offerer gets his part to share with “anyone who is clean”. In verse 27, we are informed that it is through the burnt offerings and the peace offerings that we are accepted by the Lord. It is as our flesh proceeds to die through the judgement of the Lord (burnt offering) and we are partaking of the word of the Lord (peace offering) that we are accepted by the Lord.

We thank the Lord for His mercy towards us, to be accepted by the Lord in this age. Amen!!

[Posted January 31, 2024]

The elders deliberated on whether Jephthah offered his daughter for a burnt offering or not. In the final analysis, the elders reached a consensus that Jephthah did not offer his daughter for a burnt offering but that the vow was in relation to her virginity. Now let’s take a look at the verses of scripture about Jephthah’s vow and related events.

Jdg 11:29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 
Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 
Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 
Jdg 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
Jdg 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 
Jdg 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 
Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

From the account given, the vow Jephthah made was in relation to the virginity of his daughter since all Israel were aware of the abomination of a human sacrifice, and therefore, he could not have said that whosoever comes out of his house shall be offered for a burnt offering. We know that animals do not come out to welcome people and so Jephthah was aware that it was a human being who would come out to welcome him. A human sacrifice was therefore not on his mind since it was an abomination in Israel. Apart from this, a burnt offering must be offered with assistance from a priest, and no priest would consider carrying out this abomination. The King James version of the Bible gave a poor rendition of verse 30 by saying that whatever comes out of Jephthah’s house to meet him shall be offered as a burnt offering.

Jdg 11:31  then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

The original manuscript does not have the underlined words. This implies that Jephthah was going to dedicate whatever comes out of his house to the Lord and after that offer a burnt offering to the Lord.

Another proof that Jephthah did not offer his daughter as a burnt offering can be gleaned from the response of the daughters of Israel as they made it a custom to celebrate Jephthah’s daughter four days in a year. If what took place was a human sacrifice, which was an abomination, the daughters of Israel would not even dream of having it as a custom.

Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Again, King James’ use of the word “lament” in verse 40 is misleading as it suggests that the custom was about weeping for this unfortunate incident – human sacrifice. However, there are fewer versions of the Bible that use the word “celebrate” instead of lament. The celebration was for the daughter’s decision to remain chaste or virgin for the Lord.

Jdg 11:40  that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. (ASV)

Jdg 11:40  that for four days every year the girls in Israel would go out to sing the praises of the daughter of Jephthah, the man from Gilead. (GW)

All the elders came to the consensus that Jephthah did not offer a human sacrifice of his daughter but that the daughter was dedicated to the Lord, which necessitated that she remain a virgin for the rest of her life. In addition to devoting her daughter wholly to the Lord, additionally he offered a burnt offering. 

Numbers 29:1-40  Offerings for Various Occasions, Part 2

[Study Aired November 27, 2023]

Introduction

This week’s study on chapter 29 is the continuation of the offerings that the Lord expected from the people of Israel. In today’s study, the focus is on the offering at the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Booths. To help us understand what we are being taught in Numbers chapter 29, let’s take a look at what these feasts were and their spiritual significance.

The Feast of Trumpets is one of the seven feasts appointed by the Lord which began on the first day of the seven month which marks the beginning of the Jewish civil calendar. The festival derived its name from the command to blow trumpets. The word “trumpet blasts” is translated from the Hebrew word “teruah” which means a shout or ‘a blowing.’ The feast marks the start of ten days of consecration before the Lord with the tenth day being the day of atonement and the fifteenth day being the beginning of the festival of booths.  During this feast of Trumpets, no one is required to work. It is important to note that this feast also marks the end of the agricultural year for the people of Israel. The blowing of the trumpets on the first day of the month heralded a solemn time of preparation for the Day of Atonement. This preparation time was called “Ten Days of Repentance.”

Spiritually speaking, the first day of this feast marks the beginning of a new age where the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. This shall be heralded by a shout from the Lord and the death in Christ shall rise.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 
1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

As indicated, the feast of Trumpets marks the start of a ten-day period in preparation for the Day of Atonement. According to Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, atonement means God has provided a way for humankind to come back into harmonious relationship with Him. What all this means is that the ten-day period before the Day of Atonement represents the thousand-year reign when humankind’s sins become full. Remember that the number ten means the fullness of the flesh. The Day of Atonement signifies the start of the work of the fire of God’s word where God has provided a way for humankind to come back into harmonious relationship with Him through the agency of Christ and His Christ.

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. 

The Feast of Tabernacles or booths takes place on the 15th of the Hebrew month Tishri which was the seventh month. The feast begins five days after the Day of Atonement, and it is celebrated for seven days. During each day of the feast, the people of Israel were to offer a sacrifice made by fire to the Lord. At the beginning of the feast of booths, there is a holy convocation where the people rest from their work. The Feast of Tabernacles therefore begins with a Sabbath day of rest. During the eight days of the feast, the Israelites would dwell in booths or tabernacles that were made from the branches of trees. This feast is one of the three feasts which the Jews were required to observe each year by going to appear before the Lord in the place which He shall choose.

Lev 23:40  And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. 
Lev 23:41  You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 
Lev 23:42  You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 
Lev 23:43  that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

Deu 16:16  “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
Deu 16:17  Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you. 

The fact that the feast of booths takes place five days after the Day of Atonement implies that it is by grace through faith that we are saved. The seven-day celebration of the feast is to show us the complete period of our lives when we come out of the world (Egypt). The people of Israel living in booths for the seven days of the feast is to let us know the temporariness of our commitment to the Lord when we leave Egypt. 

In a discussion with Brother Mike about this study, this is what he said which is very insightful:

“Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2  As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images. 

Our rod of iron will not be appreciated for very long, just like Israel when they came out of Egypt. Their gratitude lasted for three days until their first trial and then they wanted to go back to Egypt.

The eighth day is called “the great day of the feast” where Jesus says “If any man comes to me out of his belly shall flow rivers of living waters” signifying the work of the elect in the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death. It is here that “the eighth is of the seven and goes into perdition” which ‘perdition’ of our old man produces the new man in all who are in the lake of fire. It is the eighth day of the feast which signifies the “all in all”.”

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 
1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Presently, however, the feast of trumpets represents the time in our lives that the Lord comes into our lives with a shout or trumpet (word of His mouth) to begin the destruction of our old man or flesh. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

From the perspective of the present, we can say that the Day of Atonement signifies the beginning of what the Lord takes us through to be united with Him and to prepare the way for all humanity to also be joined to Christ later. As Christ died as one of the two goats presented before Aaron on the Day of Atonement, we represent the other goat (scapegoat) that is presented to the Lord alive and set free in the wilderness to complete the suffering of Christ.

Lev 16:7  And he (Aaron) shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 
Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 
Lev 16:9  And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 
Lev 16:10  But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. 

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 

Through the suffering we endure as we learn righteousness, we become united with the Lord as we dwell in Him and Him in us.  

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

In today’s study, we shall look at what we are to offer during these festivals appointed by the Lord. Ultimately, what we are to offer as a burnt offering to the Lord is presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord. However, offering our bodies as living sacrifices does not happen in one day. We go through a process in order to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. These offerings at various feasts help us to understand what the Lord takes us through in order to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Offerings for the Feast of Trumpets

Num 29:1  And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. 
Num 29:2  And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish: 
Num 29:3  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram,
Num 29:4  And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: 
Num 29:5  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you: 
Num 29:6  Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.

As indicated earlier, the sounding of the trumpet is translated from the Hebrew word “teruah” which means ‘a shout’ or ‘a blowing.’ The coming of the Lord with a shout in our lives marks the complete period of our lives where we were dead spiritually (signified by the seventh month). This coming of the Lord is to cause us to hear His words, signified by the sounding of the trumpet to us.  

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

This is the period of our lives where we learn to rest from our own works as indicated by the command to cease servile works during this feast of trumpets. 

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

The feast of trumpets begins our judgment or fiery trials as we gradually draw away from the standards of this world. That is when we can offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord – a sacrifice made by fire as Christ had already laid the foundation for us by offering Himself as our sin offering. The meat offering of flour in verse 3 which was mingled with oil symbolizes what we have received from the Lord as He opens our eyes and ears to see and hear the spiritual significance of His words. This implies that offering ourselves as living sacrifices can only be accomplished when we are endowed with the knowledge of the Lord’s words. It is this offering which serves as a sweet savor to the Lord.

Pro 4:5  Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Pro 4:6  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 
Pro 4:7  Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 
Pro 4:8  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 
Pro 4:9  She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Offerings for the Day of Atonement

Num 29:7  And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein: 
Num 29:8  But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savour; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish: 
Num 29:9  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bullock, and two tenth deals to one ram,
Num 29:10  A several tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: 
Num 29:11  One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings.

The Day of Atonement represents our reconciliation with God. This is after Christ has come to us with the spirit of His mouth and the brightness of His coming. The tenth day of the seventh month, which is the Day of Atonement, shows us that it is when our flesh reaches its fullness that Christ comes to us to reconcile us to God. His coming to us is to judge us as we offer ourselves as a burnt offering which is a sweet savor to the Lord. As we indicated in the previous study, the young bullock, the ram, and seven lambs of the first year which were offered, represent us, His elect. The seven lambs of one year signify that the complete number of the elect of every generation who offer themselves as living sacrifices to the Lord are all of one mind. The meat and the drink offerings signify that it is through the spiritual knowledge of His words (flour mingled with oil) that we can offer ourselves as sacrifices pleasing to the Lord and also to offer our service of love to the people of the Lord. All of this is possible because the Lord has laid down His life for us as the goat for the sin offering. 

Php 2:17  Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Php 2:18  Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (ESV)

2Ti 4:6  For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. (ESV) 

Offerings for the Feast of Booths

Num 29:12  And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:
Num 29:13  And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish: 
Num 29:14  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams, 
Num 29:15  And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs: 
Num 29:16  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering. 
Num 29:17  And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot: 
Num 29:18  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:19  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings. 
Num 29:20  And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish; 
Num 29:21  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:22  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.

The feast of Booths starting on the fifteenth day of the seventh month signifies our new lives when we come out of the world (Egypt). The burnt offering that we offer during this period of our walk is different for each day. The difference is in the number of bullocks that are offered each day. The number of bullocks decreases each day by one, but the rams and lambs are the same each day for the seven days. In the Old Testament, it was those who were physically rich that had cattle or bullocks. This implies that spiritually, bullock represents spiritual riches.

Gen 13:1  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 
Gen 13:2  And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

The decreasing number of bullocks in the burnt offering each day during the feast of booths is therefore to show us the decreasing appreciation of the rule of the Lord during this period of our lives when we have left the world but found ourselves in Babylon. It is usually the leaders of the people who have the physical riches to offer a bullock as sacrifice. This tells us that it is our leaders in Babylon who have lost their bearings regarding their appreciation of the rule of the Lord which causes us to also go astray. 

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 
2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 
2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 
2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 
2Pe 2:16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 
2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

The burnt offering for the first day of this feast consists of thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year. The number thirteen signifies rebellion. This rebellion against the Lord is caused by the old man or our flesh within us. That is why our old man must be dealt with through our fiery trials. 

On the second day, our burnt offering consists of twelve bullocks. The number twelve represents Christ and also means foundation. What this tells us is that although we have started our walk with Christ, we are still carnal as we are controlled by our flesh. Thus, we are not able to appreciate the Lord’s rule in our lives. 

1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

On the third day, the number of bullocks offered reduces to 11 which signifies the ruin and disintegration of the perfection of the flesh. What this means is that our lack of appreciation of the rule of Christ in our lives is the opportunity the Lord is seeking to destroy our flesh in the fullness of time. 

Num 29:23  And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: 
Num 29:24  Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:25  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering. 
Num 29:26  And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot: 
Num 29:27  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: 
Num 29:28  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering. 
Num 29:29  And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: 
Num 29:30  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: 
Num 29:31  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering. 
Num 29:32  And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: 
Num 29:33  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: 
Num 29:34  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.  

On the fourth day, ten bullocks are offered as burnt offerings together with two rams and fourteen lambs. The number ten means completion of the flesh. At this point in our walk, we have come to see the fullness of our flesh and have come to understand that of ourselves, we can do nothing. 

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

The fifth day offering consisted of nine bullocks, two rams and fourteen lambs. The number nine indicates God’s judgment. Our appreciation of the Lord at this stage of our walk continues to decrease, paving the way for the Lord’s judgment of our old man or flesh in order for us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord. 

The sixth day sacrifice was made up of eight bullocks, two rams and fourteen lambs. The number eight means new beginning or new man. What this implies is that as fleshly beings (significance of the sixth day), it is through the judgment of the Lord that our old man or flesh dies, giving way to the new man after Christ. 

The seventh day sacrifice consisted of seven bullocks, two rams and fourteen lambs. At this point in our walk with Christ, our appreciation of the Lord has reached its lowest point. We have fallen completely and needed the Lord to intervene in our circumstance. As the saying goes, the darkest hour is just before dawn. Our deliverance is very close at this point as the Lord is about to come with the breath of His mouth and His brightness to start the process of destroying the old man within us. 

Isa 60:1  Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 
Isa 60:2  For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 
Isa 60:3  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

The Eighth Day

Num 29:35  On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein: 
Num 29:36  But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish: 
Num 29:37  Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: 
Num 29:38  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering. 
Num 29:39  These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings. 
Num 29:40  And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses. 

As indicated earlier, the number eight means new beginning or the new man. Presently, this is the period when we are dominated by our new man. At this point in time, we become fully united with Christ, having one mind (one bullock for sacrifice) and resting fully in Him. That is when we shall be enabled by the Lord to offer all kinds of offerings that are holy and acceptable to the Lord.

This period also refers to the sanctifying work of the elect during the lake of fire age in bringing all humanity to Christ. 

May His name be praised forever!! Amen!! 

Numbers 15:1-41  Laws About Sacrifices

[Study Aired August 7, 2023]

Num 15:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 15:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you, 
Num 15:3  And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock: 
Num 15:4  Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. 
Num 15:5  And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. 
Num 15:6  Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil. 
Num 15:7  And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
Num 15:8  And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD:
Num 15:9  Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. 
Num 15:10  And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
Num 15:11  Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid.
Num 15:12  According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number.
Num 15:13  All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
Num 15:14  And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do. 
Num 15:15  One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
Num 15:16  One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. 
Num 15:17  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 15:18  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, 
Num 15:19  Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD. 
Num 15:20  Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. 
Num 15:21  Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations. 
Num 15:22  And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses, 
Num 15:23  Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; 
Num 15:24  Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. 
Num 15:25  And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance: 
Num 15:26  And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.
Num 15:27  And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. 
Num 15:28  And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 
Num 15:29  Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. 
Num 15:30  But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 
Num 15:31  Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. 
Num 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 
Num 15:33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 
Num 15:34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
Num 15:35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 
Num 15:36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Num 15:37  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 15:38  Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 
Num 15:39  And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 
Num 15:40  That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
Num 15:41  I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God. 

Introduction

Chapter 15 focuses on how the Israelites were to relate to the Lord in terms of what they were to offer to the Lord when they entered the promised land. It shows us our growth pattern in Christ when we leave Babylon and start to possess our bodies. As the Lord’s elect, we cannot offer our bodies as sweet aroma to Christ while we are in Babylon. It is when Christ comes to us and drags us out of Babylon that we start to possess our land which is our bodies and therefore can please the Lord.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

As we can see from the scriptures, it was when Abraham left Haran (Babylon) that he was able to build an altar to call on the name of the Lord. Our relationship with the Lord takes a different turn when we are dragged by the Lord out of Babylon to possess our bodies.

Gen 12:5  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 
Gen 12:6  And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 
Gen 12:7  And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 
Gen 12:8  And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

Num 15:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 15:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you, 
Num 15:3  And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock: 

A key to understanding what these verses imply is to know that this sacrifice takes place after we have come into the land of our dwellings which the Lord has given to us (verse 2). This spiritually means that we can offer a sacrifice that pleases the Lord only when Christ has come into our lives, and we have started the process of possessing our bodies. This time of Christ coming into our lives is when we come to know the mercies of the Lord, and therefore, we can offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord. What this implies is that we no longer conform to the patterns of this world but are being transformed by the renewing of our mind to know the perfect will of God.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Offering our bodies as a living sacrifice is an offering by fire to the Lord, which is the burnt offering. In a burnt offering, the worshiper voluntarily devotes his whole offering to God through the fire. That is, the whole animal offered “went up in smoke,” providing a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord, with nothing returned to the worshiper, which made the Burnt Offering distinct from other offerings. The burning was so gradual that it should last from morning to evening. What this means is that it is through the fiery trials or suffering we go through in this life that we can present our bodies wholly unto the Lord as a sweet-smelling offering.

In verse 3, other offerings that were mentioned apart from the burnt offering were a sacrifice in performing a vow and a freewill offering. 

Deu 23:21  “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Lev 22:17  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 
Lev 22:18  “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the LORD, 
Lev 22:19  if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. 
Lev 22:20  You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 

Exo 35:29  All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD. 

Spiritually speaking, the sacrifice for a vow and a freewill offering refers to our acknowledging the goodness of the Lord to us as we give thanks to Him. When we have started to possess our bodies, our thanksgiving becomes a sweet savor to the Lord.

Psa 54:6  With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good. 

Psa 56:12  I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you. 

Psa 61:8  So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day. 

In verse 3, the offerings during the solemn feasts of the people of Israel were also mentioned as being part of the offering to be performed when we possess our bodies. The offering at a solemn feast includes all the offerings we have mentioned. This is shown as follows:

Lev 23:37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything upon his day: 

Num 15:4  Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. 
Num 15:5  And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. 
Num 15:6  Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil. 
Num 15:7  And for a drink offering thou shalt offer the third part of an hin of wine, for a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
Num 15:8  And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace offerings unto the LORD:
Num 15:9  Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. 
Num 15:10  And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
Num 15:11  Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid.
Num 15:12  According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number. 

These verses show us how the Lord deals with us as we begin to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him. In order to appreciate what the Lord is teaching us, we need to understand what meat and drink offerings are. A meat offering is a food offering which consists of fine flour, oil and frankincense as shown in the following:

Lev 2:1  And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: 

The meat offering is given in three forms: In the form of groats, with the fresh ears roasted by fire, or dried grains coarsely rubbed or crushed (Leviticus 2:14); As finely ground wheat or barley flour. These first two forms were covered or mixed with oil and frankincense (Leviticus 2:1) in the form of loaves or cakes, made of the fine flour mixed with oil. These could be prepared in an oven (Leviticus 2:4) or upon a flat iron plate (Leviticus 2:5-6).

In this study of Numbers 15, the meal offering consists of fine flour mingled with oil. A drink offering is a form of libation that was poured out before the Lord in the holy place. Usually, the offering was wine. Drink offerings were also included with burnt and meat offerings in God-ordained sacrifices, including the morning and evening sacrifices.

Exo 29:40  And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

The ingredients for a meat offering and a drink offering are fine flour, oil and wine which are all the result of the fruits of the earth. The meat and the drink offerings represent what we have received freely from the Lord, which we must also give freely to His children. As we know, the meat and drink offerings consisting of fine flour, oil and wine represent the Lord’s words and doctrines which we have received and are required to give freely (offering) to the Lord’s children. That is why Paul twice used the image of a drink offering to describe his own service to the Lord’s people. He compared his service and dedication to the people of God as a drink offering as follows:

Php 2:16  holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 
Php 2:17  Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 

2Ti 4:6  For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
2Ti 4:7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

In verses 4 and 5, the meat and drink offerings consisting of a tenth of fine flour, a fourth part of a hin (volume measure) of oil and a fourth part of a hin of wine were to be offered together with a burnt offering of a lamb. This shows the progressive way the Lord deals with us as we come to understand the truth of the word of the Lord gradually. Initially, we are only able to take in a tenth of fine flour and a quarter of a hin of oil and wine. In this case, we can only offer a lamb. That is to say, what we can offer to the people of the Lord is limited. As we grow in the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of the Lord, symbolized by our offering of two-tenth of fine flour and one-third of a hin of oil and wine, we can minister much deeper spiritual truth of the words of the Lord to the Lord’s people signified by an offering of a ram (verses 6 and 7). Again, as we continue to grow in the knowledge of the truth, we can offer a more comprehensive truth of the word of the Lord to the people of God, signified by the offering of a bullock coupled with three-tenth of fine flour and half of a hin of oil and wine. 

An example of this gradual growth in our understanding of the truth of the word of the Lord and our subsequent offering of the truth to the body of Christ is the story of Ezekiel’s vision of water issuing from the temple of the Lord.   

Eze 47:1  Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.
Eze 47:2  Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.
Eze 47:3  Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.
Eze 47:4  Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep.
Eze 47:5  Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.

As we are aware, we are the temple of the Lord, and the water that issues from the temple is the living water that comes out of our belly which is the word of the Lord. Initially, the living water coming from us is in trickles. As we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, the living water issuing from us becomes like rivers of living water.

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 
Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

What we need to understand is that in Babylon, the meat and the drink offerings are cut by the Lord, and we can only offer them when we have left Babylon and are in the company of the Lord’s elect.

Joe 1:9  The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’S ministers, mourn. 

Joe 1:13  Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

Num 15:13  All that are born of the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Num 15:14  And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do. 
Num 15:15  One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.
Num 15:16  One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. 

The one that is born in the country represents the commonwealth of Israel while the stranger typifies the Gentiles. In Christ Jesus, both the one born of the country and the stranger have been brought together as one people and therefore we are all operating under the same spiritual laws of Christ. 

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Num 15:17  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 15:18  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, 
Num 15:19  Then it shall be, that, when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up an heave offering unto the LORD. 
Num 15:20  Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering: as ye do the heave offering of the threshingfloor, so shall ye heave it. 
Num 15:21  Of the first of your dough ye shall give unto the LORD an heave offering in your generations. 

Again, the emphasis here is that we have left Babylon and come into the assembly of the elect. It is through what every joint supplies that we eat the bread of the land, which is the word of the Lord. The verses here make us aware that when we eat bread in the land the Lord has given to us, we must remember to set some aside as an offering to the Lord just as we do for grains. The bread we eat in the company of the elect is the word of the Lord, and what we are to set aside as an offering for the Lord is also Christ. It is the truth of the word of Christ we have received which we offer to our brothers and sisters. What we set aside and offer is also our lives as a living sacrifice to the Lord. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Num 15:22  And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses, 
Num 15:23  Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; 
Num 15:24  Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. 
Num 15:25  And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance: 
Num 15:26  And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.

As the body of Christ, if we are ignorant about certain aspects of the word of the Lord and therefore, we have sinned against the Lord because of our ignorance, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Num 15:27  And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering.
Num 15:28  And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 
Num 15:29  Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. 
Num 15:30  But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 
Num 15:31  Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. 

If we sin through ignorance, the Lord in His mercy will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. However, if we make sin a habit after we have come to know the truth, it becomes difficult to be renewed to repentance as our actions amount to crucifying the son of God afresh and putting Him to an open shame. What this means is we become alienated from the people of God.

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 
Heb 6:9  But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 

Num 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 
Num 15:33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 
Num 15:34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
Num 15:35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 
Num 15:36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. 

Finding rest means we have ceased from our own work. These verses show us that if we do not find rest in Christ, we shall end up not being part of the Lord’s elect. Being stoned to death for not observing the sabbath is the same as being cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. That is to say, we become spiritually dead. The people of Israel could not find rest because of unbelief. The same situation is happening in every generation. Through unbelief many have become disillusioned in their walk with Christ. Our walk is a walk of faith. All we have to do is believe that the Lord who has started a good work in us will accomplish what He started and that it is not by our might or power. It is the Lord at work in us!  

Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 
Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 
Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Num 15:37  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 15:38  Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 
Num 15:39  And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 
Num 15:40  That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
Num 15:41  I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God. 

Here in these verses, the Lord commanded Moses to tell the people of Israel to put upon the fringe of each border of their garment a cord of blue. As we are aware, garments signify righteousness. In these verses, the Lord is showing us where our righteousness comes from. Blue represents heavenly. Thus, putting on the blue cord on the fringes of our garment is to remind us that our righteousness is from Christ (heavenly). In other words, we cannot of our own produce righteousness. It is Christ who is our righteousness.

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Jer 33:16  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

As indicated in verse 39, any attempt on our part to think that our righteousness comes from our own actions (seeking after our own heart and our own eyes) will result in us playing the harlot. That was what happened to us when we were in Babylon where we thought our own actions as a result of our supposed freewill is what made us righteous. In other words, we wear our own clothes with no cord of blue attached to the fringes. That was what led us astray to play the harlot.

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. 

Jer 3:6  The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel (Babylon) hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.  

Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 

May the Lord cause us to walk by faith as we rest in Him. Amen!

Exo 38:1-31 The Making of the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Bronze Basin and the Court

[Study Aired February 20, 2023]

Exo 38:1  And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.
Exo 38:2  And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. 
Exo 38:3  And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
Exo 38:4  And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
Exo 38:5  And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. 
Exo 38:6  And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. 
Exo 38:7  And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards. 
Exo 38:8  And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Exo 38:9  And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:
Exo 38:10  Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
Exo 38:11  And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 
Exo 38:12  And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 
Exo 38:13  And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
Exo 38:14  The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 
Exo 38:15  And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 
Exo 38:16  All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. 
Exo 38:17  And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. 
Exo 38:18  And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
Exo 38:19  And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver. 
Exo 38:20  And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.
Exo 38:21  This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. 
Exo 38:22  And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 38:23  And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
Exo 38:24  All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
Exo 38:25  And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
Exo 38:26  A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
Exo 38:27  And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 
Exo 38:28  And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them. 
Exo 38:29  And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. 
Exo 38:30  And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, 
Exo 38:31  And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

Today’s study focuses on the making of the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Bronze Basin and the Court. It also centers on the materials needed for the building of the Lord’s tabernacle.  As we can see, the Lord starts His work of making us His temple for His habitation by focusing within us first before our outward righteousness becomes evident. The Holy of Holies and the Holy place and their items were all made first before the outer court with its items were made. This is in contrast to our life in Babylon or the churches of this world where we put emphasis on the outward at the detriment of inner cleansing. 

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 

Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Exo 38:1  And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. 
Exo 38:2  And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. 

Placed in the outer court of the wilderness tabernacle, the brazen altar was the most prominent and imposing object in the court, and no worshiper could avoid seeing it upon entering. The fact that the altar was to be a square in shape is to let us know that from whatever angle we are looking, sin is a problem that has to be dealt with in order for us to appear before the Lord. The natural laws of various countries, the laws of various religions (Babylon) all point to one thing – that is, sin must be dealt with. That is why our Lord Jesus came to atone for our sins.

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 

The fact that the altar was made of acacia wood is to indicate that even our sins and the remission of sins is all the work of the Lord. Without Him, nothing functions!!

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The altar is to be measured. The standard of measurement is Christ. Those whose sins have reached the heavens in this life are therefore judged to conform to the standard of Christ. The fullness of the sins of humanity will later follow them to be dealt with in the lake of fire. They are those who are not measured as they belong to the Gentiles!!

1Ti 5:24  Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.

Rev 11:1  And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 
Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

The horns at the four corners of the altar symbolize the strength of the Lord to deal with the sins of the whole world. The four corners of the table represent the whole world. 

Exo 13:3  And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
Exo 13:14  And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:

Rev 7:1  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

What is insightful about verse 2 is that the altar must be coated with brass. All the instruments in the Holy place and the Holy of Holies were overlaid with gold, signifying that it is through the refining work of the Lord that we can gain access to His presence. This refining work is the judgment of our old man. The coating of the altar with brass is to signify our frail bodies of corruptible flesh and blood.  It is through this corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord Jesus made atonement for our sins and appeared before God. As He is, so are we in this life. It is through our corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord will save the world from their sins.

Exo 38:3  And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
Exo 38:4  And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.

The various utensils to be used at the altar refer to various categories of humanity who are all utilized by the Lord to accomplish His purpose of making us aware of the problem of sin, the atoning work of Christ and the need for our sins to be judged.

2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

A grating of brass was to be inserted into the hollow center of the altar to hold the firewood and sacrifice as it was being burned, allowing the ash to fall below. The grating is a symbol of the judgment we must go through to deliver us from our sins so that we become a sweet savor to Christ our Lord.

Exo 38:5  And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.
Exo 38:6  And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.
Exo 38:7  And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.

The altar is portable. It was therefore carried using the poles which were required to pass through the rings so that the Levites who carried the altar did not touch the altar. The portability of the altar means that the redemptive work of Christ is still applicable to us as we journey in this life. It also means that we bear in our bodies the mark of His suffering, that is, we, too, are going through suffering in this life to complete the suffering of Christ.

Gal 6:17  From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Exo 38:8  And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

A simpler rendition of verse 8 is as follows:

Exo 38:8  He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. (ESV)

This verse clearly shows us the role of the churches of this world, which are represented here by the ministering women. They provide mirrors for the making of the basin of brass for washing before one enters the tabernacle. In other words, the function of the churches of this world is to make us see who we are as sinners, and therefore we need to be washed of our sins before we come to worship the Lord. The mirror is the word of the Lord, whether it is the letter of the word which is emphasized in Babylon or the Spirit, which is for the elect.

Jas 1:23  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
Jas 1:24  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
Jas 1:25  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Exo 38:9  And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits: 
Exo 38:10  Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 
Exo 38:11  And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 
Exo 38:12  And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 
Exo 38:13  And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.

Hangings of fine twined linen marked the boundaries of this court, and its dimensions were 100 cubits on the north and south sides and 50 cubits on the west and east. The fine twined linen hangings were fixed to twenty pillars on the north and south, ten on the west, but only six on the east as this was the side where the gate was situated. Each of the pillars sat on a brass socket, and the hangings were attached to the pillars by means of silver hooks.

Spiritually, the court represents our lives in Babylon where we only see our Lord Jesus Christ come to die for our sins. It is a period of our lives where we have our own doctrines and follow our own ways thinking that we have our own will to choose what we want. 

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

The fact that the north and the south sides should be 100 cubits in measurement is significant. The number 100 (10×10) signifies the fullness of the flesh. What this means is that during our walk in the court of the tabernacle, the deeds of the flesh become evident before we are given to wash ourselves in the word of the Lord in preparation to enter the presence of the Lord.

The use of twenty pillars and the bases emphasizes the point that those whom the Lord is using to build His temple are those who are mature enough to wage war with the flesh to overcome it. During the time of the elect in the court of the tabernacle or Babylon, we are defeated seven times (completely) by the flesh as part of the preparation to learn how to war against the flesh.

Num 1:20  And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Num 1:24  Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

The use of brass to coat the twenty pillars and bases signifies that it is through this corruptible flesh and blood of the elect that the Lord is building His house or dwelling place. This is the same as having treasure in earthen vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The fact that the west and the east sides of the tabernacle must be fifty cubits in length is to suggest to us that a prerequisite to become the dwelling place of the Lord is through the liberty we have in Christ. This liberty is freedom from the bondage of sin.

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Gal 5:1  Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Exo 38:14  The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 
Exo 38:15  And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
Exo 38:16  All the hangings of the court roundabout were of fine twined linen.

In total there were six hangings at the east end of the tabernacle where the gate was. The number six is the number of mankind. So, this is to emphasize the point that it is through us, in our corruptible flesh and blood, that the Lord is using to admit all those predestined to come to His presence. In an age to come (the lake of fire age), the Lord will also use us to bring all humanity into His presence.

The fact that the hangings on each side of the gate were three is to let us know that becoming the conduit for humanity to enter into the presence of the Lord entails being spiritually mature, which is brought about through the Lord’s judgment of our old man.

Rev 15:8  and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

That the hangings must be of fifteen cubits (15 = 3×5) is to serve as a witness to the fact that it is grace through faith by which we become mature enough to enter the temple to worship the Lord. This grace is the chastening work of the Lord.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching (Chastening) us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Exo 38:17  And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

We are both the pillars and its sockets which were coated with brass. As indicated, brass signifies our frail bodies of corruptible flesh and blood.  It is through this corruptible flesh and blood the Lord is using to build His temple. It is through our corruptible flesh and blood that all humanity will be admitted into the temple of God. The silver, which was used to overlay the pillars of the court, and the chapiters represent the strong desire for the things of the spirit, which signifies the very foundation upon which the boards and pillars of the tabernacle stand.

Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 14:15  Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire [Hebrew: kasaph – the root from which comes ‘keseph‘ – silver] to the work of thine hands.

Exo 38:18  And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
Exo 38:19  And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.
Exo 38:20  And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.

The hanging for the gate of the court was of fine linen and colored blue, purple and scarlet. We, the elect, are the hanging through which humanity must pass to enter the Lord’s temple. The colors blue, purple and scarlet mean that we are those who are being changed from our Adamic nature to that of Christ. As indicated earlier, we are both the sockets and the pillars. The fact that there were four pillars and four sockets means that the pillars and the sockets represent the whole of the elect of every generation. The pins used for the tabernacle and the court being made of brass means that it is through our corruptible flesh and blood that the Lord is using to build His temple.

Exo 38:22  And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 38:23  And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

As indicated in previous studies, Bezaleel represents our Lord Jesus Christ who is building our earthly tent. Building our earthly tent means the Lord is the one who is cleansing our hearts and mind to make it His dwelling place. Aholiab means ‘tent of his father.’ Our bodies are the earthly tent of our Father, Jesus. Aholiab, therefore, represents the body of Christ, or the Lord’s elect, as we are given to work with the Lord, who is represented here as Bezaleel in the building of the New Jerusalem for our Lord to dwell. The wise-hearted are also the elect.

2Co 5:1  Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. (CEV)

We are therefore co-workers with the Lord as we work together as a unit to achieve what God desires. That is, by building the church of God which is the Lord’s body.

1Co 3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
1Co 3:10  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Exo 38:24  All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
Exo 38:25  And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

The rest of the chapter deals with the inputs needed for the building of the tabernacle.  Verses 24 and 25 mentions gold and silver as key ingredients needed for the building of the Lord’s church.

2Ch 5:1  Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

The gold and the silver refer to the truth of the word of the Lord that fits our every circumstance.

Pro 25:11  A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Exo 38:26  A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.

Another key input needed for the building of the Lord’s tabernacle is men who are twenty years old and above. As we have studied in previous lessons, the number twenty refers to those who are mature and are able to wage war against the flesh.

Num 1:20  And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Num 1:22  Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

According to verse 26, the men who were numbered as mature enough to war was 603,550. The number six refers to mankind. The number three means the process of spiritual maturity through judgment, and the number five signifies grace through faith. What we are therefore being told as referring to the sum of mature men ready to battle the flesh is that it is through the process of judgment that we mature spiritually enough to wage a war against the flesh. It is our faith or belief in this process of judgment, which is the grace that we have received from the Lord, that enables us to become spiritually mature as we deny ungodliness and worldly lust to become righteous in this present world.

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching (Chastening) us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Exo 38:27  And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
Exo 38:28  And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.

The hundred talents of silver needed for the casting of the sockets of the sanctuary is to make us aware that we never offer anything to God for which we have made no payment or atonement. Jesus paid the price for our redemption.

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1Co 7:23  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

What this means is that the foundation upon which Christ comes to live within our temple has already been laid by the price Jesus paid for our sins.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

The 1,775 shekels is the measure of the silver according to the standard of shekels of the sanctuary. This is what is needed for the making of the hooks of the pillars, which signifies that it is by grace through faith we become complete in Christ and therefore become worthy of being part of the pillars of the temple of the Lord.

Gal 2:9  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Exo 38:29  And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.
Exo 38:30  And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
Exo 38:31  And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

According to these verses, we need seventy talents of brass, which measure about 2,400 shekels according to the standard of shekels of the sanctuary, to make sockets for the door of the tabernacle and also the court gate. As indicated in our studies, brass represents our frail bodies of corruptible flesh and blood.  It is through this corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord Jesus made atonement for our sins and appeared before God. As He is, so are we in this life. It is through our corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord will save the world from their sins. It should be noted that when the Lord appeared to Apostle John to unveil Himself to him, His feet were like fine brass. This is to show us that Christ does everything through His saints who are still in these bodies of corruptible flesh and blood.

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

Being sockets of brass at the door of the tabernacle and at the court gate is to let us know that it is through us the Lord will save the world, as all humanity will have to pass through us as the door of the tabernacle in order to worship the Lord. We are therefore the saviors of the world!!

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

May the Lord continue to prepare us to become a habitation for the Lord to dwell. Amen!!

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Awesome Hands - part 114 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – Part 114, “Wash your hands and your feet”

March 31, 2017

Many biblical concepts come up when examining the act of washing our hands and feet. Of course there are sanitary reasons to wash our feet and hands, but from a biblical perspective, we know that the Lord was very particular about this washing before approaching Him in the tabernacle.

In our study today, we are going to examine some of the reasons why this commandment was given to the priests and Moses and also why and how it is spiritually applicable to us today.

Closing our Exodus and moving to the “laws”

As with all of the “Awesome Hands” studies we find ourselves moving to the next mentioning of the Hebrew word “yad”, but we are actually going to cover the next few times it is mentioned so that we can build upon a biblical theme within this particular study.

Today we are going to mention Exodus 38:21 in passing and then focus on the surrounding verses found in Exodus 40:31 and Leviticus 1:4.

Exo 38:21  This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

Exodus 38:21 is actually the next mentioning of the word “yad”, but there isn’t much mentioned here that we haven’t already covered in the previous studies concerning the materials of the tabernacle. However, I did want to mention it before moving to Exodus 40:31.

Now we find ourselves looking at Exodus 40:31, which will be the end of our coverage of Exodus. We will be moving from our Exodus out of Egypt into the laws by which the Lord gives us to live.

The literal laws we are going to read are for the whole of Israel, but we are going to be given very specific laws, which we can also apply to our walks today, which deal only with the priests of the Lord.

Exo 40:30  And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
Exo 40:31  And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:
Exo 40:32  When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:33  And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

We now find that Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons all wash their hands before the Lord at the laver and then once again as they come near to the altar. After this washing is accomplished, Moses puts the finishing touches on the tabernacle.

vWhat happens next will help to guide the rest of our walk with the Lord for the remainder of our lives. If we pay close attention, the Lord is going to tell us just how involved in our lives He always is.

Whether we are on the highest peak or in the lowest valley, the Lord is there. Whether we approach death or are in the summer of our lives, the Lord is there. There is simply nothing that can or will separate us from the Love of the Lord, and just what is the Love of God?

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The focus of Romans 8 is God’s elect and the role Christ Jesus has in their lives. When we know that, and apply everything we read here in Romans 8 (and the rest of the bible) to US, then we should see a great fire of Light go off in our minds at just what the Lord is doing with us.

Before any of us were every born, the Lord reached through the tunnel of time and touched us with the Word of JUST WHO WE ARE TO HIM and what it is he is doing in our lives.

Here at the beginning, just before telling us that He is our Father and His LAWS must be followed, He tells us He will always be with us. What Father DOES NOT give His children RULES to follow in His household?

Exo 40:34  Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:35  And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:36  And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:
Exo 40:37  But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Exo 40:38  For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, THROUGHOUT ALL THEIR JOURNEYS.

The act of Moses and Aaron and his sons washing their hands has wonderful significance for us today, because it reminds us that the Lord alone has made us clean so that we can approach Him. I am well aware that Jesus Christ is the God of the old testament, but I am also aware that this is hidden from the world.

However, we must know this Truth if we can ever recognize that without the Lord delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians, and then providing all the materials for the tabernacle, we could never have this laver in which to wash our hands and feet.

Why is this important at all to realize? Well, it shows us that it has all been orchestrated by the Lord 100%.

Why is that important? This is important because it is just like when my wife and I had our children. When they were first conceived, and being nourished in my wife’s belly, they were being cared for. We were doing what we thought was the best for them before they were ever born.

When they were born and couldn’t remember a thing, we were feeding and clothing them, changing their diapers, entertaining them, loving them, and overall preparing for them, as best we could, a life in which they could accelerate and grow.

All of these days and nights of preparation were brought to a point of when our children’s “eyes are opened” to the what their lives are about. Slowly but surely their minds are able to perceive just is happening in their lives and what they are about, memories take hold and “suddenly” they start to decide on things they want to do.

In reality, none of this happened suddenly but moment by moment and step by step. This is how we see the Lord working for all of us, and now at this moment for the Israelites of “here we have this tabernacle thing built” and we are approaching you Lord, the “RULE BOOK” comes out.

This book of laws comes out at the precise time that God’s children can begin to OBEY or NOT the things that are contained within this proverbial book.

Lev 1:1  And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Lev 1:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
Lev 1:3  If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Lev 1:4  And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Lev 1:5  And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 1:7  And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
Lev 1:8  And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
Lev 1:9  But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

The burnt offering is a very intense offering. It is the beginning of the offerings to the Lord that show our connection with the realization that we have to make an offering to the Lord in order to approach Him in any way.

There are many details that are contained within these few verses that really open up to us what this offering is all about.

These burnt offerings have nothing to do with sin but rather open up to us the concepts that will be presented by Jesus Christ and His actions about how it is we approach God the Father. We cannot approach Him empty-handed, and Jesus Christ never sinned yet was MADE SIN.

The burnt offerings could be of a young bull without blemish, a young ram, a young he-goat, a turtle dove or a young pigeon. We are only focused on the offering “of the herd” contained within the above verses, but I wanted to mentioned that there are other animals of various degrees which were used as burnt offerings.

If it were a bull, ram or goat, the offerer had to bring the offerings to the “door of the tabernacle” which happens to be right at the brazen altar. This altar would have been a very bloody scene indeed. Blood, animal parts, very strong odors and fire would all be very present among other things.

When it came time to offer the burnt offering notice that the offeror, as contained within the verses we just read, had very descriptive things that had to be done. The offerer must place their hand on the head of the animal about to be killed. The offeror must kill the animal. The offeror must flay it. The offeror had to wash the intestines and the legs.

Then the priests had their roles as well. They had to gather the blood and sprinkle the altar with it. They had to out the head, fat and remainder of the animals there. The also had to place a meat offering upon the burnt offerings. Then they had to move the ashes to the east of the altar and carry them outside the camp to a clean place.

Obviously, this is a lot of detail, but the offerer had to completely identify with the atonement that was being made by their animal that was being offered.

So, who is this unblemished male? Jesus is a Head that has a body. What does the New Testament tell us about His body, and in particular, how does His body relate to these verses today?

Does the placement of the offerer's hand on the Head tell us anything to help us understand that WE are the ones who sacrifice the King of kings and Lord of Lords?

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

If it is questioned that it is us who identify with our Head, let us understand that the Lord causes us to be the very offering that is being offered by creating in us a WILLING HEART to be offered up WITH CHRIST.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, AND OPEN THE DOOR, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Lev 1:3  If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

I contest with you today, you being anyone struggling with giants in your land, that you listen to that faint still voice coming from within you and place your hand on the door and OPEN IT UP.

Jesus Christ is waiting on the other side.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Who among us is too good to get their hands dirty in a blood sacrifice? Are you willing, rather, has the Lord given you a willing heart, to sacrifice ALL THAT IS IN YOUR WORLD so that the door may be opened and the Lord may come in to your world?

What exactly is 'the world'? I proclaim to you all that the world is not only, and definitely not mostly, what the world thinks it is. There is something that makes up this world we all live in and here it is:

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The “world” out there is of no concern to us. These verses aren’t telling us to not go to work, don’t watch a movie, don’t listen to “worldy songs”, etc., etc.

These verses are telling us to not LOVE the WORLD or the things IN THE WORLD. What is in and of the world? It is nothing more than can be contained in 'the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the PRIDE OF LIFE'.

All that is in the world tells us that not matter what is “out there” it is already “in here” in my world. Therefore, anything “out there” in the world is there because the world is in us all. Picking on one particular thing or one another as a “fine detail” only helps us feel better in some way than another person, when in reality we oftentimes glaze over or ignore the real issues within.

What, then, are we placing our hands on in sacrifice as an atonement to the Lord? We are placing our hands on OUR LORD. We are accepting that HE ALONE can and DID “ENTER INTO PERFECTION”. He alone went to the altar, which is the cross and table of the Lord, and now He asks us to come join Him.

Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Mal 1:8  And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:9  And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:10  Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
Mal 1:11  For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:12  But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

Isn’t it interesting, to say the least, that the altar and table are interchangeable in these verses and verse 7 tells us that “ye offer polluted bread upon the altar of the Lord”. What BREAD do we offer that is polluted upon the altar of the Lord?

Mat 26:26  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

The body follows the Head. Why is it in our lives that it is easy for us to “place our hands on the Head” and “thank Him” for His sacrifice for us, take joy in it, but not actually believe nor think that we ourselves are PART of the SACRIFICE?

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Gal 5:26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

I say nothing in this study to discourage any of us but rather to give HOPE in what our lives can and will be with Jesus ruling our hearts and minds.

How can I make such a claim after stating that lust and pride is in all of us?

Listen, whatever it is you battle within your world Christ has ALREADY DEFEATED. When we place our hands on “the head of an animal sacrifice”, we are placing it ON OURSELVES. The world tells you that Christ sacrificed Himself so that we do not need to be sacrificed, but that is UTTER false doctrine. We are crucified with Him!

The wages of SIN if DEATH. Though we are not talking about the sin offering within this study, we are talking about why it is NECESSARY that we are crucified, but the reason we are crucified is so that we can RISE out of DEATH being shown how to escape it because of Jesus Christ DOING IT FIRST!

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

What is it you struggle with in your life? Is it anger, lust, envy, lack of humility, cruelty, coveting, lack of faith, lasciviousness, slothfulness, gossiping, money, vanity, thievery and on and on it can go? So, what is it you struggle with?

Whatever it is I tell you to LAY IT ON THE ALTAR NOW, because that’s where it is going one way or another. You can continue to live your life with and in it OR you can accept that Christ HAS GIVEN you all things NOW.

Ask the Lord for Faith to believe these things, and He will give it to you, but giving you Faith to believe He can and will deliver you DOES NOT MEAN that you do not still need to die daily to those things that will battle you at ever turn.

Why? It is the TRIAL of YOUR FAITH that is precious to the Lord so He is going to TRY YOU.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Let me read that again but only this time in a standard English version.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Pe 1:6  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
1Pe 1:7  so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
1Pe 1:9  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
1Pe 1:11  inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
1Pe 1:12  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

I am preaching to you the good news that the salvation of your souls can be TASTED now in the bread and blood of Christ. The things we read about in Exodus concerning the tabernacle, and the verses in Leviticus pertaining to the burnt offerings, were revealed to the prophets as belonging to US.

Though we will and are tested in various trials, the Lord DOES DELIVER us from these things and will not tempt us without providing a way out. That way out is Jesus Christ, and He is placed on the altar by His priests AFTER He is slain by the one who needs to make atonement.

Atonement is acknowledgment that a sacrifice is needed, but we need to realize that we are a body following the Head onto the altar to be “burned by fire”. I dwell happily there.

Isa 33:13  Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
Isa 33:16  He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
Isa 33:17  Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Audio Links

Awesome Hands – part 106

Offerings as it pertains to bread

October 26, 2016

As we saw in our previous study, being a part of the priesthood and being set into this position by the Lord is something that should be looked upon as a wonderful, yet labor-filled, work of the Lord.

We ended our study last week with the two rams being offered in different ways to meet the standards the Lord is implementing in His tabernacle. These two rams are given to the priests as examples of how they are to make different offerings to the Lord from what will be various offerings coming from the children of Israel.

The rams are but two of many offerings which all have applications to us today and can be seen as types and shadows of the bonds the Lord has made with us.

In today’s study, we are going to be looking at our next set of verses which will move us from putting blood on the tip of our right ear, on our right thumb and right big toe and our garments to now making wave, heave and burnt offerings to the Lord.

Wave and burnt offerings

Here are the verses for consideration today:

Exo 29:22  Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
Exo 29:23  And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:
Exo 29:24  And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
Exo 29:25  And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

I am going to break these verses down to more “chewable” sizes and hopefully find some practical applications to our Christian walks today as we chew on them.

Exo 29:22  Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:

So just like we saw with the bullock offering, the inwards are important to the Lord but specifically that fat that is on them is to remain with the item. The “increase” of the animal, also known as the richest and choice part of the beast, is going to be used of the Lord.

H2459

cheleb    chêleb
kheh’-leb, khay’-leb
From an unused root meaning to be fat; fat, whether literally or figuratively; hence the richest or choice part: –    X best, fat (-ness), X finest, grease, marrow.
Total KJV occurrences: 92

For this particular ram it is known as the ram of consecration, a ram of the “setting up” of the priesthood. As part of this continued consecration (of the various offerings), we see in our next verse that 3 different types of bread are used with this offering.

Exo 29:23  And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:
Exo 29:24  And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.

“Three” different types of bread immediately pop out to me as spiritually significant, and when we dig into the different types of bread mentioned it gives us some insight on why the Lord uses these different breads.

One loaf of bread:

H3603

kikâr
kik-kawr’
From H3769; a circle, that is, (by implication) a circumjacent tract or region, especially the Ghor or valley of the Jordan; also a (round) loaf; also a talent (or large (round) coin): – loaf, morsel, piece, plain, talent.
Total KJV occurrences: 68

H3603
kikâr
Total KJV Occurrences: 68
talents, 38
Exo_38:24-25 (2), Exo_38:27 (2), Exo_38:29, 1Ki_9:14, 1Ki_9:28, 1Ki_10:10, 1Ki_10:14, 1Ki_16:24, 2Ki_5:5, 2Ki_5:23 (2), 2Ki_15:19, 2Ki_18:14 (2), 2Ki_23:33, 1Ch_19:6, 1Ch_22:14 (2), 1Ch_29:4 (2), 1Ch_29:7 (4), 2Ch_3:8, 2Ch_8:18, 2Ch_9:9, 2Ch_9:13, 2Ch_25:6, 2Ch_25:9, 2Ch_27:5, 2Ch_36:3, Ezr_8:26 (3), Est_3:9
plain, 13
Gen_13:9-12 (4), Gen_19:17, Gen_19:25, Gen_19:28-29 (2), Deu_34:3, 2Sa_18:23, 1Ki_7:46, 2Ch_4:17, Neh_3:22, Neh_12:28
talent, 10
Exo_25:39, Exo_37:24, Exo_38:27, 2Sa_12:30, 1Ki_20:39, 2Ki_5:22, 2Ki_23:33, 1Ch_20:2, 2Ch_36:3, Zec_5:7
loaf, 2
Exo_29:23, 1Ch_16:3
loaves, 2
Jdg_8:5, 1Sa_10:3
piece, 2
Pro_6:26, Jer_37:21
morsel, 1
1Sa_2:36

It gets real interesting when you look at the root of “loaf”.

H3769

kârar
kaw-rar’
A primitive root; to dance (that is, whirl): – dance (-ing).
Total KJV occurrences: 2

H3769
kârar
Total KJV Occurrences: 2
danced, 1
2Sa_6:14
dancing, 1
2Sa_6:16

2Sa 6:13  And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
2Sa 6:14  And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
2Sa 6:15  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
2Sa 6:16  And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
2Sa 6:17  And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
2Sa 6:18  And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.

The connection to the loaf is that it is circular and is mostly translated as “talent(s)” in Hebrew. One cake of oiled bread:

Exo 29:23  And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:

one^H259 cake^H2471 of oiled^H8081 bread,^H3899

H2471
challâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 14
cake, 7
Exo_29:23, Lev_8:26 (2), Lev_24:5, Num_15:19-20 (2), 2Sa_6:19
cakes, 7
Exo_29:2, Lev_2:4, Lev_7:12-13 (3), Lev_24:5, Num_6:15

H2471

challâh
khal-law’
From H2490; a cake (as usually punctured): – cake.
Total KJV occurrences: 14

H2490
châlal
Total KJV Occurrences: 143
began, 34
Gen_4:26, Gen_6:1, Gen_9:20, Gen_10:8, Gen_41:54, Gen_44:12, Num_25:1, Jdg_13:25, Jdg_16:19, Jdg_16:22, Jdg_20:31, Jdg_20:39-40 (2), 1Sa_3:2, 2Ki_10:32, 2Ki_15:37, 1Ch_1:10, 1Ch_27:24, 2Ch_3:1-2 (2), 2Ch_20:22, 2Ch_29:17, 2Ch_29:27 (2), 2Ch_31:7, 2Ch_31:10, 2Ch_31:21, 2Ch_34:3 (2), Ezr_3:6, Ezr_3:8, Neh_4:7, Eze_9:6, Jon_3:4
profane, 18
Lev_18:21, Lev_19:12, Lev_21:3-4 (2), Lev_21:6, Lev_21:9, Lev_21:12, Lev_21:15, Lev_21:23, Lev_22:2, Lev_22:9, Lev_22:15, Lev_22:32, Neh_13:17, Eze_23:39, Eze_24:21, Eze_28:16, Amo_2:7
profaned, 15
Lev_19:7-8 (2), Psa_89:39, Isa_43:28, Eze_22:8, Eze_22:26 (2), Eze_23:38, Eze_25:3, Eze_36:20-23 (5), Mal_1:12, Mal_2:11
polluted, 13
Exo_20:25, Isa_47:6, Isa_48:11, Jer_34:16, Lam_2:2, Eze_20:9, Eze_20:13-14 (2), Eze_20:16, Eze_20:21-22 (2), Eze_20:24, Zep_3:4
begin, 12
Gen_11:6, Deu_2:24-25 (2), Deu_2:31, Deu_16:9, Jos_3:7, Jdg_10:18, Jdg_13:5, 1Sa_3:12, 1Sa_22:15, Jer_25:29, Eze_9:6
pollute, 8
Num_18:32, Eze_7:21-22 (2), Eze_13:19, Eze_20:39, Eze_44:7 (2), Dan_11:31
begun, 6
Num_16:46-47 (2), Deu_2:31, Deu_3:24, Est_6:13, Est_9:23
defiled, 5
1Ch_5:1, Psa_74:7, Jer_16:18, Eze_7:24, Eze_28:18
break, 3
Num_30:2, Psa_89:31, Psa_89:34
wounded, 3
Psa_109:22, Isa_51:9, Isa_53:5
defile, 2
Eze_7:22, Eze_28:7
polluting, 2
Isa_56:2, Isa_56:6
profaning, 2
Neh_13:18, Mal_2:10
beginnest, 1
Deu_16:9
broken, 1
Psa_55:20
cast, 1
Eze_28:16
common, 1
Jer_31:5
defiledst, 1
Gen_49:4
defileth, 1
Exo_31:14
eat, 1
Deu_20:6
eaten, 1
Deu_20:6 (2)
first, 1
1Sa_14:35
gather, 1
Deu_28:30
inheritance, 1
Eze_22:16
piped, 1
1Ki_1:40
players, 1
Psa_87:7
profaneth, 1
Lev_21:9
prostitute, 1
Lev_19:29
slain, 1
Eze_32:26
slayeth, 1
Eze_28:9
slew, 1
1Ch_11:20
sorrow, 1
Hos_8:10
stain, 1
Isa_23:9

The Hebrew word “challah”^H2471 simply means a “punctured” cake, but the root tells us that this is equated to being profaned or polluted.

H2490

châlal
khaw-lal’
A primitive root (compare H2470); properly to bore, that is, (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one’s word), to begin (as if by an opening-wedge); denominatively (from H2485) to play (the flute): – begin (X men began), defile, X break, defile, X eat (as common things), X first, X gather the grape thereof, X take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.
Total KJV occurrences: 142

It seems that these different types of breads being offered are pointing us to WHY there are 3 different types of bread being offered.

One bread is leavened bread, one type is punctured or “broken” and oiled and the last is sweet unleavened bread.

one^H259 wafer^H7550 out of the basket^{H4480 H5536} of the unleavened bread^H4682 that^H834 is before^H6440 the LORD:^H3068

H4682

matstsâh
mats-tsaw’
From H4711 in the sense of greedily devouring for sweetness; properly sweetness; concretely sweet (that is, not soured or bittered with yeast); specifically an unfermented cake or loaf, or (elliptically) the festival of Passover (because no leaven was then used): – unleavened (bread, cake), without leaven.
Total KJV occurrences: 53

Obviously, there are 3 types of bread being mentioned which points to a process of something happening, namely judgment, but how do these breads represent the process of spiritual judgment?

We know that Israel came out of Egypt and when they did they ate unleavened bread. This was a part of the overall time period with the Passover. So, this was the beginning, but in the verses covered today we see it mentioned last pf the three bread types mentioned.

Here are some familiar verses spoken by Jesus concerning leaven.

Mat 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Mat 16:5  And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
Mat 16:6  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Mat 16:7  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
Mat 16:8  Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Mat 16:9  Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Mat 16:10  Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
Mat 16:11  How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
Mat 16:12  Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven^G2219 of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Jesus Christ speaks about leaven as doctrine, but we know Babylon is in us all, and the Pharisees and Sadducees were just Judaism’s version of Babylon.

Looking a little closer at leaven we see that leaven in Hebrew and as defined in Strong’s means:

H7603
śe’ôr
seh-ore’
From H7604; barm or yeast cake (as swelling by fermentation): – leaven.
Total KJV occurrences: 5

And the root of leaven in Hebrew is:

H7604

shâ’ar
shaw-ar’
A primitive root; properly to swell up, that is, be (causatively make) redundant: – leave, (be) left, let, remain, remnant, reserve, the rest.
Total KJV occurrences: 134

H7604
shâ’ar
Total KJV Occurrences: 131
left, 65
Gen_32:8, Gen_42:38, Gen_47:18, Exo_10:12, Exo_10:26, Lev_26:36, Lev_26:39, Num_21:35, Deu_2:34, Deu_3:3, Deu_4:27, Deu_7:20, Deu_28:55, Deu_28:62, Jos_8:17, Jos_10:33, Jos_10:37, Jos_10:39-40 (2), Jos_11:8, Jos_11:14, Jdg_4:16, Jdg_6:4, Rth_1:3, Rth_1:5, 1Sa_5:4, 1Sa_9:24, 1Sa_11:11, 2Sa_14:7, 1Ki_15:29, 1Ki_16:11, 1Ki_19:18, 2Ki_3:25, 2Ki_7:13 (2), 2Ki_10:11, 2Ki_10:14, 2Ki_10:21, 2Ki_17:18, 2Ki_25:11-12 (2), 2Ki_25:22, 1Ch_13:2, 2Ch_21:17, 2Ch_34:21, Isa_4:2-3 (3), Isa_11:11, Isa_11:16, Isa_24:6 (2), Isa_24:12, Isa_49:21, Jer_21:7, Jer_38:22, Jer_39:10, Jer_40:6, Jer_42:2, Jer_52:16, Eze_9:8, Eze_36:36, Dan_10:8, Dan_10:17, Hag_2:3
remained, 23
Gen_7:23, Gen_14:10, Exo_8:31, Exo_10:19, Exo_14:28, Num_11:26, Deu_3:11, Jos_11:22, Jos_13:12, Jdg_7:3, 1Sa_11:11, 1Ki_22:46, 2Ki_10:11, 2Ki_10:17, 2Ki_24:14, 2Ki_25:22, Jer_34:7, Jer_37:10, Jer_41:9-10 (3), Jer_52:15, Dan_10:8
remain, 15
Exo_8:8-9 (2), Exo_8:11, Lev_25:52, Deu_19:20, Jos_23:4, Jos_23:7, Jos_23:12, 2Ki_7:13, Ezr_9:15, Jer_8:3 (2), Jer_24:8, Jer_38:4, Eze_17:21, Zec_12:14
leave, 13
Num_9:12, Deu_28:51, 1Sa_14:36, 1Sa_25:22, 2Ki_13:7 (2), Jer_49:8-9 (2), Joe_2:14, Amo_5:3 (2), Oba_1:5, Zep_3:12
remaineth, 8
Exo_10:5, Jos_13:1-2 (2), 1Sa_16:11, Ezr_1:4, Job_21:34, Eze_6:12, Zec_9:7
remnant, 4
2Ki_19:30, 2Ch_30:6, Neh_1:3, Isa_37:31
rest, 2
Zec_11:9 (2)
reserve, 1
Jer_50:20

Isa 37:31  And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

Looking at leaven in Greek we see it defined as:

G2219

zumē
dzoo’-may
Probably from G2204; ferment (as if boiling up): – leaven.
Total KJV occurrences: 13

G2204

dzeh’-o
A primary verb; to be hot (boil, of liquids; or glow, of solids), that is, (figuratively) be fervid (earnest): – be fervent.
Total KJV occurrences: 2

Ultimately the three breads represent the process of judgment that the Lord takes us through, and offering that process upon His altar is the recognition that it is all His work and none of ours.

Exo 29:23  And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:

We go from the negative aspect of leaven which is the doctrine that we are all born but that shows itself in various ways. “All that is in the world” (1Jn 2:16), has us leavened fomr the moment we are born.

The Lord then punctures us and we move onto being under his anointing having nothing to do with being chosen to this new found life. Then finally, the leaven of the world is striped away so that we partake of the unleavened mindset that He would have us have.

If we are to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, thereby emptying our hearts and minds of the leaven to become unleavened, what leaven are we to be leavened with?

Here is the root of leaven in Greek:

Act 18:24  And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
Act 18:25  This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
Act 18:26  And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Rom 12:9  Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Rom 12:10  Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Rom 12:11  Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rom 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Rom 12:13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Rom 12:14  Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rom 12:15  Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Rom 12:16  Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

1Co 5:6  Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

We keep the feast of the Passover by eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, and in doing so, we are leavened with the fervent spirit of the Lord to desire to keep His commandments.

Next study we will continue to look at this wave offering, of which these breads are offered up, and we will also be looking at the heave offering.

Rams

October 5, 2016

Discovering that we are like the bullock in its violent sinful rebellion to God can be shocking to say the least. Such a powerful animal is likened and represents a nature that seems so natural to all of us especially when you are given to see that this is indeed who we all are in our appointed time.

In our study tonight, we are going to pick up form this point and see how we are represented as the two rams sacrificed by Aaron and his sons. We are also the priests doing the sacrifices in God’s appointed time.

“Rams”

Our verses for study this evening are Exodus 29:15 – 22.

Exo 29:15  Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
Exo 29:16  And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
Exo 29:17  And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
Exo 29:18  And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Exo 29:19  And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
Exo 29:20  Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
Exo 29:21  And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
Exo 29:22  Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:

Obviously there is a lot being stated in these verses, so we will cover them a few at a time.

Notice there are two rams that are used differently and actually have specific representations for us. First, we have a ram which will be sacrificed as a burnt offering. With all the offerings the Lord tells us what they mean to Him. So, let’s look at the burnt offering of ram.

A ram is of the flock, whereas the bullock offering from the previous verses is of the herd.

Lev 1:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
Lev 1:3  If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Lev 1:4  And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Lev 1:5  And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Lev 1:10  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.

What is the difference between a beast of the herd and a beast of the flock?

Herd:

H1241

bâqâr
baw-kawr’
From H1239; a beeve or animal of the ox kind of either gender (as used for ploughing); collectively a herd: – beeve, bull (+ -ock), + calf, + cow, great [cattle], + heifer, herd, kine, ox.
Total KJV occurrences: 183

H1239

bâqar
baw-kar’
A primitive root; properly to plough, or (generally) break forth, that is, (figuratively) to inspect, admire, care for, consider: – (make) inquire (-ry), (make) search, seek out.
Total KJV occurrences: 7

The beasts of the herd are those animals which “inquire, search and seek out”. They plough.

Luk 9:59  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Luk 9:61  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
Luk 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Flock:

H6629

tsô’n    tse’ôn
tsone, tseh-one’
From an unused root meaning to migrate; a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats); also figuratively (of men): – (small) cattle, flock (+ -s), lamb (+ -s), sheep ([-cote, -fold, -shearer, -herds]).
Total KJV occurrences: 274

H6629
tsô’n  /  tse’ôn
BDB Definition:
1) small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks
1a) small cattle (usually of sheep and goats)
1b) of multitude (simile)
1c) of multitude (metaphor)
Part of Speech: noun feminine collective
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from an unused root meaning to migrate
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1864a

So, we have those who “search and seek out” and those who “migrate”. Depending on your appointed times to fulfill these “roles”, these beasts describe us all as the children of God.

Before the wilderness experience, and as seen in the Passover, sacrifices were made in the home. Now we have sacrifices being implemented by the priests and the very first sacrifices are to set in place the priests appointed by the Lord.

In our previous study, we saw that only one bullock was used as an offering to the Lord.
In this study, we are also going to see a burnt offering in the first ram and then a different offering in the second ram.

What then is the spiritual significance of the burnt offering? We are not left to wonder.

Exo 29:18  And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

A sweet smelling savour unto the Lord sounds like a good thing, so what else does a sweet smelling savour mean to us as Christians, the true spiritual Israel of God?

Eze 20:40  For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.
Eze 20:41  I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
Eze 20:42  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
Eze 20:43  And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
Eze 20:44  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
2Co 2:16  To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
2Co 2:17  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

Notice, in the offering of the bullock the blood was placed on the horns of the altar and the rest was placed at the base of the altar. The inwards were placed on the altar and the outer parts of the animal were burned without the camp.

With this burnt offering of the flock of God, the blood is used differently.

Exo 29:15  Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
Exo 29:16  And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
Exo 29:17  And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
Exo 29:18  And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

This burnt offering is completely burned on the altar and that is because it is representing Christ and His complete offering. In Christ we, too, are offered as a burnt sacrifice, because as kings and priests we are the ones who have been appointed to partake of the table/altar of the Lord.

Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.

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.

Before that is seen as an elitist position, let’s read the rest of the verses we are covering today to see if this altar and table are truly connected and WHO exactly is “set” to partake of this altar and table of the Lord.

Exo 29:19  And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
Exo 29:20  Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
Exo 29:21  And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
Exo 29:22  Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:

Now we see an interesting progression of what these two rams are used for versus the sin offering of the bullock.

The first ram is the burnt offering of a sweet smelling savour to the Lord while the second offering will be used to consecrate the priesthood.

So what does this consecration mean?

H4394

millû’
mil-loo’
From H4390; a fulfilling (only in plural), that is, (literally) a setting (of gems), or (technically) consecration (also concretely a dedicatory sacrifice): – consecration, be set.
Total KJV occurrences: 15

H4394
millû’
BDB Definition:
1) setting, installation
1a) setting, stones for setting
1b) installation (of priests)
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H4390
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1195e

H4390

mâlê’    mâlâ’
maw-lay’, maw-law’
A primitive root, to fill or (intransitively) be full of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively): – accomplish, confirm, + consecrate, be at an end, be expired, be fenced, fill, fulfil, (be, become, X draw, give in, go) fully (-ly, -ly set, tale), [over-] flow, fulness, furnish, gather (selves, together), presume, replenish, satisfy, set, space, take a [hand-] full, + have wholly.
Total KJV occurrences: 251

H4390
mâlê’  /  mâlâ’
BDB Definition:
1) to fill, be full
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to be full
1a1a) fulness, abundance (participle)
1a1b) to be full, be accomplished, be ended
1a2) to consecrate, fill the hand
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be filled, be armed, be satisfied
1b2) to be accomplished, be ended
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to fill
1c2) to satisfy
1c3) to fulfil, accomplish, complete
1c4) to confirm
1d) (Pual) to be filled
1e) (Hithpael) to mass themselves against
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1195

The purpose of the second ram is to “set” the priests in the priesthood. The root of this consecration, or setting up of the priests, means to fill or fulfill the role. Literally, the Lord fills His temple with the things and people He needs in order to SERVE the temple.

Exo 25:7  Onyx stones, and stones to be set^H4394 in the ephod, and in the breastplate.

Eze 43:5  So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled^H4390 the house.

The symbolism behind the tip of the right ear, the right thumb and right big toe having blood placed on them is that the priests hearing of the words of the Lord, work to be done in the tabernacle and the walk that must be followed are ALL SET BY THE LORD; thus, the will of the Lord is absolute and works ALL.

There is even more involved in the symbolism of the rams and of the progression they represent in the heave offering of the second ram. This will be covered in the next study as we continue to see how we have been set as kings and priests to be raised up in the kingdom of heaven.