Reading through the Bible - Leviticus

For me, when I hear "Leviticus" it immediately brings to mind blood, sacrifices, laws upon laws, etc. It is so easy to simply skim through and think, well these things don't apply to me because of Jesus, so why should I spend a lot of time on them? 

BUT, this time I wanted it to be different. I wanted to be intentional in digging deeper and asking the Holy Spirit to teach me through this book. So, as I have waded my way through the first 7 chapters (yes, I am pitifully behind if you are following the She Reads Truth plan that I am...) I have been awestruck at all God has been showing me! And I wanted to pass on some of the things =)

The first three chapters are about burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings. In other words, all non-sin offerings.

Listen to the following verses:

Leviticus 1:17b - "It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma

to the Lord."

Leviticus 2:2b - "a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord."

Leviticus 3:5b - "it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord."

Sense a theme? After every single instruction for these sacrifices it says that it is a "Pleasing aroma to the Lord" That immediately brought to mind the verse in Romans and also a few in 2 Corinthians. 

Romans 12:1 - "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,

which is your spiritual worship."

2nd Corinthians 2:14-17 - "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death,

to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity,

as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."

Under the New Covenant, through Jesus' sacrifice, I am no longer bound by these sacrifices or called to follow these instructions, BUT as a child of the one true God, I am called and equipped to live my life as a living sacrifice and an aroma to God and others around me of Christ. Interestingly, this phrase is not found in the next 4 chapters as God gives instructions for sin offerings. For me, it reminded me that living as a sacrifice and aroma is NOT how I am saved or how I gain forgiveness, it is the result of coming to God through the one Way, Jesus, who alone can save.

When I read the below verses, my mind instantly went to the Holy Spirit -

Leviticus 6:12-13 -The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out.

The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange

the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.

From somewhere in my mind fire connected with the Holy Spirit and I couldn't help picture how in the same way I am not to quench the Holy Spirit in my life.

1st Thessalonians 5:12-28 - "We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."                          

(Sorry, I couldn't help but put all of that in ;)

Since I wasn't too sure if connecting  the Holy Spirit with fire was actually biblical, I went searching and found these quotes. (Warning: I do not know much about these bible teachers, so if you start to research them or read more of their writings, do not take this as an endorsement for all of their beliefs. Diligently search scripture for yourself in order to make sure what they say is true. For me, these quotes matched up with scripture and I didn't find any glaring untruths, so I am willing to share them because of the light they shed on this particular topic.)

"...it is perfectly Scriptural to speak of one who is filled with the Holy Spirit as being "on fire for God." It certainly was in order when the Emmaus disciples spoke of their hearts burning when Jesus spoke with them. Luke 24:32, "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" John Wesley used to say, "I just set myself on fire and folks come to watch me as I burn."
Fire is chosen to symbolize the Holy Spirit, no doubt, because of what it does. Fire burns out the dross. Fire gives light. Fire gives warmth. Oh, to be on fire for God! May the fire fall for us as it did in Elijah's day! May people who hear us have burning hearts! May we be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire! May the Word of God burn in our hearts like unto fire!" Pastor Jack Hyles

"At Pentecost, the Bible says that tongues as of fire appeared over the heads of each of those who gathered together (Acts 2:3).  The Holy Spirit comes as fire to work something deep into the substance of our lives that will shape things around us, rather than us taking on the shape of the world. As fire, He works in a dual way: to probe the inner recesses of our life and to refine us as gold or silver is refined in the fire; and to temper our personalities by causing there to be the penetration of fire into our system.The purifying fire burns out the Adversary. When the three Hebrew children were thrown into the furnace, not only were their lives spared, but also their clothes didn't burn. But the ropes holding them in bondage burned. The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit being “a spirit of judgment and burning” (Isa. 4:4). Judgment has to do with deliverance, in the way the judges of Israel led people out of bondage. The Holy Spirit, coming like fire, burns away any binding grip that the Enemy has imposed on us." Jack Hayeford

As the fire in the altar was to be continually burning, so must I continually ask and allow the Holy Spirit to work in my daily life. It also brings to mind continual confession. The altar was used in huge part for sin offerings, and it was to be continually ready for that. In my own life, am I continually confessing sin? Is my heart always ready to recognize and take care of sin? (1st John 1:9, John 13 - a picture of daily confession.)

Right now I am about to dive into chapter 13 of Leviticus, and there is so much more I would like to share! But I think that should wait for another time =) I have really enjoyed reading Matthew Henry's commentaries (free online) for each chapter, and it has helped me so much in digging deeper with this book!

Until next time...
Jessica