March 23
1Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. 2So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. (Leviticus 10:1-2, The Jesus Bible)
Happy Thursday friends! I just powered through the first ten chapters of the Book of Leviticus. The book opens up with the specifics of each animal sacrifice; where to splash the blood, what parts of the animal are to be burnt in the offering, and what parts are able to be consumed by Aaron and his sons. From the first ten chapters, and Moses writing about how “pleasing” the aroma of each burnt offering was to the Lord, I know one thing is true: the Lord of the Israelites loved a good bar-b-que!
One other thing that is also true is that the God of the Israelites took His commands very seriously, as we see from the two verses above. The sons of Aaron had just been consecrated in Chapter 8 through an elaborate ritual. Then we read how two of Aaron’s sons “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord” and God instantly burnt the two men alive.
As brutal, and devastating, as this was, I take some comfort in the fact that I know the God of our ancestors: the God of Abraham, Israel, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Ezekiel, all the great prophets and warriors of the Jewish faith, and ultimately the Father-God of King Jesus, is a mighty God. If God was tired of our nonsense, of our constant bickering, of our distractions, our misguided priorities, our destruction of His creation, then God could easily send fire from the sky, water from the grounds, plagues, locusts, any of the monstrous means God punished the enemies of the faith thousands of years ago. God could inflict any of these on us at any point. But thanks to Jesus coming to save this world, and our faith and love in Jesus, we know the truth that God loves His children. Jesus was the bridge between a God who dwelt in a tabernacle, and the God that dwells with us. Jesus was the perfect lamb, the final sacrifice. Put your faith in Jesus and let Him light an authorized fire within your soul.
There was so much amazing music released last week, and I wish I had time to share them all with you. I am currently swaying to the beautiful melodies of Ryan Ellis’ live version of “Gonna Be Alright”. One of my favorite new releases is the new album from the mighty Bethel Music group. The album is wonderful, every song is a fantastic dedication to our Lord. The new single “Precious Blood” is one of the best off that collection. That single is posted below. Click here to watch the entire set list, a stunning concert filmed in the middle of the Redwoods of California. It is definitely worth watching at least once.
Common Sense Reborn 