OT Fire Starters – Day 43: Leviticus 1-3
READ: Leviticus 1-3
THINK: Is it difficult for you to make personal time for God? Do you sometimes take for granted the opportunities you have to gather for worship or participate in ministry? Does it ever seem inconvenient to go to church-or even to pray? Consider the rituals that the ancient Israelites went through as part of their worship and access to God. Because of what Jesus has done for us and how He’s fulfilled the Old Testament law, we now have open access to God, and we can worship freely without the constraint of elaborate routines. And when we need forgiveness, we can simply ask and make a change. What great privileges we have. Don’t ever take them for granted.
RESPOND: What did it mean to bring an offering to the LORD? (See 1:2 note.) Why was this necessary in order to “come near” to God? Why did people bring offerings to God? (See 1:2 note, subpoint 2.) Why did the sacrificial animal need to be “without defect” (1:3,10)? What’s significant about the sacrifice being made at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (i.e., tabernacle) which represented God’s presence among the Israelites? What did the sacrificial offerings teach people? (See 1:2 note, subpoint 4.) What does it mean that a sacrifice made “atonement” for people? (See 1:2 note, subpoint 4.) What made an offering acceptable to God? (See 1:2 note, subpoint 5, and 1:9 note.) What was the significance of burnt offerings? (See 1:3 note.) Why did a person place his hand on the head of the sacrificial animal? (See 1:4 note.) What did the grain offering symbolize? (See 2:1 note and the chart of Old Testament Sacrifices, p. 163 in the FBSE.) Why was yeast forbidden in grain offerings? (See 2:11 note.) Why would people bring fellowship offerings, and in what way did this offering point to future events in God’s plan? (See 3:1 note.)
PRAY: Give God thanks for the access you have into His presence because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Thank Him for the relationship you can enjoy with Him now and throughout eternity.
ACT: It’s not a sacrifice to give up something that keeps you from pursuing God’s best. Search your life, including your attitudes, activities and possessions-and get rid of anything that could hinder you from accomplishing God’s highest purposes.