Offering a Sweet Aroma to God

March 23, 2025 Background Scripture: Leviticus 1- 17; 6:8-13 Lesson Passage: Leviticus 1:3 - 17 God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and gave the initial guidelines of the Law. After the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings, God's shekinah glory filled the Holy of Holies inside the tabernacle. It was in the Holy of Holies where God's presence dwelt above the mercy seat. Israel beheld God's visible presence (a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night) in the middle of Israel's encampment in the desert. God met with Moses inside the tabernacle to give additional guidelines concerning the Law. In today's lesson, God summoned Moses to the tabernacle and gave him guidelines concerning burnt offerings. Three different types of animals were accepted for the burnt offering: either a male bull without blemish from the herd, a male sheep or goat from the flock, or a pair of turtledoves or pigeons. This variety of sacrificial animals would allow all worshipers, regardless of economic status, the opportunity to offer a freewill burnt offering to Godi The requirement of a male would keep the herd or flock from becoming depleted as the females would sustain the herd or flock with only a few breeding males. On the other hand, a male without blemish made it extremely valuable to the owner seeing that an unblemished male could improve the overall quality of the herd or flock. Their faith was that God would sustain the quality of their herd or flock because they had sacrificed their best. The worshiper who brought the animal to be sacrificed placed his hands on the animal's head as an act of identifying with it. The laying on of hands implied that the animal was taking the person's place prior to it being killed. With that gesture, God accepted the sacrifice on behalf of the worshiper. This was important because these offerings often involved atonement for sin and restoration of the person's relationship with God. It was more than simply killing an animal and burning its carcass. The person's faith, confession, and devotion to God were all part of the ceremony. Otherwise, it was an empty gesture with no spiritual meaning. One may think that laying hands on the animal's head and killing it in one's stead would always be a moving and solemn experience. However, human history shows that we can develop a callousness towards anything we see, or do, repeatedly. The worshiper needs a prayerful mindset before the act of sacrificing occurs. It was even more so for the burnt offering. The reason being that the animal for the burnt offering was not brought as an act of obedience or under compulsion, but rather as a freewill offering. The entire sacrifice had to be totally consumed by fire on the altar. When everything was done as prescribed by God, the sincere act of worship was a pleasant experience for God, a sweet aroma. Many profess a desire to do what pleases God. Only God knows what pleases Him. Therefore, it behooves us to pay close attention to anything God describes as a pleasant experience. God described His experience metaphorically by comparing it to the human sense of smell. Our sense of smell can provide extremely bad experiences and extremely good experiences. Sweetness describes a pleasant experience with respect to the sense of smell. Any sin harms a person's relationship with God because He is holy. Mankind was created to serve in partnership with God. Sin creates separation between God and the sinner. God prescribed the burnt offering to restore the relationship. The proper and complete restoration of the divine-human relationship is a pleasant experience for God. The burnt offering is the means God has provided for His people to be reconciled with Him. Therefore, God calls it a sweet savor offering when presented properly. Today, Christians should recognize Jesus' crucifixion as the only offering that satisfies God. Although gruesome, Jesus' crucifixion on Calvary reconciled mankind to God. For that reason, it pleased the Lord to bruise Him as a sweet aroma. Robert C. Hudson March 8, 2025

The Ordination of Priests

March 16, 2025 Background Scripture: Exodus 29: 1- 37; Leviticus 8:1 - 36 Lesson Passage: Exodus 29:1 9, 35 - 37 God gave Moses detailed instructions for the setting apart of men to serve Him in the first tabernacle on behalf of the nation of Israel. These men would serve as priests of Israel. The priest's role was to stand before God on behalf of the people. These men were not volunteers. Nor did they possess certain personal qualifications. God selected those who would serve as priests. They were set apart to offer sacrifices to God for the people of Israel. God declared what those sacrifices were and how they were to be offered. He also specified what they were to wear while serving. Then God gave the specific process to use to set those men apart for His purpose. In the case presented in our lesson, those men were Aaron and his sons. Aaron, the brother of Moses, served as Israel's first High Priest. Today's lesson is the detailed record of the commencement of the Aaronic Priesthood. God established the Aaronic Priesthood as a perpetual priesthood. Upon Aaron's death, one of his sons was to be ordained Israel's High Priest in his stead, This lineage was to continue based on God's decree. The ordination process ensured the men were properly prepared according to God's instructions before beginning their ministry. At the commencement of the Aaronic priesthood, the responsibility of consecrating, or ordaining, Aaron and his sons was given to Moses. It was a very elaborate process that began with their bodies being washed with water. In that nomadic setting in the desert of Sinai, bathing was a rare privilege, but cleanliness was required by God as part of the ordination, After the water cleansing, Aaron and his sons were dressed in the priestly garments God had specified for them. Since the priests would be offering sacrifices to God on behalf of the people, those men had to first have sacrifices offered to God on their behalf. The animal sacrifices involved a bull and two rams. Prior to the sacrificial animals being killed, Aaron and his sons placed their hands on its head. In doing so, they identified themselves with those animals. God told Moses what to do with the blood that was drained from the carcasses of the animals. The bull was offered first as the sin offering. It should be clear that the bull had not sinned, therefore its sacrifice was for the sins of the ones who identified with it by the laying on of their hands. The bull was sacrificed to symbolize the washing of sins from their souls. Some of the blood was used to anoint the altar before burning its fat and organs on it. The two rams were offered separately. Again, Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram's head prior to the rams being put to death. The first was offered as a burnt offering on the altar to provide a sweet odor to appease God. The second ram was offered as a ram of consecration. Its blood was used to anoint Aaron and his sons, the altar, and the holy garments that Aaron and his sons wore. Specific portions of the ram were to be lifted and waved before the Lord. A portion was specified for Moses and parts were boiled for Aaron and his sons to eat along with the unleavened bread that was used in the ordination. Any leftovers were to be burned completely with fire the next day. The entire process was to be repeated each day for seven days. Aaron and his sons were to remain at the door of the tabernacle throughout the entire process of consecration. They were not permitted to go outside the door ofthe tabernacle during those seven days of consecration. That elaborate process and its repetition for seven days emphasized the sacredness of the office to which God had appointed them. There is much symbolism throughout the ordination whereby physical things and actions represented spiritual realities. Serving God is not a trivial matter, and it should never be taken as such. The first ordination of Israel's priests is a reminder. C. Hudson March 8, 2025

A Space for God

March 9, 2025 Background Scripture: Exodus 25 27 Lesson Passage: Exodus 25: 1 - 9; 26: 1, 31 - 37 "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them." , Exodus 25:8 This is a simple and yet profound statement. That's an indication that there is more to this than initially comes to mind. The God who exists everywhere requested the construction of a physical sanctuary to dwell in among His people. Can omnipresence be restricted to a single location? Also, God is holy, and His people are unholy. If God is to dwell among His people, either they must be made holy, or there must be a boundary to separate holiness from unholiness. God showed Moses the pattern of the tabernacle. God also gave Moses the specifications to use for the construction of it. Those specifications included three boundaries established with curtains to provide physical separation between God and His people, yet He still desired to dwell among them. That sanctuary was declared to be a place for God to dwell in and not a place for His people to gather to worship in. God gave the complete design details to Moses for the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. God specified the materials to be used for the construction and the exact dimensions to be adhered to according to the pattern He had shown Moses. The materials were the most luxurious and expensive materials known to man. All the materials for the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings were to be received as a freewill offering from the people of God. God instructed Moses to inform the people to ask the Egyptians for articles of silver, gold, and clothing prior to their departure from Egypt. The Egyptians granted them what they requested, and those items became the spoils of war as they departed Egypt. They collected the spoils of war despite the people never having to fight against the Egyptians. The people requested what they wanted as they were instructed to by Moses, God did the fighting, and His people received the spoils of war. They and their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. No doubt, they were the source of much of the Egyptian wealth. Much of that wealth became the spoils of war for Israel. Those spoils of war became their freewill offering to God. God requested what He knew the children of Israel possessed because He had given it to them. In addition to the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle, God gave the geographical orientation for pitching the tabernacle. God even specified how each piece of furnishing was to be constructed and where each piece of furnishing was to be placed within the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a space for God to dwell in. Therefore, He gave the specifications He desired. Now, back to the question, "Can omnipresence be restricted to a single location?" The answer is no. However, God does allow His presence to be experienced in a specific place. This is what He did as a cloud and fire on top of the mountain, and this is what He was about to do as a cloud and fire resting atop the tabernacle they were instructed to make. That physical tabernacle with its separation of holy from unholy and most holy from holy was a representation of something to come that was much greater. The tabernacle was a physical space where God could dwell among His people in this world. They would experience God's presence in their midst. As we consider the tabernacle with its furnishings and boundaries, let us also consider the hearts of God's children. The ultimate is for God to dwell within His people in this world. Have we prepared our hearts to be sanctuaries for God to dwell within His people? Do we understand the furnishings and boundaries? Afterall, the heart of a Christian is a space for God! Robert C. Hudson February 27, 2025

A Kingdom of Priests, A Holy Nation

March 2, 2025 Background Scripture: Exodus 19 Lesson Passage: Exodus 19:1 Christian doctrine is firmly established on the foundation of the Old Testament scriptures. Therefore, it behooves us to know the doctrinal principles that were established in the Old Testament. Many of those principles were either established, or reinforced, as the means by which God interacted with Israel after He delivered them from Egyptian bondage. Our lesson opens with the descendants of Israel arriving on the plains of Mount Sinai in the third month after God delivered them out of Egypt. After their deliverance, God gave them His expectation of who they were to become. They arrived as an unorganized mass of former slaves. When a census was taken of the men twenty years of age and older who were capable of fighting in a battle, that number was over six hundred thousand. When the number of women, children, and men not capable of fighting was included, it was easily over one million of them. They spent the next year living on the plains of Mount Sinai. During that time, God fashioned them into a nation. They would not be a monarchy, republic, or democracy. They would be a theocracy; a God-centered and led nation. God made it clear that He did not free them from slavery for them to decide who, or what, they were going to do from that point forward. God had a plan for them, and He shared it with Moses on Mount Sinai. He did not turn them loose, but rather He brought them to Himself to become His special people. God reminded them that they had witnessed what He did to the Egyptians. Now, His expectation was for them to obey His voice and keep His covenant. This statement was made before giving them the details and provisions of the covenant. God's covenant would declare them to be God's people. God's covenant would require them to take on His character: "You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." The future work God had for Israel required them to separate themselves from the world while continuing to live here. Therefore, God used the Law to define holiness for them. As they embrace the Law and walk in its statutes, God would embrace them as His people. As they live contrary to the Law of God, God would push them farther from Him. "Return to Me, and I will return to you." Following God's plan for them would cause them to no longer fit in with the world. God's plan was for them to become a peculiar people in the world, They would be different than all others. That difference would be holiness, and that would make them a very special treasure to God. Moses relayed God's plan to the elders of Israel, and they readily agreed to do all that the Lord had spoken. God offered them grace and they readily accepted it without a clear understanding of what would be required of them. As time passes, they would come to see that they could only do what God desires of them with His help. If God's description of them had stopped at holiness, that would have made them a holy nation. However, God's expectation of them included them becoming a kingdom of priests. That opens a different door. Priests stand as mediators between God and mankind. Priests remind people of God's eternal goodness and love for them. Priests receive offerings from the people on God's behalf. One priest can serve an entire nation of people. How many people can a kingdom of priests serve? A kingdom of priests can serve the entire world. As priests of God, they were chosen to deliver God's plan of salvation for all people. When Jesus made the statement, "salvation is of the Jews" thousands of years later, it was because the children of Israel were a kingdom of priests mediating between God and mankind. Through them in general, and Jesus specifically, God extends the invitation to all mankind to be holy and a royal priesthood. Robert C. Hudson February 22, 2025