February 27, 2006 - Numbers 15-16 and Mark 6:1-29
This morning as I read the Lord showed me something unusual in the book of Numbers. He probably spoke to you in a different way, because of your needs, but I believe that what He showed me is significant for all of us. There is a common theme behind the laws for the offerings in chapter 15 and the story of Dathan and Abiram's rebellion in chapter 16. It may not be what you would think, either. The emphasis is on the heart and prayer.
Look in chapter 15. How many times does it mention a "sweet aroma" to the Lord? I counted at least five times. What is that about? The grain offering and the drink offering which were presented with the sacrifices were poured on the fire of the altar to make an aroma. This represented the hearts of the people being right with God and their prayers going up to Him. God never intended for the sacrifices to be rituals. He always meant for them to be tied to the heart of the person. It did no good to offer a sacrifice if the person's heart was not right with God. Therefore, the sweet aroma was to remind them of that each time. Then, in chapter 16 we see a similar example of this. Did you see the censers and the incense? Why did Moses call for the rebels to take their censers and their incense before the Lord? Again, it was a symbol for the their hearts and their prayers. It should have reminded them to repent before God, but when they did not repent, God destroyed them. Their hearts were never right with Him. They were rebelling out of selfish ambition and pride.
The same is true for the unintentional sins and the defiant sins at the end of chapter 15. Why was God so hard on the defiant sins? Why did He command a man gathering stones on the Sabbath to be stoned? It was because of a defiant heart. What does that say to us about our defiance of His laws today? Can He accept our worship as long as we have hearts that are defiant to His Word? I don't think so. We must come to Him with pure hearts in prayer and repentance in order to come to Him in worship. He sees our hearts, and that is what He goes by.
Mark 6 has a much different truth for us. It shows that the Christian life is not always easy. In fact, it is difficult. Jesus was rejected by the people of His home town, and John the Baptist was beheaded for telling the truth. Why did God not change that? Why didn't God change the hearts of the people in Nazareth and the heart of Herod? The answer is obvious. They had a choice, and they chose to reject Jesus and to be swayed by the opinions of others. We will run into the same opposition today. I pray that we will not have to face death, but we might. What will you do when you face rejection and persecution? Will you compromise the truth? Will you remain faithful to Jesus?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 17-20 and Mark 6:30-7:13.
Look in chapter 15. How many times does it mention a "sweet aroma" to the Lord? I counted at least five times. What is that about? The grain offering and the drink offering which were presented with the sacrifices were poured on the fire of the altar to make an aroma. This represented the hearts of the people being right with God and their prayers going up to Him. God never intended for the sacrifices to be rituals. He always meant for them to be tied to the heart of the person. It did no good to offer a sacrifice if the person's heart was not right with God. Therefore, the sweet aroma was to remind them of that each time. Then, in chapter 16 we see a similar example of this. Did you see the censers and the incense? Why did Moses call for the rebels to take their censers and their incense before the Lord? Again, it was a symbol for the their hearts and their prayers. It should have reminded them to repent before God, but when they did not repent, God destroyed them. Their hearts were never right with Him. They were rebelling out of selfish ambition and pride.
The same is true for the unintentional sins and the defiant sins at the end of chapter 15. Why was God so hard on the defiant sins? Why did He command a man gathering stones on the Sabbath to be stoned? It was because of a defiant heart. What does that say to us about our defiance of His laws today? Can He accept our worship as long as we have hearts that are defiant to His Word? I don't think so. We must come to Him with pure hearts in prayer and repentance in order to come to Him in worship. He sees our hearts, and that is what He goes by.
Mark 6 has a much different truth for us. It shows that the Christian life is not always easy. In fact, it is difficult. Jesus was rejected by the people of His home town, and John the Baptist was beheaded for telling the truth. Why did God not change that? Why didn't God change the hearts of the people in Nazareth and the heart of Herod? The answer is obvious. They had a choice, and they chose to reject Jesus and to be swayed by the opinions of others. We will run into the same opposition today. I pray that we will not have to face death, but we might. What will you do when you face rejection and persecution? Will you compromise the truth? Will you remain faithful to Jesus?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 17-20 and Mark 6:30-7:13.