Tues.’s Devo - God’s Eternal Covenant

Read: Numbers 8- 9:14; Lev. 1-3
The first sentence gives us a truth Jesus taught. When they set up the lamp stands they were to place them so that their light shined forward in front of the light stand. It reminds me of Jesus statement: “Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify God.”
The Levites were to shave their whole body in sanctification for service. Since hair is a symbol of sin, they had to be sinless. The only way we can do this is to appropriate the blood of Jesus and his offering for us. The Levites were to take the place of all the first born sons. Now, it would be the priests that were the Lord.’s inheritance. He was showing that one day, instead of the nation of Israel, it would be a group of set-apart priests that God would call his own. Hebrews 10 talks all about Jesus our High Priest who sanctified us through his blood that we might be kings and priests unto him. 1 Peter 2:9 says that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people that praise Jesus.
They were to be priests until they turned fifty, then they were to be mentors to the next generation of priests. This is still in effect today. We are to become mentors of the next generation when we reach maturity.
It was time to have their second Passover so God instructed them how to celebrate it. The first Passover was to commemorate the children of Israel’s deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. It was a picture of our deliverance from sin through the blood of Jesus. They were to
celebrate it every year after that.
God gave them instructions about how to prepare the different offerings :the burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offering. Today we read about the first three. The burnt offering and the grain offering were required but the peace offering was optional. The burnt and grain offering were the same offering. If you could afford to, you brought an offering from your cattle but if you were poor, your brought flour. They were both a picture of the cross and God’s offering of his son. The animal was to be perfect and the flour was to be without yeast signifying the sinlessness of Jesus. The animal was to be sacrificed on the north of the altar where Jesus was crucified - north of the temple. If you brought a grain offering you were to add salt to it to signify God’s eternal covenant. Since the flour represents Jesus, the Word, then it spoke of God’s eternal covenant with us. Jesus said that he was the salt of the earth. He was God’s eternal covenant to the earth. We are to be salt to the earth also. We are to be a picture of what God’s eternal covenant is to the world.
The peace offering is to show that we are at peace with God. We are without guilt or shame.
Lord, may our lives portray the promises of your covenant.