Sat.’s Devo - Offerings and Fringes

Read: Numbers 15:17-16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 11:5-6
God explained the different offerings the people were to bring. The heave offering was to be brought when they eat the bread of the promised land. It was to be a first fruit offering. The heave offering was to be waved up and down by the priest signifying the God of heaven. The wave offering was waved side to side signifying God was also God of earth. When offered together it made the sign of the cross.
God gave them many types of offerings, even offerings to offer for their ignorance of breaking his laws. We do many things out of our lack of knowledge. This offering showed that they acknowledged God’s holiness and their own sinfulness. But, to sin willingly and knowingly was to despise the word of the Lord. This person would be cut off and would bear the consequence of his actions. That happened to the man who gathered the sticks on the Sabbath. He was stoned.
God told them to make fringes in the borders of their garments with a blue ribband. If you study this it, you will find that tying these fringes became a very intricate law of tying and braiding and ritual. The Talmud added all kinds of rules to tying these tassels. These tassels were to remind them to bind the Word of God to their hearts but they eventually became a symbol of religious social status.
Then the clan of Kohath and a few Reunites rose up with 250 others to oppose Moses as their leader. Moses tried to have a meeting with them but they refused so God told him to call a meeting with Him and for them to bring burning censors. These censors represented their request to God. They came to that meeting. God opened the earth and swallowed them and their families.

Mark gives us a descriptive narrative about the crucifixion. Jesus took the place of Barabbus. “Barabbus” means “son of Abba”. Barabbas stands for all of us. He was the scapegoat that deserved death just as we are the scape goat that deserve judgment. Jesus took our place and died for us that our sins would be forgiven and not held against us. I wonder if it changed Barabbas’ life.
Jesus’ accusers called him the King of the Jews and he was not only their king but everyones’ king. He was taken to the Praetorium which was the judgment hall where they put a purple robe on him and a crown of thorns. They hailed him their king and mocked him by bowing down to him. They hit him on the head, and spit on him. They brought him to Golgotha which means “place of a skull” and crucified. I can’t help but see the many references to Jesus’ head. He is the head over the church and the ruler of heaven and earth.
After he was crucified, he was laid in a rich man’s tomb (Is. 53:9).
Lord, Lord, thank you for dying for us and taking our sin.