Read: Leviticus 9:7-10:20; Mark 4:26-5:20; Psalm 37:30-40; Proverbs 10:6-7
God was very explicit about how to do everything when it came to the office of the priest, because it was all a picture of spiritual things to come. One day, the priesthood would be extended to whoever became a child of God through the blood of Jesus. Aaron and his sons were to follow God’s instructions to the letter.
Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu stepped over their office of priests and together decided to do the job of the High Priest. God had been the one to bring his fire miraculously in the temple, but they made their own and took it into the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest was authorized to go.
It was the same thing the priests and Pharisees were doing in Jesus day. They were presuming to perform the duties not authorized by God. They didn’t even follow Moses’ law but their own made-up laws. It cost them their eternal salvation. It cost Aaron’s sons their natural life.
Moses told Aaron and his family that they were not to even mourn their deaths but continue to serve. Their cousins, Mishael and Elzaphan were to act in their place.
Then, to make matters worse, Aaron’s other two sons didn’t eat the sin offering like they were suppose to but burnt it up. It was not an intentional sin like that of Nadab and Abihu’s so Moses sympathized with Aaron’s mistake and gave him grace.
In Mark, Jesus continued teaching the crowds in parables. He was scattering seed. The ones who had fertile hearts, his parables would bear fruit and they would see the truth to his teaching. To the others, it would just die in them. Jesus was looking for fertile hearts. God doesn’t hide things from us but he hides things for us to find. It is the adventure of seeking that brings the joy of finding.
We read about two storms in Jesus’ ministry and both of them were on the way to the same place - the region of the Gadarenes. “Gadarenes” means “reward at the end”. The storms were Satan’s attempt to keep Jesus from entering his territory. The demoniac held the principalities of the area. Jesus had to defeat him to gain the reward in the end.
Demons have to embody a being. They knew that Jesus would never allow them to enter a person so they begged to enter the pigs. Jesus allowed them to do so which drove the pigs off the cliff.
The response of the people is quite funny if you think about it. They are more afraid of the sane man than the one that lived in the graveyard wrapped in chains that cried out like a wolf. The delivered man begged Jesus to let him follow him, but Jesus did the wise thing. He left him there to be a testimony to the people. They kicked Jesus out this time, but the next time he came, they flooded the shore to see him. This was the reward in the end.
When God does a new thing on the earth, which he is doing, it is received with fear at first, but eventually, it is sought after.
Many years ago, God told the prophet, Bob Jones that when the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, a mighty revival would start in our nation. How exciting!
Lord, we pray for revival for our nation. We also pray that we would embrace anything new that you want to do through us.
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