Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20000712.htm
LEVITICUS: GOD'S CALL FOR A SEPARATED WITNESS
Part I: The Path To Gaining Fellowship With God (Leviticus 1-10)
F. God's Call For PERPETUAL CONSECRATION By His SPIRIT In The Burnt Offering's Ashes
(Leviticus 6:8-13)
- Introduction
- Solomon revealed the difficulty of finding a reliable man in Proverbs 20:6 when he said: (my translation from the Hebrew text) "Many a man claims to have loyal love, but who can find a faithful man?"
- However, such consistency in righteous living is required by God, and just HOW it can be attained in the believer's life is revealed when focusing on God's teaching about the ashes of the burnt offering:
- God's Call For PERPETUAL CONSECRATION By His SPIRIT In The Burnt Offering's Ashes.
- As we learned in the offering of the burnt offering, the animal carcass used for this offering was to be burned in its entirety to demonstrate complete consecration to the Lord, cf. Leviticus 1:9b.
- However, lest one conclude that this complete consecration was to be momentary, God gave Moses instructions regarding the perpetuity of this sacrifice as follows, Leviticus 6:8-13:
- God revealed the burnt offering signaling the offerer's full consecration to God was to be burned all through the night after the day the offering was first made, Leviticus 6:8-9. In fact, the fire on the altar was never to go out, signifying perpetuity of the offerer's consecration, Lev. 6:12a. Thus, the priests attending the temple were responsible to supply whatever wood was needed to make sure that the burnt offering fire was kept going all through the night and the fire on the altar going on endlessly to signify the perpetuity of consecration required of God's people, Leviticus 6:13.
- Then, the day after the burnt offering, the Lord had specific instructions regarding the removal of the ashes of the burnt offering to keep even the ashes from ceremonial defilement, Leviticus 6:10-11:
- God required that the priest removing the burnt offering's ashes the morning after the sacrifice was to be completely clothed in the ceremonially purified priestly linen garments, Leviticus 6:10a. Both his undergarments and outer garments had to have the flesh completely covered. This all signified God could not accept any works of the sinful nature, but only those of His Spirit, Gal. 5:16-23.
- Once the burnt offering's ashes were removed from off the altar and placed on the ground beside the altar, the priest was to change his clothes again before removing the ashes, Leviticus 6:10b-11a. This was a reminder of the pollution of sin that required constant cleansing in remaining a fully consecrated believer, J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, vol. 1, p. 349.
- After the priest had donned his regular priestly garments, he was to take the burnt offering's ashes out to a ceremonially clean place for a deposit, Leviticus 6:11b. Again, the emphasis is on the perpetuity of cleanliness from sin needed for a life of perpetual consecration the Lord demands.
Lesson: (1) God not only delights in the believer's being TOTALLY consecrated unto Him for life and service, (2) but DEMANDS that this consecration be PERPETUAL as a way of life even when no other human being is looking (through the night). (3) Such perpetuity of consecration can only be done in the power of the immutable God, the Holy Spirit, not in the power of the sinful nature which is fickle. (4) If the believer sins, he must confess it to the Lord for cleansing and restoration to a life consecrated to the Lord alone and fully and perpetually for life and service.
Application: (1) It is not enough to God for us just to make a commitment to live for Him or to serve Him in some way -- such a commitment is meaningful to God only if the subject follows through on it as a PERPETUAL way of LIFE even when there is little or no other human support for remaining so consecrated (through the wee hours of the night). (2) The way to STAY so consecrated is NOT by trying to sustain such perpetuity in our own strength, but to rely upon the power of God the Holy Spirit, the unchanging, immutable God for such a high level of commitment. (3) If we sin and fail in our commitment, we must confess it for cleansing and renewal of the Spirit's control so that we can return to a LIFESTYLE of consecration to the Lord.