Understanding God's Presence
Leviticus: A Radical Ordinary Life with God • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
Growing up one thing I would do with my Dad consistently is go to Georgia Football games. It is about a 3 hour drive to Athens from here and the car ride gave us a chance to talk a lot. A lot of times he would talk about his childhood and I felt like every time he shared about it I would learn something different about my Dad, see him in a new light. I appreciated Him more, could be more sympathetic as to why he did stuff. He never personally made the connections between how things were and who is was. But I did. His history which at one point was a curiosity became greater understanding. Today, because of that, I understand who my Dad is, and as he cares to reveal or continue talking about his life before I knew him I continue to understand him more and more.
OT Related to NT
OT Related to NT
The OT is like this for us, in that we have heard some of it. There is a God we have been introduced to and we have come to know to a certain extent and there are these stories and things that are available to us from before Christ, but what is different about most of us in here from what I experienced from my Dad is that you have not made the connection about how the past informs our present and our future with God.
Progressive Revelation
Progressive Revelation
(Make Drawing to help with explanation)
The Bible is what we call progressively revealed. When man chose death in the garden, he pronounced as well that God would do something about it.
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
At the appointed time, God sent His son into the world, as He planned
Jesus would be revealed and be our atoning sacrifice at the time that God decided in His wisdom
We needed to be ready to understand all that Christ would do and mean
God said what he would do at the beginning and then he shared throughout how this all would unfold
The NT is the outworking of Christ’s life and sacrifice under the New Covenant, the OT is the history of Covenant God made with His people. To “really understand” the NC we need to have a better grasp of the OC.
6 Then I shall not be ashamed When I look upon all Your commandments.
7 I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
1 Cor. 0:11
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
All scripture is preserved for the purpose of our understanding
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
Understanding what God is seeking to teach us has a reversal affect
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
The scripture spoken of in the NT is mostly the OT
Why we are studying Leviticus, specifically is because it is the lynch pin of the Bible - without it we don’t understand God’s purpose in living life with us
Leviticus is the lynch pin of the Bible - without it we don’t understand God’s purpose in living life with us
Why we are studying Leviticus is because it is the lynch pin of the Bible - without it we don’t understand God’s purpose in living life with us
R. K. Harrison refers to Leviticus as the "seed-bed of NT theology, for in this book is to be found the basis of Christian faith and doctrine"
Temple as Garden
Temple as Garden
Temple as Garden
Temple as Garden
Definition of a Temple
Definition of a Temple
A temple in the ancient world was where people went to pray, bring offerings, and participate in rituals for a local or regional deity.
We have seen many examples of this in the pictures we have seen of Roman temples. But temples was also thought of as where gods dwelled. And this is the idea that I want to connect with you. In Rome you could “meet” with or “worship” Artimis, Zeus or Minerva in the temple built for them. It was a connecting place a home for the god if you will. The temple structure, its furnishings and its utensils where determined by the god who was to be worshipped there, what they represented and their relationship with people.
Life With God
Life With God
*Picture of Temple Utensils*
Life With God
Life With God
So last week we looked at picture of the sanctuary erected at Mt. Sinai with the nation camped around the sanctuary, and talked about how they came to be living around it…And you were like “Great, Rob thanks for showing us a building and some people living around it.” What does this have to do with Life with God.
God’s original intention for the earth was for it to be a home where he could co-exist with people.
How do we know this: 2 places - and
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
The original scenario was holy because it was bereft of sin and death. Man was to protect the sanctity of the garden and extend it. So that the whole earth would become a dwelling for God and man. **Hence the idea of Making Garden that we have emblazoned on a sticker. The vision that we just saw in Revelation is this idea reconstituted. The “new” is necessary because the old was corrupted.the garden God’s made a people to live with.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
The original scenario was holy was because it was bereft of sin and death. Man was to protect the sanctity of the garden and extend it. So that the whole earth would become a dwelling for God and man. **Hence the idea of Making Garden that we have emblazened on a sticker. the garden God’s made a people to live with.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
We see in that we are fearful to be in his presence when we have sinned and are therefore unholy.
God’s presence requires holiness
God’s presence requires holiness
23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
v.23-24 show that because of sin and death we are excluded from God’s presence in the way that we were meant to experience it. God is still available, interested and involved (as we see in the Cain and Abel narrative) but we no longer enjoy the communion and closeness that was intended.
Sin removes us from God’s presence
Sin removes us from God’s presence
So here is the connection between the sanctuary or temple and life with God.
God wanted to “fix” what was broken.
God redeemed Israel from bondage in Egypt. Think of this as Jesus’ sacrifice. The first born was killed to set Israel free. God did what only he could do.
Israel placed their faith in God. They covenanted with Him at Sinai
God dwelled with them, for the purpose of renewal, reversal. The Holy Spirit in-dwells us for renewal and reversal.
This third (3) part is the connection - it is about restoring God’s presence with His people, and because man has not lived in His presence since the Garden, they must be re-instructed and retaught. We also must be retaught. We are those who have not lived in God’s presence previously before coming to faith. We have much to learn.
When God called Abraham, to bless the world through His off-spring, God multiplied Issac, and Jacob into a people that would become the nation Israel.
In the garden God’s made a people to live with. God in Israel has made a people to live with. The Temple was a physical manifestation of the home he wished to live in with them.
This particular vision of life with God is tough for us to conceive of consistently because we functionally treat God like a cat. We do this by trying to fit Him into our lives... this conception is a mistake! He is God. We fit into His life. Our lives are bound up with His. This very specific picture of God’s presence existing with men again of Israel hopefully helps us put away that bad idea, by making God much bigger and the stakes much higher.
is life. Our lives are bound up with His.
God did not set his house in the middle of where they already were. As if they needed to make room for Him. He set His presence and they live around Him. He is the more important party in their lives. He is the most important party in ours. Their lives and our lives revolve around Him. In fact we are not to miss that they would not have life, nor would we without Him making this people specifically for himself.
Israel and the Church are a people God has made for Himself
That is the significance of the temple/sanctuary for our purposes. I don’t want you to pretend I am in your midst, I am in your midst. To help... my home is going to picture the garden. The tree of life, the water, the fruit, bread. It is a beautiful picture. A heavenly father coming to live in the middle of your life, to order, refine, teach and reconcile.
Presence of God
Presence of God
15 “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated With no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, A joy from generation to generation. 16 “You will also suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings; Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17 “Instead of bronze I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver, And instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your administrators And righteousness your overseers. 18 “Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise. 19 “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. 20 “Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over.
17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. 19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. 20 “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. 21 “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. 23 “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, And their descendants with them. 24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ 27 “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
numbers
this invokes the thought of the tabernacle and the lampstand on the bread
Speaking about the Lampstand
37 “Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it.
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand.’ ” 3 Aaron therefore did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
what was in front was the bread
If the light beamed forwards it would have fallen on the table of shewbread, where twelve loaves of bread, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel, were heaped up (). Light and fire represent the life-giving presence and blessing of God (e.g. ). Thus Aaron had to arrange the lamps so that their light always illuminated the shewbread. This arrangement portrayed visually God’s intention that his people should live continually in his presence and enjoy the blessing mediated by his priests. - Gordon Wenham
NASB951 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you mount the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand.’ ” 3 Aaron therefore did so; he mounted its lamps at the front of the lampstand, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 4 Now this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold; from its base to its flowers it was hammered work; according to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.
If the light beamed forwards it would have fallen on the table of shewbread, where twelve loaves of bread, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel, were heaped up (). Light and fire represent the life-giving presence and blessing of God (e.g. ). Thus Aaron had to arrange the lamps so that their light always illuminated the shewbread. This arrangement portrayed visually God’s intention that his people should live continually in his presence and enjoy the blessing mediated by his priests. - Gordon Wenham
this invokes the thought of the tabernacle and the lampstand on the bread
this invokes the thought of the tabernacle and the lampstand on the bread
21 The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
5 ‘For I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
Let’s now look at what God’s presence was supposed to mean for his people (could have them take a minute to read through and make the connections?)
NASB95
God’s intention is to be with us
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ 27 “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
this invokes the thought of the tabernacle and the lampstand on the bread
NASB95
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
5 then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.
he wants us to behold his glory
NASB95
God wants us to want to be with Him
5 ‘For I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
his intention is to be with us
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
NASB95
Goodness and lovingkindness are to be found in his presence
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
He wants us to want to be with Him
NASB95
8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
NASB95
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
words said by those happy to be in his presence
Life comes from God
NASB95
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. 9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
life comes from Him
All good things come from God
8 O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells.
Psalm 16:9-11
NASB95
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.
all good things come from him
We should love being with Him
NASB958 O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells.
NASB958 O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells.
1 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
NASB954 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
we love being with Him
So these two (2) questions are what the Lord is answering in
NASB951 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
NASB951 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
NASB953 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
So these two (2) questions are what the Lord is answering in
Now that we are in covenant relationship with you…How do we dwell, make our home with Him? And not in a snuggle ball of easy living and comfort but as a sin-oriented community, to engage with a Holy God, who wants to restore us when we sin and picture a life that values wholely different from the culture around it.
The Temple as Garden
The Temple as Garden
In Leviticus we must:
In Leviticus we must:
NASB95
15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it...19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Learn how God wants his community to interact in a healthy way
God’s presence was in the garden, he dwelled with him there
Understand how to progressively live holier and holier lives
He set before them Life and Death
Deal with our sin when it happens
He sought to reestablished this picture for them…He seeks to help us reestablish this picture for us
Feel the cost of that sin
As we study Leviticus this semester we are going to make the connections to our situation I believe that our study this book could change your paradigm for how you see God, His Work in you and His work in the World.
Learn the rhythms of grace, rest, forgiveness, thanksgiving, mourning and the rest
See our whole lives as sacred and set apart for his purposes not just Thursday and Sundays.
Get that goodness exists in being obedient and not getting what I want
Know the good that God wants is better than the good that you do
Decide that my obedience determines what God looks like to those that care
Internalize that my disobedience prevents God’s plan from being revealed