3 minute read
A Living Sacrifice
IIt is the day of Atonement, a day Jews call “Yom Kippur,” which translated means “the day of Covering.” Among hundreds of Israelites entering the tabernacle of Moses, two women stand outside trying to enter.
“Did you hear what happened to Jehoshua?” says one.
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“You mean Jehoshua ben David?”
“No, Hannah, ben Levi, the high priest!”
“What are you talking about, Miriam?
A tear trickles down her cheeks. “The animal seemed not to have any bruises or insects, so he placed the dead goat on the altar. Then he fell down dead, just like that! The other priests had to drag him out by the rope because they never heard the bells ringing on the hem of his robe.”
“Oh, no!” Hannah hid her face in her hands.
The offering Jehoshua had brought before the God of Israel was a dead sacrifice. It was also imperfect, for it had a scab hidden by its fur on the left foot. The high priest never saw it, therefore, the Lord never accepted it.
Paul, the apostle, encourages us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. He taught Corinthian believers that the body of each believer is like a temple in which the Spirit of the Living God dwells.
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Cor 6:19)
“For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.” Galatians 5:17 International Standard Version (ISV)
Now watch as years later, Zechariah, the prophet has a vision of Jehoshua, the high priest, standing before the court of heaven. We do not know if this is the same Jehoshua who died in the Most Holy Place. But on one side stands Satan, his accuser, pointing a finger at him and saying, “He is a complete failure. His life is a disgrace to your Holiness! He deserves eternal separation from You!”
On the other side stands the Lord Jesus, who sees deep within the heart of every believer. This is the same God, Who punished King David for plotting to have a man killed in the front of battle in order to have his wife. But this is the same God, Who perceived the heart King David had for God.
Hear now the words of the Divine Advocate, the Supreme Lawyer of the universe.
Then He speaks to those before Him, “Take away the filthy garments from him.”
To Jehoshua He says, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
Then Zechariah says, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put clean clothes on him.
While the term “Angel of the Lord” appears in several biblical passages, it is very clear in certain passages that the term refers to Jesus, the Son of God, as in this passage.
Today, Jesus is again sounding the trumpet call to every believer. “Separate yourself from the strong desires of the flesh, worldly and filthy concepts that press in upon you through modern technology, lest you forget who you really are, a child of the Living God.” p
By C Richard McCaw author, music teacher and many years as a Bible teacher
