Daily
Notes
Transcript
When you read the books of Exodus and Leviticus you get what is essentially an installation and operating manual for the earthly sanctuary.
I recently installed an air conditioner mini-split system. It came with two installation manuals and two owners manuals which should have made it clear how to work the thing, but it didn’t. The wording was strange, the pictures lacked important details, and the steps assumed you were a professional and knew certain things about heating and air conditioning that most of us just don’t know. It was not user friendly. Eventually, I got it installed and running, but it took a lot of digging around and watching videos on youtube.
This section of the Bible can be kind of like that user manual. The language was written for Moses and Aaron as they built the sanctuary and began the various ceremonies. We can certainly learn all we need to know about these services By reading it, but it takes some digging to understand the intended experience.
Listen to this section about the sin offering in Leviticus 1:
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“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats.
“If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be a male with no defects. Bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle so you* may be accepted by the Lord. Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him.* Then slaughter the young bull in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will present the animal’s blood by splattering it against all sides of the altar that stands at the entrance to the Tabernacle.
It’s informative. It provides necessary details. But it lacks the day-to-day experience that the Israelites would have had. What would life have been like for them? And how would they see the Gospel of grace through the sanctuary services? That will be the subject of this week and next week’s messages. Today we’re going to look at the morning and evening sacrifices through the eyes of a young boy named Asher who lived in one of the tents that surrounded the tabernacle. But first, let’s read what the Bible says about the daily Morning and Evening sacrifices that will be a key focus of our story today.
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Exodus 29:38–42 (NLT)
“These are the sacrifices you are to offer regularly on the altar. Each day, offer two lambs that are a year old, one in the morning and the other in the evening. With one of them, offer two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of pure oil of pressed olives; also, offer one quart of wine* as a liquid offering. Offer the other lamb in the evening, along with the same offerings of flour and wine as in the morning. It will be a pleasing aroma, a special gift presented to the Lord.
“These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation. Offer them in the Lord’s presence at the Tabernacle entrance…
The story I’m going to tell comes from a book called Sanctuary Light by Nicole Parker. I’m using this story with her permission.
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Asher’s Story
Asher’s Story
Asher opened his eyes in the morning light and stirred from his sheepskin Bedcover. Usually he and his sister Zara would go out together and gather manna for breakfast, but today Asher saw that she was asleep and decided he would go quickly to gather manna as a surprise for Zara.
Quietly he tiptoed past his sleeping family and out the tent flap into the dim morning light. He grabbed a basket and looked up, gazing reverently at the Shekinah light glowing from the biggest tent at the center of the camp. In the dim light the brightness blazed through the covering of the skins and the linen curtain surrounding the tent they called the Sanctuary.
Asher reached the acacia grove and carefully began scooping up clumps of manna, careful not to pick up the sand. He did that once and the manna cakes were gritty, so he was sure not to do that again. Out in the cool morning air he met Iru, a friend he’d known ever since Egypt. “Elah and I got up early to keep working on a swimming hole we’re digging near the river. Wanna come help?”
Asher would have liked to play with them, but he had a responsibility—he had to watch the sheep. “No, I have to take the sheep out to graze.“
Back at the tent Mama had already started a fire. Asher dropped his basket full of manna at the edge of the tent, and rushed inside to wake up Zarah. The two bounded out of the tent and raced each other to the sheep pen. The animals stood calmly in their pen except for two wooly lambs romping just inside the gate. Asher’s lamb was a woolly white lamb named Cotton, and Zarah’s lamb was a fluffy black and white lamb named Daisy. They loved to watch the lambs’ antics as they frolicked.
That’s when they heard the priest blowing a ram’s horn trumpet in the distance. It was time for the morning sacrifice at the big Sanctuary tent. Asher and Zarah raced back to the tent. Together in a circle near the cooking fire, the family knelt and prayed.
“We thank you for your love and forgiveness,“ papa began, “you have brought us out of Egypt and given us a new life here in the wilderness. Thank you for the manna before us, and for the water flowing from the rock. And especially, thank you for the sacrifice this morning that washes away all our sins, so we may live confidently today in the light of your presence.”
After cleaning up breakfast Asher and Zara asked, “May we go play?“ They had been making a clay village in a secluded spot by the water. ”You may take an hour or so before the sheep need to graze,” mother said, and off they went to the river.
As they approached the river Asher shivered with awe at the memory of how the water came to be there. They were all thirsty, and there wasn’t any water source nearby, but God had told them to stop there. Then Moses called the people together and struck this rock with his staff and out poured a torrent of water that was sufficient for cooking and drinking and washing and even playing in! At that moment Asher knew without a shadow of a doubt that Yahweh was mighty and could take care of them.
They pushed through the Acacia bushes to where they were building their miniature village when Iru and Elah jumped and raced past them. Zarah saw her village trampled down and burst out crying.
“You broke our houses! Come back here!“ shouted Asher.
They didn’t come back.
Asher turned to console his sister, “we could rebuild them. Look, they didn’t break this house.”
Zarah sobbed as she gathered some trampled twigs, “they didn’t even care. Look at my sheep pen! It’s ruined.”
Asher’s heart smoldered with anger. All their hard work was gone. He paced down to the river and back up to the little village.
“We might as well go home,” he said. As he was motioning for Zarah, he saw a shiny metal object in the bushes. He stooped down and picked up the object and realized that it was Iru’s knife that his uncle had given him. Knives were rare in the camp, so it was a very special gift. Zara’s mouth fell open when she saw it. “We should return it to Iru,” she said.
Asher pulled the knife closer to him, “let’s keep it—for now, anyway.” Zara was shocked. “Isn’t that stealing?“ she asked.
”Didn’t they steal our village?” Asher strode towards he tent without waiting for an answer.
His anger burned all day as he watched the sheep. How dare they ruin our village and then run away when we caught them! I thought Iru was my friend, but not anymore!
He was whittling a stick he had found, satisfying his urge to destroy something.
He enjoyed the process and soon he began fashioning a spindle for thread and started to imagine how useful this knife would be. After Iru destroyed our village, I deserve his knife. He told himself.
Asher returned home with the sheep that evening, the ram’s horn sounding through the warm air. He dropped to his knees for a quick prayer of rededication—But paused before he could whisper a word. he opened his hand and looked at Iru’s knife. His mind flashed to the Ten Commandments stones in the Sanctuary and he instinctively lifted his eyes in the direction of the sanctuary. There, in the Most Holy Place, under the blazing glory on the mercy seat he imagined the smooth stones bearing their silent testimony to the Holiness of Yahweh’s law—You must not steal.
Kneeling there in the dust, Asher heard the last ringing blast of the ram’s horn trumpet and realized, the blood only covers repented and confessed sins. If I keep the knife, my sins won’t be covered!
At the tent, Asher paused outside. He quickly glanced around and then crouched and lifted the corner of the tent. He scooped a hole in the sandy soil, placed the knife in the hole, and then covered it over with soil and a rock on the top. No one would know the knife was there.
His heart pounded in his chest. His mouth felt dry. He turned and led the sheep into their pen and scratched Cotton’s head with trembling fingers.
Asher had just stolen Iru’s knife.
“Did you take Iru’s knife back?“ Zara asked as soon as Asher entered the tent. he was trapped. As his mother watched them Asher said, “I-I saw him while I was herding the sheep, so I gave it to him,” he mumbled.
He was surprised at his boldness. He had intentionally lied, and now he had broken two of the ten commandments. He turned quickly as horror flashed through his heart. He needed a distraction. “Look, Zara, I found these pretty pebbles the other day and thought we could use them in our village. Do you want to start working on it again?”
Mama asked Asher to wind thread on a spool and that made Asher think about the spindle he was carving while the sheep were grazing. He realized he could never show off any of his creations for fear of being found out. Keeping the knife might be harder than I thought. He pondered.
At supper, Zara asked papa, “why do we have to sacrifice lambs? I don’t understand why… Why would Yahweh want anything to die?”
“That’s a good question, Zara. Especially since we can’t buy animals at an Egyptian market. Of course, we don’t have to sacrifice animals often—only when we engage in willful sins. And some sins can’t even be covered by a sacrifice.“ ”There are three types of sin,” he continued, “small sins like impatience and unkindness are covered by the morning and evening sacrifices. Intentional sins breaking Yahweh’s law require a Sin offering. And then there are sins so harmful to the community that even a sacrifice can’t solve the problem.” Zara looked confused.
“There is no such thing as a small sin, Zara,” mama pointed out. “All sin starts with things we like to consider small. Our sinful hearts are natural fountains of pride and unbelief. These two sins lead to all other sinful thoughts and behaviors. But some sins are especially damaging to relationships. Allowing very serious sins like adultery and murder to happen without a severe penalty would lead to tremendous wickedness and crime. If murderers continue living with freedom in our camp, everyone else would live in constant fear. How could we feel secure in our tent. And remember, we don’t have prisons like the Egyptians had.“
“Someday,” papa added, “the Messiah’s sacrifice will be big enough to cover all of those terrible sins. Yahweh can forgive any sin, if the sinner repents.”
“That makes sense,” Zara replied as she broke off a piece of mana cake. “But why does Yahweh require the morning and evening sacrifices? It seems like such a waste to kill so many animals.” her face puckered as she asked the question.
Mama knelt down beside her, “Zara, even when we don’t willfully violate the Ten Commandments law, we are still sinners in desperate need of grace to cover us. We selfishly take the biggest manna cake for ourselves. We are sometimes careless with our words. Our thoughts wander to places they shouldn’t. These are not reflections of lovingkindness or the character of Yahweh.“
Papa quickly pointed out, “all sin begins with destroying relationship. That’s the very definition of sin. If we break relationship with Yahweh, The brokenness bleeds into the rest of our lives, breaking relationships with others too.”
”So, the morning and evening sacrifices are to remind us, no matter how good we may behave, that we still need grace to cover us every day?” Zara asked.
Asher didn’t sleep well that night. If he had a hard time sleeping he usually would peer out the tent flap at the light of the sanctuary and that would give him peace, but tonight just thinking about the sanctuary made him feel yucky inside.
As the sun was setting the next day Asher climbed down the rocks to a waterfall—his favorite place to get water. As he filled his water jug he heard a voice beside him,
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was yours,” Iru said. “I was chasing Elah. When I saw your village he had already trampled it. I was running fast and couldn’t stop either... It was really great. Can I help you rebuild it?“
Asher turned back to the waterfall and pretended to concentrate on filling his water jug. “It’s okay,” he mumbled, “but why did you run away?”
“I just panicked. We were racing to get to the swimming hole. I came back too see what we had stepped on. I was scared. I didn’t want you to be mad at me. I was going to talk to you, but when I came back you were gone.”
“i forgive you.”
“Thanks for still being my friend,“ Iru smiled in relief.
Later that night, Asher burrowed beneath his sheepskin. How can I do this to my friend? shame washed over him. Their families had even shared the same oxcart when they left Egypt. He and Iru had poked the black water walls on either side of the path Yahweh had made through the Red Sea. Now here Asher was, a false friend who had chosen Iru’s knife over his friendship.
The next morning Asher told Zara about Iru’s apology. “How do you know he’s really sorry? They ran away! It’s not fair. They out to have some punishment.”
“Zara, mistakes are covered by the morning and evening sacrifices,” papa reminded her gently.
“If anything,” mamma added, “you both have sinned a greater sin yourselves. All day the last couple of days you were thinking evil about Iru and Elah. you have resented them and been unfaithful friends to them. While it’s true they should have been more careful and shouldn’t have run away, you also need to confess your sins of bitterness and evil assumptions so you can be covered by the morning and evening sacrifices.” Mama ran her fingers gently over Asher’s back. “We all need so much grace. Because of the sanctuary services we are given forgiveness. Yahweh’s grace covers our sins.“
If my parents only knew, Asher reflected, they would be so sad. I have taken Iru’s knife and I have not repented.
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After several weeks Asher found a better hiding spot for the knife—a particular acacia shrub at the outskirts of the encampment. He had grown too worried his family would see him sneaking the knife from the corner of the tent. Even at the edge of the camp he wasn’t sure it was safe. It had been so easy for him to steal it—maybe someone else would steal it from him. Being a thief and a liar made him suspicious that maybe everyone else was a thief too.
He had been working on a detailed lamb carving, and it was starting to really look good. Sitting on a rock whittling his figurine, he noticed Cotton and Daisy bounded up to him. They played for a little while and then laid down at the foot of the rock he was sitting on. He brushed the wood shavings off his robe and kept whittling his figurine.
The afternoon slipped away quickly. Asher tucked the knife and the figurine into the folds of his robe and led the herd back to the edge of camp. There he hid the knife and the figurine under the flat rock by the acacia bush and then gathered a few sticks for the fire.
With the sheep in their pen, Asher slipped into the tent quietly while Zara and mama were kneading manna dough to make cakes for supper. Asher listened as they talked.
”I know the Day of Atonement is the most important day of the entire year.,” Zarah said, “but what does “atonement” mean, Mama?”
“Zarah,” her mother said, “how do I make manna dough?”
“You mix water or milk with manna, of course,” Zara answered quickly.
”Yes. But mixing the two into one takes works. It takes time to soften the little balls of manna into a smooth paste we can mold.“ Asher heard water splashing into the wooden trough and knew mama was illustrating to Zara as she spoke.
”When we mix the water and manna, we are practicing atonement.“ mama explained. “We make the two into one. No longer are they separated.”
“So, the day of atonement is about becoming one with Yahwey.” Zarah puzzled. “But why is a blood sacrifice required?”
“Breaking the law means breaking relationship with Yahwey, the source of life. Separating from Him would mean our death. So, Yahwey provides a substitute—the Messiah will one-day give his blood in our place. Our union with God can only be restored through death. Death opens the opportunity for new life.”
“Hmmm...” Zara wrinkled her face. I still don’t really understand.”
“That’s okay,” mama replied. “I’m not sure any of us really understand everything about atonement. So don’t feel bad. That’s why God has given us the sanctuary. Atonement is so deep and mysterious that God wants us to think about it when we get up, and when we make our meals and when we wash dishes and when we go to bed at night. Every service in the sanctuary is full of meaning. But at the same time what matters is really so simple: everything about the Sanctuary teaches us to become one with Yahweh and with one another, in love.”
That last thought made Asher squirm. One with Yahweh and one another in love. It rang in Asher’s mind as he lay on his sheepskin bed. How he longed to sense that oneness again! Suddenly he felt the weight of his sin pressing down on him. What was it like to feel comforted instead of condemned when he looked at the light of the sanctuary. He could hardly remember now.
And his friendship with Iru had suffered too. Iru kept asking him and Zara to go to the swimming hole, but Asher made excuses, not wanting Zara to be reminded about the knife they had found near there and expose his secret. His sin was separating him from his friends, making him lie to Zara, and forcing him to keep secrets and lie to his parents.
After supper that evening, Papa sat down beside Asher near the dying embers of the fire that had cooked their supper. Mama and Zara slipped away to the river to bathe.
“Asher,” papa said, stirring the coals, “I’ve noticed you haven’t brought much firewood home lately. What have you been doing while herding the sheep?”
Asher’s face felt flushed and hot. He was glad it was dark out. “I’ll bring more, Papa. I’m sorry—I guess I’ve been distracted.”
“Is there anything you need to tell me?” Asher could see Papa’s concerned face illuminated by the gentle glow of the cloud overhead.
Asher fought the burning desire to tell the truth. “I—I guess not.”
Silently Papa placed some curled wood shavings on the ground. “I found these in Cotton’s wool today.” He paused. “These wouldn’t have anything to do with Iru’s lost knife, would they?”
Asher had a rush of anger with himself for carving near the lamb’s backs, but that soon dissolved at the look of disappointment in his father’s eyes. Guilt and shame washed over him, and tears began to spill down his face.
Papa pulled Asher onto his lap as Asher sobbed out his story. When the last of the tears were gone, he felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. “I’m going to get the knife and take it to Iru first thing in the morning. I can imagine how relieved he will be.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to need to go with you,” Papa whispered. Asher looked up and saw tears on his father’s face. “You see, sin breaks trust, and although I forgive you now, it will take work for you to restore my trust in you.”
The next morning was the worst morning of Asher’s life. He opened his eyes, blinking for a moment before the terrible realization hit him. He lay frozen in grief under his sheepskin blanket, unable to face reality. But he knew there was no way to escape.
Papa knelt by his bed, “Come, my son. Let’s go.”
In the gathering dawn the two trudged in silence to the gnarled acacia bush near the edge of the encampment. in a few moment Asher had dug up the knife and the lamb figurine. He clutched the little wooden figure and buried his face in his father’s chest. “Oh, Papa. I’m sorry!” he sobbed.
His father held him close. Together they plodded slowly toward Iru’s tent. The shocked look of betrayal on Iru’s face as he accepted the knife stung Asher’s heart. With sorrowing hearts but a determined stride, the father and son returned to their tent.
Asher didn’t feel much like eating breakfast, so he slipped away to the sheep pen as soon as he could. As the ram’s horn blew for the morning sacrifice he buried his face in Cotton’s soft wool.
After the family prayer time Asher and Papa slipped a rope around Cotton’s woolly neck. Asher’s lamb trotted cheerfully beside him. Asher could not stop the tears flowing down his cheeks.
At the sanctuary, Asher and Papa entered through the doorway in the middle of the eastern side of the cloth curtain that served as an outer wall to the sanctuary. The altar of burnt offering towered directly in front of them, a sacrifice still smoldering at its center. Asher knew his sin offering would soon be burned on the altar, symbolizing the Messiah who would one day pay in blood to take away all sins.
A priest met them near the entrance and led them to a table. In hushed tones, Papa explained the situation. Then Asher placed his trembling hands on Cotton’s warm, woolly head. He choked out his confession amid burning tears.
Despite the devastating grief of saying goodbye to his beloved pet, Asher finally sensed relief from the dreadful heaviness of guilt that had weighed on him every time he looked toward the Sanctuary. The sin would no longer burden his heart. By faith, he grasped the promise of the lamb in a way he had never understood it before. He could be counted righteous even though he had sinned, because someone else would die in his place.
Papa’s strong hand closed over Asher’s small one on the handle of the knife. With one quick movement, it was over.
The priest held a bowl under the lamb’s throat to catch the blood. He would take that blood and sprinkle some of it on the corners of the altar. He carved the lamb, and put most of it on the altar to burn up, but he took a small piece which he would eat later to symbolize bearing the sin himself. Perhaps some of the blood would go into the sanctuary itself and be sprinkled on the ground in front of the veil that separated the holy place from the presence of God in the most holy place.
Cotton was gone, his small body burned to ashes. Asher’s sin had been taken away, but he knew that the sin still remained, symbolically, on the corners of the altar and on the ground before the curtain of the most holy place, awaiting the day of Atonement. Thankfully, that day would come soon.
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In this first half of Asher’s story, we’ve explored the daily services in the sanctuary. We’ve uncovered the purpose behind the morning and evening sacrifices, and we’ve witnessed a sin offering. These were two of the regular services that the Israelites witnessed and participated in. We’ve also explored three severities of sin.
Those sins that trip us up are covered by the morning and evening sacrifice that we can benefit from when we approach God with a repentant heart.
Then there are the sins that are intentional and defiant of God’s word. Before Jesus these sins would have required a sacrifice. Today, Jesus’ death covers all our sins if we repent of them. But it is especially important that we spend time trying to comprehend the great love of Christ and his great sacrifice on our behalf. Only by beholding Jesus’ love will we turn from selfish rebellion to loving obedience.
That third category of sin is still possible to be forgiven, but they usually demand a steeper penalty. We confess and repent, but these sins may see you facing prison time in cases like murder, or a form of church discipline like the loss spiritual leadership roles such as in the case of adultery. You will receive forgiveness, but there are additional consequences to community harming choices.
Next week we’re going to pick up Asher’s story and explore the monthly and yearly ceremonies in the sanctuary, specifically the service called the Day of Atonement.
And I’m going to bring a gift for the children, so make sure you’re here next week.
Our closing hymn will be I Will Sing of My Redeemer, #343.