Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

THIS IS SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TEXT IN THE BIBLE

Backstory

Chapter 9 leading in

Strange Fire

Old Made New: Pt.7 (Lev.

10)

Pastor Tim Brisson

Leviticus 9:22–24 (CSB)

22 Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.

He came down after sacrificing the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering.

23 Moses and Aaron then entered the tent of meeting.

When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.

24 Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar.

And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown.

Main text

Leviticus 10 (CSB)

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. 2 Then fire came from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

3 Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has spoken:

I will demonstrate my holiness to those who are near me,

and I will reveal my glory before all the people.”

And Aaron remained silent.

Shouldn’t Father God at least be as nice as Jesus

Let me turn this question on its head

Why doesn’t it happen MORE

Genesis 2:15–17 (CSB)

15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,

17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

You will certainly die die

you will die dead

of it’s just spiritual death

maybe

but not only

If God actually carried out the promised punishment of DIE DIE every time we sinned, the room would get empty real quick

when we run on self-will, when we proclaim to know good and evil, and we think ourselves holy, we are eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil

and we deserve to die die die dead

but we don’t

why?

Mercy

Acts 5:1–5 (CSB)

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

3 “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it?

And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal?

Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart?

You have not lied to people but to God.”

5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.

Uzzah’s tribe was trained from childhood to just tend to the ark, there were provisions to carry it, and he blew it

David’s reign was about to begin

something big was happening

In Acts, The Holy Spirit had just been poured out at Pentecost

And Ananias and Saphira lied to it

Something big was happening

In our text, God had just showed his glory, consecrating Aaron and the priesthood

THEY WERE GETTING READY TO HEAD TO THE PROMISED LAND

Something big was happening

So God showed up

IN A CORRECTIVE WAY

But why not all the time?

Mercy

Back in Exodus

PICTURE THIS SCENE

AARON AND THE ISRAELITES HAD JUST BLOWN IT

THEY MADE THE GOLDEN CALF

MOSES COMES DOWN FROM MT SINAI WITH THE TABLETS OF 10 COMMANDMENTS AND AARON IS LETTING EVERYONE PARTY DOWN AFTER HE MADE THE CALF

AND THEY SAID THIS IS THE GOD THAT TOOK US OUT OF EGYPT

AND GOD WANTS EXACT JUSTICE RIGHT THEN AND THERE, AND MOSES ANGAGES GOD IN A CONVERSATION AND WALKS HIM BACK A BIT

AND THEN MOSES ASKS WHETHER HE CAN SEE GOD’S GLORY

SO GOD HIDES MOSES IN THE CLEFT OF A ROCK, AND LET’S HIM SEE JUST HIS BACKSIDE AS HE PASSES BY

HE HAS COMPASSION ON MOSES, BECAUSE HE CHOOSES TO

HE HAS MERCY ON YOU, BECAUSE HE CHOOSES TO

AND SOMETIMES HE CHOOSES NOT TO

WHAT IS MERCY

The mercy of God describes his focused disposition of compassionate forgiveness toward his people, especially in light of their distressful and dire circumstances.

God’s mercy is evident whenever he delays punishment, even when his people are lost in sin and not aware of the relational consequences this sin entails (Exod 34:6–7; Ezek 33:10–11)

The mercy of God is one of God’s communicable attributes, an attribute that humans can emulate in their relationships with each other.

Throughout the Bible, God’s mercy is pictured not only as God’s disposition but as his action on behalf of an undeserving people.

The Bible often pairs other divine attributes with “mercy”: compassion, grace, faithfulness, kindness.

Mercy is a relational expression of God’s character and flows from his attributes of goodness and love.

It is a vital aspect of God’s grace-based covenant relationship with his people. .

When the circumstances of God’s people are dire—due to impending conflict, physical and spiritual persecution, or other types of suffering—those who fear God appeal precisely to his merciful character.

AND THAT IS EXACTLY HOW WE PRAY

FOR MERCY

OUR WORKS AINT WORKING ANYMORE

AND SOMETIME WE WAIT FOR MERCY

AND THINGS AROUND US DO NOT GET BETTER RIGHT AWAY

HERE IS A HARD TRUTH

LACK OF MERCY IS NOT THE SAME THING AS AN INJUSTICE

GOD CAN NOT BE BRIBED

Lack of mercy is NOT injustice

God has never punished an undeserving character in the bible

A HOLY GOD CAN NOT EXERCISE INJUSTICE

A RIGHTEOUS GOD CAN NOT BE BRIBED

Let’s talk about Holiness and what we are called to do, or be

In popular parlance, Holy means “pure”

oh, he is holier than thou

there was a holiness movement that focused on outward purity

THAT IS A DEFINITION OF HOLY, BUT IT IS REALLY A SUBSET OF HOLINESS

The broadest definition as used in the Bible means “Other than”, set apart, consecrated for God’s use

Holy = Other than, set apart, consecrated for God’s use