Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 39-40

Highlight Verse:

“Present Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭40‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why do I picture this verse with Moses standing there with a hose spraying down Aaron and his sons. Sorry, my imagination never got past middle school. This is probably why I write middle grade fiction (novels for those around 10-14).

But seriously, this cleansing of the priests was done to keep the tabernacle pure so that the presence of God could live there.

Even cleaned as they were, the priests could only approach because of the daily sacrifices to cover their sins.

Those sacrifices have ceased.

And we are no better than Aaron and his sons.

And this is why we need Jesus.

For most of you this is just a reminder.

For some this may be an eye opener.

God is perfect and cannot coexist with sin.

We are sinners. None of us are perfect. We all have our flaws and rebellions.

The sacrifices at the altar at the tabernacle and, later, the temple daily balanced the scales so the priests could approach the presence of God.

Jesus, fully God and fully human, being the only human to ever live a sinless life, sacrificed himself to balance those scales permanently, so that anyone who chooses to accept that sacrifice may enter the presence of God. That means both in heaven and now through the Holy Spirit.

So there you have it. The precursor to the Gospel can be found in a group of priests willing to allow themselves to be cleansed.

The Gospel message brings that cleansing to all who would accept it.