Show Notes
Noah obeyed God even before he saw the rain. But when it started raining, oh wow, did it ever rain. it didn’t stop raining for 40 days and 40 nights, and the ENTIRE earth was covered in Water. Only Noah and his family were saved.
However, the story of Noah isn’t just about a really big boat and a bunch of animals. It’s also a rescue story. Just like Noah needed to be rescued, we need to be rescued from our sin too. God didn’t send us a wooden ark, He sent us one who would die on a wooden cross.
Jesus took the punishment for our sin when He died on the cross, and then He rose from the dead. When we put our trust in Jesus, He saves us.
So Noah didn’t save himself from the flood. He simply rested in God’s protection as provided for by the Ark. In fact, Noah’s name in Ancient Hebrew means “rest.” God provided the rest and the rescue for Noah. We don’t save ourselves from sin. God provided Jesus to rescue us and for us to rest in!
More from Doxology Go
In Leviticus 16, God tells Moses and Aaron to set aside a very special day called the Day of Atonement, a day when God would graciously forgive the sins of His people. On this special day, the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle, a place he could only enter once a year! God also instructed the high priest to take two goats. The first goat would be sacrificed, and its blood would be offered to make atonement for the sins of the people. But the second goat had a very different job! The high priest would place his hands on the head of this living goat and confess the sins of all the Israelites. This was a picture of the people's sins being placed on the goat. Then the goat would be led far away from the camp and released into the wilderness, symbolizing how God had taken away the sins of His people! This second goat was called the scapegoat! Now, here's the AMAZING part of this story! Both goats point us to JESUS! Just like the first goat, Jesus shed His blood on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. And just like the scapegoat was taken outside the camp, Jesus was crucified outside the city gates of Jerusalem, carrying away the sins of His people! But here's the BIG difference! The Israelites had to offer these sacrifices every single year. Jesus only had to die ONCE! (Hebrews 10:14) His sacrifice was perfect, complete, and enough to forgive our sins forever! What an AMAZING Savior we have in JESUS!
In Leviticus 8, God tells Moses to appoint priests to help lead the Israelites in worship, including the five offerings we learned about in Leviticus chapters 1–7. And guess who God chooses for this important job? Moses’ brother Aaron and Aaron’s sons! Now, this is an incredible picture of God’s grace! Remember Aaron? Back in Exodus, he was the one who helped lead the Israelites into sin by making a golden cow for the people to worship instead of God! Aaron had made a terrible mistake. But God was not finished with him! God showed Aaron grace, and now He was giving Aaron and his sons the incredible responsibility of leading the Israelites in worship! Think about that! The same man who helped lead God's people away from Him would now help lead them in worshiping Him! What an amazing picture of God's forgiveness, grace, and second chances!
The book of Leviticus begins with detailed descriptions in Chapters 1 through 7 of how the Israelites are to approach God in the Tabernacle with five unique offerings.
In Exodus, chapters 35-40, God gives Moses and the Israelites detailed instructions on what the tabernacle will look like, the place where God's presence will dwell among the people!
In Exodus 33, Moses asks to see the glory of God. This is a huge request that Moses didn't even fully understand. But God, in his grace, hides Moses in the crack of a boulder, covers him with his mighty hand, and reveals part of his glory to Moses! Why only part? Because God's glory is so powerful, so majestic, so awesome, that no human can see the entire glory of God and live!