Show Notes
The time comes for Moses to send out explorers to see the Promised Land. In Numbers 13, Moses sends out 12 spies, and these men covertly observe the giant walls, the giant grapes, and the giant men of this land...
When they return back to Moses and the Israelites, 10 of the 12 spies tell them, "no way!" The people are too big; we could never overtake them!
But two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, respond, " We might be small, but our God is big!"
More from Doxology Go
In Numbers Chapter 11, the Israelites come to Moses (and God) with a big complaint. What are they so upset about? They are sick of eating Manna! God had provided this food for the Israelites day after day yet the people long for what they don't have.
Today's episode is a Math Teacher's dream! We enter into the book of Numbers with God instructing Moses to count the Israelite men and organize all of the families of the 12 tribes around the Tabernacle. This story in Numbers 1 and 2 shows us that every person matters to God!
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.