Show Notes
In Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac traveled up a mountain together. As they walked, Isaac noticed something. They had wood for the sacrifice, and they had everything else they needed, but they didn't have the normal sacrifice, which would have been an animal, usually a lamb… So Isaac asked his dad, "Where is the lamb?" And Abraham gave an amazing answer in Genesis 22, verse 8: "God himself will provide the lamb." Abraham trusted that somehow God would keep His promises. And sure enough, at just the right moment, God provided for Abraham and Isaac! In Genesis 22:13, we read, 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” God had provided another sacrifice to take Isaac's place. And Abraham gave that place a special name: In Hebrew, he called it, Jehovah Jireh. In English it means: "The LORD Will Provide." But here's what's really amazing about this story. Hundreds and hundreds of years later, God would provide another sacrifice, another Jehovah Jireh… Only this time, it wouldn't be a ram. It would be Jesus. Isaac didn't have to die because God provided a ram in his place. And the Bible tells us that because of our sin, we deserve to die and be separated from God. But God provided someone to take our place too. Jesus!
Jehovah Jireh!
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!