JANUARY 23, 2024
Topic: PRESCRIPTION FOR THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S PRESENCE
Text: Leviticus 9:1-10, 23.
Memory Verse: Leviticus 9:6- “Moses said, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded you to do, that the glory of the LORD may appear to you.”
The book of Leviticus is a book that gives instructions to the newly emancipated children of Israel, who at the time of today’s text were in the desert wandering. After a year in the wilderness, they were instructed through Moses to build a “Tent of Meeting”. It is a place where the nation would meet with the God who had revealed Himself to them. However, what was the essence of a Tent of Meeting without the presence of God?
In our text for today, the Lord God instructed Moses and Aaron to tell the children of Israel to offer a burnt offering of a calf without blemish. This prescription was given for His people to experience and enjoy His presence. This text according to John Currid, “teaches us that the presence of Yahweh is the goal of worship.” He went further to say that, “All the rituals in the OT would have been pointless if God had not deigned to reveal himself to the people. The clothing and the sacrifices merely helped to put the worshippers in a state of mind that was prepared for God’s coming.”
Therefore, today, following the prescription covenantal conditions, God would fulfil His motivating covenantal promise—namely, His gloriously powerful presence. In verse 23, the Lord fulfilled His promise, “…and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people” – no one was left out. Many people around us experience God’s presence as we worship Him in spirit and truth.
Prayer: Our Father, we thank you that you are always ready to give us access to your presence. Help us to do our part, so that we can continue to experience and enjoy your presence in our lives and our community of faith.