Leviticus 3

The Lord saved His people and He now gives them instructions on how to be in right relationship with Him and others.  

Lord God of the Universe, I thank You that salvation only comes from You; but You have provided it to Your creation.  I praise Your Name for You intend for us to know what to do and how to behave in order to be at peace with You and others.  Lord, I am so grateful for Your introduction to the peace/shalom offering here as it shows that the offering is shared by the priest and the supplicant.  By Your representative and the believing person ... that peace is to be shared, that right, restored relationship is to be a common point in relationships, benefit from the offering extends to both the one offering the sacrifice and the one who handles it.  And the smoke goes up to please You, too.  Oh, Lord, help me to live in response to Your desire and provision for peace.  That blessing extends beyond the attainment of peace and well-being to those around me.  That peace blesses You.  Help me, teach me to walk in Your provision and priority of peace  - by Your design and not my own.

Offerings/sacrifices are messy and require more than just me to accomplish the purpose. 

Father, help me to be yielded, humble, teachable and available that I may obey You and Your provision for my life.  I thank You for the people You have put in my life to help me grow up in You.  Please let me carefully respond to Your teachings and directions that I may offer pleasing smoke with my life to You.  I want my life to be that sweet fragrance which is evidence of You.  May You be glorified in it.
 

Leviticus 2

The grain offerings were to be made up of fine flour.  Fine flour is very finely ground wheat berries.  Crushed, pounded and hammered until it is uniformly smooth and small in appearance.  All the larger pieces are removed if they do not grind up into the fine flour.  It is a very pure flour.

Lord God, I know that my Messiah was crushed and bruised and pounded - I know that He began that work pure and He ended that work pure and triumphantly.  He took the beating that makes me pure as He paid that amazing and terrible price for me.  I thank You that in Your wisdom, You allow me the privilege to be purified in my  life.  Help me to stay in the pounding that my impurities and inconsistencies will be resolved, to the praise of Your Name.  Help me yield a holy offering to You, for whatever purpose that pleases You.

Leviticus 1

The offerings for atonement were to be placed on the wood.  Jesus was placed on the wood. 

I still marvel at the availability of wood in a desert.  I am astonished that the Creator supplied the very instrument of His death, and made them beautiful and useful to His creation in the meantime.  Useful even to Him in His earthly life and work. 

I am just blown away with His previousness and His divine provision.  His love triumphed over His comfort. 

I am in awe of Your love, Lord.  Words cannot convey the emotions and thoughts which are washing over me as I think of Your amazing plan from before creation to be our Supply, our Source, our Sacrifice, our Salvation.  You set everything in place for victory.  You paid every part of the cost - even parts I don't know to imagine.  I worship You.  Only You could and would do this.  Help me to see You more and more in the story called the Old Testament, that I may be more and more devoted to You.

Exodus 40

All of the exodusing, manna-ing, treasure-gathering, tabernacle-constructing and building took place in a year.  Their heads must have been spinning.  God, You so love Your people that You teach us in the process of the unfolding of Your will.  You don't just deliver us, magically answer prayers only to let us work out the details of implementation.  You instruct us in the care and keeping of ourselves in the freedom You bestow that we may walk triumphantly in the liberty.  I praise You that You accomplish so much in such a small time.  May I always be compliant with Your plans that You may do much in my little life.

What a great nightlight!  Our God-Daddy is so thoughtful.

Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it.  But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted.

I thank You Lord that You don't just tell us to go, You confirm that we are to stay and keep at it until You do move us out.  You do want us to know what to do and when.  Give us eyes and ears and heart and strength to obey.  Give us vision to experience Your glory filling our lives.

Exodus 39

... just as the LORD had commanded, this they had done.

Lord, the list of what-to-do boggles my mind; but You gave what they needed that it might be said of them "they did as the Lord commanded."  Every assignment was completed.  Every detail was carried out.  Help me to look to You in every decision, every detail, every choice I have that I may receive what You have for me in that instant, that it may be said of me "she did as the Lord commanded." 

God, what pleasure must have been experienced in performing this work - hard work; but obedience.  What delight they must have had when Moses gave the thumbs up on the project.  Then to have been able to participate in relationship with You as a direct result of the work of their hands and offerings.  And this is after the golden-calf incident.  They could not deny that Your desire was to be among them.  Even when they preferred to have Your word secondhand.  Wow.  May I serve You with pleasure, delight and joy, knowing that Your presence is with me.

Father, I don't know what the colors blue, purple and scarlet really signify; but they remind me of the blue sky that the recent slaves now viewed with free eyes - liberty and Your ever-present Authority; the purple of royalty - You, the undisputed King; and sacred blood's scarlet color which washed our sins white and the life that is in the blood.  Colors of Your Kingdom. Freedom, Holy Presence and Faithfulness, Divinely-Glorious Majesty, Sacrifice, Redemption and Life... I praise You for the qualities of Your Kingdom.

Exodus 38

What initially strikes me is the overlay of the precious metals on the common material is like the Holy Spirit coming upon the people in the first covenant. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the new covenant – I praise You Lord for Your design and supply. Holy Spirit, I thank You for Your presence in my life. May we all reflect Your glory, to the praise of Your very great Name.

Another thought which washed over me was the fact that the gold was used on the table, the altar of incense, the ark, the mercy seat,the lampstand …. bronze is used on the altar of burnt offering, the utensils for that altar, the basin and its stand. Gold is used where the presence of God was to meet them and with the items used to honor Him. The bronze was outside of the holy places. Bronze was used to deal with the people’s sin, to cleanse spiritually and physically.

You couldn’t get to the gold place without passing through the bronze place. …

Jesus is my bronze place. He has taken away my sin and cleansed me. Because of His great and loving gift, I am allowed the gold place. The Holy Place, The Holy of Holies. I have always seen Jesus in the gold place – the Table of Showbread, the Mercy Seat, the Lampstand; But I have just realized this is a picture of Him, too. All the careful regulations, the precise manner of approaching, the exact method of cleansing, the specific sacrifices and timings. My little mind is just boggled at the enormity of the law’s requirements for atonement. To have been a priest must have been a frightful thing for the newbies. The consequence was death. The amazing thing about the Messiah’s gift is the consequence is … IS life.

Oh, I praise You my Lord and my Messiah. Let me today walk in greater cognizant gratitude towards You. And I praise You for answering yesterday’s prayer of showing me from what You have saved me. I don’t think You are done in Your revelations to me; but I trust You to give me the answer You desire me to have. And only if You think it right. Father, please continue to purify my heart, my mind, my motives, my needs that I may be like gold in this dark world. Lord, You give me chutzpah … holy chutzpah. Thank You, Abbi.

Exodus 37

The acacia wood appears to be a wood which is easily found - either from within the camp or from the surrounding wilderness.  A common component used in a holy fashion.  Rather like the bearers of Christ - common folk, ordinary even; but when dedicated to the Lord, the divine call and obedient response yield a treasure in His infinite and majestic Kingdom.  His holy anointing on my mere mortal life can be a masterpiece if I yield to His sacred plan.  Acacia wood (me) + pure gold (God) = a useful, beautiful and glorious testimony to our Lord God. 

O, Father, let me yield completely to your all wise and supernaturally competent crafting in and on my life.  Help me to not be concerned that too much is being cut away or that my strength will be gone.  I need You to sustain me in this time of expressing Your design on my life.  Increase my faith that I will be useful to You and not a detriment (like I can mess You up, but I wonder if I am a bigger hindrance sometimes, Lord).  And, even as the acacia wood took to the process, may I be a reliable and hearty resource for Your Heavenly purpose; may I bear Your glorious presence faithfully and to the spread of Your fame.

All of this construction, crafting and excellence took place in the wilderness among tent-dwellers.  Oh Lord, let me be as available to You as these recent slaves were.  Let me not say, "It can't be done because I have not the resources nor the right tools.  I have never done such a thing."  Master Creator and LORD,  I offer You what I have and what I can do; I say, "May it be to me as You say."  I look to Your everlasting, never-ending supply for Your work. May I steward well and with grace - without doubt and complaint.