Purification and Promise

Really with your big, clawny nose. Well, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions is where every weekday morning, you and I, we get together. We have a little bit of coffee. We get into God's word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2024, Lord willing? We'll make it from numbers to numbers, denotomy, keepers. Nice man, good job. All right, let's have some coffee. We'll pray and get into God's word. Or water. Or water. You wish you had coffee. Nope.
Okay, so we are at Numbers chapter 19. Numbers chapter 19. So we're kind of like in this new section again where we've been talking about the tithes and about the offerings and the duties of the priests and Levites, right? So it's kind of back to... So, starting at 19? Yep, starting 19.
And so we're kind of back in that mode of talking about the priests and Levites and cleanliness laws and stuff like that. We're just going to read the first ten chapters. Verses. First ten verses together. Okay. It's all one paragraph. Do you want my glasses? Yes. Clean them off recently so that should be helpful to you. So how about you just read as far as you want and when you're done reading I'll read the rest.
Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord has commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, that they may bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect, and on which a yoke has never come. You shall give it to Eliezer the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and he shall slaughter. And it shall be slaughtered before him. Oh, no, that's in my next speech. Oh, okay.
And Eliezer the priest shall take some of its blood with his fingers and sprinkle some of the blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the heifer shall be buried in his side shall be. born in his sight, its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its oval shall be born.
And the priest shall take seed of wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire, burning the heather. Then the priest shall wash his clothes. He shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. The priest shall be unclean until evening. And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them outside the camp in a clean place.
And they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification. It is for purifying from sin. And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be clean until evening. Oh yes, thank you. And he shall be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
Okay, so we got three questions. A. What is this about?
B. What is the best for us to summarize? And C. What are we called to do? Great. Can you sit on this side? Sure. So on the screen, they're going to like half your face. But I want to be close to you. Don't you want to be close to me? laugh isn't it? Okay well what's this about what do you think? I think it's about what they would have to do to atone their sins. Okay right so this is this whole burnt offering right and so what's what's the for this whole burnt offering what are they offering?
A heifer. A heifer. Cow? Yeah a female cow right and so she's got to be red and perfect without blemish and then how much of her is offered? All of it. All of it. Totally... All of it. Totally burnt. Yep. Totally burnt. All of it. What happens to the high priest? He's unclean. He's unclean. What happens to the person who takes the ashes outside? He's unclean. What happens to the person who gathers up all the ashes? He's unclean. Right?
This is all like to make this type of cleansing and atonement There's got to be this sacrifice and the sacrifice is going to make unclean. Why do you think God gives us? Because Jesus isn't yet. He's a living sacrifice, but they don't have Jesus yet, so they have to make it with animals.
Yeah, good. So they know that they're unclean. They know that they need to become clean somehow. They know that they need a sacrifice. And the sacrifice can't be them. So they use a bull. But are in this point a heifer, right? But can the bull and the blood of bulls or heifers or goats or sheep ever take away sin?
Nope. What were they pointing towards? Jesus right and as I breeze had to get washed Right, it was unclean until evening Do we have to get washed? Yeah, so how are we washed? By his blood Yes, by his blood. Right. Right. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's right.
Also, in the waters of baptism, washed our sin right with that sign and seal of the covenant placed on us. And so Colossians chapter three has a lot to say about that, too. So we're washed of our sins. What do you think is the best verse that you would underline in this section?
Didn't you already shut your bible? I don't know. Maybe... 11? 11? Well, we didn't need 11. I have verse two underlined. This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord has commanded, saying, speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never. I have that underlined. It basically gets the point of what it is. Do you think somebody else could underline something different? Yeah. Do you think they could do it right in the comments? Yeah. Really good.
Well, what do you think you're called to do or how do you think this points you to Jesus? Hmm. Look to him as our sacrifice. And I look to Jesus as our sacrifice. He's the perfect one. But all these sacrifices, all these rituals, they were all meant to point us towards a heavenly tabernacle with the great high priest who would take away our sins forever. Pretty good stuff, huh? You're a prick. You want to pray or you want me to pray? OK.
Lord, you have given us the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who is tempted in every way, as we are without sin. Lord, and he is a lamb who was slain and worthy as a lamb to be praised. Lord, we pray that we would have faith in him, that we would be cleansed from our sins, that we would confess them to you and that we would become the righteousness of God, because you have decided to love us. Lord, we thank you in Jesus Christ's name. May you have faith in Jesus Christ. May you love him and know that he has loved you to the uttermost. We'll see you next time. Bye. Bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural Southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue. Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.