Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 21, 2023

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 18:19-30.

“‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity.  You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her.  You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God;  I am the LORD.  You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female;  it is an abomination.  Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it;  it is a perversion.

‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things;  for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.  For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.  But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled);  so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you.  For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people.  Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them;  I am the LORD your God.’”  Leviticus 18:19-30.

—————-

“7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:7-8.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.” Psalm 111:10.

But, there is hope!

“But He gives a greater grace.  Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”  James 4:6. 

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:8-9. 

“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’  I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other;  for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 18:13-14.

“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.  He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”  Acts 5:30-31.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;  I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers;  so you will be My people, and I will be your God.  Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness;  and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.”  Ezekiel 36:25-29.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 20, 2023

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 18:6-18.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2018&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness;  I am the LORD.  You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother.  She is your mother;  you are not to uncover her nakedness.  You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife;  it is your father’s nakedness.  The nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside,  their nakedness you shall not uncover.  …  You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife;  it is your brother’s nakedness.  You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives.  It is lewdness.  You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.”  Leviticus 18:6-9 and 15-18.    

—————-

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification;  that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;  that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;  and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.  For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.  So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”  1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.

But, there is hope!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”  Ephesians 6:10-13.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;  against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  Galatians 5:22-24.

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.  I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.  For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed?  For the outcome of those things is death.  But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”  Romans 6:17-22.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;  seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.  Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”  2 Peter 1:2-6. 

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 19, 2023

“THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 18:1-5.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.  You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you;  you shall not walk in their statutes.  You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them;  I am the LORD your God.  So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them;  I am the LORD.”  Leviticus 18:1-5.

——————-

“But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:23-26. 

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba!  Father!”  Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son;  and if a son, then an heir through God.”  Galatians 4:4-7.

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:  sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”  Romans 8:3-4.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.  For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

What shall we say then?  Is the Law sin?  May it never be!  On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law;  for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”  But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind;  for apart from the Law sin is dead.”  Romans 7:4-8.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.”  Romans 10:4-5.

“For the Law was given through Moses;  grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”  John 1:17. 

“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse;  for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”  Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;  for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  However, the Law is not of faith;  on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  Galatians 3:10-14.

“For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.  For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified;  for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”  Romans 4:13-15.

“Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”  Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  John 6:28-29.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”  1 Corinthians 1:30.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:3-6.

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life;  he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”  1 John 5:11-12.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 17, 2023

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 17:10-16.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2017&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.  For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls;  for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’  Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.’  So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

“For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life.  Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood;  whoever eats it shall be cut off.’”   Leviticus 17:10-14. 

———————

“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.”  And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Hebrews 10:29-31.

Other doctrine teaches that God loves everybody, and Christ shed His blood for everybody.  In a sense, by how they treat the blood of Christ for their own purpose, they are eating it up or trampling it, not in the sense of being hateful to it but in the sense of treating it as ineffective by itself, like the description in Matthew 5: 13:  “…  but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?  It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” 

Their doctrine forces them to conclude that Christ’s blood (as they claim, shed for everyone) by itself did not save, “purchase”, nor “redeem” anyone, because they admit that most people (or at least many) are not saved.  They claim that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own wisdom and his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save.  Thereby, they believe that the life is not in the blood, but they believe that the life is in their own wisdom and free-will. 

In sharp contrast, Reformed Doctrine teaches that God only loves His elect, and Christ only shed His blood for God’s elect.  Reformed Doctrine believes that truly the life is in Christ’s blood.  Everyone for whom Christ’s blood was shed will be saved.

Consider the following from the Canons of Dordt in the section titled SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby. 

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father;  that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.

Christ shed His blood for only God’s elect, not for everyone in the world.  But, as stated above, “the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation”.

This is Christ’s specific love just for His bride, the church.  Just as a husband should not love and give himself up for all women, but only for his own wife, “…  Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;  but that she would be holy and blameless.”   Ephesians 5:25-26.  

Christ laid down His life for only His sheep.  “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father;  and I lay down My life for the sheep.”  John 10:14-15.

In Christ’s intercessory prayer in John 17:9, we see Christ praying for only those whom God gave Him, not for the world: “I ask on their behalf;  I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine;”.

Redemption is always for specific objects that we own, never for everything.  For example, when we redeem something from the pawn shop, we do not redeem everything in the store, but we only redeem our specific items that we own and left at the pawn shop as collateral for a loan.

Christ’s death redeemed all of God’s elect, but only them alone, not for everyone in the world. Christ’s death did not just possibly take away our sins depending on our own wisdom and free-will to choose Christ nor depending on our alleged free-will whether or not we get and keep faith till our death.

Salvation is not dependent on our sinful flesh, neither by our works nor even by as little as our will.

Reformed Doctrine teaches us that man’s condition corrupted by the fall of Adam (through Adam’s sin) is a condition of “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism.

We were “dead” in sin. Ephesians 2:1-5. We were hostile to God. Romans 8:7 and Colossians 1:21. We were in bondage to sin. Romans 7:14-15.

“10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” Romans 3:10-12.

God’s sovereignty rules over even salvation. Throughout Scripture, we see that “Salvation belongs to the LORD”. Psalm 3:8. 

“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.” Psalm 103:19.

“For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.”  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”  Romans 9:15-16.

This point is summarized by “Limited Atonement”, the “L” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”  Ephesians 1:4-7.

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”  John 6:39.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 16, 2023

“—for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 17:1-9.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD has commanded, saying, “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man.  He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people.  The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the LORD, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.  The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the LORD.  They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot.  This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations.”’

“Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice, and does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man also shall be cut off from his people.”  Leviticus 17:1-9.  

—————-

“You shall not worship them or serve them;  for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”  Exodus 20:5-6.

“—for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—”  Exodus 34:14.

Let us be careful.  Let us not be quick to dismiss today’s Scriptures, thinking that we are safe because we do not intentionally worship idols made of gold or wood.  There can be idols made by our mind and our heart.  

Consider the following article by Augustus Toplady (1740-1778) who was chiefly known as a writer of hymns including “Rock of Ages”.  He ministered in London, England.  Although he was originally a follower of John Wesley, in 1758 he adopted strong Calvinist convictions.  Some comments by Wesley upon Toplady’s presentation of Calvinism led to a bitter controversy between them. 

“The ‘god’ of Arminianism” by Augustus Toplady

“I dare say, that, in such an auditory as this, a number of Arminians are present.  I fear, that all our public assemblies have too many of them.  Perhaps, however, even these people, idolaters as they are, may be apt to blame, and, indeed, with justice, the absurdity of those who worship idols of silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.  But let me ask:  If it be so very absurd, to worship the work of other men’s hands what must it be, to worship the works of our own hands?  Perhaps, you may say, ‘God forbid that I should do so.

Nevertheless, let me tell you, that trust, confidence, reliance, and dependence, for salvation, are all acts and very solemn ones too, of divine worship:  and upon whatsoever you depend, whether in whole or in part, for your acceptance with God, and for your justification in his sight, whatsoever, you rely upon, and trust in, for the attainment of grace or glory;  if it be any thing short of God in Christ, you are an idolater for all intents and purposes.

Very different is the idea which Scripture gives us, of the ever-blessed God, from that of those false gods worshipped by the heathens;  and from that degrading representation of the true God, which Arminianism would palm upon mankind.  Our God (says this Psalm, verse the third) is in the heavens:  he hath done whatsoever he pleased.  This is not the Arminian idea of God: for our free-willers and our chance- mongers tell us, that God does not do whatsoever he pleases; that there are a great number of things, which God wishes to do, and rags and strives to do, and yet cannot bring to pass  …  Is their god the Bible-God?  Certainly not.  Their god ‘submits’ to difficulties which he ‘cannot help’ himself out of, and endearours to make himself ‘easy’ under millions and millions of inextricable embarrassments, uncomfortable disappointments, and mortifying defeats.  … This said scheme ascends, on the ladder of blasphemy, to the mountain top of atheism;  and then hurls itself from that precipice, into the gulf of blind, adamantine necessity, in order to prove mankind free agents!

… One great contest, between the religion of Arminianism, and the religion of Christ, is, who shall stand entitled to the praise and glory of a sinner’s salvation?  Conversion decides this point at once;  for I think that, without any imputation of uncharitableness, I may venture to say, that every truly awakened person, at least when he is under the shine of God’s countenance upon his soul, will fall down upon his knees, with this hymn of praise ascending from his heart, Not unto me, O Lord, not unto me, but to thy name, give the glory:  I am saved not for my righteousness, but for thy mercy and thy truth’s sake.”

Let us also beware of the strong and subtle influences of the world on us whether by TV or by the internet or by neighbors or by even family or friends.

“otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.”  Exodus 34:15-16.

“So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you.  For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  Deuteronomy 4:23-24.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 15, 2023

“In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:29-34.

“This shall be a permanent statute for you:  in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;  for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you;  you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.  It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls;  it is a permanent statute.  So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement:  he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar.  He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.  Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.”  And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.”   Leviticus 16:29-34.

——————-

We notice how God twice commanded the sons of Israel to rest and humble their souls during the annual day of atonement.  This emphasis leads us to meditate on the following Scriptures on how such humility and rest profit us.

“But He gives a greater grace.  Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”  James 4:6. 

“And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people:  swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week;  I pay tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’  I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other;  for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 18:9-14.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God;  in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;  therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”  Exodus 20:9-11.

“But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear!  Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today;  for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.  The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.”  Exodus 14:13-14.

“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.  For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also;  but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.  For we who have believed enter that rest, …”  Hebrews 4:1-3.

“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.  Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”  Hebrews 4:9-11.

“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,

“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.” …” Isaiah 30:15.

“5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
6 The LORD preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.” Psalm 116:5-8.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 14, 2023

“let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:23-28.

“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there.  He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.  Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.  The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water;  then afterward he shall come into the camp.  But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.  Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.”  Leviticus 16:23-28.

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We see the command “bathe his body with water” three times in today’s Scripture.  We are all also personally familiar with the importance of water in cleaning our own bodies.  But, there is much more to the role of water in Scripture.  

How can one cover it in a book much less in a format of a short devotion?!

How can one confidently explain of all of its roles?!

Nevertheless, we can meditate on some of the Scriptures. 

We will start with the longest Scripture, not because it is the most revealing, but because it encourages us:  “Just do it!”

“Elisha sent a messenger to him (Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram), saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”  But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’  Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?  Could I not wash in them and be clean?”  So he turned and went away in a rage.  Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?  How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”  So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God;  and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.”  2 Kings 5:10-14.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;  I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Ezekiel 36:25-27.

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  John 3:5.

“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”  John 4:10.

“Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;  and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Acts 2:38. 

“…  Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;  but that she would be holy and blameless.”   Ephesians 5:25-26. 

“let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  Hebrews 10:22.

“This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ;  not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood.  It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  For there are three that testify:  the Spirit and the water and the blood;  and the three are in agreement.”  1 John 5:6-8.

“for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life;  and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 7:17.

“Then He said to me, “It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”  Revelation 21:6. 

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,”  Revelation 22:1.

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”  And let the one who hears say, “Come.”  And let the one who is thirsty come;  let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”  Revelation 22:17.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 13, 2023

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:20-22.

“When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat.  Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins;  and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.  The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land;  and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”   Leviticus 16:20-22.

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In the February 9, 2023 devotion, we meditated on a similar Scripture, Leviticus 16:7-10.  The goat was called a scapegoat, and our devotion meditated on how the scapegoat points to Christ, particularly Isaiah 53:4-9 and Matthew 8:17.

In this devotion, we will meditate on the meaning of the goat being sent away “into the wilderness”.  “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land;  …”  Verse 22.

“11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 12, 2023

“He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:15-19.

“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.  He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins;  and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.  When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.  Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.  With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.”  Leviticus 16:15-19.  

————–

“He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; …”  Verse 16.  And, we see blood sprinkled on the holy items therein:  the mercy seat, the tent of the meeting, and the altar.  

This should shock us! 

If even the holy place, including the holy items therein, needed atonement, “because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins”, then we should humble ourselves and recognize much more fully the need for atonement for us.  

Yet, how proud we are this Sunday morning when we strut into church.  

“And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people:  swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’  I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other;  for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 18:9-14.

“But He gives a greater grace.  Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”  James 4:6. 

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | February 10, 2023

“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 16:11-14.

“Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.  He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil.  He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die.  Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side;  also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.”  Leviticus 16:11-14.

——————   

In contrast to Aaron who had to repeatedly offer up sacrifices to “make atonement for himself and for his household”, Christ did not need to offer sacrifices for His own sins, because Christ was without sin.

“For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;  who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.  For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”  Hebrews 7:26-28.

“And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.  For it is attested of Him,

“YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” Hebrews 7:15-17.

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”  Hebrews 4:15.

Q. 15. What sort of a mediator and deliverer then must we seek for?

A. For one who is very man, and perfectly righteous;  and yet more powerful than all creatures;  that is, one who is also very God.  Heidelberg Catechism.

The Scriptures show that we have such a mediator and deliverer in Jesus Christ.

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:16.

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