Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus chapter 1.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%201&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock.  If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect;  he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.  He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.  He shall slay the young bull before the LORD;  and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.  He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces.  The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.  Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.  Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water.  And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.”  Leviticus 1:1-9.

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The two phrases highlighted above in bold italic font, “a male without defect” and “a soothing aroma to the LORD” point us to Christ Who could be a sacrifice for our sins, because He was without sin, “a male without defect”, and He was pleasing to God, “a soothing aroma to the LORD”.

Regarding Christ being without sin, “a male without defect”, consider the following verses.

“For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”  Hebrews 9:13-14.

“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.  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 4:15-16.

Regarding Christ being pleasing to God, “a soothing aroma to the LORD”, consider the following verses. 

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water;  and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”  Matthew 3:16-17.

“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  Therefore, when He (Christ) comes into the world, He says,

“SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
“THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’”

…  By this will (God the Father’s will) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;  but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.  For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”  Hebrews 10:4-7 and 10-14.

“In Him (Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.  In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will (God the Father’s will), according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Christ) with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”  Ephesians 1:7-10.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 40:9-16.

“Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its furnishings;  and it shall be holy.  You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.  You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and consecrate it.  Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.  You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me.  You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them;  and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me;  and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”  Thus Moses did;  according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did.”  Exodus 40:9-16.

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The anointing theme of today’s Scripture leads us to meditate on the Holy Spirit.   

“As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you;  but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”  1 John 2:27.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”  John 14:26. 

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”  John 15:26-27.

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;  for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak;  and He will disclose to you what is to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine;  therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”  John 16:12-15.

“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;  and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”  Acts 1:8.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 40:1-8.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.  You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.  You shall bring in the table and arrange what belongs on it;  and you shall bring in the lampstand and mount its lamps.  Moreover, you shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle.  You shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.  You shall set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it.  You shall set up the court all around and hang up the veil for the gateway of the court.”  Exodus 40:1-8.

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The key words in bold italic font of “set up” and “set” in today’s Scripture leads us to meditate on the specific instructions by the LORD.

How do we handle the affairs of the church and our own affairs? 

If we focus on man and trust man, then we gravitate toward freedom and our own wisdom.

But, if we focus on God and trust God, then we gravitate toward acceptance of God’s specific instructions and God’s wisdom.

So, what did Moses do?

“Thus Moses did;  according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did.”  Exodus 40:16. 

“He who gives attention to the word will find good,
And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.” Proverbs 16:20.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3.

“5 Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 39:8-21.

Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2039&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.

“He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful workman, like the workmanship of the ephod:  of gold and of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen.  It was square;  they made the breastpiece folded double, a span long and a span wide when folded double.  And they mounted four rows of stones on it.  The first row was a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald;  and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond;  and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;  and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.  They were set in gold filigree settings when they were mounted.  The stones were corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel;  they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes.”  Exodus 39:8-14.

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“And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  …

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”  1 Peter 2:4-5 and 9.

“…  “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.  Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.  It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels;  and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.  …

…  The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper;  the second, sapphire;  the third, chalcedony;  the fourth, emerald;  the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius;  the seventh, chrysolite;  the eighth, beryl;  the ninth, topaz;  the tenth, chrysoprase;  the eleventh, jacinth;  the twelfth, amethyst.  …”  Revelation 21:9-12 and 19-20.

Today’s devotion comes from Exodus 38:21-31.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2038&version=NASB1995

I quote only the following verses.  

“This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.  …   

All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the wave offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.  The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary;  a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.  The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil;  one hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.  Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their tops and made bands for them.  The bronze of the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.”  Exodus 38:21 and 24-29. 

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“This is the number of the things for the tabernacle …”  Verse 21.

The exact cost of the tabernacle is written in today’s Scripture, and the exact number of items that were made for the construction of the temple was written in Exodus chapters 36 through 38.

The importance to this knowledge, shown by including the numbers in Scripture, gives us hope that God also knows, and considers it important, what efforts and expenditures go into the good works that God has prepared for us to do.

We should not be discouraged, nor fear, that it is not important to God.  Sometimes, it may seem to us that our efforts and expenditures are wasted.  So to speak, we may feel like our wheels are spinning and that we are drifting.  But, God has a purpose.  God may be building faith.  God may want us to focus on another area of life for a while.  Although we may think that we need to get a lot more done, God may have already accomplished what concerns us within our work in one area, and God is working within us in another area of our life.

In summary, the righteous live by faith not sight.  Our faith is more precious to God than gold (1 Peter 1:6-7).  We can trust that we are God’s workmanship for good works that He prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10), that He works within us both to give us the will to do His will and to work within us for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), and that He will perfect the work that He began within us (Philippians 1:6).  

“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.” Psalm 1:6.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?  And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So do not fear;  you are more valuable than many sparrows.”  Matthew 10:29-31.

“The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8.

“I will cry to God Most High,
To God who accomplishes all things for me.” Psalm 57:2.

“but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 15:57-58.