“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own Blood He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For, if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the Blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Hebrews 9:12-14
How wonderful to know our only Hope is in what He did, not what we do or don’t do.
When the children of Israel finally reached the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness because of their rebellion against God (Num. 14:20-35), the Lord gave them many specific instructions on how to properly worship (Num. 28:1-30:16).
Even a cursory examination of these instructions will readily reveal how complicated they were. There were different type daily offerings (Num. 28:1-8), weekly offerings (vv.9-10) and monthly offerings (vv.11-15). There were offerings—different in number and type—for the Passover feast, which included the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits (28:16-31). . .the Feast of Trumpets (29:1-6). . .the Day of Atonement (29:7-11). . .and the Feast of Tabernacles (29:12-38). And, these were all different from one’s regular “freewill offerings, burnt offerings, meat offerings, drink offerings and peace offerings” (29:39).
Yet, in all of these the sacrificial animals had to be “without blemish or spot” (28:19, 31; 29:2, 8, 13, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 36). They also had to offer “one kid of the goats as a sin offering to make an atonement for their sins” (28:22, 30; 29:5, 11).
Thus, today’s Manna—which was probably better understood by those Jewish and Jewish-Christians who read it—stands as a stark contrast to what went before and now is. Simply put, when Jesus went to the Cross, He put an end to the repetitive animal sacrifices that “sanctified to the purifying of the flesh” by becoming the Father’s new Passover Lamb, Who “takes away the sins of the world” (Jn. 1:29-36). His Death became the new Day of Atonement.
No longer would the priests or people need to try and remember which type or how many bullocks, lambs or goats were needed for this or that offering; neither would they have to live in limbo as to whether or not their sacrifice was acceptable or not because Jesus offered Himself “without spot or blemish” (no sin) to become the Perfect Sacrifice once-and-for-all. Hallelujah!!
And, as Hannah Whithall Smith described it in her book, The Christian’s Secret of the Happy Life, His is the “Ministry of the Interior.” No longer would worshippers have to inwardly grapple still with a guilty conscience. Because of Jesus’ shed Blood, the “conscience is cleansed from dead works so we can serve the living God.” Glory!!
Oh, dear Pilgrim, do you see it? Do you see it? All those remembrances of past sins. . .that the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 12:9-10) constantly reminds you of. . . are gone. . .washed away. . .remembered no more. . .hidden from the Righteous Judge’s view by the rich, royal Blood of His dear Son. Why not spend today rejoicing in “so great a Salvation” (Heb. 2:3)?
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated January 2, 2011
