Concluding Leviticus -
It is no small thing. It is a weight far heavier than I can bear. It is a barrier far thicker than I realized. It is a distance far greater than I have felt before. This thing called sin.
I am reminded of what life used to be like in the palmy days of the garden. Didn't Adam and Eve walk with God? Wasn't there ongoing, regular, uninterrupted joy and delight? No twinge of despair, guilt, failure, or shame. All the colors were bright as they should be and all the hues of life just right. "God?" "Yes, Adam." "My insides burst when I am near you!" "It's called joy, Adam! I love you so much." "Wow!"
Then, came sin. "Where are you?"
That anti-life force entered into the hearts of men, all men, because of disobedience. Nothing was the same. Now for man to merely come near to God, it required daily ongoing sacrifices of animals, shedding blood, butchering animals, burning of incense, altars, basins, utensils, tables, offerings, rules, regulations, laws, standards. Obey, obey, obey. So vast and penetrating was the demand of law. So heavy was the weight of sin. So great a barrier. So great a barrier.
When God came into the camp at the end of Exodus He then spoke from the tent in Leviticus 1:1. It takes the rest of the Old Testament to figure out what just happened. Life didn't get one or two things added to it. The entire life of a Hebrew was re-arranged. Because of Him. He was near. He wanted to be near. It seems God's heart never did change. . . just ours.
The purpose of the tabernacle is found in Ex 25:8 - "that I may dwell among them."
We get further insight into God's plan in Lev 26:11,12 - "I will make my dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people."
But what of the great barrier - sin? God kept going. He placed the "tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities." (Lev 16:16)
Thank you, Lord.
