When Jesus said, Wisdom is justified by her children. We would say the proof's in the pudding. The outcome has something to do with what's going on behind the scenes. the decisions that are made. the courage that is exhibited.
Prayer takes courage. If you turn your back and run, Don't expect to get results that you're going to want to boast about in the presence of the Lord. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Leviticus.
Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
Now here's Pastor Rick in Leviticus chapter 16 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. When we say offered these rams, it's not just, okay, here you go, Lord. They have to cut the throat, the skin, you know, cut the fatty lobe off, and arrange it just right, and take this part out. His sons would be helping him, and the Levites would be there. Preparation for this was days in advance to make sure that the blades were sharp enough to do the cutting.
that there would be ample water, that there would be at least poles to carry away the Carcass of skins of the animals. The firewood had to be enough. The fires had to get hot enough to do what they were supposed to do.
So the flames had to be stoked. Then the fat of the sin offering was burned. Afterward The Goat Keeper the suitable man. that was chosen to bring the scapegoat in. and then take him out to the wilderness to let him go.
He had to be cleansed. Aaron and the nation's sins' offerings were carried outside the camp, and then the one who burned the sin offerings, likely a priest, then had himself to be cleansed. This is all in one day. The humility involved in taking off of his garments and being reminded that he's just like everybody else, but he has his duty to do nonetheless, and he has to do it right. Or he could be struck dead, He had to stay focused.
He couldn't get anything wrong. Verse 7. He shall take two goats and represent them before Yahweh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats. One lot for the Lord.
and the other lot for the scapegoat. Propitiation for the people. We don't use those words a l every day. propitiation, atonement. It has to do with Getting the heart right before God on God's terms.
Not our own. One of the purposes of God saying there are unclean animals and there are clean animals. There are animals you can bring to the temple, there are animals you cannot. And you better get your head in the game, or else there's gonna be trouble. As mentioned, the mention of Nadab and Abihab, the two sons of Aaron that were slain.
We're not being focused. One animal would be slain to picture the substitutionary death of Christ. The other sent to the wilderness to represent the removal of sin. What's the purpose of having a blood sacrifice if my sin is still there on me?
So it's sort of an object lesson. When that Scapegoat was taken out of the camp. The people knew it would be released into the wild. There goes my sins. Cast away The Day of Atonement.
Would leave a lasting impression on the people. Not everybody could see this taking place, there was no stadium. You have a a level camp. With all the tribes of Israel. There's no way you can see over the shoulders or over the tents.
but should know what's going on. And it's published. Circulated throughout the camp. At the end of it all, the tribal leaders and the VIPs would come back home and they would discuss this. with their families.
It would be part of the conversation for a few days. Verse nine And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord's lot fell, and offer it a sin offering. likely using the Urum and Thurmum Of the high priest. to discover this that was kept in his breastplate. At this point he has returned to the men.
Adorned? his vestments for the offering of the people. The casting of lots did not serve the church well? And it ended with the giving of the Holy Spirit. We don't roll the dice to find out God's will.
We ask God and wait for the leading. That is the ideal. Very hard to do sometimes when you really want something.
Okay, Lord, just give me a sign. Ooh, look at that A cardinal landed on my roof Verse ten But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, before Yahweh. To make atonement upon it and to let it go as a scapegoat into the wilderness. In verse 11, And Aaron shall Bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and his house, and kill. The bull as the sin offering.
Which is for himself.
So the way it reads is like it's all out of sequence. Again, they knew what the order was. Aaron had to first be purified before he got to the people. But Moses he comes back and he repeats things. Isn't it hard to having a conversation with somebody who just constantly repeats the same thing?
Don't say that again. That's it's given to us somewhat like that. And you gotta be that's a fact, it's not a criticism. Though maybe a sneaky one. The two goats are again representing the double effect of Christ's work the sacrificial part where he is slain for sinners That that's the substitutional sacrifice, the doctrine of substitution, is simply Christ died for sinners.
It first shows up in Genesis 3, verse 21. when God had to give Adam and Eve? animal skins to cover their nudity. It doesn't have to say They had to kill the animals. They certainly didn't skin em and leave em walking around.
But that was a sacrifice. It shows up again. In Genesis twenty two, verse seven, where Isaac is being offered a burnt offering, And as Abraham is about to bring down the knife. God says, Do thy son no harm. He stops him.
And there was the ram caught in the thicket, and that was the substitution for Isaac, and these are all pointing to the coming Messiah.
So the scapegoat He symbolized the transference of guilt.
So it's God kind of saying to humanity, There's gotta be blood. Because of sin now and disobedience, things had to die to deal with man's disobedience. The outcome is the removal of sin. And that is, of course, the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. Sin separates, and this animal will be separated.
Only in this chapter of the Bible do we read about The scapegoat. The fact it is taught throughout. You have to learn to understand what the facts are in Scripture. If the scripture doesn't come out and say something the way you think it should be verbalized, it doesn't mean the fact isn't there. One of the basic ones, the Trinity.
The word Trinity doesn't show up in the Bible. It doesn't have to. The fact shows up that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all given to us. As equals. And No getting around that.
When you baptize them, you baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because Michael wouldn't be worthy. Wouldn't allow that. Verse twelve Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before Yahweh. with his hands Purely? Full of sweet incense beaten fine, And bring inside the veil.
Verse thirteen And 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 testimony lest he die. And so there it is explicitly said, both hands will have the crushed incense. And yet he has to put the incense on the coals in the censer in front of the mercy seat. He's not opening the veil with his elbows to squeeze it in.
OSHA wouldn't allow that. You'll set the curtains on fire that way. He's got to be freely moving within the house of God. within the tabernacle of God. The rights of the high priest on the day of atonement.
we should rejoice in these things. He's not hop along on one foot because he's got the incense sensor hanging by his toes and he's got to pull. off these tricks.
So this incense What's gonna happen when he grabs two fists full of that? The fragrance of salvation. Through the crushing of Christ, through the sacrifice You know, this incense represents the burning incense represents the prayers of the saints coming up before God. How many prayers do you think the saints over the centuries, including yourselves, have offered up to God under crushing circumstances? When the fragrance has been squeezed out of you.
Well you pray because you can't do anything else. You have to pray. You may get frustrated with God and want to pow. I'm not praying any more. But then you find yourself praying because you're his child.
You can't get away from it. When the proverb says Who has hardened himself against the Lord and prospered? There's no one. Cain hardened himself against God, and worked well for him. David did for about a year, Didn't work well for him.
He even writes about. How difficult it was. He didn't know about the Messiah like we did. He did understand. the work of sin The holiness of God.
The prayers going up before the people in a cloud before the presence of God, he was not ignorant. Of much of the value behind these things, but we have doubled, tripled what he knows, 2 Corinthians 2. Paul writes now, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. and through us the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. Not just the Holy of Holies.
It continues, Paul does. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ, Among those who are being saved, and among those who were perishing, To the ones perishing, it's a bad phrase, but to those who are being saved, In the processes of salvation, which includes sanctification, it's a glorious thing. Regardless, you may struggle with a lot of things when you're alone, but when you get around other Christians, you get strength. That's not hypocrisy, that's war. uh the fact that you're still getting around them and not giving up.
and turning away as some have, is a testimony to the work of the Lord in you. When Jesus said, Wisdom is justified by her children, we would say the proof's in the pudding. The outcome has something to do with what's going on behind the scenes. the decisions that are made. the courage that is exhibited.
Prayer takes courage. Don't expect to get results that you're going to want to boast about in the presence of the Lord. He says, and bring it inside the veil. the two handfuls of sweet crushed incense.
Now this veil There were A total of three and a half Jewish temples. Yeah. The first one is this one in the wilderness. This was replaced. by Solomon's Temple.
Solomon's Temple The veil was much larger, much thicker than this one in the wilderness, but it was there nonetheless. King Nebuchadnezzar, of course, his armies destroyed that temple in Jerusalem. Then.
Some eighties Almost 90 years later. The second temple was built, So you have the tabernacle and then Solomon's and then you have Zara the second Jewish temple. We're Haggai the prophet and Zechariah move the people to finish building God's house. when they came back from their seventy year captivity?
Well, Herod He was more of an E than he was a Jew. And He loved to build things and put his name on them. If you go to Masada in Israel, built that and had all sorts of chambers and balconies and food stores. And that was just one of many things that. the kings did in those days.
The building programs that they had. Herod. The Great, who was really a beast. He really invested in the Jewish temple, Zerubbabel's temple. And embellished it, put a gold roof on it, and he just did all sorts of things.
He was so impressed with the disciples that they said to Jesus, Look at this, aren't you impressed? And he says, You see these stones? Not one's going to remain on another. And then you're like, whoa, when's that gonna happen?
So you have just The tabernacle in the wilderness Which then becomes Solomon's temple. No longer portable, it's fixed in Jerusalem. Then you have Zerubbabel's temple. that is embellished by Herod. And the veil of that temple, it was the veil in Herod's temple that was torn.
from top to bottom as someone would tear a piece of paper, at the death of Christ. signifying access into the presence of God. Through Jesus Christ. For not only the high priest, For for any of Those who had come to the Lord. Hebrews 10:20, by a new and living way.
which He consecrated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh. That means through the cross. through the suffering. When God became a man, when he Assumed humanity. that was in his flesh and the sufferings that went along.
With it. Of course There's going to be another Jewish temple. The Antichrist will have something to do with that. He's going to be the one that defiles it. And Jesus warned when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet.
And he's guaranteeing there's going to be another temple. And if you look at Matthew 24 and consider the words of Daniel and Christ concerning that temple, we understand it's not Zarubbabel's second temple, there's gonna be a third temple. to bring about the end time prophecies. Why don't the Jews have a temple? Because they think the original temple the location of that temple is where the new temple has to go.
But they fear that The Muslims have put Of course, it's on the Temple Mount. And if they were to go there and try to build it. But there'd be War.
So how's that how are you going to get past that? We're going to get past that. I think the location is wrong and they're going to find out and hey, look at that. That's not where the temple was. It was actually over here.
Others have other theories. Of course, they're wrong, and I'm right, because that's just how God has ordained them. But we'll see, right? I mean, we won't be here for Antichrist. and all that end time stuff.
Anyway, verse 14. He shall take some of the blood of the bull, sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat. On the east side and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
So he's mobile. in the Holy of Holies. where the Ark of the Covenant is. And the poles are sticking through the rings on the side of that Mercy seat, the Ark of the Covenant. But he doesn't want to get poked by one of those in the dark.
Because I'm back to my point, you've got to have some light in there. They're gonna go in with a torch, not round those curtains. Another OSHA violation that would be. Hebrews 9.12, not with the blood of goats and calves. But with his own blood he entered the most holy place once for all Having obtained eternal redemption.
So, Paul. He's got it locked into Leviticus and atonement, the sacrifices of Christ. He's telling his Jewish people. All of our Scripture is pointing to this Jesus Christ that you're rejecting. Step out of it Seven is a number of Perfected completion.
when God uses it, It's where it needs to be. Verse fifteen. then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people. Bring its blood inside the vale, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat. Before the mercy seat.
He's not giving it to us in sequence, Quince, but he's saying. After he's done what We just discussed in verse 14. He now goes back. To the goat for the people, their sin offering. And so it gets a little repetitive.
Doctrinally it's the substitutionary. Atonement That goes back. Matthew twenty seven sixteen. At that time, They had a notorious Prisoner called Barabbas. Barabbas was An outlaw.
from all that we know about him, he was a bad guy. There's nothing good about him, nor do we know that he got saved. But what we do know he is on death row. And the Jews hated Christ so much. that they demanded Barabbas Be set free?
And the substitute for him would be Jesus. And so, there again, we see the doctrine. of substitutionary atonement. Barabbas? You're free to go.
They're going to kill Jesus in your place. That's Christianity. That is the doctrine of salvation.
Someone else who did not deserve to die in my place, died in my place. What am I going to do with that? Barabbas, far as we know, did nothing. But of course, millions, countless multitudes of believers have done plenty with it. It's the vicarious death.
Dying in the place of some one else. If we just translate the word mercy seat or atonement place. What would be lacking if that's all we had was that it's the mercy seat, it's the atonement place. The blood would be missing. How did it get to be?
the place of atonement through blood. Whose blood?
Well, it was just a sheep goat. They're gonna die and some gonna eat them anyway. That goes back to the fall of Adam and Eve. Creation got all messed up. Where does that leave us now?
We're still in this cursed world, but We don't We have a say-so as far as what happens to us when we leave this world because of the substitutionary sacrifice in Christ. How many people understand this? It's remarkable. How ignorant people are. of what Christ has done for them.
And no matter how much you've preached them, one of my worries with the teens is they've heard these verse-by-verse teachings over and over, all sorts of subjects. What is sinking in? Is air you're getting it? Are you understanding your faith? Don't complicate it.
Just receive the foundation because you can build on a foundation. If you put up a skyscraper and for its covering, its sheathing, its glass windows, well, that's all fine, but it's not going to stand if that foundation is wrong. And you can't reverse it. You can't put the glass on the bottom and the foundation on the top. It's got to follow those guidelines, and that is true of being a Christian.
You've got to have that foundation. to understand you are a dirty, rotten, no good sinner. It's okay in the sense that There is the solution, there is the Saviour. Don't let anybody take it from you. Back to verse 16.
So he shall make atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions. for all their sins. and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. Your tabernacle Is in the midst In their middle o' their camp, In the midst of your uncleanness God does that trouble Well, now let's keep your self esteem in place. He's telling you I'm telling you exalt me and you will be lifted up with me.
In the sense that humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, and he will exalt you in due time. Where has that doctrine, that teaching gone? It was big in the 80s. Self-esteem in the Christians and church. The psychologists who were Christians brought that stuff in.
It's all gone now. Why? 'Cause it didn't work. Had an adverse effect on everybody. All right.
I'm getting on a Tangent here. It's just not biblical. And it's very clear in the scripture. And where did they get that from?
Well, they didn't get it from scripture. The blood from the bull for Aaron and the goat. The blood from the goat, the one goat, for the people. Even the holy place required purification. And because the high priests and the people themselves defiled just by being sinners.
Romans 3. Verse 23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The high priest had to be purified. And then purify the tabernacle. God was saying the best man has to offer is still inherently defiled.
Your high priest is contaminating also. Mins uh what a It's a gloriously humbling. without humiliating them. God's not saying Yep. You're worthless.
He's saying I'll die for you. But you got to be rightly related. Or else it won't work. I'm not going to bring into heaven a bunch of rebels. If you don't submit to me here, You won't in the air.
It's here or nowhere. This is the proving ground. We all understand the idea of proving ground. We have to live with these facts. But a lot of people want to bypass it when it comes to the rights of God.
All the criminals that scream bloody murder about their rights But never mind the rights of the victims.
Well, That happens in people who Resist God. Verse seventeen. There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the holy place until he comes out. That he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. That covers everyone.
Not only The Holy of Holies But the entire tabernacle was off limits to everybody except the high priest. on that day. And that cute. Thanks for tuning in to today's edition of Cross Reference Radio. Pastor Rick Gaston is currently going through the book of Leviticus.
We're glad you joined us. We trust that you're gaining some valuable insights into God's Word as we go through this Old Testament book. Cross-Reference Radio comes to you from Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. If you'd like to subscribe to our podcast, you can do so by going to your favorite app store and downloading from there. For any additional information about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, crossreference radio.com.
Make sure to come back again for the upcoming edition in the book of Leviticus, as Pastor Rick has much more to share. We thank you for being with us right here on Cross Reference Radio. Uh
