Leviticus 9:23,24
“Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”

Worship is important in the life of the believer, and in the function of the church. When we gather, we should have an atmosphere where people can encounter the Lord. While there are a variety of worship styles, the heart of worship is to encounter the Lord, offering praise, and surrendering all. I think there are a few things we can learn about corporate worship from Israel’s example on the day of a dedication.

First, notice that the people gathered in accordance with the Word of God. It is clear that their time was not a free-for-all. The Word of God determined how the people…

Luke 4:18
“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, . . .”

Since man’s greatest problem is sin, man’s greatest need is for a savior. We don’t have to look too far to see that we are a fallen race. War, prejudice, and crime are all around us. Even within our own homes we have anger, lust, fear and unforgiveness. We are a people desperately in need of God. The great news of the Bible is that God came to save. The Bible speaks of the all-sufficient work of Christ upon the cross. So effective was His sacrifice, that any and all who believe on Him will be saved from the penalty of sin. That my friends is the good news of the Gospel.

But the good news does not stop there. When Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth, He declared to His friends, neighbor, and relatives, that He…

Leviticus 7:3-4
“And he shall offer from it all its fat. The fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove;”

In Biblical times, fat was a sign of an animal’s health and vigor. When it came time to divide up the offerings, the fat was always devoted to the Lord. This was not done for health reasons, but as an illustration of giving our best to God. While the Cross made the need for daily offerings obsolete, the idea of offering our best to the Lord remains, and is one of the chief aspects of worship.

Sometimes we reduce worship to the singing of songs prior to a Bible study, but worship is much more than that. We might define proper worship…

Leviticus 6:13
“A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.”

The Old Testament offerings served a duel purpose. First, they were designed to provide a way for man to have relationship with God. Second, they were designed as types or illustrations of a relationship between man and God, through Christ. Paul wrote that these things were written for our “example” (Romans 15:4). An understanding of the Old Testament offerings, helps to illustrate the similarity of those offerings to a healthy relationship with Christ. The burnt offering is a picture of a life fully devoted to the Lord. This offering was brought to the priest morning and night, and completely consumed upon the altar.

Jesus explained, if we want to experience abundant life, it is not found in attempting to save our lives, by holding things back from the Lord. It is in the complete…

Luke 3:8
“We have Abraham as our father.’”

John the Baptist had a thriving ministry. We read that multitudes, or large gatherings of people, came out to hear him preach. We read that this crowd was made up of a cross section of society. There were religious people, tax collectors, and soldiers, as well as what we might call the everyday man; all of whom had come out to hear John speak.

Crowds formed the same way then as they do today. One man tells another, who tells another, and pretty soon a multitude forms. We are not told who the first people were to hear John speak, but we can imagine the message they declared to their friends, “You gotta come hear this guy speak. I listened to him, was baptized and my life has was changed.” One after another, they gathered to hear John. His message was very…

Leviticus 5:16

“And he shall make restitution for the harm that he has done in regard to the holy thing, and shall add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. So the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.”

The first five chapters of Leviticus introduce us to five offerings; a part of Israel’s worship. The first three were free will offerings, meaning the individual gave of his own volition. The final two were compulsory. There was no relationship with God without the sin and trespass offerings.

The sin offering points to the work of Christ on the cross. As a Lamb without spot or blemish, Jesus went to the cross to once and for all, pay for the sins of humanity. His blood was spilled, and the offering was accepted. We know this because of…

Leviticus 4:2
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of The Lord…'”

Leviticus 4 addresses unintentional sins. The word unintentional means, “not being done on purpose; accidental or unwittingly”. Whether these sins are committed by the people, the leaders, or the congregation as a whole, Moses gives instructions for how forgiveness will be received. This forgiveness involved two primary factors. First, once they became aware of their sin, the people were responsible to bring an offering to the altar. Second, they were to lay their hands on the offering as an admission of their guilt. We can learn something about our reaction to sin from these offerings.

First, we no longer live under the Old Covenant. On the night before His death, Jesus established a New Covenant based upon His death, rather than a system of daily offerings. As a result…