The laws of inheritance are still in effect today. It’s pretty amazing that the world wants to reject the Bible, yet so many of the principles laid down in the Word are still active and present in our society. Can you even imagine what would happen to our culture, and our world if the laws and rules laid down in the Bible were not enforced in today’s world? Murder and theft would run rampant, as would sexual lust and dishonoring parents. In fact when I think about it, isn’t this what is happening in the world right now? Something to think about, isn’t it?
Joshua is chosen as the next leader and Moses is told he is going to die without entering the promised land. He did one little thing wrong, and his punishment is pretty severe, if you ask me. And Moses knows that he is going to die once he goes up that mountain to see the land. I don’t think I would like to know the time and place I was going to die. I would do everything I can to avoid going to that place. I would complain to God that I wasn’t ready to die yet. But we see none of this with Moses. He does what God asks humbly and meekly. This is how we should obey, no matter what comes our way!Endless sacrifices, all without blemish. This is the theme of our reading this morning. I always thought of the wilderness as a desert-like ecosystem, with sparse vegetation and a lot of sand. But how could they possibly raise this many sheep and cattle to fulfill all the sacrificial requirements. If it was that bad. Think about it with me. 2 rams a day, first year rams without blemish. That’s 730 a year. For 40 years in the wilderness, that’s 29,200 rams, of the first year, without blemish. That’s just the daily offerings. It does not include any burnt offerings, sin offerings, or trespass offerings that might be due. It does not include the offerings for all the feasts, The Sabbath offerings would have totaled 4,160 lambs. The monthly offerings totalled 960 bulls, 480 rams, 3,360 lambs and 480 goats. The offerings for all the feasts combined, for 40 years, would be the same 2,720 bulls, 760 rams, 6,000 lambs and 400 goats. Plus all the grain offerings to go with each sacrifice. Can you tell I like numbers? That’s a total of 3,680 bulls, 30,740 rams, 13,520 lambs and 980 goats. All the first year, all without blemish. This did not include any other offerings that were due because of sins, or trespasses.
Aren’t you glad Jesus paid it all? All these offerings and sacrifices are no longer due to the Lord. Jesus was our perfect lamb, sacrificed without sin in His life. He took the punishment for our sin. The stripes on His back from a whip laced with stones so that each lash sunk deep into his flesh and ripped it open. A crown of thorns placed on his head, thorns long enough and sharp enough to pierce the skin right to the skull, and make blood flow from each embedded thorn. The nails in His hands and feet went right through His limbs, causing intense pain. The cross on which he hung slowly was strangling Him to death as He tried to pull himself up by the nail-pierced hands, or push His body upo using the nail-pierced feet as leverage. He suffered the agony of a brutal death so that we would no longer have to offer all these sacrifices to make atonement for our sin, or to appease almighty God. If we have accepted His sacrifice in place of our own offerings that would be due, He saves us from all that. I am so glad Jesus did this for me. I can’t even imagine the blood required for all of my sins!
Have you made a decision to make Jesus your sacrifice, and allow Him to be Lord over your life? You have a debt to God that is enormous. You need a sacrifice that would cover it all. Jesus is that sacrifice. Won’t you accept Him today?