Forgiveness, Atonement, Intercession, and...Stuff

Without giving away too much of this week's discussion (as if I could possibly know or predict what we will be talking about!), a certain topic hit me today that I'll like to throw up and throw out to all ya'll.

Numbers 18:1-7 is perhaps the most amazing paragraph in the Bible. In this paragraph, God gives Israel a way to save them from Himself. To paraphrase: "I give you a priesthood so that I won't destroy you all."

So...why does God give Israel a priesthood? Why is it significant that God is the one who gives it to Israel? Let me tell you: once you understand the significance of this, then you can understand the gospel, your salvation, even Jesus.

Introduction to Numbers

This is a bit of review from last week:

So we are now (not us, but the Israelites) in the second year after the exodus from Egypt (10:11). After the Exodus, Israel went to Mt. Sinai and entered into the Mosaic covenant with God (Ex 19:5-6). This covenant was made with the nation of Israel, and it is a conditional covenant. The blessings of the Abrahamic covenant are now mediated by obedience to the Mosaic covenant; that is, by faithful obedience to God and His law, Israel will be blessed and be given the land God promised to their forefathers. God also gave Israel instructions for building the tabernacle, which was the center of Israel's religious practices. It was primarily God's dwelling place with His people, and religious practices like sacrifices and offerings were done there. So now we are on our way to the promised land!

Tear...

The saddest verse in the entire Bible (thus far)...

Numbers 14:4 "So they said to one another, 'Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.'"

Any thoughts?

For this week...

There will be no required reading this week. We will still meet, but it will be a night with a different focus. However, if anyone wants to start reading early, the reading for next week is Numbers 11-14, 16, 18:1-7, 20, 25. Also, if you are not going to be able to make it to this week's meeting (or any meeting for that matter), feel free to let me know so that we can plan accordingly. Stay tuned for any new info!