God created us to be His earthly family, but we joined the rebellion against God. We (mankind) listened to the voice of Satan and disobeyed God’s specific instructions and we became unholy, so He expelled us from His presence (Genesis 3).
Rebellious angelic beings came and mixed their genetic material with mankind, so He wiped the hybrids out in a flood. But He kept one righteous family (also implying they were genetically pure humans) alive, along with each family of the animals (Genesis 6-8).
Then mankind decided to not scatter and fill the whole earth as God commanded, but instead consolidate to build a tower, a system, to by-pass God and get back to the heavenly realm by their own efforts. So God Himself came down and confused the language and scattered them over the earth (Genesis 11).
Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 32:8, that at that time, God divided the nations according to the sons of god (the heavenly council). This is a study in itself. To learn more on this please read ‘Unseen Realm’ by Dr. Michael Heiser. God chose one nation for Himself (Abraham and his descendants) from ‘the backside of the desert’, that He would instruct, guide, discipline, and ultimately, through this nation, He would bring salvation to the whole of mankind.
After the people who were descended from Abraham became a nation in Egypt, God took them back to the desert to teach them how to be in relationship with Him. This is where He showed Moses the pattern of the Tabernacle, and how to use it, in order to cover their sin and once again be in intimate fellowship with God.
First, we see that the Tabernacle was to be built facing the East (Exodus 27:13-16). This is the direction the pagans face to worship their gods; the direction of the rising sun. God told Moses to instruct the people to bring Him their gifts (Leviticus 17:3-6). This meant that as they approached the Tabernacle where God’s presence dwelt, they had to turn their backs on the East, thus turning their backs on the foreign gods. They had to choose whom to serve ( Joshua 24:15 ). We must make this same choice today.
Next, in order to cover their sin (rebellion), they had to bring a pure, acceptable sacrifice.
Before the Messiah…the people had to bring another pure acceptable animal… every time they sinned.
The dynamics behind this are;
The soul that sins must die (Ezekiel 18:20). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
The life of a living creature is in the blood, so when you sacrifice it and spill it’s blood, you are taking it’s life (Leviticus 17:11).
The remission of sins is a life for a life deal. Life exchange; the innocent dies instead of the guilty, and the guilty receives the life of the innocent so they may continue to live.
Before the Messiah fulfilled this requirement, the people had to bring another pure acceptable animal and complete the sacrifice every time
they sinned.
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22)
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
The Bible is also clear that it’s not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (Hebrews 9:9-10 and Hebrews 10:4).
All throughout Hebrews, and other books in the New Testament, we see that Yeshua was that perfect sacrifice who willingly gave up His life and took all our sins on Himself, that we might have His life in exchange.
“It’s no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Now we are not just covered but we are IN the beloved;
“Yet we know that a man is not justified [and placed in right standing with God] by works of the Law, but [only] through faith in [God’s beloved Son,] Christ Jesus. And even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty]” (Galatians 2:16 )
and…
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6).
This reminds me of what happened on a sheep farm I used to visit when I was young. When a lamb died, the mother had lots of milk but wouldn’t accept another lamb that was not hers. The farmer would take an orphan lamb, or one of a set of twins, and tie the skin of the dead lamb over the living lamb. The mother would smell her ‘own lamb’ and accept it and let it drink. We are clothed in Christ, in His righteousness, and so we are acceptable to The Father.
While on the cross, Yeshua called out “Hushlam”, which literally means ‘paid in full’/’completed’. We know it in English as ‘it is finished’. No temporary covering. He paid for our sins in full. Once, and for all time.
Until the Messiah came and completed our redemption, the people had to be represented before God by the priesthood. God chose Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his sons and their sons, and so on, to be priests to be consecrated (set apart) to minister before God on behalf of the people. The High Priest was also to represent God before the people. No direct access but through a ‘go between’.
Now we have direct access to the Father in the Messiah (Hebrews 4:14-16), and not only that, we have His Holy Spirit dwelling in us to do His will (Philippians 2:13), to change us into His likeness (Romans 8:29), and change our stony rebellious hearts, prone to disobedience and wanting our own way, to hearts of flesh; soft and open to God, willing to love and obey Him (Ezekiel 11:19-20).
Choose life, that you and your children may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).
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