daily bible readings

Having cleansed the Temple and the surrounding precinct the King, Priests and Levites, and the people, sought the Lord’s forgiveness for their sinfulness. The animals for the sacrifice were provided and the King and the assembly laid their hands on them and they were slaughtered for the sins of the king and the people.

Being an Old Testament ceremony, we can clearly see Christ in the sacrifice. As the hands of the offeror were laid on the animal, the sins of the person were symbolically passed to the animal. The animal was killed as a substitute in place of the person. Jesus, not symbolically but really, has our sins transferred to Him. He was sacrificed as our substitute, bearing our sins upon Himself. What the sacrifice symbolised and looked forward to, Christ has fulfilled.

Having made sacrifice for their sins, the people bowed down in worship and adoration. The Levites sang and played music as the people worshipped. Music and singing filled the Temple as an anthem of adoration and praise rose to the Lord Almighty. Joy filled the air as the people worshipped the Lord Almighty.

We have likewise been cleansed and restored by God. Through Christ Jesus and His vicarious suffering at the cross, God has cleansed us and restored us to Himself. Our sins have been forgiven through His once for all sacrifice and the barrier of sin has been broken down. We have been graciously granted a new status before God. We no longer objects of His wrath. Rather, we are adopted as beloved children of the living God. “To all who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12-13).

As we gather for worship together each Lord’s Day, such joy should fill our hearts individually and our meeting, corporately. There is simply no greater joy than knowing that we have been cleansed from our past sins and restored to fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. Our gatherings are in a sense a home coming as we celebrate and rejoice in our Father and the work our Big Brother has done. We were once in darkness but now we are in the light. We were, by nature objects of wrath but now we are dearly loved. Once we stood condemned but now we stand justified, redeemed and sanctified.

The Christian would do well to prepare for corporate worship by focusing on the work of Christ at Calvary on his/her behalf and by taking time out to seek the Lord’s forgiveness for any extent sins in their life. Such a focusing allows us to refocus our hearts and minds on the truth of Christ Jesus over and above the worries of our lives and the issues around us. As Colossians 3:1–3  reminds us, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Prayer:

Adoration

• Adore God that He loves us o much that He has provided the means to cleanse us and to restore us back to Himself.
• Adore God that the work of Jesus at cross on our behalf is perfectly finished and that there is no more left for us to do.

Confession

Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks

• Thank God that He loves you and has provided for your salvation in every way.
• Thank God that you are a child of God by faith in Jesus and that there is no condemnation awaiting you.

Supplication

• Pray that the Lord God Almighty would work powerfully in our Small Groups and Ministry Groups to fill us with joy and adoration for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
• Pray that all of our Groups and services would be grounded in God’s grace and operating in grace.

Discussion Questions

1. How was a believer in the OT forgiven for their sins?
2. How was a believer in the OT restored into fellowship with God after their sins were dealt with?
3. How did an OT believer approach God in the OT?
4. Why did Christ have to come if this system already existed?