Confessional Lutheran Ministerium

Psalm 80:8-19 NKJV

⁸ You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations, and planted it.
⁹ You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
¹⁰ The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its boughs.
¹¹ She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.

¹² Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
¹³ The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.

¹⁴ Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
¹⁵ And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
¹⁶ It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
¹⁷ Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

¹⁹ Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!

On several occasions in Scripture the Lord likens His people to a vine. Israel is compared to a vineyard in which God planted the choicest vine (Isaiah 5). Ezekiel compares the inhabitants of Jerusalem to wood from a vine that has grown worthless and is only good for the fire (Ezekiel 15). By comparing God’s people to a vine, He teaches how He plants, cultivates, and prunes His people so that they might bear fruit.

In Psalm 80, the vine which God had prepared room for, planted, and made grow, is devastated. As punishment for its repeated sins and impenitence, God allowed the vine’s hedges to be broken down. Without divine protection, God’s people are easy pickings and her enemies uproot her. Asaph prays for God to cease to look upon them with a rebuking countenance and send the Son of Man, the one who sits at God’s right hand. When the Son of Man comes, God will cause His face to shine upon them, for when God looks favorably upon His people they are restored and saved.

God answers Asaph’s prayer when He sends His only begotten Son to take upon Himself human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus is the Son of Man whom God has made strong for Himself, that is, for His saving purpose. Jesus calls Himself the “true vine” (Jn 15:1), God’s perfect planting which gives forgiveness of sins and life to the branches grafted into Him. Branches are granted into Him by believing and remaining in His word. Grafted to Christ, receiving His life through His word, we bear good fruit. The fruit is faith amid trials, prayer, and the desire to hear and learn God’s word. The fruit is love for one’s neighbor, diligence in one’s callings, and all the fruits of the Spirit Paul mentions in Galatians 5. The branch that does not bear fruit will be taken away, just as the Jews were taken away at the time of the exile. Jesus also tells us that every branch that bears fruit, God the Father prunes, that it may bear more fruit (Jn 15:2). God planted His vine—Christ Jesus—and grafts believers to the vine so that they might have life and bear fruit.

Let us pray: Grant us steadfast faith, dear Father, so that we may continually abide in Christ, enjoy His blessings, and bear God-pleasing fruit today. Amen.

Leviticus 4:16-35 NKJV

¹⁶ The anointed priest shall bring some of the bull’s blood to the tabernacle of meeting. ¹⁷ Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil. ¹⁸ And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ¹⁹ He shall take all the fat from it and burn it on the altar. ²⁰ And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. ²¹ Then he shall carry the bull outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bull. It is a sin offering for the assembly.

²² ‘When a ruler has sinned, and done something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty, ²³ or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. ²⁴ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering. ²⁵ The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. ²⁶ And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.

²⁷ ‘If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and is guilty, ²⁸ or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. ²⁹ And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. ³⁰ Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. ³¹ He shall remove all its fat, as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

³² ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he shall bring a female without blemish. ³³ Then he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill it as a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. ³⁴ The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. ³⁵ He shall remove all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering. Then the priest shall burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

It was not only the high priest and whole congregation who had to offer sin offerings for unintentional sins. The Lord also commanded the leaders and common people to make the sin offering for unintentional transgressions of God’s commands. Leaders of Israel were to bring “a kid of the goats, a male without blemish” (23). Common people could bring “a kid of the goats, a female without blemish” (28) or female lamb without blemish (32). By including everyone from the high priest to the common man, the Lord taught that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

The fact that God required sin offerings for unintentional sin shows how seriously God takes His word and Israel’s sin against it. It is sinful human nature to imagine that an unintentional sin isn’t really sin, so that if we didn’t mean to sin it isn’t technically sin. But any violation of God’s commandments, regardless of our awareness, is still a violation of God’s commandment. Sin is sin and as such, atonement must be made for it.

God also takes Israel’s salvation seriously, which is why He provided a means of making atonement for their unintentional sins. Through the sin offerings for unintentional sin, the Lord also taught Israel to be circumspect about how they live, so that they would strive to live according to God’s law and avoid sinning. Because of the sinful nature, they would most certainly sin without intending, for as Solomon writes, “There is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin” (Eccl 7:20). Yet whenever they discovered their fault, they knew the remedy and where to seek it.

Like ancient Israel, we can sin without intending. Yet God has provided His Son as the atoning sacrifice four all our sins. His blood covers our unintentional sins. Knowing that we daily sin, we pray each day, “Forgive us our trespasses” and, when our fault becomes known to us, we know the remedy and where to seek it—in the suffering and death of Christ for all our sins. Let us pray: Keep us from sin, O Lord, by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Forgive us those trespasses of which we are not aware and strengthen us to walk in your commandments. Amen.

Leviticus 4:1-15 NKJV

4 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them, ³ if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering. ⁴ He shall bring the bull to the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before the Lord. ⁵ Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of meeting. ⁶ The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the sanctuary. ⁷ And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood of the bull at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁸ He shall take from it all the fat of the bull as the sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat which is on the entrails, ⁹ 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, ¹⁰ as it was taken from the bull of the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering. ¹¹ But the bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head and legs, its entrails and offal— ¹² the whole bull he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

¹³ ‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which should not be done, and are guilty; ¹⁴ when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting. ¹⁵ And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord. Then the bull shall be killed before the Lord.

God regulated the divine service of the Old Testament and expected the priests to follow His word to the letter. However, as a sinful man, there would be times when the high priest unintentionally sinned against what God’s commands. Such a sin would also bring guilt on the entire community of Israel since the high priest was Israel’s representative before God.

To make atonement for such a sin, the priest brought a bull, the chief of all livestock, slaughtered it, and collected its blood. Blood was sprinkled on the veil of the sanctuary seven times, applied to horns of the incense altar in the Holy Place, and the remainder was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offerings. The fat of the bull is removed and burned as with the peace offering. The rest of the animal is taken to a ritually clean place outside the camp and incinerated. The same procedure is followed for the unintentional sin of the whole congregation.

The fact that the anointed high priest could unintentionally sin against God’s commands for worship reminded Israel of their own sinful nature, imperfection, and need for God’s forgiveness. Seeing the imperfection of Israel’s high priests, the author of Hebrews wrote:

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever” (Heb 7:26-28).

Every anointed high priest—each with the weakness of sin— looked forward to the anointed high priest who would not need sacrifices for any of His own sins but who would make perfect atonement for all sins by shedding His blood on the cross so that He might apply His blood to all who believe and are baptized.

Let us pray: We give You thanks, Lord Jesus, for being our sinless high priest, making perfect atonement for all our sins and sprinkling us with Your blood through faith. Amen.

Leviticus 3:1-17 NKJV

3 ‘When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. ² And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. ³ Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the Lord. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ⁴ 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; ⁵ and Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

⁶ ‘If his offering as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord is of the flock, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. ⁷ If he offers a lamb as his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord. ⁸ And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.

⁹ ‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord, its fat and the whole fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ¹⁰ 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; ¹¹ and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

¹² ‘And if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. ¹³ He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. ¹⁴ Then he shall offer from it his offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, ¹⁵ 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; ¹⁶ and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s.

¹⁷ ‘This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’ ”

The third of the voluntary offerings is the peace offering. The peace offering established and confirmed peace between God and the one offering the sacrifice. The blood of the animal is sprinkled around the altar, while only the fat of the animal is sacrificed on the altar. The Lord will speak about the rest of the animal—which was not to be burned on the altar but eaten—in chapter 7. For now, the point of the legislation is the perpetual statute that endures as long as sacrifices endure: “You shall eat neither fat nor blood” (17).

The sacrifice’s blood belonged to the Lord since it was what He required to make atonement for sins against Mosaic law. The blood signified the blood of Christ which He would shed on the cross as the sacrifice which atoned for the sins of the whole world. As the peace offering established peace between God and the one offering the sacrifice, peace with God is only accomplished through the blood of Christ. We partake of the peace Christ earned when we believe the gospel that for His sake God forgives all our sins and pronounces us righteous.

The fat of the animal was burnt on the altar “as food,” though the Lord does not eat (Psalm 50:12-13). The fat of the animal was the best and tastiest part of the animal. The one bringing the peace offering wanted to bring His best to God in thankfulness for the peace God established with him. This is what Abel did when he “brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat” (Gen 4:4). Abel’s faith—which was thankful for God’s mercies—brought the best of the flock to the Lord. The fat of the offering signified how those who receive peace with God through Christ’s blood will offer God their best. All our fatness—that is, all that is good in us—we offer to God in thanksgiving. After all, even that goodness is from God and not from us. We give thanks to God, not only with our lips, but with our lives, praising God with our words and with our works. Let us pray:   Fill our hearts with thanksgiving and gratitude, O Lord, as we meditate on Your atoning sacrifice for our sins and the peace You earn with God the Father, so that we offer to You this day our best in thought, word, and deed. Amen.

Leviticus 2:1-16 NKJV

1 Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.

³ ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. ⁴ Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵ He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁶ And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. ⁸ Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; ⁹ but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

¹⁰ ‘If his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. ¹¹ He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. ¹² And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; ¹³ but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ ‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the Lord is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. ¹⁵ The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. ¹⁶ And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. ¹⁷ Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

The second voluntary offering Israel could bring was grain offerings. The grain offering could consist of fine flour mixed with oil and incense. It could be mixed with oil, baked, then anointed with oil. It could not contain leaven or honey. Both ingredients would make the bread go bad sooner. Every offering was to be seasoned with salt as a preservative. In each type of grain offering, the priest put a portion of it on the altar which made a sweet aroma to the LORD. The rest belonged to the High Priest and his sons for their sustenance.

As the burnt offerings signified Christ, so do the grain offerings. As fine flour is pure, so Christ was innocent of all sin. As the offering could be baked into bread, so Christ is the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35). Christ was anointed, not with oil, but the Holy Spirit (Psalm 45:7; Jn 3:34). He was without the leaven of sin and falsehood. His teaching was sweet like honey, but without the harmful sweetness of insincerity. His teaching was a salt, savory to the soul and able to preserve men into eternity. His offering on the altar of the cross a sweet-smelling aroma to God the Father, and His priests—all believers (1 Peter 2:9)—partake in His sacrifice by faith, for faith is how people feast on Christ and live forever.

The grain offerings are also a picture of the new life which the Holy Spirit begins in believers. All who feast on Christ by faith receive the forgiveness of sins, so that in God’s sight they are pure and innocent of all sin. Whoever feasts on Christ by believing in Him receives the anointing of the Holy Spirit so that by the Spirit’s power they daily get rid of the leaven of sin from their hearts. They deny themselves the harmful sweetness of sinful pleasures, choosing instead the true sweetness of living according to God’s word. The one who feasts on Christ by faith is salted so that he does not rot but perseveres in faith despite adversity and trials for Christ’s sake. By feasting on the Bread of Life each day, the believer’s life is a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.

Let us pray: Grant, O Lord, that we partake of You each day by faith, so that we may enjoy the forgiveness of our sins, live Christians lives, and persevere unto the end and be saved. Amen.

Leviticus 1:1-17 NKJV

1 Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.

³ ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. ⁴ Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵ He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁶ And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. ⁷ The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. ⁸ Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; ⁹ but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

¹⁰ ‘If his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. ¹¹ He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. ¹² And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; ¹³ but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ ‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the Lord is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. ¹⁵ The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. ¹⁶ And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. ¹⁷ Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

Leviticus may not seem like Christian devotional material since it deals primarily with the public and private worship life of Old Testament Israel. Christ has fulfilled not one, but all the regulations put forth by the Lord in Leviticus. It is precisely that reason Christians can use the material in Leviticus as devotional material. Every bit of it is a picture of Christ and His work for us. It is also a picture of the Christian life since St. Paul exhorts to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service (Rom 12:1). Seeing Christ’s work and our response in the legislation for ancient Israel’s worship makes this book an encouragement to faith and love.

Leviticus begins with the burnt offering. This offering was offered voluntarily by Israelites when they had great concern and wanted the Lord to deal favorably with them. The animal—whether from the herd or flock—was to be male and without blemish. The person offering it was to place his hand on the animal’s head as a sign that he offered it willingly, that he offered it as his substitute for his violations against Mosaic law, and that he looked forward to the Messiah. The priests slaughtered the animal, arranged its parts on the altar, and washed its innards before immolating it. The ritual for offering a bird was a bit different because of its smaller size. The burnt offering produced a sweet aroma to the Lord. The Lord accepted the sacrifice. He also accepted the person who brought the sacrifice and showed him His grace and favor.

This animal pictured the coming Christ, who would be born a male and without the blemish of sin, even the inward parts—His heart and mind—would be clean from sin. He offered Himself on the altar of the cross as the substitute for all mankind’s sins, so that God accepts all who trust His Son’s atoning death. By faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we have peace with God and access to Him in prayer. Enjoying God’s favor, we present ourselves as living sacrifices, hearts and minds cleansed by faith in Christ, dedicated to God’s service.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help us to meditate on Your sacrifice for us through the picture of the burnt offering, that with sins forgiven, we voluntarily live as living sacrifices to You. Amen.

Psalm 79:1-13 NKJV

79 O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.
² The dead bodies of Your servants
They have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
³ Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
⁴ We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
A scorn and derision to those who are around us.

⁵ How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
⁶ Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
⁷ For they have devoured Jacob,
And laid waste his dwelling place.

⁸ Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
⁹ Help us, O God of our salvation,
For the glory of Your name;
And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins,
For Your name’s sake!
¹⁰ Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed.

¹¹ Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power
Preserve those who are appointed to die;
¹² And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom
Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.

¹³ So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

Asaph laments the destruction of the Lord’s temple and the desolation of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Lord allowed it as punishment for Judah’s sins. The psalmist asks God for tender mercy, atonement for sins, and restoration. He asks, not because Judah deserves it­— Judah only deserves wrath and punishment for her sins—but for the glory of God’s name. Without mercy and deliverance for God’s people and vengeance upon their enemies, the nations would continue to mock the Lord and imagine they can act as lords and masters over the sheep of the Lord’s pasture. He asks for God to take vengeance on their enemies and promises to give thanks to God and teach the next generation to praise Him. He asks God to avenge the blood of His servants who had been killed. He also prays that God would return sevenfold the derision with which Judah’s neighbors had derided the Lord. God’s people—the sheep of God’s pasture—look to their Good Shepherd to avenge them and God’s honor.

Asaph’s psalm is still applicable to God’s people in the New Testament. God’s people of the New Testament can still pray this psalm against those who persecute the church. When the church’s enemies physically demolish churches and murder Christians, we pray that God has mercy and avenges His martyrs. When false teachers arise in the church and harm the souls of God’s people by mixing the world’s priorities with God’s word, we pray that God avenges the sheep of His pasture by providing faithful shepherds who will preach God’s word in its truth and purity. But never does Christ’s church take matters into her own hands. She waits upon the one who has said, “Vengeance is mine” (Deut. 32:35). God’s people look to Him for their protection, their nourishment, and every good thing just as sheep look to their shepherd. We trust that although we do not deserve any good thing because of our sins, God still will act in mercy toward His church for her benefit and for the glory of His name.

Let us pray: Defend Your Church, O Lord, from all who rise up against her. Preserve us from false teaching and grant us mercy so that whatever we suffer for Your name’s sake, we suffer patiently to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Psalm 78:56-72 NKJV ⁵⁶ Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
⁵⁷ But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
⁵⁸ For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
⁵⁹ When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
⁶⁰ So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
⁶¹ And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
⁶² He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
⁶³ The fire consumed their young men,
And their maidens were not given in marriage.
⁶⁴ Their priests fell by the sword,
And their widows made no lamentation.

⁶⁵ Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
⁶⁶ And He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.

⁶⁷ Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
⁶⁸ But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved.
⁶⁹ And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
⁷⁰ He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
⁷¹ From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
⁷² So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

As was concluded on Sunday’s devotion regarding this same psalm — the story in this psalm is our own, so we are wise to carefully ponder it. What exactly is God bringing us to be reminded of, and taught? The words of 1 Corinthians 10 ring out, “whoever thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall.” It is not enough to begin to believe, to hear the Gospel, to receive the Sacraments, and to be given spiritual goods, but rather to know that they must also abide in the faith and confession of the Gospel and in a godly life until the end.

With a mighty hand God brought them out of Egypt through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness. Yet, out of 600,000 men, no more than Joshua and Caleb came into the Promised Land. The rest died in the wilderness. What was the reason? They did not abide in the faith which they received but fell into various great sins through unbelief.

Five great sins can be remembered: 1) Lust: God gave them their desire and sent them enough until they loathed it. 2) Idolatry: They made a calf and exchanged God’s glory for the likened of an ox that eats grass. 3) Sexual immorality: they joined themselves to the Baal Peor. 4) Tempted God: demanding food for their soul. And 5) Murmuring against God: they did not obey the voice of the Lord.

Did God strike back? Without a doubt. 1) While they were still eating, the anger of God slewed the chief and struck down the choice men of Israel. 2) 3,000 men were slain because of idolatry. 3) 24,000 were slain because of sexual immorality. 4) The Lord sent serpents because of their tempting of God; and many died. And 5) nearly 15,000 died for their murmuring.

The Israelite’s flesh-inclined pilgrimage should create fear within our own weak flesh, knowing the Judgement Seat of God awaits us. Thankfully, His Word and Sacraments send us to His Mercy Seat who is Christ Jesus. Only through faith in Him comes forgiveness, the Christian life, and salvation.

Let us pray: Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word. Amen.

Exodus 40:18-38 NKJV

¹⁸ So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; ²³ and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; ²⁵ and he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; ²⁷ and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; ³¹ and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. ³² Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³ And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

With Moses abiding by the Word of the Lord, the completion of the tabernacle takes place. God’s presence with His people takes on a new chapter (so to speak). A cloud covered the tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. It was filled with glory, as when Solomon consecrated his temple (1 Kings 8:11), where the same words may be found. It was magnificent, like Jerusalem on Pentecost (Acts 2:2).

For us — the “glory of the Lord” is our Lord Jesus Christ! Isaiah refers to Him in such a way: “Your light comes, and the glory of the Lord arises upon You.” For Christ is the brightest of the glory of the heavenly Father (see Hebrews 1:3) and has revealed Himself to the world with the great and divine glory, of which John 1:14 proclaims: “We have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

We shall close out with the final words on the mysteries of Christ in the Book of Exodus by Valerious Herberger (a 16th & 17th century Lutheran theologian), who, as you have followed earlier, tends to bring it back to Christ through prayer. So… Let us pray: “Oh, Lord Jesus, my last hour will also be called a departure or exit from all misery! Help my life to conclude as Moses’ exodus, or “exit,” concluded (Deut. 34:5). Let this be my art of dying, my solace and treasure in my last journey from this life. O Lord Jesus, cover my soul with the cloud of Your grace, fill the tabernacle of my heart with the glory of Your comfort, abide with me and do not forsake me. And when I must bid this world good-night, then arise O Captain of Life. “Let God arise, that His enemies may be scattered (Ps. 68:1). Lighten then the dark night my gloomy heart, show me in bright daylight the way to heaven, O my King and Lord. Go out before me, as Micah 2:13 says, and bring me to life everlasting, and my departure will be a blessed exit from all misery and a blessed entrance to that joy which no man shall take from us (Jn. 16:22)” (The Great Works of God, Part VI, translation Matthew Carver, pg. 594, Emmanuel Press).

Exodus 40:1-17 NKJV 40 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil. ⁴ You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps. ⁵ You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ⁶ Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ⁷ And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.

⁹ “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. ¹⁰ You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. ¹¹ And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it.

¹² “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. ¹³ You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. ¹⁴ And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. ¹⁵ You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶ Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

¹⁷ And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

Human reason, although a gift of God to use to His glory and for our benefit, still being part of our sinful flesh, can cause us to think arrogantly and believe that it is OK to place God beneath us and put Him to the test with questions. Fallen reason could conclude “Sure, it was a great glory that God dwelt among the Israelites in a physical location (a tabernacle) that He himself commanded them to build. If only we had such a firsthand command from God in the New Testament, we could have followed that and become truly be happy.”

God, however, has instructed His New Testament believers where He is to be located — it is where He gathers us around His Word and Sacraments. God establishes peace and love with us through Holy Baptism, in all the preaching of the Gospel, in Confession and Holy Absolution, and in the eating and drinking of His most Holy Supper. These are the means of grace, only empowered by His living and active Word, through which He chose to continue to dwell (tabernacle) among us!

Valerious Herberger (a 16th & 17th century Lutheran theologian) reveals another place that God tabernacles as he writes: “a believing heart is God’s habitation and a God-pleasing sanctuary. As the Lord Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). Thus St. Peter says, “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house and as a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5); and, “Sanctify the Lord Your God in your hearts” (1 Pet. 3:15). And St. Paul: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that you are” (1 Cor. 3:17);” (The Great Works of God, Part VI, translation Matthew Carver, pg. 581, Emmanuel Press)

Let us pray: O Lord, we give You thanks that You have tabernacled among us through the centuries. Grant us the awareness of Your continued dwelling within us as well. Amen.