“Moses told the Israelites all that the LORD commanded him.”
~ Numbers 29:40
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you think that life was like over 3450 years ago for a kid whose dad and ma were members of Israel’s people group? If your dad and ma were members of Israel’s people group over 3450 years ago, you would be right now traveling with your dad and ma on an exodus to a land area called Canaan. God was giving Canaan’s land area to your people group of guys and gals – who were God’s specially chose guys and gals, to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . if your dad and ma were members of Israel’s people group over 3450 years ago, your dad and ma were to use the worship norms that God gave to Moses when He met with Moses on top of Mount Sinai. Moses was the guy who God chose to lead your people group of guys and gals to Canaan’s land area. God had Moses pass on to your people group’s guys and gals His worship norms which He expected them to faithful obey. These worship norms that God expected your people group of guys and gals to always obey would have them only making sacrificial offerings to Him instead of making sacrificial offerings to manmade gods that were handmade from wood, stone, clay and metal that they worshipped during the 200 or so years that they lived in Goshen, Egypt. Your grandpaa does not know how the Jewish calendar’s seventh month – which is September on the calendar that your dad and ma use, became the designated month for your people group of guys and gals to worship God with sacrifices. The Jewish calendar’s seventh month began with the Feast of Trumpets. This special day – which was called Rosh Hashanah, evolved into a Jewish tradition that commemorates the Jewish New Year. A ram’s horn trumpet – which is called a shophar, was blown at this time. Ten days after the Jewish calendar’s seventh month began, a time of confession, contrition and celebration was to take place. This sacred day – which was called the Day of Atonement, was established for God’s specially chosen guys and gals – your people group’s guys and gals, to assemble together to worship God. The Day of Atonement is known by Jews today as Yom Kippur. Your people group’s guys and gals were to five days after the Day of Atonement meet again to worship God for seven days. This seven day period was known as the Feast of the Tabernacles.
The seventh month on the calendar that your people group’s dads and mas used had to have been an especially exciting month for you kids who were traveling with their dads and mas on the long, hot hike to the land that God was giving to your people group’s guys and gals – who were God’s specially chosen guys and gals, to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . no guy or gal was to do any work on the day of the Feast of Trumpets, on the Day of Atonement and on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Levi tribal clan priests offered up animal sacrifices on the day of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and on each day during the week of the Feast of Tabernacles. The animal sacrifices – which were bulls, rams and year old male lambs, if these animals did not have any defect and if they were burned up as a burnt offering with a prescribed amount of mixed fine flour and oil, were pleasing aromas to God. The Levi tribal clan priests offered up one bull, one ram and seven one year old lambs as burnt offerings on the day of the Feast of Trumpets and on the Day of Atonement. The Levi tribal priests on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles sacrificed thirteen bulls, two rams and fourteen one year old lambs. The number of bulls sacrificed as burnt offerings over the next six days was to be decreased by one bull each day while the number of rams and one year old lambs sacrificed as burnt offerings would stay the same each day. Another piece for each feast day was for a grain and a drink offering to be made with the animal sacrifices along with the sacrificing of a male goat as a sin sacrifice. Numbers 29 clearly states the kinds of sacrifices to be made and when these sacrifices were to be made – with the aroma of the sacrifices pleasing to God.
When God – as God the Son, was nailed to a crude cross – which took place almost 2000 years ago, the suffering that God – as God the Son, incurred on that crude cross along with the shedding of His blood took the place of the animal sacrifices that your people group of guys and gals had been mandated by God through Moses to make to worship Him. Verse 40 says, “Moses told the Israelites all that the LORD commanded him.” When a guy, gal or kid makes a confession of faith – which is when he or she internalizes believing unconditionally in his or her heart what God – as God the Son, did on a crude cross to defeat death once and for all and to make the way plain for each guy, gal and kid to claim the gift of eternal life, the guy, gal or kid is offering up his or her body as a living sacrifice for God – as God the Father, to use on planet Earth to edify Him and His earthly kingdom. Your grandmaa and grandpaa were given a special call over thirty years ago – now over forty-five years ago as of this editing of this missive, from God – as God the Father, through God – as God the Spirit, to leave a growing church, good friends and comfortable home. The special call that was given to your grandmaa and grandpaa by God – as God the Father, through God, as God the Spirit, was for your grandmaa and grandpaa to serve Him as missionaries. What today makes a pleasing aroma to God is living a life in total obedience to His will. The tangible animal burnt offering sacrifices that your people group’s guys and gals obediently made to God brought intangible blessings just as the tangible decision that your grandmaa and grandpaa made to heed the call from God – as God the Father, through God – as God the Spirt, to be ‘sent ones’ is giving them intangible blessings that are accumulating day after day.
Numbers 29 (592)