Courtney Gilmore “The Lord Most High is awesome. He is a great King over all the earth.” (Psalm 47:2)
God is King of Heaven & earth & a king has the right to dictate who, when, & how to enter his presence. So, God told Aaron not to approach Him at just anytime or in anyway, as his sons had. Only the High Priest could go behind the veil to meet with the Lord & then, only once a year on the designated day & in the designated way.
On the 10th day of the 7th month every year, the high priest would enter the Most Holy place to make atonement for his sins & the sins of Israel. For the people, this was a Sabbath day of solemn rest. They brought two goats & by chance (casting lots) one would be offered for their sins & the other would be the scapegoat. The high priest offered the sacrifice for his own sins first, then for the sins of Israel. The people would deny themselves, reflect on their sins, repent, & ask God to accept the sacrifice on behalf of their sins. Once atonement had been made, the high priest would present the scapegoat, lay his hands on its head, & confess the nation’s sins over it. Then it was led away into the wilderness. So, the scapegoat took the sins of the nation & ran away with them, outside the camp. This demonstrated how the people had escaped the death that they deserved for their sins.
These sacrifices never completely took away their sins or cleared their conscience though. Animals could never really pay the consequences that were meant for the sins of man. “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4)
So, God sent Jesus to accomplish what had been displayed for the people through the animals. “He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” (Hebrews 10:9) He was the perfect High Priest & Sacrifice. As our High Priest, Jesus had no need to offer sacrifices first for His own sins because He had none & His perfection enabled Him to be the last Sacrifice, cleansing us forever. We are forgiven for eternity, so there is no need for more sacrifices. “Every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God… For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:11-14)
So, we have no reason to be reminded of our sins over & over because they were nailed to the cross with Jesus. “He wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us & has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:11-14) Not only us, but God also is not reminded over & over about our sins, because they have been forgiven forever. “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)
Like the scapegoat, Jesus bore sins that he did not commit. But He did not escape their consequences. We are the ones that escaped. He took our sins far away so that we could be brought near to the Lord. Like the high priest, Jesus went before us into the Presence of God with a Sacrifice, so that we could appear clean to the Lord & follow Him into that Presence. His blood washed away all our sins permanently. Because we have the blood of Jesus to offer, we can confidently enter the Presence of God. Jesus opened the veil & sprinkled our hearts with His blood so that we could enter in. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)
So, examine your life. Repent of your sins & approach the Lord with a heart sprinkled by the blood of Jesus. Offer Him to the Lord & ask that He accept the Sacrifice on behalf of your sins. Then let God write His law on your heart & mind, that you may follow Jesus, now on earth & eternally into the throne room in Heaven. “Having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil. ” (Hebrews 10:19-20)
Hold on to the hope that Jesus gave to us, knowing that you will one day be joined with Him, our High Priest & Sacrifice, fully in the Presence of God the Father. “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you & if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word & My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23)
Excerpt from Episode 79 “Entering His Presence” on Podcast and YouTube
