January 1
‘The sin offering was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord.’ Leviticus 10:17
Bible reading: Exodus 28:31-38 (Go to the Bible passage)
God did not ask Aaron and his sons whether they would like to minister as priests; they were simply appointed by God.
In the final verse of today’s passage, we can read that Aaron in particular had to take on an enormous responsibility, which no man can really bear: he had to be holy for the Lord, to bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrated, whatever their gifts might be. The little words ‘to bear’ fortunately mean more. They do not only mean ‘to bear’, but also ‘to take away’, as it is translated in our Bible verse of today. Something wonderful lies hidden here. For no guilt can be taken away without bearing it first as well. Of course, Aaron understood that this task was superhuman. How Aaron must have loved God deeply and trusted Him wholly to take this superhuman task upon him without hesitation.
Here Aaron reminds us of Jesus, of Whom it is written that He has not only taken our sins upon Him but also carried them away, eternally erased them, by dying on the cross of Golgotha.
Neither Aaron’s priestly service in the Old Testament nor Jesus’ priestly service in the New Testament, can be comprehended by ‘common sense’. About this the apostle Paul says openly, ‘The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, let us pray from the very beginning of this new year for the guidance of God’s Spirit in reading the Bible and in everything we may read in this journal.

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