Commentary by Ken Pullen

I was recently at a church and wrote in part about my experience there (I went to church today). It was a highly recommended “Scripture based church,” as I had inquired as to its direction and intent, as most are now so apostate as to be unrecognizable as houses of God, where disciples of Jesus Christ obeying the Word of God assemble.

During the production, the entertainment complex called a Christian church, a man called a pastor, a supposed man steeped in the wisdom of the Word of God in order to lead a flock stood up and one of the very first utterances from his lips were, “People don’t come to church to hear about what’s in Genesis, Deuteronomy or Leviticus!” and he went on and on from there with his illustrations, his jokes, his storytelling and homilies.

That man was not a shepherd leading a flock. He was a worldly man leading a herd. There is quite a difference.

There is a reason God gave us the WHOLE Holy Bible as He did. Why the WHOLE, COMPLETE Holy Bible has been preserved through the ages and made available to every person on earth now for many decades, if not over a century. TO USE IT! ALL OF IT! The entire Holy Bible, Scriptures, Word of God exists for a REASON — to be read, meditated upon, and used. To gain spiritual wisdom from ALL OF IT!

Do not ignore or neglect reading, praying upon, meditation on the Older Testament — every book — as upon the Newer Testament, for in truth? They are One all about The One, about one thing — man’s need for God and how to obtain and keep salvation, how to be forgiven our sins, how to live for God in this sinful world — from Genesis 1:1 until Revelation 22:21 the Bible is about Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. No part of the Bible should ever be neglected, ignored, mocked, or spoken about in derision. The entirety is the inerrant Word of God!

Use it or lose it is a saying in the world.

That saying applies more  to someone professing to believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit calling themselves a Christian, a disciple of Christ than it does anyone in the world discussing anything of or about the world.

Don’t be a member of the herd following a man or woman to your demise.

Follow the Shepherd as a lamb of His flock, obeying His staff and rod, obeying His word leading to eternal life.

Ken Pullen

ACP

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

Submitting 102

Commentary by — John W. Ritenbaugh

  Leviticus 1:2-3

(2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. (3) If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.

  Leviticus 1:10

(10) And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
King James Version

The lamb represents passive, uncomplaining submission even in suffering, of following without reservation. Isaiah 53:7 says of Christ, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not his mouth.”

Jeremiah makes a similar statement about an episode in his life: “But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more'” (Jeremiah 11:19). This does not mean he did nothing but that he was innocent of being the cause of the persecution inflicted upon him and that he accepted it without griping as his lot as God’s servant.

In Romans 8:36, this symbolism is directly applied to us, “For [God’s] sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” God expects us to follow the example of our Leader and others who have gone before us. Having this submissive attitude is not for destruction—even though on the surface it may seem that way—but following is necessary for preparation. Hebrews 5:7-10 reminds us that Christ also had to submit to be prepared for His responsibilities as our High Priest. We must consider following uncomplainingly as a necessary part of being a whole burnt offering. It is “not my will, but Yours be done” in practical application.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Two): The Burnt Offering

Related Topics:
Forms, Shadows, Symbols, and Types
Lamb
Offering, Burnt
Submission