What’s the Point?
“‘At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 43:13-27 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
I wonder if you might be the kind of Christian who insists that the word of God somehow always applies to your life.
What I mean is this: Perhaps you have an attitude (whether you realize it or not) that everything you read in the Bible somehow has to be speaking to something that is going on in your life. And if whatever you’re reading doesn’t directly relate to whatever is going on in your life, you will do one of two things.
(1) You will get frustrated with the Bible and feel that it is irrelevant to your life. Or you might think that God is not speaking to you at all through whatever it is you are reading.
(2) Or you will somehow twist whatever it is you’re reading to make it relate to whatever it is you are going through in your life.
Truth be told, the word of God is always, always relevant to our lives. But we must not make the mistake of trying to apply the word of God to our lives—that is, making the word of God fit into whatever circumstances and experiences we may be going through.
No. We must develop the habit of applying our lives to the word of God, which is always relevant, no matter what we may be reading.
No doubt, Ezekiel is a difficult book to read. But then how do I apply my life to the prophecies that are given? We need to turn to the full counsel of Scripture.
The author of Hebrews said the following about the sacrifices that were made in the temple for the atonement of sins:
The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.
— Hebrews 9:8-9
Of course, “the present time” is our time too. Anyway, Hebrews is saying that the repetition of the sacrifices and the exclusive access to the Most Holy Place served as a sign that the sacrifices were not able to fully atone for our sins and fully clear our consciences. And that understanding is confirmed when Hebrews talks about the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice:
Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
— Hebrews 9:25-26
But the key question we need to ask ourselves is, Why was it so important for our consciences to be cleared? And Hebrews gives us that answer too.
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
— Hebrews 9:14
The point is this: Our consciences need to be cleansed “so that we may serve the living God!”
And so, given all that, how do I apply my life to the word of God? How is this word relevant to my life?
God’s revelation to Ezekiel tells me that God provided a system for the atonement of sins that was pointing to and waiting for the final sacrifice and the once-for-all atonement of sins. Furthermore, that final sacrifice atoned for all of my sins so that my conscience might be completely cleanse once and for all. And therefore, I ought to serve the living God. And so I will.
Father, Your ways are high above. And yet, You were mindful of us. You were mindful of me. You have cleansed my sin. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Fill me up with Your Spirit, so that I may serve You for the rest of my eternal life. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
