Tuesday Thought – August 11, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.’” (Exodus 30:11-13)

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. When they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the Lord by fire, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.’” (Exodus 30:17-21)

The emphasis in the Old Testament is on how defiled the people were. They were never allowed to come before the Lord just like they were. When a Jew wanted to approach the Lord, he could not come empty handed, he was required to bring an offering. Even the priests could not come before the Lord without special preparation. Each time the priests approached the Lord they had to stop and wash to remove the defilement from them.

No one was acceptable to the Lord just as they were. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.” (Exodus 23:15)

How different is the emphasis of the Gospel of Jesus! The New Testament teaches that empty-handed is the only way we can come to the Lord. We have nothing that we can offer the Lord that He requires of us. The only offering that can make us acceptable to God is the offering of His own Son.

The old hymn says, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” That’s the good news of Jesus. We don’t have to clean ourselves before we come to the Lord. God provides the cleansing. We come just as we are, with a heart that cries out for mercy and grace, and God freely grants it.

His, by Grace, Steve