Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I were in our “green room.”

B.B. said, “What is it with all these rules, Stinker?  You were a PK, preacher’s kid.  How did you put up with all the rules?”

I mused, “B.B., I know what PK stands for, first of all.  As you said, I am one. What rules are you talking about?”

A familiar voice from the center stall, “Aunt Mary is now a PW, preacher’s wife.  She has probably had someone complain about her hair style or something.”

B.B. growled, “Arabella, it was the choice of dress I wore last Sunday.  I am starting to have a baby bump, so the style might be limited, but two old women in the church pulled me aside and said I was wearing something too revealing.”

Arabella groaned, ”It’s not just the baby bump.  Your upper frontals are getting bigger too.  So, wear a scarf or something.”

B.B. said, “Thank you for the advice.  But why do you always have to go when class is about to start?”

Arabella said, “Em seems to think I have anxiety about singing.  I am fine when I sing.  It’s that anticipation beforehand.  And thanks to you two perverts who insist on breaking the door down and watching me do my business, I am cured of that anxiety, at least with you two.”  She opened the stall door curtseyed and washed her hands.  Without saying a word, she smiled and waved her hand as she left the room.

I nodded, “Wow!  I never knew pretending to be a pervert could cure someone of anxiety.”

B.B. snickered, “Can we cure more things by pretending to be perverted?  And at what point is it no longer pretending?”

I shrugged, “I have no idea.  I don’t want to know.  Let’s get to class, shall we?”

She opened the door, and we went to the den, laughing.

Rev. Joseph led us in prayer.

Emmett had all the band members and singers.  They sang and played Son of Suffering.

I asked, “Emmett, I do not know how you are doing this.  Honor roll at school and the Snazzy Taz and now music director at the church.”

Emmett smiled, “I started out as a Baptist.  The call to preach was more important than the fancy degrees.  There are probably small Baptist churches in the backwoods where a teenager is preaching every Sunday.  I have heard a lot of people say that there plate is full, but then when God gives them one more thing to do, they find the time, they find the strength, and they find the joy.”

Samuel asked, “And where will we find Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”

I nodded, “As I said before, Samuel, all around us.  But for the class, we are looking at the book of Leviticus.  Leviticus is a book that contains a lot of rules, but we will look at the reason for some of those rules. Let’s start off with a strange combination.”

Gordo (Leviticus 1:1-6) “The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
“‘”If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

Gordo said, ”I guess you picked me because I was raised on a farm.  Some people say that should be reared.  In a way I was since my Dad kicked me there if I didn’t do right.  I killed a few chickens for dinner.  But Dad and I skinned squirrels and rabbits.  I wasn’t much for deer hunting, but I saw my Dad clean one.  What about you, Darrell?”

Darrell shrugged, “I’m more into fish.  I’ve nailed a catfish to a tree and took a pair of pliers to skin it.”

Arabella shifted in her seat, a little further away from Darrell. “Eww!”

Darrell shrugged again, “Little lady, that is the easiest way to do it.  You don’t descale catfish like you might do to a trout.  Aren’t you the daughter of a farmer?”

“I want to be a veterinarian.  I want to keep them healthy so someone else can do the other things.”

Emmett snickered, “Before we lost the farm in the flood, my Dad had me go with him to the slaughter house.  But that is just a little bit of these verses.  Sin is personal.  The sacrifice to wash away that sin has to be personal.  So, the farmer has to kill the animal and then the priests deal with the slaughtered animal.  But this is specifically talking about a burnt offering.  Jesus was killed on a cross.  His body was not burned.  We have foreshadowing just in a sacrificial death.”

I nodded, “Right, and now we look at fire.”

Julia (Leviticus 9:23-24) “Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.”

Julia said, “No worries if you forgot the matches.  Woosh, and the burnt offering is gone.  Now that is what I think of when someone says that they don’t fear God.  If you saw that, you would fall flat on your face too.  But this was just fire.  We have a burnt offering and fire from Heaven.  This could easily be a Theophany, but what makes it a Christophany?”

I said, “One more piece.”

Angus (Hebrews 12:28-29) “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’”

Angus smiled, “This is New Testament, but there are quotations here.”

I said, “Yes, Exodus 24:17 says ‘To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.’  I agree with you.  This is more of a Theophany, except for the fact that there is a blood sacrifice involved.  And I agree with Julia.  I would be laying flat of my face on the ground, and someone would have to do something to bring me back to consciousness.  This was a neat way to tie those things together though.”

Grannie Fannie (Leviticus 2:1-4) “’“When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.
“‘”If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of the finest flour: either thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in or thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with olive oil.’”

Fannie said, “Lancelot and I read this entire chapter.  The first is just an offering of fine flour that is mixed with incense and olive oil and burned, but then the bread could be baked or cooked on a griddle or in a pan.  It is not to have any yeast.  Then the bread is crumbled.  But this is not a blood sacrifice.”

Lancelot (John 6:35) “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Lancelot said, “When you tie these two things together, and then tie the Last Supper in with it, you get a foreshadowing of Jesus each time they made a grain offering.”

I nodded, “Very good.  ‘And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).  Leviticus 3 speaks of the peace offering.  Jesus brought peace to those who love Him and follow His commandments.  Jesus’ blood washes away our sins.  Leviticus 4 speaks of that.”

Missy (Leviticus 11:44) “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.”

Missy said, “Okay, this ties into a quote in the New Testament.”

Georges (1 Peter 1:15-16) “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

Georges smiled, “This quotes Missy’s verse.  This is Peter talking about obedience.  So, we obey what Jesus says, and that ties this verse in Leviticus to Jesus.”

Jochebed (Leviticus 16:26-28 – Louis Segond) »Celui qui aura chassé le bouc pour Azazel lavera ses vêtements, et lavera son corps dans l’eau; après cela, il rentrera dans le camp.  On emportera hors du camp le taureau expiatoire et le bouc expiatoire dont on a porté le sang dans le sanctuaire pour faire l’expiation, et l’on brûlera au feu leurs peaux, leur chair et leurs excréments. Celui qui les brûlera lavera ses vêtements, et lavera son corps dans l’eau; après cela, il rentrera dans le camp. »

Jochebed smiled, “And now in English”

Jochebed (Exodus 16:26-28) ““The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.”

Jochebed smiled, “Is this why Jesus said ‘“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.’ (Matthew 25:31-33). God separates His sheep from the goats.  God sacrifices the bull and one goat, but then the other goat must go outside the camp.

I said, “That was not where I was going Jochebed, but that is interesting.  The scapegoat and the other goat and bull in the parable are separated.  Great connection, but let’s focus on where the bull and other goat were sent after being slaughtered.”

Jochebed shrugged, “Outside the camp.”

Mags Kildare (Hebrews 13:11-12) “The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.”

Mags nodded, “So, just like the scapegoat and the other goat and the bull, Jesus was killed on Golgotha, outside the city gate.”

Dr. James (Leviticus 17:11-12) “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.’”

Dr. James nodded, “This gives the reason for the Jews to not drink the blood or eat meat with the blood in it.”

Blaise (Hebrews 10:1-7) “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’”

Blaise smiled, “The blood of bulls and goats could never take away our sin, just cover it for a time.  Jesus’ blood was shed for a permanent removal of our sin, all that believe and trust in Him.”

I smiled, “Thank you, Blaise.  There were a lot more quotes, but this was enough to see Jesus in the book of Leviticus.”

Wilma said, “And what is next week?  Don’t tell me.  It’s Numbers.”

Arabella snickered, “I’m not that good in math.”

I just shook my head.

Grannie Fannie (Galatians 6:18) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”

Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.  “Are you ready to drive us?”

Brooke picked up Stormie as usual.  She talked to Stormie all the way.  Stormie laughed.

B.B. said, “Hold the bus, Stinker.  I am going to my apartment and get a shawl.  I don’t want to offend the old ladies.”

Credits

I start with a study guide by Marilyn Hickey called Seeing Jesus.  But she does not discuss Christophanies.  And I also did a search for prophecies and got a slightly different list.

Here is Matt Redman singing Sun of Suffering.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.