Readings for today: Exodus 29-32
As many of you who read this blog know, I’ve been reading through the Bible in a Year for about thirty years now. It’s one of the very first spiritual disciplines I engaged in after becoming a Christian. However, one of the dangers I have to battle is routine. I become so familiar with the language and the words that I have a tendency to rush through the readings. One way I combat this is by reading the Bible in different versions. This year I’ve chosen to read it in a paraphrased version called The Message. Written by Eugene Peterson, it attempts to capture the meaning of the text by placing it in modern idiom. It is not a word for word translation and can’t be treated as such but it does offer some interesting insights. Take today’s reading for example. This is definitely a section where I would be tempted to gloss over what I’m reading because it feels so foreign to me. However, about halfway through chapter 29, Peterson uses this phrase that caught my attention - “soaked in holiness.”
What an image! Aaron and his sons undergo this elaborate ritual that essentially involves soaking them in oil, blood, and water. They are washed and purified. Oil is poured onto their heads. Blood is thrown against their vestments. Sacrifices are made and burned. Blood poured over the altar. And the whole thing takes seven days at the end of which Aaron and his sons will be fit to serve as priests of God. The point of it all is to prepare Aaron and his sons to enter into the presence of the Most Holy God. The God whose presence sanctifies all He touches. It is God who will make the Tent of Meeting a holy place. It is God who will make the altar where the sacrifices are offered a holy vessel. It is God who will make Aaron and his sons holy and fit to serve. It is God who will make Israel holy as He moves among them and makes this journey with them.
Now fast forward several thousand years. As prophesied by the prophet Joel, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on those who believe in Jesus Christ. He has come to make His dwelling place inside us. And He makes holy all He touches…including you. Including me. We are not made holy by our own effort. Notice how little Aaron and his sons actually “do” in the story. The same is true for us. Jesus has accomplished all we need to become holy. He is the perfect sacrifice made on our behalf. He is the whole burnt offering which turns away God’s righteous wrath and judgment. He purifies us with His blood. He atones for our sins by His death. And He exchanges His holiness for our unholiness. Not only that but He sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts as a regenerative, sanctifying Presence so that, over time, we become who He created and called and redeemed us to be.
Friends, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are “soaked in His holiness.” Let that truth sink into your bones today and, as you pray, thank the Holy Spirit for His work in your life and ask Him how you might open yourself up more and more to what He wants to do in and through you.
Readings for tomorrow: Exodus 33-36