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Monday, January 11, 2016

JESUS Paid A Half-Shekel Ransom For Our Life




Exodus 30:1-38 NIV








The Altar of Incense






1“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits higha —its horns of one piece with it. 3Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. 4Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. 5Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant Law—before the Atonement Cover that is over the tablets of the Covenant Law—


 Where I WILL Meet With you.






7“Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly Before The LORD for the generations to come. 9Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 







10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offeringb for the generations to come. It Is Most Holy To The LORD.”






Atonement Money




11Then The LORD Said To Moses, 12“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. 13Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. 

This half shekel is an Offering to The LORD.






14All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to The LORD.  


15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the Offering To The LORD to atone for your lives.  


16Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites Before The LORD, making atonement for your lives.”






Basin for Washing




17Then The LORD Said To Moses, 


18“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. 19Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to The LORD, 21they 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.”










Anointing Oil




22Then The LORD Said To Moses, 


23“Take the following fine spices: 500 shekelsd of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekelse of fragrant calamus, 24500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hinf of olive oil. 25Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 







26Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the Ark of the Covenant Law, 27the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.






30“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve ME as priests. 31Say to the Israelites, ‘This Is To Be My Sacred Anointing Oil for the generations to come. 32Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’ ”







Incense





34Then The LORD Said To Moses, 


“Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Ark of the Covenant Law in the tent of meeting, Where I WILL Meet With you. It shall be most holy to you. 







37Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to The LORD. 38Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.”








Read the following article on the Half Shekel.




Are You a Half-Shekel Short?



How much money a person has can make a big difference in many things in life. It can mean the difference between shopping for groceries as Whole Foods or WinCo, or not being able to shop at all but having to go to a food bank instead.
Money can mean the difference between driving a BMW, or a 30-year-old “beater car”, or not being able to have a car at all. Money can mean the difference between having designer clothes and a nice house or wearing hand-me-down clothes and living in a one-room shack, or not having but the clothes on your back and a cardboard box to keep you warm at night.
But there is one thing that’s available to all regardless of financial circumstances. The rich have no more claim to it than the poor. And that is the gift of salvation offered through the Sacrifice of JESUS on the cross.
Once when I was reading through Luke, I came to the story of when JESUS, after HIS Resurrection, Appeared to some disciples on the road to Emmaus. Describing HIS Conversation with them, Luke says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, HE Explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning HIMSELF.” Luke 24:27.
When I read that, I realized that all of the Old Testament, and not just the New Testament, is about JESUS. HE Existed before the world began and HIS Story is the story of GOD’S relationship with HIS people. At that time, I prayed and asked GOD to show me where JESUS Was Revealed in the Old Testament scriptures as I read them.
Another time, in answer to that prayer, GOD Revealed an interesting passage to me in Exodus. Generally, the Book of Exodus is considered the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and their subsequent wanderings in the desert of Sinai. This is not a book where one normally would think to find reference to JESUS.

But it is there nonethless.

Then  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. . . . Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.
This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives.”
Exodus 30:11-15, NIV


When I read this, it became clear that the price to ransom every person’s life is the same. Whether we are rich or poor, the price to pay for all our sins and redeem us, to reconcile us with GOD, is the same. And that price was the Life of JESUS CHRIST; HE Is the Half Shekel. The price has been paid. Satan seeks to hold us captive, but GOD Paid the kidnapper’s ransom 2000 years ago on Calvary.
The rich are no better off because they could give more; the poor are not at a disadvantage because they cannot pay the price themselves. Standing Before GOD on our judgment day, rich or poor stand in the same position. The only question is whether you and I will claim we have paid the price ourselves by our good deeds and works, or whether we will accept the Offer of JESUS to take care of our debt and to pay our ransom price.
So are you feeling like you are a half-shekel short in life? Look to JESUS WHO Is our half-shekel WHO Ransomed us all for GOD.

Read more : http://brokenbelievers.com/2012/02/12/are-you-a-half-shekel-short/



AMEN!






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