What a lot of rigamorole! Did you read the stuff that Aaron had to go through just to stand before the Lord. Oh yeah, and my favorite part was that if he didn't do it right, he would die. Talk about pressure.
It had to be weird to have someone (someones) dress you. Everything from undergarments to the finishing touches. You gotta think that outfit got awfully warm, especially in the summer. I'm sure standing over the altar all day burning sacrifices wasn't any too cool. And smelly. Man, first of all, they sprinkled your get up in blood. It was hot and no doubt sweaty. Remember, no antiperspirant in those days. The did have incense, but can't imagine that covered everything. And what about that whole slaughtering animals gig. Pulling out the guts, tossing stuff here and there. Oh man, and no dry cleaners. Whew! And you get to put the same outfit on tomorrow.
And if that weren't enough, you have to stand there while someone smears blood all over you. Well, at least your ear lobe, thumb and big toe. Oh, and a little on your fancy threads.
All that just so that you can stand before the Lord and hear Him. Man, what an ordeal. Just think, that was so that you could stand and make a million plus sacrifices a day. If all the Israelites had to sacrifice and there were 600,000 men alone who left Egypt, how many women and children were there to make sacrifices. Seems like an awful lot of stuff to do just to talk with God.
I'm glad I don't have to go through all that ritual. To hear God all I have to do is open His Word, the Bible, pause in prayer, open my heart to Him. Anywhere, anytime, I can come before God and share with Him, seek His counsel, celebrate victories, cry out in distress or just sing to Him. It's great! And to know that God is actually living in me through His Spirit, wow! And the best part, I don't have to worry about dying, ever. Oh sure, I'll shed this earthly body, but I'm going to live forever.
So what did I have to do to get there? What ritual did I have to perform? NONE. All I had to do was believe in Jesus, name Him Lord and Savior of my life, surrender to Him in baptism. That's it. Now I'm in a trust relationship with Him. I'm a member of God's very own family. I get to eat as His table. Converse with Him whenever I want.
God, thanks for all your son went through so that I didn't. Thanks for offering your son a sacrifice for me. Thanks for the freedom to come to you and live in such a tight relationship with you.
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