For a different purpose I’ve answered questions about 1 Corinthians before: 2:9-10, 16 and 3:14.

Outline

1. The Calendar (23-25) – When Israel should gather to worship God
2. Blessings and Curses (26) – God’s promises concerning obedience
3. Vows (27) – Making vows to the LORD and devoted offerings

Brief Comments
God’s discipline is a topic not much addressed in our time. This week in Leviticus 26 we read how God reacts to the obedience and disobedience of His people. Verses 3-13, 10 verses, describe the obedience of the people and God’s response. They must walk in His way. God uses these 10 verses to assure Israel of His response: enough to eat, security, peace, no wild animals, victories over enemies, many children, abundance of food, and the presence of God. God uses the next 29 verses to emphasize His discipline. He begins with Israel not doing “all these commandments” and breaking God’s covenant (v. 14-15) then He will react with discipline (v. 16-17).If they still do not listen then He will discipline them sevenfold (v. 18-20). If they still do not listen then He will discipline them sevenfold (v. 21-22). “And if by this discipline you are not turned to Me but walk contrary to Me” then He will Himself discipline them sevenfold (v. 23-26). “But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to Me” then God promises that He Himself will discipline them sevenfold for their sins (v. 27-33). The promised land would then find rest while Israel was in exile (v. 34-39). But if they confess their sins, humble themselves, and make amends for their iniquity then God will restore them to the land (v. 40-46).

There are many things we can learn from this section. First, notice how much space is given to obedience and its blessings compared to disobedience and its curses. There is a decided weight to the curses. God has to be heavy on the consequences of disobedience because He knows they (and we) are disposed to evil (Matthew 7:11, Genesis 6:5). God is teaching the inability of the people to be obedient to “all these commandments” (v. 14). Second, notice God’s abundant mercy. Five times God disciplines His people in order to see them turn back to Him. He is merciful and faithful to His covenant. He gives them many chances in the land and even when He removed them He said He would never completely abandon them (v. 44-45). God is unfathomably merciful for offering so many chances and periods of grace and opportunities for repentance. Third, notice that the main goal of God’s discipline is for people to turn back to Him. The same is true today with church discipline. The same is true for discipline with your children. Fourth, to look ahead many hundred years, after the death and resurrection of Christ there was no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). Not all in the Israelite community were believers. So some received what they deserved for their disobedience. But the law no longer condemns us. We are free to obey God without fear of not doing everything perfectly. We must only have faith that God is sovereign, Christ has done all that is needed for salvation, and we obey God because He has already saved us. Fifth, again from the New Testament, these curses are no longer for us because Christ has become the curse for us (Galatians 3:10-14). So we are redeemed and given the Holy Spirit because God has saved us by faith in Christ Jesus His Son and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Introduction

Outline
Again, the outline is drawn from my Old Testament I class with Dr. Hamilton.

1. Blood (17)
2. Family and Society (18-20)
3. Priests (21-22)

Brief Comments
First, in Leviticus 17 Moses describes laws governing blood. These laws are important because of what blood is. Leviticus 17:11 reads, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” I bring this up to dispel a commonly held view in churches who are trying, rightly, to focus on the holiness of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately they wrongly elevate the blood of Christ to the point of deity itself. They say things like, “even one drop of Jesus’ precious blood could have saved all the people who ever lived.” Though we should respect such reverence for Christ we should not elevate it to an unbiblical level as that statement does. As the beginning of Leviticus 17:11 tells us, the life is in the blood. And, according to the end of the verse, that is why the blood makes atonement – because the life is in the blood. So Jesus cutting His finger would never atone for sin. That’s not the way God set it up. God set it up so that Jesus would need to give Himself completely and entirely to obedience to God, even obedience to death – which is symbolized by the blood being poured out.

Now back to the phrases I put in quotes in the introduction paragraph. Many things have changed since the laws of Leviticus were given, a broader revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Genesis through Deuteronomy tell us about “the land” or “the promised land” and how it was defiled by the people so God was sending Israel in to be the punishment of God on them. Today there is no land, no promised land. Now we have a new destination – all nations. And we have a new way to conquer – going to make disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). So when we try to apply Leviticus we are not trying to purify a land.

There were also many “abominations” mentioned in Leviticus 18. But we are called to look at the church and keep it pure and holy, even stripping membership from those who act immorally. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:9-13,

⁹I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹²For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? ¹³God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

So we go to those outside of the church with the gospel. It’s great if they don’t take part in these abominations but it will not save them. Accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ will save them. Instead we make sure that those inside the church are getting the help and prayer they need to battle sin (Galatians 6:1-2). And then if they refuse we have to disfellowship with them, so that they might see their error and return to God (1 Corinthians 5:5). And more than that we must keep in mind that Jesus gave us a greater revelation of the depth of these abominations. He did not change or add to the commands but He revealed that even when we think about murder or sexual immorality or any sin, we break the same law (Matthew 5:17-48). So we must be more careful and test ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) so that we might be holy, as God continues to call us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16)!

The last phrase from the introduction that is often misunderstood is “the people.” God chose Israel to be His people but those who inherit the promises do so by faith as Abraham did (Romans 4). Since we know God saved all those who had faith and us through Jesus Christ, we know that they too were part of the church, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

God has called us to holiness. We must be different from the world that surrounds us. And we not called to point to the actions of those outside the church to improve our holiness but bring the gospel to them while we examine our own hearts for hidden craters of sin and seek to free ourselves from them while helping our brothers in Christ do pursue that same holiness!

Outline
So despite saying an outline would not be forthcoming, here’s an outline (though not of my own creation):

1. Sacrifices (1-7)
2. Priests (8-10)
3. Holiness (11-15)
4. Day of Atonement (16)

Brief Comments
Rather than jump into application by looking at “Do Right When You Do Wrong” I hope to briefly and clearly explain the significance of the sacrifices. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were commanded by God. They were an obligation for the people. Sacrifices did not save people. God commanded that sacrifices and offerings be made and promised atonement would be given through them (ex. 1:4, 14:29). The people first had to believe God, that He would grant them atonement, and then offer the sacrifices in faith. For we know from Hosea 6:6 that God orders sacrifice as less important than steadfast love and knowledge of the LORD, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” The steadfast love for the LORD and the knowledge of Him should have driven them to obedience, which partly involved offering sacrifices. But we know now that Jesus fulfilled all the sacrifices commanded and did even more than the sacrifices could because He permanently removed the consciousness/guilt of sin that animal sacrifices could not remove (Hebrews 10:1-10).

So today we take confidence in Christ who has made us right with God, being sacrificed for our sins, living in holiness in our place, and being our great High Priest who has made Himself the way into the most holy place that we may live eternally there with God (not just visit for a day). So what has become of the sacrifices? In one way it is exactly the same as it was for the Israelites. They offered their sacrifices by faith that God would keep His word. We offer our sacrifices by faith that God did keep His word through the work of Jesus Christ. Sacrifice is how we worship God and show our love for Him,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

So when you do wrong, yes, do right and confess your sins (1 John 1:9) but also continually offer your body as a living sacrifice. When you read Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” don’t think that the works God has prepared for you are easy. They are sacrifices, things which draw the life out of your sinful body and cause you to put your confidence in Christ alone for only He is able to get you through the things that you are truly called by God to do as a living sacrifice!

Unit 3: Design for Right Living

1. Do Right When You Do Wrong (Leviticus 1:1-16:34)
2. Stay Away from Perverted Practices (Leviticus 17:1-22:33)
3. Show Others Godly Grace (Leviticus 23:1-27:34)

Lifeway continues its vigorous pace to test students and, more so, teachers with enormous sections of Scripture to digest. As always, the best thing for both groups to do is read and re-read and re-read the Bible.

The best background to Leviticus is Exodus. On my first introduction to Exodus I added links to all the Exodus lessons. I hope to post a few brief comments tonight or tomorrow morning though I may leave out the outline because of the sheer mass of Scripture being presented.

A few introductory thoughts I’ll include here in hopes you find time to introduce Leviticus to your class. Leviticus is named Leviticus because it is mostly the instruction for the Levites on their duties. It continues the Law of God so we have to be careful when applying it. None of us live in a theocracy (a government which God has promised to lead, protect, and provide for). So when we apply this part of the Bible we need to keep in mind that the judicial rulings give us good lessons on what pleases God but not on what we should do when we encounter things that displease God. A good example is Leviticus 18:8, “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.” And the consequence was leaving the person to die, “cut off from among their people” (Leviticus 18:29). But Paul interprets it differently by removing the person from the church and disassociate with them (1 Corinthians 5) but with a more specific purpose (1 Corinthians 5:5). So our applications must follow Paul. The Israel of today is the church, not a nation. So our applications are centered on the church, its health, and the health of its members.

The lyrics of the song are clear and straight forward. The tune is kind of catchy, depending on your tastes. But the important thing is the message. Most Christians get their theology (their knowledge/understanding of who God is) from the music they listen to. As I encourage my readers to do often with my own work I’m hopeful Kutless would join me in encouraging you to read your Bible and apply what you learn about God to your music instead of the other way around (Acts 17:11).

At first I just wanted to expose the short-comings of this song but then I thought I would build it out a little to help people with other songs I may not have time to post about. Keep in mind that I’m looking at this song for two reasons: 1) to help you evaluate music so you can worship to it; 2) because most Christians learn about God through music without considering the teaching of the Bible.

Now there are good things about this song. Kutless uses secular language and references just as Paul used secular language to illustrate biblical points (the difference being the biblical points, as we’ll see). And the music and poetic language is well put together. There’s a reason it’s catchy. But we need to watch and pray so that we are not drawn away into bad theology (Matthew 26:41), which is sin.

There are three problems with this song, all subtle. First, faith plays an exclusive role as healer, deliverer, and miracle worker. Second, there is no mention of God or Jesus Christ. Third, no mention of God the Father or Jesus Christ leaves 10+ times where you are sufficient to accomplish whatever you face.

So for the first one, faith is used without referring to anything. When faith does not correspond to anything then it becomes a reference to whatever we want. So when I hear this song I hear that faith is this great and wonderful thing, all by itself. If I want all these things for myself, and they sound great, then I need faith – faith in … faith. Faith in faith is a subtle undercurrent in the Christianity of the United States. I would be more brash and call it heresy but generally people intentionally commit heresy. In circumstances like this one, it seems Kutless just strays away instead of intentionally leading people away. But they do intentionally focus on faith in faith, “Overcome the odds / You don’t have a chance / (That’s what faith can do) /When the world says you can’t / It’ll tell you that you can!”

For the second one, no mention of God, we have to look carefully at the song. The mention of stepping out into the water may be a reference to Peter stepping out to go to Jesus. It’s the only mention of the Bible and it’s focused on you having the courage to step out and not Jesus’ power to save (Matthew 14:31) and to keep the ones He has saved (Luke 22:31-34, John 10:28-29, Philippians 1:6).  There are as many and as clear references to the mythical re-birth of the phoenix, “Gotta find the strength to rise / From the ashes and make a new beginning” but again it’s faith in your own strength to rise from the ashes.

Third, no reference to God the Father or Jesus Christ leaves faith as sufficient for you. I just want to emphasize the conclusion of the first two. With faith as your only object of faith you end up self-sufficient and self-dependent. This is great for an individualistic United States that longs to pull itself up by its own bootstraps but it’s wretched Christianity. You are not the goal or focus of Christianity, God and His glory are. Christianity looks to Christ as the only Savior (John 14:6) whose power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)! So let us find power in the Holy Spirit who changes hearts. Let us find hope in Christ alone. And let us worship God as the mover of mountains and the worker of miracles!

Introduction

Outline

1. Moses emphasizes the Sabbath and the consequence of death for not resting on it (35:1-3)
2. Contributions for the tabernacle (35:4-29)
   1. Moses calls for contributions – gifts and labor from the generous of heart (35:4-19) – the generosity of heart is emphasized in their giving, as it should be in our giving
   2. The people respond with the contributions (35:20-29)
3. Obedience to the commands of God for a holy place of worship (35:30-39:43)
   1. Those gifted with skill construct the Ark (37:1-9)
   2. Those gifted with skill construct the Table for the Bread of the Presence (37:10-16)
   3. Those gifted with skill construct the Lampstand (37:17-24)
   4. Those gifted with skill construct the Altar of Incense and its incense (37:25-29)
   5. Those gifted with skill construct the Altar of Burnt Offering (38:1-7)
   6. Those gifted with skill construct the Bronze Basin (38:8)
   7. Those gifted with skill construct the Court of the Tabernacle (38:9-20)
   8. The record of how much material was used to construct the tabernacle (38:21-31)
   9. Making the garments for the priests (39:1-31) – special emphasis on doing “as the LORD had commanded Moses” (v. 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31)
   10. Summary of the work and its presentation before Moses who saw everything as done “as the LORD has commanded” (v. 32, 43) (38:32-43)
4. Beginning to use the tabernacle (40:1-38)
   1. God instruct Moses on when and how to put the pieces together and anoint and consecrate the priests (40:1-15)
   2. Moses does as God says (40:6-33)
   3. The glory of the LORD takes up residence in the tabernacle (40:34-38)

Brief Comments
I’ll point to two things on this last week. As with too many of the Explore the Bible lessons there is a mad rush to application. First, I’ll draw out some points concerning this week’s application. Second, we’ll look at what the passage is teaching and the application we derive from that.

The title of the Explore the Bible series for this section is “How do you contribute?” I can see a few answers to that question in this week’s text. God commands the people to give of their possessions. The people response in obedience. The women even make new yarns and threads to contribute. In fact, the tabernacle is constructed out of all new materials (with the possible exception of the mirrors, 38:8). How often do we give our old and used possessions as our donations instead of what is new? The people also gave from generous hearts. Likewise, we should prepare our hearts so that they are generous and give generously. Lastly, God gave specific people gifts to be able to create and construct what was needed in the temple. Today, we need to use our gifts to serve the people of God so that they will know Him more intimately (as the tabernacle was constructed so God could live among His people).

This section of Exodus is about the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a place where God would dwell. God gave commandments for its construction so that He could dwell among His people and sanctify them. So when we read this section of Exodus we learn about the generous giving of the people and the obedience of the people. But the goal is that God would live in their presence. That is why the people gave and worked. The true believers among them longed to know God, to live in His presence and be conformed to His will. A few weeks ago we read Exodus 29:43, “There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory.” God spoke of the tabernacle being the place of meeting and it being sanctified by His glory. From it we learn that God’s presence sanctifies. It makes holy. Now that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, we should seek to be sanctified as the tabernacle was sanctified. If we are to become more like Christ, sanctified, then what must we do? We need to love God because He loved us first. We need to obey Him by loving His people and our neighbors too (Matthew 22:37-40). We need to give generously and use our skills to improve our relationship with God and other people’s relationships with God, as we are shown in the Exodus passage for this week. We must to anything that brings us into the glory of God for by that we are made like Christ. Second Corinthians 3:18 reads, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” We have to behold the glory of the LORD to be transformed into His likeness. And how do we do that? Read and study and memorize your Bible. In John 17:17 Jesus prayed to God about us, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” If you want to follow the example of the Israelites in this week’s passage then seek whatever way possible but especially God’s word to draw close to Him and be like Him!

That is all for this series. I’m contemplating continuing on with these Explore the Bible blogs. Let me know what you think of that or of the Exodus ones or anything else – joshua.e.cottrell[at sign]gmail[dot/period]com.

Introduction

Outline
Compared to other sections, this one is short. I will still comment in the outline to fill out the portions I don’t discuss more fully.

1. The sin of idolatry(32:1-29)
   1. Idolatry, conceived and committed (32:1-6). The Israelites press Aaron into making an idol for them. Notice that they do not give God credit for their salvation but man, “Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt.” Notice Aaron’s willingness to make the idol. Also, application is offered by Paul from this passage in 1 Corinthians 10:6-8.
   2. Moses hears the news from God and God’s proposed solution (32:7-10).
   3. Moses intercedes on the basis of God’s glory, His name and reputation (32:11-14).
   4. Moses sees the people in sin, grows angry, destroys the covenant tablets, and destroys the idol (32:15-20).
   5. Moses confronts Aaron who had been over the people in Moses’ absence (32:21-24).
   6. Moses delivers the judgment God has determined. By their obedience to execute it the Levites are chosen to be the priests of Israel (32:25-29).
2. Moses intercedes before God on behalf of Israel (32:30-33:23).
   1. Moses sets out to be the mediator between God and man (32:30-34).
   2. God punishes the people with a plague (32:35).
   3. God threatens not to go with the people to the Promised Land (33:1-3)
   4. The people respond with mourning and obedience when Moses tells the people God will not go with them and to take off their ornaments (expensive, party attire) (33:4-6)
   5. Moses describes the tent of meeting where his intercession before God took place (33:7-11).
   6. Moses successfully intercedes for the people and asks to see God’s face, which God grants (33:12-23).
3. God calls Moses up to Sinai to re-establish the covenant (34:1-28)
   1. God reveals His glory to Moses (34:1-9).
   2. God renews the covenant with Israel (34:10-28).
4. Moses face shines after speaking to God (34:29-35). Compare the shining face of Moses to the exposure we should have to Christ and what that does in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18.

Brief Comments
There are two topics that tend to come up through this section: Moses as mediator and God’s immutability (unchangeable-ness). The first is a great topic to view in the light of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment. The second misunderstands God and His interactions with His creation.

To look at God not changing first, we see verses like 32:14, “And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.” Some versions translate “relented” as “repented” (KJV) or “changed His mind” (NASB). This is a difficult verse so we need to interpret it according to other verses whose interpretation is easier. We know God knows all things (Proverbs 15:3, Psalm 139:12, 16, Hebrews 4:13). So God is not surprised by Israel’s actions nor is He ignorant of Moses’ intercession for them. We also know God is holy, which means wholly other, and we cannot know anything about Him unless He reveals it to us because of His high, exalted, majestic wisdom and knowledge (Job 11:7-9, Isaiah 55:8-9, 1 Corinthians 2:16, John 1:18). So if God is displeased with a situation and speaks to the problem on a level that can be understood and that speech evokes a response which pleases the Lord, why shouldn’t the Lord look differently upon it? The circumstances have changed to God’s liking. So we can actually see God prove His faithfulness and immutability because circumstances must change relative to Him in order to gain His approval.

The other topic, Moses being a mediator, is another place where we see Christ alluded to in the Old Testament. In 32:30 Moses says to Israel, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Moses anticipates the need for the mediator to make atonement before God for the sins of the people. Jesus fulfills this by atoning for His people on the cross. Moses also pleads the glory of God (32:11-13) as Jesus does for the cross (John 12:28). But Christ is the far better mediator and of a better covenant, one where He gives the Holy Spirit so that our hearts may be changed!

Outline
Again this week I’ll try to comment through the outline because of the amount of material.

1. God gives instruction for an offering and a strictly constructed sanctuary so that God can dwell among His people
   1. Instructions for the Ark, which will contain the covenant and over which the mercy seat is where God will meet with Moses and the high priest. (25:1-22)
   2. Table for the bread of the Presence (25:23-30)
   3. The golden lamp stand to provide light (25:31-40)
   4. The tabernacle, which is the tent that surrounded the holy place and most holy place (26:1-37)
   5. The altar, first bronze article of furniture (27:1-8)The court of the tabernacle – walled tent that surrounded the area outside the holy place and most holy place, the outer most wall, included silver and bronze (27:9-19)
   6. Instructions for offerings, especially the oil for the lamp (27:20-21)
2. God extends the request for an offering to materials for garments. God gives instruction on the priests garments.
   1. The ephod with two onyx stones to bear the tribes names in remembrance before the LORD (28:6-14).
   2. Breast piece of judgment – stones for remembrance and Urim and Thummim for bearing the judgment of the people of Israel on the high priest’s heart before the LORD regularly (28:15-30).
   3. Robe of the ephod with bells so Aaron won’t die, needed as a constant confession of his sinfulness (28:31-35)
   4. Plate of pure gold for Aaron’s turban – to bear the guilt of the holy things the people consecrate as their holy gifts. He wears it so they might be accepted.
   5. A coat, sash, and turban (28:39)
   6. Coats, sashes, and caps for Aaron’s sons – for glory and beauty (28:40)
   7. Instruction of anointing, ordaining and consecrating as priests (28:41)
   8. Under garments to cover their nakedness in the tent, harkening back to Genesis 3 (28:42-43)
3. Consecration of the priests
   1. Ordination anointing (29:1-9)
   2. Sacrifices (29:10-28)
   3. Garments (29:29-30)
   4. Priests eating their part of the sacrifice (29:31-34)
   5. Week of ordination (29:35-46)
4. The altar of incense (30:1-10)
5. The census tax – a ransom and atonement (30:11-16)
6. The bronze basin for washing before entering the holy place (30:17-21)
7. Composition of the anointing oil and incense – to anoint the priests and incense to offer (30:22-38)
8. Oholiab and Bezalel – God gives commands and provides resources (31:1-11)
9. The Sabbath – “that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you” (31:12-17)
10. The two tablets – the final product of God’s instruction after 40 days on Sinai with Moses

Brief Comments
This section of Exodus definitely highlights God’s holiness. The instructions for the tabernacle are given from the inside out. This helps us appreciate how much separated the Old Testament believer from the presence of God. The mercy seat is where God met with people but only two people – Moses and whoever was the high priest (Aaron at this point in history).  We are later told in Leviticus 16 that the only time the high priest was allowed to come before the mercy seat was once each year. There was a curtain that separated that room from the room with the table of the bread of the Presence and the golden lamp stand. Those two rooms were in a tent separated from the court of the tabernacle where the altar for sacrifice was. We also find out later that the Levites, God’s designated priests encamped in the area directly around the tabernacle’s count tent and after them was the rest of Israel. These separations tell us how much sin separates us from the LORD. This is the reason we need Jesus!

The high priest is the representative of the people before God. The careful preparation for Aaron to serve as high priest is striking. First, his clothing tells us so much about his role as high priest. Second, his ordination tells us so much about the imperfections of the high priests of Israel in contrast to the perfect High Priest Jesus Christ. One specific that I would like to draw out is Exodus 28:38 about Aaron’s golden plate to wear on his turban, “It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.” Notice that the high priest must bear any guilt from the holy things. It is not their guilt for sexual immorality or theft or murder. The High Priest even has to bear the guilt for the things which the people consecrate as holy. This tells us two things practically: 1) there is guilt that needs to be borne even for the good and right things we dedicate to the LORD; 2) Jesus is the perfect High Priest who bore the guilt of His people on the cross so that they may have access to the holy of holies – the Holy Spirit indwelling us!