The Priority Of Worship (2 Chronicles 35)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.719 My friends, we are coming to the end of chronicles. We are in 2 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:09.990 the next to the last chapter tonight, second chronicles, Chapter Thirty Five. 3 00:00:10.070 --> 00:00:23.940 I'll be reading verses one through nineteen here in second chronicles thirty five. At 4 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:28.539 the beginning of this chapter, we have what is continuing to be a great 5 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:36.810 high point in Israel's history, under good King Josiah's reign. Let's hear now 6 00:00:37.289 --> 00:00:41.890 part of a little bit more of his reforms and particularly as he and his 7 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:47.329 people keep the Passover. So second chronicles thirty five, this is God's word. 8 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:52.479 Let us hear it with faith. Josiah kept a pass over to the 9 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:57.359 Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb. On the Fourteenth Day 10 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:02.679 of the first month. He appointed the priests to their offices and encouraged them 11 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:06.269 in the service of the House of the Lord, and he said to the 12 00:01:06.349 --> 00:01:11.109 Levites, who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, put 13 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:15.390 the Holy Ark in the House that Solomon, the son of David, King 14 00:01:15.469 --> 00:01:19.459 of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now 15 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:23.219 serve the Lord, your God and his people, Israel. Prepare yourselves according 16 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:29.340 to your father's houses, by your divisions as prescribed in the riding of David, 17 00:01:29.379 --> 00:01:34.129 King of Israel, and the document of Solomon his son, and stand 18 00:01:34.209 --> 00:01:38.290 in the holy place according to the groupings of the father's houses, of your 19 00:01:38.329 --> 00:01:42.530 brothers, the lay people and according to the division of the Levites by father's 20 00:01:42.569 --> 00:01:49.159 household, and slaughter the Passover lamb and consecrate yourselves and prepare for your brothers 21 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:56.400 to do according to the word of the Lord. By Moses, then Josiah 22 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.920 contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, 23 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:07.430 lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of thirty thousand and three 24 00:02:07.510 --> 00:02:13.909 thousand bulls. These were from the king's possessions, and his officials contributed willingly 25 00:02:14.030 --> 00:02:19.699 to the people, to the priests and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zachariah 26 00:02:20.060 --> 00:02:23.099 and Jehiel, the chief officers of the House of God, gave to the 27 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:29.939 priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred Passover lambs and three hundred bulls. 28 00:02:30.930 --> 00:02:37.210 CONANAIAH also and Shemaiah and Nathanel, his brothers, and Hashabaiah and jet 29 00:02:37.289 --> 00:02:42.289 yell and Jazabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for 30 00:02:42.409 --> 00:02:46.240 the Passover offerings, five thousand lambs and young goats and five hundred bulls, 31 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:52.240 when the service had been prepared for the priests, when the service had been 32 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:57.039 prepared for the priests stood in their place and the Lea Levites in the divisions, 33 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.550 according to the king's command, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb and the 34 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:06.710 priests through the blood that they received for from them, while the Levites flayed 35 00:03:06.789 --> 00:03:10.629 the sacrifices, and they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them, 36 00:03:10.669 --> 00:03:15.460 according to the groupings of the fathers, as houses of the lay people 37 00:03:15.939 --> 00:03:19.379 to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. 38 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:23.099 And so they did with the Bulls, and they roasted the Passover lamb 39 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:28.169 with fire, according to the rule, and they boiled the holy pot offerings 40 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:32.009 and pots and cauldrons and in pans and carried them away, or and carried 41 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:38.009 them quickly to all the lay people. And afterward they prepared for themselves and 42 00:03:38.129 --> 00:03:40.840 for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Erin, were offering 43 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:46.520 the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night. So the Levites prepared for 44 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.599 themselves and for the priests. The sons of Erin, the singers, the 45 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.199 sons of Asaf were in their place, according to the command of David, 46 00:03:53.479 --> 00:04:00.990 and Asaf and hemn and Jehan Jeduthan, the king's sear and the gate keepers 47 00:04:00.550 --> 00:04:04.789 were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service for 48 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:10.460 their brothers, the Levites, prepared for them. So all the service of 49 00:04:10.500 --> 00:04:14.979 the Lord was prepared that day to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings 50 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:18.100 on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah, 51 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:23.980 and the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time and 52 00:04:24.139 --> 00:04:28.769 the Feast of unloven bread seven days. No Passover like it had been kept 53 00:04:28.810 --> 00:04:31.810 in Israel since the days of Samuel The prophet. None of the kings of 54 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:36.889 Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah and the priests and 55 00:04:38.009 --> 00:04:43.240 the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 56 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.000 In the Eighteenth Year of the reign of Josiah, this Passover was kept 57 00:04:48.040 --> 00:05:00.269 a man named John Mayer, not the musician that the Anglican Priest and Bible 58 00:05:00.350 --> 00:05:06.660 commentator of the seventeenth century. He once asked this question, he said in 59 00:05:06.819 --> 00:05:12.259 his commentary on chronicles. He said why so great an account was made? 60 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:15.939 Why was so great an account made of keeping the Passover, since it consisted 61 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:21.050 of nothing but eating and burning fat in fire? Now this, of course, 62 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:26.329 is a rhetorical question which he doesn't mean in quite this way, and 63 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:28.529 he has a good answer for it, which I'll share in a moment. 64 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:31.410 But there's a way in which we can read this text wrongly. Is What 65 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:34.370 he's getting at. There's a way in which we can look at this and 66 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:39.839 we can say this is a lot of detail and what's the big deal? 67 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:46.360 We simply have a meal being shared, a meal being eaten, eaten, 68 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:54.149 animals being sacrificed. There's a lot of answers you might give to this question. 69 00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:58.189 His was this and he was right about it. He said it was 70 00:05:58.230 --> 00:06:03.189 an expression of thankfulness to God for their deliverance out of Egypt and, as 71 00:06:03.230 --> 00:06:06.939 it was taken in faith in the promised Jesus, who is prefigured in the 72 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:15.500 lamb, they celebrated this salvation of God, that it happened in the past 73 00:06:16.259 --> 00:06:20.370 and would always happen, for God would take care of them and keep them. 74 00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:28.449 They celebrated they Passover lamb or they celebrated Jesus, who is prefigured in 75 00:06:28.449 --> 00:06:32.279 the Passover land, and they celebrated Jesus as he is prefigured by Moses, 76 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:38.279 who brought the people out of Egypt, and they are concludes that, while 77 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:43.879 we no longer are obliged to keep the Passover, obedience, faith and Thanksgiving 78 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.870 in a solemn manner, he adds, are still the duties of the godly, 79 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:53.269 and this is exactly right. There's something here. There are many things 80 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:58.350 here actually, that we can learn and remember from Josiah's keeping of the Passover. 81 00:06:59.709 --> 00:07:02.500 Before we set say say what those are, or perhaps I suggest a 82 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:08.579 few things that we might consider. First, notice it's important. This is 83 00:07:08.620 --> 00:07:12.660 a text where supposed to pay attention to for a number of reasons. First, 84 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:15.529 God's word always should be paid attention to. It's in the Bible, 85 00:07:15.610 --> 00:07:19.889 it's for our instruction, it's for our Bene fit. So if we don't 86 00:07:19.889 --> 00:07:24.810 see it immediately, we ought to search for it, because it's there. 87 00:07:26.410 --> 00:07:30.279 We also have other reasons to understand the importance of this passage. It is, 88 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:34.600 after all, coming at the end of a very long history. Right 89 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:41.040 things are coming to a conclusion where to intended to understand something about what is 90 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:46.350 been going on and who these kings are. In the next section, section, 91 00:07:46.670 --> 00:07:51.870 Josiah will be killed in a battle because of his disobedience to the Lord. 92 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:58.470 But before has life ends in this particular way, we have this, 93 00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:05.459 this moment of worship, as the capstone of all of his reforms. It 94 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:11.939 highlights an importance to what's going on in this moment in their history. Lastly, 95 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:16.610 I would add the repetition throughout this chapter that no Passover had been kept 96 00:08:16.730 --> 00:08:22.529 like this since the days of Samuel. There's a significance of this. We're 97 00:08:22.569 --> 00:08:26.959 supposed to read this and go wow, that was a big deal. What 98 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:31.960 is a big what is a significant about this Passover? It should have been 99 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:37.399 happening every year throughout all the Kings, since Samuel, and even before the 100 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:43.710 kings and before Samuel. Well, no doubt it, there are times when 101 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:48.629 it occurred and it's not recorded, simply because it wasn't important to record, 102 00:08:50.669 --> 00:08:54.190 even though it was important that it occurred. But also we might remember that 103 00:08:54.389 --> 00:08:58.259 some of these kings were very wicked. Some of these kings, in fact 104 00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:01.460 many of the Kings that we've read about throughout chronicles, have not been like 105 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:07.779 King Josiah. Have often gone in other ways and fallen in love with false 106 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:13.129 gods. So the fact that he is doing it at all is significant. 107 00:09:13.129 --> 00:09:16.610 But there's other things that we see throughout the chapter. We see a great 108 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:22.129 orderliness and everything that happens. Everyone is divided in the right place and in 109 00:09:22.169 --> 00:09:26.960 the proper place. Everything is done in according to the word of God. 110 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.879 Over and over again, it's emphasized that these things were done according to the 111 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:35.600 things that David had written, according to the things that Solomon had written, 112 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:41.549 according to the things that Moses had written. God's Word is permeating the worship 113 00:09:41.629 --> 00:09:46.870 of Israel at this moment and that's will be one of our lessons. But 114 00:09:46.950 --> 00:09:50.070 that's important. That in our lies and helps us to understand it's importance and 115 00:09:50.190 --> 00:09:56.139 why it's important. Josiah isn't just worshiping the Lord, He is worshiping the 116 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:01.740 Lord according to the the words of the Lord. He's obeying God in the 117 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:07.139 way that God sees fit. We also see something great and important happening in 118 00:10:07.289 --> 00:10:13.769 this generosity that's happening as he donates and contributes to the lay people all of 119 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:18.090 these offerings and as though those who are underneath him. Other officials are also 120 00:10:18.169 --> 00:10:22.720 doing the same thing, and maybe you notice the great communion that is happening, 121 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:26.799 of the unity and peace among the people. And as this occurs, 122 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.279 the fact that it might seem a little bit dry to you should be a 123 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:37.870 good thing in a way. There's no drama here right. There's no drama 124 00:10:37.990 --> 00:10:41.389 in the way that we talked about sort of bad things happening in life. 125 00:10:41.309 --> 00:10:46.830 It's simply people coming together and worshiping God in a beautiful and unified way. 126 00:10:46.870 --> 00:10:52.539 Walk away from that and praise God. There's something very wonderful here. Is 127 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:56.779 The gatekeepers, it says, didn't have to leave their posts. Why? 128 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:01.899 Because they were provided for, they were taking care of. Of course they 129 00:11:01.899 --> 00:11:05.250 were taking care of. After all, the lay people were taken care of. 130 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:11.049 Everyone is watching out for everyone else, everyone is making sure that all 131 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:18.480 can participate, that all are watched over. Sometimes, when we celebrate communion 132 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:22.639 here, you might notice that one of the elders or I sort of slip 133 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:26.759 out for a moment and and then come back in. It's because we're going 134 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:31.639 out into the fire or into the nursery here looking for a mom or or 135 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:35.470 someone who's had to take her her children out or someone who's needed to step 136 00:11:35.470 --> 00:11:39.429 out for a moment. They're trying to do the same kinds of things here, 137 00:11:39.750 --> 00:11:43.629 make sure that everyone is provided for, everyone is taking care of. 138 00:11:45.389 --> 00:11:50.700 It's a sign of love and communion and unity that they have. The opposite 139 00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:54.659 we see in place like Corinthians, where people are elbowing each other on the 140 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:58.059 way to the table, trying to beat each other and eat the most food, 141 00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:03.610 and it's not a communion of love at all. But here, and 142 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:09.250 second chronicles thirty five, you couldn't ask for anything more. Really. You 143 00:12:09.330 --> 00:12:13.570 have a king who has a good understanding and a right understanding of of worship. 144 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:18.720 He calls his people to worship according to the war word of the Lord. 145 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:22.360 He's generous to his people out of his own possessions. He's a leader, 146 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.600 as he calls the other leaders to follow and to lead. You see 147 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:33.350 the people submitting to that leadership and Obeying and Worshiping and not rebelling and worshiping 148 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:37.230 false gods. You see each office, the sons of Aaron, the Levites, 149 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:43.470 the musicians, the gatekeepers, everyone acting according to their right place, 150 00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:48.299 according to their calling, according to their gifts. Here we have in Israel 151 00:12:50.299 --> 00:12:56.700 finally, after so much drama throughout the book, peace and stability and the 152 00:12:56.899 --> 00:13:01.649 worship of God. Well, I may have gotten ahead of myself a little 153 00:13:01.649 --> 00:13:07.370 bit and begun to suggest some lessons already, but let me get back on 154 00:13:07.570 --> 00:13:11.210 track here and and suggest a few things, three things for us to consider 155 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:20.919 and learn from all this. First, a true reform among God's people is 156 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:28.669 really impossible, apart from reform in worship. Josiah gets this as king over 157 00:13:28.830 --> 00:13:35.429 God's People, God's Worshiping Covenant People. He knows it's not enough to simply 158 00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:41.940 command them to not move boundary markers or don't steal from each other, or 159 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:48.059 treating one another with kindness, exercise hospitality, live life in these ways in 160 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:54.539 accordance with righteousness. That would be all good, but something more is needed. 161 00:13:56.210 --> 00:14:01.730 Worship is needed. Imagine what Israel would have looked like if everyone was 162 00:14:01.809 --> 00:14:07.289 doing sort of acts of righteousness but still going up to the high places and 163 00:14:07.610 --> 00:14:11.919 worshiping bail would God be pleased with that? Would God say, well, 164 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:16.360 now here's our really good people. Too Bad about that idolatry, but you 165 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:22.919 know, we can overlook it because they're so nice. Of course not right. 166 00:14:24.830 --> 00:14:28.309 God would not be pleased at all because, for one, it neglects 167 00:14:28.350 --> 00:14:33.629 the most essential element of obedience, and that's that when we obey and we 168 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:37.590 seek to obey, or when we when we seek to obey, it must 169 00:14:37.629 --> 00:14:43.100 always be done unto God and for God. If we try to obey, 170 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:46.500 to be kind to other people, to show love, to be a good 171 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:52.220 neighbor, apart from obedience to God, it's only centered in our own pride. 172 00:14:54.370 --> 00:14:58.330 It's a neglect and a rejection of the very law giver. How could 173 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:03.610 that be obeying the law? And second, it's, of course, impossible 174 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:09.720 to make any true reforms without God at the center. God is the one 175 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:13.799 who holds the law all together. Without Him, without him as the LAWGIVER, 176 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.480 without him as the organizing principle, the center of it all, law 177 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:31.629 becomes just the arbitrary laws of men, one being imposed on another. When 178 00:15:31.629 --> 00:15:35.779 Jesus speaks to the woman at the well, he tells her that a day 179 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:41.299 is coming when they will worship in spirit and in truth. Central to who 180 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:48.299 the people are of God is worship. It's not merely enough to simply be 181 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:54.769 a quote unquote, good people. A second, that worship has to be 182 00:15:54.809 --> 00:16:00.090 done according to God's word. Would Josiah be right to say, Hey, 183 00:16:00.690 --> 00:16:03.759 everyone, we know that the worship of God is important, but let's ignore 184 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:07.720 and neglect all the commands that God is given us and how we ought to 185 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:12.360 worship and just worship in our own way? Would God be pleased by that? 186 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:18.789 Again, of course not. If you want to please God, you 187 00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:22.470 will obey his commandments, you will follow his word, and that comes as 188 00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:27.269 true of worship as it is of everything else. How can we worship God 189 00:16:27.389 --> 00:16:33.860 according to our own imaginations? Will God be a pleased and accept what is 190 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:37.980 not given in faith, trusting in him and that what he has says is 191 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:44.500 true and right? Josiah didn't do this. Instead, Josiah believed that what 192 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:48.610 the Lord had said was right, that the Passover had been given to them 193 00:16:48.769 --> 00:16:52.690 for a reason and a purpose, that the things that commemorated were the things 194 00:16:52.730 --> 00:16:56.970 that they ought to commemorate, the things that it prioritize where the things that 195 00:16:57.129 --> 00:17:02.320 they ought to prioritize. And when he calls his people together, he is 196 00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:06.960 he is. He emphasizes that that it ought to be done and that it 197 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:11.720 was done according to the word of the Lord. And he did that not 198 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:18.150 only according to the precise regulations and things that went on, but according to 199 00:17:18.230 --> 00:17:21.589 the spirit of the love love, as well, as we see in his 200 00:17:21.789 --> 00:17:33.460 generosity and inclusiveness. Finally, it's important to remember that worship, the worship 201 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:37.940 of God's people, as we see in this chapter, always depends upon sacrifice. 202 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:45.650 There's no worship of God without sacrifice. If you think that you can 203 00:17:45.730 --> 00:17:51.089 imagine a system of worship in which we come to God perfectly following in his 204 00:17:51.170 --> 00:17:56.490 own following his own rules by which he is pleased, but there's no sacrifice 205 00:17:56.569 --> 00:18:03.200 a part of it, well then you've misunderstood something fundamental about God and our 206 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:07.440 relationship with him. If you imagine that you can somehow come before the presence 207 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:12.710 of God and bow down and worship him and praise him and glorify him without 208 00:18:12.750 --> 00:18:18.269 any sacrifice around you, without bringing some kind of offering to him, then 209 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:26.750 we've misunderstood something fundamental about our relationship with him. It's like coming to a 210 00:18:26.789 --> 00:18:32.539 Christmas party dressed for the fourth of July. You've you're here to celebrate right, 211 00:18:32.700 --> 00:18:37.779 but you've missed the point entirely. Sacrifice is at the center of the 212 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:47.289 worship of God because sin divides us from God. Sin Without sacrifice is a 213 00:18:47.410 --> 00:18:52.930 fundamental part of our relationship. There's no coming before God and saying here I 214 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:56.519 am, let's worship, let's be together, let me receive your blessing, 215 00:18:56.599 --> 00:19:03.599 because there's a problem, there a wall, there a great obstacle. Sin. 216 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:07.319 Sin Divides us from God. It separates from us from God, it 217 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:14.349 makes us impure and unholy, unable to come to him. And so we 218 00:19:14.509 --> 00:19:19.829 see. The Old Testament teaches us that this sacrifice is required. In the 219 00:19:19.950 --> 00:19:26.660 case of the Passover, God required that a blood of a lamb be spread 220 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:32.619 on the doorways of the people of Israel, their houses, so that as 221 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:37.099 the angel of death passed from house to house, they would be passed over 222 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:45.210 because of that sacrifice that had been made. Why sacrifice, though? Well, 223 00:19:45.250 --> 00:19:51.450 for one sacrifice teaches us and maintains it reminds us of this distinction. 224 00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:56.720 It reminds us that something is impeding our relationship with God, as it comes 225 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:03.160 and and heals that or takes away the obstacle. A sacrifice preaches, in 226 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:11.549 a sense, the consequences of sin. Shed blood, death. What does 227 00:20:11.630 --> 00:20:17.230 the Apostle Paul say? The wages of sin is death, and the sacrifice 228 00:20:17.390 --> 00:20:23.259 points that out in this very clear way. As they blood was was sprinkled 229 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:30.140 onto the altar, as the they the the meat of the animals are flayed 230 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:34.769 open, as the smell of burning fat lifted into the air, it was 231 00:20:34.890 --> 00:20:42.769 very clear, in this very powerful way, that a death was required. 232 00:20:45.089 --> 00:20:52.039 There is consequence for sin, but the sacrifice also shows something else. It 233 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:56.079 deals with sin in such a way that there is a substitute between us, 234 00:20:56.039 --> 00:21:00.640 in US and God. In other words, a sacrifice is required, yes, 235 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:06.470 but it's not me and it's not you. You're not the one being 236 00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:14.269 flayed, you're not the one whose blood is being shed, you're not the 237 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:21.500 one whose death is being required. It's another one that God has provided a 238 00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:26.380 salvation, that God has said, here is how you can come and worship 239 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:33.289 me, here is how you may come and worship and live. And all 240 00:21:33.369 --> 00:21:41.809 of this we are reminded of this great truth, that all of these sacrifices 241 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:47.130 that we have in the Passover, in the burnt offerings, in this feast 242 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:52.519 and throughout the Old Testament, they point to this one, one and final 243 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:57.359 sacrifice that is given to us in Jesus. John One hundred and twenty nine 244 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:02.630 says, the next day Jesus, that he saw Jesus, that is John 245 00:22:02.670 --> 00:22:06.109 The baptist, saught Jesus coming toward him. And here's what John says, 246 00:22:06.190 --> 00:22:11.190 the great and last profit of the Old Testament. He says, behold the 247 00:22:11.309 --> 00:22:18.220 lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. The Lamb 248 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:23.819 of God, Paul says in First Corinthians Five, seven, cleans out the 249 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:27.259 old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are, 250 00:22:27.420 --> 00:22:37.170 unleavened for Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed, John says in revelation 251 00:22:37.410 --> 00:22:45.279 five. Let me read a longer passage revelation five, beginning verse six, 252 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:49.079 and between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I 253 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:57.359 saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and 254 00:22:57.559 --> 00:23:00.869 seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God put into all the earth. 255 00:23:03.309 --> 00:23:07.470 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who 256 00:23:07.549 --> 00:23:10.069 was seated on the throne, him, that is, the lamb. And 257 00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:14.180 when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures in the twenty four 258 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:18.059 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding the harp and the Golden Bulls 259 00:23:18.099 --> 00:23:22.579 full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints and they sang a 260 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:26.500 new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open 261 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:32.730 its seas, for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for 262 00:23:32.849 --> 00:23:37.289 God from every tribe and language and people in nation, and you have made 263 00:23:37.329 --> 00:23:41.839 them a kingdom and priests to our God and they shall reign on the earth. 264 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:45.799 Then I looked and I heard, around the throne and the living creatures 265 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:51.519 and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and 266 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:59.349 thousands of thousands, saying, with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb, 267 00:23:59.509 --> 00:24:03.710 who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor 268 00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:10.779 and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on Earth 269 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:14.099 and under the Earth and in the sea and all that is in them saying 270 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:18.099 to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor 271 00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:26.049 and glory and might forever and ever. Amen. This is the worship of 272 00:24:26.130 --> 00:24:30.609 Heaven, this is the worship of the kingdom to come, this is the 273 00:24:30.769 --> 00:24:37.650 worship that we will participate in for all eternity and its centers around the lamb 274 00:24:37.769 --> 00:24:44.200 who is slain, whose blood was shed for you, that you might be 275 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:48.759 able to worship, that you might be included in the great number of the 276 00:24:48.839 --> 00:25:00.750 people of God standing among these hundreds of millions of angels worshiping and praising Josiah. 277 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:06.990 Is a good king. Thumbs up too, thumbs up Josiah, but 278 00:25:07.109 --> 00:25:11.140 he's no Jesus, as well see coming up. Josiah, like all the 279 00:25:11.220 --> 00:25:18.619 other kings, like every other man that is lived, makes mistakes, sinful 280 00:25:18.299 --> 00:25:27.930 mistakes, costly, deadly mistakes. Even the most righteous people fall into sin, 281 00:25:30.569 --> 00:25:36.519 mess up, get it wrong willfully, unful unwilfully, knowingly and unwillingly 282 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:45.759 own unknowingly. Even as chronicles is ending, it leaves US waiting for another 283 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:52.549 not one to just institute an Old Testament feast, but one who is the 284 00:25:52.670 --> 00:25:57.230 Old Testament feast, one who is the king and is the priest and is 285 00:25:57.430 --> 00:26:03.190 the lamb, one who comes not only to save us from all our sin, 286 00:26:03.190 --> 00:26:08.099 but who is worthy to be worshiped forever and ever, who makes no 287 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:15.259 mistakes, and because of that is us sacrifice that is perfect and worthy of 288 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:26.369 being a final sacrifice for us. When we come to worship, we also 289 00:26:26.569 --> 00:26:32.250 come because it is central to who we are as God's people. It's what 290 00:26:32.490 --> 00:26:37.039 we do, it's who we are, and we do that according to the 291 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:42.079 word of God, and we do it all depending on a sacrifice, not 292 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:48.869 one that we bring, but one that God has brought. Even as he 293 00:26:48.990 --> 00:26:57.269 commanded them to give these Passover lambs, he commands us not to give Christ, 294 00:26:57.990 --> 00:27:03.579 but to receive him, to trust in him. God gives to us 295 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:11.259 the lamb that we might have him forever. When we come to worship, 296 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:18.170 we come depending on Jesus, who was that final sacrifice. We don't need 297 00:27:18.410 --> 00:27:26.049 to bring sacrifices anymore because he is perpetually being offered, all to the praise 298 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:32.400 and glory of God. So when we worship, and we worship according to 299 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:36.799 the word of God, always keep your faith and your heart and your mind 300 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:44.309 on Jesus. He is how we are reconciled with God. Here's how we 301 00:27:44.390 --> 00:27:49.230 are ransomed. He is how we can and do worship. Let's pray