There are times when I read Scripture and I am so grateful I live today. We today have the benefit of looking back from the position of knowing God’s will for us all – as He reveals it. The people are living in the times of the Old Covenant and now in Numbers 18 Aaron is being told he is responsible for the care of the sanctuary and altar, so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. v. 5. Only Aaron and his sons will minister as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. All priests would come from Aaron. From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and die. It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. v. 22-23. The Chapter further explains the offerings and tithes that the Levites and Aaron and his sons receive and give.

One of the things I try really hard to keep in mind when I read Scripture is that I don’t know everything. My first thought in reading this Chapter was feeling bad for the people. They can’t go near the tent of meeting. Why? God doesn’t want His wrath to fall on them again. Protection.

As I sat quietly in prayer He helped me realize He never left the people. Each individual heart can turn to Him. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8. Every heart can turn to Him. Yesterday, today and forever.

The law is only a shadow of good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, my God.’” (Hebrews 10:1-7).

As we can read, the people were not perfect…neither are we. And what does Jesus say? Here I am! We, today, are so blessed to be able to read about the people then, about Jesus coming to this earth as it was foretold in Scripture, about His life and ministry for God the Father whom He loved, about the early Church and yet…we are still living in the shadow of good things to come and we don’t know everything. But our hearts can yearn for Him. He has never left us. He never will. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14. Can you imagine? That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared, we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4.

Every heart can turn to Him and have fellowship with the Father and the Son and there we find hope. The people were not perfect then and we are not perfect now, but Jesus came that we can have fellowship with Him and the Father and Holy Spirit as they guide us into the truth of their unfailing love for us. We are all of us a part of this incredible journey to faith in God and Jesus shows us the way. Take His hand.