the unconsumed

The Word for today:
Exodus 32

The Tabernacle is God’s picture book, illustrating the great doctrines of the Christian faith. And Stand in the Rain has been commissioned by God Himself (Matthew 28:18-20) to be your official Tabernacle tour guide…

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We've come through the Tabernacle Gate, but we did not come in empty-handed. We brought the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (1).

Directly ahead of us is the altar of burnt offering, where the fire of judgment will consume sin.  This altar of burnt (totally consumed) offering is the primary Old Testament picture of the cross.

In a real way (not allegorically or figuratively) Jesus Christ became sin on the cross (2).  It is important to understand that the sins were not his own, but they belonged to (your name here).

At the same time, (your name here) became the righteousness of God in him (2). It is important to understand that the righteousness is not yours, but it belongs to Jesus.

But we "wear" his righteousness like a garment, and so we can approach God. Without Jesus' righteousness, we could not proceed any farther. We would, in fact, get tossed from the Tabernacle! --

Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness.' (Matthew 22:8-13)

Note that the man without the imputed righteousness of God was not only tossed out, but he was speechless! This illustrates that we cannot approach God, even verbally through prayer, unless we come in the Name and righteousness of Christ. For if we approach God in our own "righteousness"--which God views as filthy rags (3)--God's holiness would (because it must) totally consume our sin.

So totally consumed would we be, that there would be nothing left but the ashes that were left when an animal was sacrificed in place of the sinner at the burnt altar of the Tabernacle.

But if by faith Jesus took your place at the altar of burnt offering/the cross, then you can forever join in with the forgiven, who will forever say--

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

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(1) John 1:29 (2) 2 Corinthians 5:21; (3) Isaiah 64:6