A lot of rules... or a proven path to restore us to God's Presence? As we continue to walk through the book of Leviticus and learn about the 5 types of sacrifices, we can be thankful Jesus's sacrifice was once and for all. Believers are now restored to God and have the hope of eternity, but it is only by the grace of God and nothing we have done.

Christian parents can use the pattern of repentance that God sets forth in Scripture to train their children in repentance. In this lesson, you'll learn about an incredibly practical illustration called "The Full Circle". If you'd like to learn more about utilizing this biblical resource, sign up using the form for the free hour-long lesson from Betsy, full listening lesson, and printable guide: www.entrustedministries.com.

You can also read about the Entrusted with a Child's Heart study here: www.entrustedministries.com/studies

Today's Reading: Leviticus 5-8

Scripture Read or Referenced:

Hebrews 10:1-8

Leviticus 5:1-11a

Leviticus 6:1-7

Welcome to The Dwelling Place

from a Trusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Today we're looking at Leviticus

Chapters five through eight.

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As I laid out in the previous episode,

when we look at what was required to

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restore God's people to dwell with

him, we can be so grateful that Jesus

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has established a new covenant and

that he has paid the penalty for our

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sin once and for all, and that's the

gospel When we stand before God someday.

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We won't be able to point to

anything we've said or done.

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It will only be by Jesus's righteousness

and his payment on the cross.

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That will be allowed in.

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But the sacrifices that were described

in Leviticus were required over and over.

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As I read these chapters, I'm

continually encouraged that God

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provides a way for forgiveness.

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He lays out the path to be made

right and each circumstance ends

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with, and he shall be forgiven.

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Many people think of Christianity as

a list of do's and don'ts, but I see

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a God who understands that we will

fall short and he provides a way back.

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He even says, come to me with your sin.

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Don't run away As Adam and Eve did.

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He wants them to come to the

tabernacle and make it right.

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Some of the sacrifices might seem

interesting to us, like why exactly does

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this restore their relationship with God?

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And it kind of reminds me about when

my husband and I were married a couple

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years and it was recommended to us

to write down five things the other

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person did that we really appreciated.

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And when he handed me his list, I was

shocked that nowhere on the list was

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the gourmet meals that I made him.

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But he had listed, I like it when you

randomly bring me a glass of water.

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I was a little miffed, if I'm

honest, and I wanted to say, fine,

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I'll start making cereal for dinner

from now on and bring you water.

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But I realized the heart of it.

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He wanted me looking for ways to

surprise and serve him when you

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love someone, you're thinking

about how do they want to be loved?

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Not how do you want to show love?

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And when we read God's word and these

directions, I think how beautiful

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it is that he tells us exactly

how we can honor and love him.

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Of course, we have finite minds

and we live at a different point

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in history, so some of these

things might strike us as odd.

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But in humility, we can know that if

God says it, it is the true right way.

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In these chapters, God continues to

describe the five types of sacrifices.

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The most frequent were

the burnt offerings.

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These were voluntary.

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They were dedication to God and

repentance for sin in general.

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The animal was completely consumed and it

was offered before the Lord and not man.

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The grain sacrifice was voluntary.

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It was the only non-animal sacrifice.

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It was done out of Thanksgiving to God,

and part of it was eaten by the priest.

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The burnt offering is probably what

job was offering for his children.

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The peace offering was also

voluntary, it symbolized peace

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between God and the worshiper.

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And it ended in a meal.

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The SIN offering was required for

sins committed unknowingly, and

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where restitution was impossible.

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This wasn't for Defiant

Acts before the Lord.

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And finally there was

the trespass offering.

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This was to atone for sins

committed unknowingly especially

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where restitution was possible.

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Often God required a fifth to be added

on if any damage was caused to someone.

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God and the priest took part in this,

but the offer was to eat none of it.

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Let's look a little bit

more at the guilt offerings.

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In chapter five, verse one begins

if anyone sins, and that he hears

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a public adoration to testify.

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And though he is a witness, whether he has

seen or come to know the matter yet does

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not speak, he shall bear his iniquity.

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Or if anyone touches an unclean thing,

whether a carcass of an unclean wild

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animal or a carcass of unclean livestock.

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Or a carcass of unclean swarming things

and it is hidden from him and he has

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become unclean and he realizes his guilt

or if he touches human uncles or whatever

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sort of uncles may be with which one

becomes unclean and it is hidden from him.

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When he comes to know it and realizes

his guilt, or if anyone utters with

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his lips a rash oath to do evil or to

do good, any sort of rash oath that

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people swear and it is hidden from him.

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When he comes to know it, and he

realizes his guilt in any of these.

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When he realizes his guilt in any of

these and confesses the sin he has

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committed, he shall bring to the Lord

as his compensation for the sin that he

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has committed a female from the flock,

a lamb or a goat for sin offering.

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And the priest shall make

atonement for him for his sin.

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But if he cannot afford a

lamb, then he shall bring to

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the Lord as his compensation.

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For this sin that he has committed

two turtle doves or two pigeons, one

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for a sin offering and the other for

a burnt offering, he shall bring

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them to the priest who shall offer

first, the one for the sin offering.

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And the priest shall make atonement

for him, for the sin he has

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committed, and he shall be forgiven.

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But if he cannot afford two turtle

doves or two pigeons, then he

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shall bring as his offering for

the sin that he has committed.

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A 10th of an a flower a fine

flower, first in offering.

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And in chapter six, the Lord spoke to

Moses saying If anyone sins and commits

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a breach of faith against the Lord by

deceiving his neighbor in a matter of

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deposit or security, or through robbery.

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Or if he has oppressed his neighbor or

has found something lost and lied about

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it, swearing falsely and any of the

things that people do and sin thereby

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if he has sinned and has realized his

guilt and will restore what he took by

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robbery or what he got by oppression or

the deposit that was committed to him.

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Or the lost thing that he found or

anything about which he has sworn

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falsely, he shall restore it in

full and shall add a fifth to it and

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give it to him to whom it belongs.

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On the day he realizes his guilt

and he shall bring to the priest as

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his compensation to the Lord, a ram

without blemish out of the flock, or

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it's equivalent for a guilt offering.

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And the priest shall make atonement

for him before the Lord and he shall

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be forgiven for any of the things that

one may do, and thereby become guilty.

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We saw at the beginning of

the chapter that if you are a

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witness to someone's wrongdoing.

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you better show up to

tell the truth about it.

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I've seen believers even in

recent years, say I don't wanna

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be dragged into this mess.

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But God's word says, if you

know the truth, you should be

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part of bringing it to light.

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When God says if anyone utters with his

lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good,

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I'm so thankful that God knew that some of

us were going to struggle with impulsivity

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and some of our children would, and

he makes a provision even for this.

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It's not a reason to not deal

with the issue, but we can be

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grateful that God understands

this about us and he makes a way.

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And God doesn't show favoritism

whether you are rich or poor.

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There is a way to make restitution.

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Now that we live with the sacrifice

of Jesus, we are so blessed.

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But it wasn't intended to prevent us

from evaluating our hearts before him.

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I think it's getting harder

and harder as we wake up in the

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morning reaching for our phones.

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We often fall asleep right as we set them

in our nightstands, and I'm convicted

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to spend more time in the evening

evaluating my life before the Lord.

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This whole cycle of repentance and

restoration is making me think about one

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of the key teachings that we learn in the

Entrusted with the child's heart study.

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After studying scripture for years

particularly for families, Betsy developed

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an illustration called the Full Circle.

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It's a beautiful tool that

you can use with your kids.

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And it models the heart of God.

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You can use this in disciplinary

situations, but even when they do

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something great to reinforce it.

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But step one is the child

verbalizing their behavior.

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They're gonna tell you what happened.

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Just as Leviticus said, when he

realizes his guilt, sometimes they

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realize it ' cause they get caught

and then in step two you can ask

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them what behavior needs to change.

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This is the point where

they own their behavior.

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Step three, you'll ask them what

behavior needs to replace it.

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And they'll tell you what choice would've

been more appropriate in that situation.

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In step four, you'll ask them what further

response would glorify God and the child

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is gonna take action to right the wrong.

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As we just read, sometimes the

people had to make it right with

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others and make it right with him.

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And we can explain to our kids how they

can make it right if they harm someone.

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But always we should be guiding

them in how to walk in repentance.

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As a parent, you get to decide if there

needs to be a consequence, and often if

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they're older and they've been trained

by this process, Just verbalizing where

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they went off course is enough to get them

to humble their hearts before the Lord.

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And then they can pray, or

you can pray together, but at

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the end of it, it's finished.

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It's done.

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You don't need to bring it back up again.

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It gets worked through and it's

such a beautiful thing to teach

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our kids the sin is now dealt with,

and as I'm reading these chapters.

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I am thinking how wonderful

it is that these people had an

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opportunity to say, I did sin.

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I fell short, but now I

am restored to the Lord.

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If you would like to know more about

this parenting resource, the full circle

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and Entrusted with the Child Tart,

I'm gonna link that in the show notes.

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You can get the entire lesson

where Betsy explains it for free,

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the printable lesson, and even a

chart to print out, because it can

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take a while to get it memorized.

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Put it somewhere convenient where

you'll have these chats with

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your kids, because as Betsy says,

you're raising little sinners.

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and that's why we need him so desperately.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, we come before

you, grateful that you are a God.

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That makes a way.

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And for the moms that are so easily

convicted and often feel condemned, I

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pray that you would give them discernment.

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To know when it's your

spirit calling them to repent

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and that they would be able

to move forward in your grace.

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But I also pray for the moms whose

hearts feel dull right now, that

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have been taking grace for granted.

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I pray that you would

quicken them to your spirit.

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And that where you're calling them to

repent and change that they would do.

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So help us to be faithful to model you

for our kids to not shame them or hold

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their sin against them, as that will

only make them hide their sin from us.

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But we pray that you would help us to

model true grace and forgiveness while

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also being consistent to hold them

to the standard you've set for them.

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Sometimes that line is difficult

or fuzzy, but we thank you that

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your Holy Spirit goes with us.

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Jesus, thank you for all

you purchased for us.

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Keep our hearts overflowing

with gratitude for you.

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It's in your name, we pray it.

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Amen.