‘The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron’s sons when they approached the presence of the Lord and died. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell your brother Aaron that he may not come whenever he wants into the holy place behind the curtain in front of the mercy seat on the ark or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.’
Leviticus 16:1-2
Home Alone is right up there with my favourite ever Christmas movies (it might even be #1 if you discount Die Hard… although I don’t know why you would). It is a classic. A young lad left at home to fend for himself, battling with the baddies, keeping them from his home whilst his family are stuck on the other side of the country trying to get back home to him. And the premise of it is there are some people who are NOT welcome in your home. We have no problem with Kevin going to all sorts of dramatic (and hilarious) lengths to keep Harry and Marve out. They will just ruin his home, if they were allowed in.
Well the surprising point of todays chapter (Leviticus 16) is that it tells us that we are NOT welcome in God’s home. Our sin keeps us from having the ‘abundant joy’ found in ‘God’s Presence’ (Psalm 16:11).
We have already seen that in our readings this Christmas… It was mankind’s rebellion against God in the garden that caused our exile from paradise to begin with. And although God has drawn near to his people, and has promised his people that one day he would restore the home they ruined, still our sin means we can’t enjoy HOME in God’s presence here and now.
That’s why God told his people to build a tabernacle (and later a temple) because in that place God would come down and meet with his people. But to do that, something would have to be done to deal with their sin. And that’s where Leviticus 16 comes in. This chapter, right in the middle of Leviticus, deals with the key problem of Leviticus (indeed the key problem of LIFE): how can sinners be welcome in the presence of God…?
God’s plan for atonement (dealing with his peoples sin) was bloody and brutal. It involved a humble priest (Aaron at first) who would offer a substitutionary sacrifice (a bull for his own sin, one goat for God’s peoples sin, and one goat sent away to picture sin being removed). Sin is brutal. It ruins everything. Its wages are death. It needs dealt with. Yet at the end of Leviticus 16 we see a victorious representative because sin was dealt with and God’s people were now welcome again in God’s presence.
This meant a glorious glimpse of HOME was now available again in the tabernacle… but this was only a TEMU version of God’s plan. Because one day God’s presence would again envelop the entire earth. One day a greater sacrifice was coming; which would mean all other sacrifices would stop. For Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross would do what the sacrifices of bulls/goats only symbolised. Christ was the humble priest who offered himself as the substitutionary sacrifice dying under the wrath of God in the place of God’s people’s sin. Then on the 3rd day Christ rose as the victorious representative. And today when we trust in Jesus we know our sin forgiven, our problem dealt with and so we can have ‘abundant joy’ in ‘God’s presence’ forevermore.
I’m sure we’d prefer to think we are the helpless Kevin rather than the guilty Harry/Marve in Home Alone. But when we realise our own sin is our greatest problem… and when we realise that at Christmas Jesus came to deal with the problem of our sin… then we will gladly confess the fact we are great sinners… for its only great sinners our even greater saviour came to forgive.
Therefore, this Christmas, as we spend time in God’s presence, lets marvel again at the grace of God, seen through the cross of Christ, that welcomes sinners like us back into his presence. Let’s take time to confess our sin knowing that when we confess our sin God WILL forgive it and give us joy in his presence. Not because of us, but because of Jesus who (as the angel said to Jospeh) ‘WILL save his people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21) and so welcome us home.
Rejoice!
Written by Pete Stewart
A thought to remember: Because of Emmanuel we are welcome in God's presence.
A bit more to read: Leviticus 16, Hebrews 10
A question to ask: What sin do you need to confess to God today?
A song to sing: O Come All You Unfaithful