Heralds Digest

  “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ”So Aaron held his peace.” Leviticus‬ ‭10:1-3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the beauties of complete consecration and sacred sacrifice upon the altar is the eventual release of the final fire from the Lord. It was a solemn experience in the camp of the Israelites, “ and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces ” (Leviticus‬ ‭9:24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). Whereas, before the release of the final fire upon the altar of believer’s sacrifices, diverse energies and intentions are m...

  “And you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are ended. For seven days he shall consecrate you.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭8:33‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Just as seven symbolizes completion, complete consecration does not necessarily suggests completion by seven days. Complete consecration simply implies the execution of the entire consecration activities within the days of consecration. In this context of the consecration of Aaron and his sons, it involves the consecration of Aaron and his sons by themselves, the consecration of the elements by Moses as the priest, and thereafter followed by the consecration of Aaron and his sons by the Lord. Likewise today, the entire sanctification starts with a deliberate consecration of self as instruments in the hands of the Lord, followed by a completion submission to the words of the Lord from God’s anointed ministers. Thereafter, a ready soul for sanctification must wait prayerfully upon the ...

  “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ To the scribes, the Pharisees, and all religious people, Jesus recommends the working on a witted wineskin as a necessary requirement for a wise service of new wine. Old wine skins are full of religious activities, like fasting, prayers, and all religious services, without the heart that relishes righteousness. Even in today’s assemblies and believers’ homes, we struggle to enforce religious ethics, tenets, and regulations without a consistent character of uprightness. Since no one puts new wine into old wineskins, what we need earnestly as we approach the throne of grace on a daily basis is a witted wineskin. And as we wait upon the Lord and glean upon His words, He will work upon the crooked channels of our hearts to release brand new hearts - ready to do all His Will. Go...

  “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ With all the listed offerings in the tabernacle of meeting, including burnt offering, peace offering, and grain offering, the common denominators comprise the use of fire and salt. While the fire connotes the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the salt signifies the preservation of the goodness or grace of God. Irrespective of the size, choice, and the type of provisions on the basis of the strength, the elaborate procedures must engage the use body and soul of the offerers of sacrifice. Therefore, salt offers the necessary preservatives to the taste that is capable of wearing dullness. Likewise, life’s services to humanity as sacrifice to the Lord are often challenged by dullness, discouragement, and disappointment. Without a consistent supp...

  “According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.” Exodus‬ ‭39:42-43‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Every serious service provider or product manufacturer in a competitive marketplace is concerned about customer’s review and complete satisfaction. Since the outcomes of these reviews control market participation and penetration, many business owners will leave no stone unturned in a bid to influence market participants and generate unworthy satisfaction reports. But those who envision services to humanity as services to God know that the Creator of heaven and earth cannot be mocked. Since they are truly convinced that only sincere services guarantee complete satisfaction, all efforts are channeled to ensure regulatory standards are followed in service planning, execution, and delivery. On the tabernacle project, it ...

  “Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭38:22-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ One of the amazing beauties of collaboration was demonstrated by Bezalel and his associates towards the construction of the tabernacle, instrument of services, and the design of the order of services. In spite of the diverse spread of discipline and specialties of the workmen, the coordination of all activities by Bezalel was simple; because his submission to instructions from Moses was equally simple. Otherwise, Bezalel could have challenged the supervisory right on the basis of the lack of Moses’ experience and expertise; or he might have promoted his right to independent judgment on the basis of his endowment with divine wisdom. It implies that complex service deliveries may involve th...

  “So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭36:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The surplus supplies for the work of the tabernacle in the wilderness was definitely a perfect illustration of sufficient provision for all of human needs, which are according to God’s perfect will. When the scriptures say that the Lord will provide for all our needs according to His riches, and not according to our resources, it is evident that our needs must be adopted as God’s needs or vice versa. Unfortunately, most of the time in life, human’s personal needs are irrational, selfish, and inconsiderate. And when these needs are not supplied,  the true motives behind the needs are readily manifested through anger, in-fighting, and the destabili...