Gooding, David: 2 - The Law of the Sin Offering

The last of our three occasions together for the time being. I have thoroughly enjoyed, allow me to say it, I have thoroughly enjoyed being with you, and I thank you for your warm-hearted welcome and hospitality, and also for the way that you have cooperated in the studies, so that it isn't just one man sitting up at the front while all go to sleep. It is, uh, uh, working together in waiting on God and in the study of his word. Thank you too for the cooperation that you're going to give this evening. Now, we have been studying, as you remember, the laws of the offerings, or at least some of them, under the general title of laws for practicing priests. And we have noticed, let us remind ourselves just once more, we have noticed that there is a distinction between the actual sacrifices, details of which are given in the early chapters of Leviticus, and then the laws for the sacrifices. The sacrifices themselves and all their details were given to the people who needed to know what sacrifices they could bring. When they brought those sacrifices, however, God gave the priests certain regulations and instructions as to what their duties were, so as to make possible this elaborate system of rituals. And, uh, therefore, the sacrifices themselves speak to us Christians nowadays of the great sacrifice of Christ, which we took advantage of when first we came as sinners to the Savior. That sacrifice that is our only foundation, our hope for time and for eternity. But when we were saved, then we were given the privilege of becoming priests of God, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices to the Lord, and a royal priesthood to declare the virtues of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. And so we have been concentrating on the laws given to the ancient priests, uh, to show them what their duties were and what would be expected of them as they maintained this series of rituals for the benefit of their fellow Israelites. And we've been studying them to learn lessons about our own responsibilities and duties as priests to the Lord. Tonight we come to the, um, last of the laws as given. We shall eventually be reading it, not just for the moment, but the last of the laws as is given, it comes in chapter seven, verse eleven onwards. And it is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, so that our chief duties tonight will be to understand those regulations relating to the sacrifice of peace offerings. What were the duties of the priest in that connection, and then to translate the- those duties to ourselves. So let's remind ourselves of what we have found on the past two evening. First evening, we dealt with the law of the burnt offering, and in that connection, we found it was the prime duty of the priest to keep the fire on the altar, the fire of Israel's devotion burning. It talked to us of our responsibility as priests, whether our duties be towards God or towards man, to maintain the glow of spiritual zeal and devotion to the Lord. Then last week we thought about the law of the sin offering, and the regulations in connection with the sin offering were not to keep the fire burning. Its special concern was that the priest should maintain a sense of the sacred. As they went about their daily duties, week after week, month after month, year after year, and had to attend to the offerings of thousands of sin offerings, the danger was that it would become ordinary, routine, merely a way of earning a living, because the priests were allowed to eat certain parts of the sin offering, and it would lose its sense of the sacred. And when we thought of that, we thought of the dangers that beset us as priests, if the things of God, the delightful privileges that we have been given and responsibilities, lose their sense of sacredness and become just ordinary. Now, tonight we are, as I say, to look at the law of the peace offering, and the title that I tentatively give it, tentatively because I submit it to your spiritual judgment as to whether you agree or not, I tentatively give it the title, The Practice of Peace. Obviously, the peace offering itself talks to us of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, who has made for us peace. But when we talk of peace as Christians, we are apt to talk of it in two different ways, are we not? First of all, as Romans five one reminds us, we have peace with God. And as many a preacher has pointed out, a peace with God is founded on the sacrifice of Christ and comes to us through faith. Romans chapter five verse one: m therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. That peace, as the hymn puts it, is forever settled. It doesn't change, doesn't go in and out or up and down, because this is not peace with ourselves. We may, as believers, be highly displeased with ourselves and far from being at peace with ourselves, very unsatisfied with ourselves and our spiritual, uh, progress. But, um, while that may be true of our own selves, yet when it comes with our, to our relationship with God, then we have peace with God. That does not change because it is not built on our fluctuating experiences. It is built solely on the sacrifice of Christ. We have redemption through his blood. He has made peace through the blood of his cross, and we have peace with God, being justified solely through faith in the Lord Jesus. Peace with God, then, that never changes. But then, on the other side, we read in scripture of the peace of God, to be distinguished surely from peace with God that never changes, the peace of God, and that is conditionable, conditional upon the way we behave. The passage is found, you may remember, in Philippians chapter four and verse seven. Philippians four verse seven, which tells us what we must do if, in a practical sense, we are to experience the peace of God in our hearts. Here it is then, Philippians four verses six and seven: In nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. So here is the recipe for enjoying the peace of God. Peace with God on the basis of justification and the sacrifice of Christ, but day by day enjoyment of the peace of God. Then it is to do as we are to do as we're told, not to be anxious, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to let our requests be known to God. So that's all very familiar to us. I'm just repeating what you've heard thousands of preachers say in the course of your long Melchizedek-like life, Josie. Um, I'm going to talk, therefore, tonight and invite you to think with me on the second aspect mainly, this question of the peace of God and the practice of peace to which we are called as believers. But perhaps to put things in their proper context, you'll allow me to spend the first twenty minutes or so talking tonight about the sacrifice of peace offerings itself before we get down to the law, you'll see. And that'll give us two sermons rolled into one, won't it, you'll see? So that'll be bumper value for the last session as a reward for attending all three, you'll see Two packets instead of one tonight. Take the last and you get another one in addition, you'll see. Uh, anyway, let's look first at the sacrifice of peace offerings for the first part of our session, and then come back and look at the main thing tonight, which is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings. And the peace offering itself is told us about in chapter three and verse one. Leviticus chapter three and verse one. And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offer up the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his oblation and kill it at the door of the tent of meeting. And Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings, an offering made by fire unto the Lord, the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the gall upon the liver with the kidneys shall he take away. And Aaron's son shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt offering, which is upon the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. So here are the directions for the sacrifice itself that were addressed to the ordinary Israelites, the sacrifice of peace offerings. Let's think first about the name of this sacrifice. It's called the peace offering, the sacrifice of peace offerings, if you like. Peace. The experts in Hebrew disagree about what is the actual derivation of the word used, so who am I to dispute them? But when the experts disagree, ordinary chaps like myself, uh, use the privilege given to us that when the experts agree, we make up our own mind, you'll see. So I'm among those who still hold that the word used here for peace offerings is related to the basic Hebrew word shalom, which means peace. Shalom. Word still current, of course, in modern Hebrew. You'll sometimes see it as the name of a house where believers live inside. You'll see shalom. Jehovah shalom, the name of God to Gideon, the God of peace. So this great sacrifice immediately is going to talk to us about the Lord Jesus, is it not? He is our peace. He has made peace by the blood of his cross. But then we should stop to notice that the Hebrew word peace means far more than our English word peace. In fact, it has a whole array of connotations, of different meanings. It means peace, of course, in the sense of the absence of hostility. Enmity finished, battles all over, so to speak. Peace has broken out. Peace, the absence of hostility. And that, of course, immediately reminds us of what the blessed Lord Jesus has done for us by his sacrifice at Calvary. We once were enemies of God. There was positive hostility in our heart towards God. And not only so, not only was there hostility on our part, but God on his side was wroth against our sins. It is true to say that God loves the world, and he so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. But it remains also true that with the wicked, God is angry every day. The first reason why we needed to be saved, according to the Epistle to the Romans, is this: Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, for therein is God's righteousness revealed against all ungodliness of men, for the wrath of God is revealed. As unconverted men and women, we were not only hostile to God, but we stood under God's displeasure. God wrath hung over our heads. And the marvelous thing about our salvation is this, that Christ has done a double thing. He has changed us, hasn't he? We are no longer enemies. We've been reconciled to God by the death of his son. Now, eh, eh, we love the Lord, and we love the Lord Jesus. We are no longer enemies. Ah, but there's been more to it than that. For when Christ died and we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, the biblical term reconciliation means not merely that God changed us from being God's enemies to God's friends and children and devoted servants. It means that the death of Christ removed from the sight of God the thing that was causing his wrath against us. That's what the Greeks mean when they talk about reconciliation. In Greek, for instance, here's Mr. A and here's Mr. B. And they're not on speaking terms, you'll see. A is an enemy of B, and B is full of indignation and displeasure against A. Yes? If you talked in Greek of reconciling A to B, what you would mean is removing from B the cause of his displeasure against A. You'll see, that's important, isn't it? And when the Bible talks about our being reconciled to God by the death of Christ, it does mean, of course, that the death of Christ has changed our attitude to God. Instead of seeing and thinking that God is against us, we see that God is for us, and God loves us. So it changes us, but it would be no good changing us if it couldn't remove from God the cause of his displeasure. That is the great mountain of our sin. So that when the Bible says we've been reconciled to God by the death of his son, it means that the death of Christ has removed from before God that mountain of our sin that caused his displeasure, so that every time he thought about us, our sins provoked his displeasure. Now that's been removed, and removed justly in the death of Christ. That's marvelous, isn't it? And we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, being justified by faith. So yes, peace, this peace offering points us to our Lord Jesus, who has done away with the enmity, having slain the enmity thereby, that is, by his cross. Yes, but the Hebrew word shalom means not only the cessation of hostilities, but it means peace and plenty. Peace and plenty. Not like it was after the last war. Would you remember that? Well, no, most of you wouldn't, you're too young. But, uh, if you were as old as I am, you would remember what it was like, uh, at least in England over the water, you'll say, when we couldn't scuttle across the border and buy a little butter. You'll say, uh, when, uh, peace came nineteen forty five, you'll say, well, hostilities were over, but rationing wasn't. We were still pared down to the minimum by way of bread and butter and meat and clothes and what have you, you'll see. Yes, but now that there's peace between us and God, the Savior's sacrifice has brought us into not only peace, but plenty, yes. He's made to abound towards us the riches of God's grace in Christ Jesus. Yes, that's marvelous, isn't it? And not only peace and plenty, but then shalom in another sense means wholeness, healthiness, wholeness. In the ancient world, if one Hebrew man met another Hebrew man, he would say to him, what is your peace? Mashalomaka. Meaning not, uh, what is your peace? Have you just had a row with the wife or something like that, Josie, and got over it? No, no, no, no. He meant, um, how are you, my good boy, Josie? Mashalomaka. What is your peace? How are you? What's your health like? And so when we think of this peace offering, we're going to see in a minute how it not only has made peace with God for us and brought us into the wealth of God's blessing, but it begins to effect in our hearts a healing and a wholeness. This is the offering designed to make men and women whole. Just like our Lord used the word in the Gospels, didn't he? Uh, uh, the word to save, and sometimes it's translated in your versions as save and sometimes made whole. Thy faith has made thee whole, said our Lord. Or the Greek word is saved you. Christ made men and women whole again. And this is the sacrifice that's going to talk about our being made whole. Because, and here we come to the heart of the matter, this peace offering is the sacrifice beyond all others that established fellowship between God and man. And then not only fellowship between God and man, but fellowship between God, uh, between man and God's priests. And then it established fellowship between a man and his neighbors, and began to make the man whole again, right with God and in fellowship with God. But not only right with God, but in fellowship with his fellow believers in Israel. It integrated a person once more, made them whole, not only internally, but whole as members of the people of the Lord. No man or woman is completely whole, is he or she, if they're just isolated individuals. That's not God's ideal. When he saves people, he wants to integrate them into the society of his people. So, when we think of the peace offering, we think of what our blessed Lord has done. Not only do we have peace with God and the blessings of God, superabundant, Josie, and, uh, he makes us whole, but he does it by introducing us into fellowship. Listen to the Apostle John. Now these things we write unto you that you might have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his Son, even Jesus Christ. Now, of course, if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanses us from all sin. Marvelous, isn't it? Not only a question of cancelling our guilt so we can have peace with God and be certain we shall never come into judgment, not only giving us individually oodles of blessings, but integrating us into fellowship with God, and then fellowship with his people. We shall come back to that later on this evening. It is one of the central features of this sacrifice. Look with me, if you will, to a big example of that in, um, one Corinthians chapter ten. How the blessed sacrifice of our Lord makes us whole because it integrates us into fellowship with God, with his Son, and with his people. So give me a rest, do please. And somebody be so kind as to read for us one Corinthians ten verses sixteen and seventeen. Somebody read it in a good, loud, manful voice so that we can all hear. If horses waited, uh, all that long while at the beginning of the derby, no one would ever win it, would they? Yes, you read it. Yeah, yes, please. Verse sixteen and seventeen. That please. One Corinthians ten, sixteen and seventeen. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we, which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? Mm-hmm. For we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Yeah, thank you very much indeed. And in the context, Paul is pointing out to the believers that they must not compromise with idolatry. You can't take part in a heathen temple in Corinth. You can't take part in a meal in the heathen temple where the food has been offered to the god, and thus join in the ceremony in the temple without having fellowship with the old demons that lay behind their gods. Similarly, he is pointing out, you cannot partake the blessings of Christ's sacrifice without having fellowship with God and the people of God. And he points it out this way, you'll see. For second half of verse uh sixteen: the bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? It is a sharing in the body of Christ. Seeing that we who are many are one bread, one body, for, this is how it comes about, that we are one bread and one body, for we all partake of the one bread. And you'll see the peace offering is the offering that reminds us of that, does it not? Because when a man offered a peace offering, he had fellowship with God. Not only, uh, uh, but sorry, when he came, some the sacrifice was killed, and the best part of it was put upon the altar for God. But then the rest of the sacrifice God gave back to the man, except for certain parts that he gave to the priest. So here was a sacrifice, and it fed God, so to speak. Part of it went on to God's altar. Secondly, part of it was given back to the man. It fed the man. So now God and man were both involved in that same sacrifice. And then part of it was given to the priest. It made a meal. And as later on tonight, we shall see that when a man had a big bullock and he'd offered a big bullock to God as a sacrifice, then he would call in his friends, and they would partake of that sacrifice. We'll see. So, now let's think of our Lord and what he's done. If you partake of the sacrifice of Christ, Paul is saying, you become one with everyone else who partakes of that sacrifice, don't you? Take an illustration, the illustration Paul himself uses. Take the loaf that we use of a Lord's Day at the Lord's Supper. The loaf that represents the body of the Lord Jesus. And as we take that loaf, we know it's only bread. There's no magic in it, it's only bread. But it is a picture, isn't it? It is a symbol of the Lord's body. He gave himself for us. He gave his body. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. So here we are gathered at the Lord's Supper, and there is the loaf, and presently, when the moment comes, and we remember the Lord, and somebody gives thanks and breaks the bread, and we pass it from hand to a hand, and each one of us takes a bit of the loaf. Why? Why do we take it? Why don't we just look at it? Well, we're saying, yes, not only the Lord Jesus offered his body for me and gave his body for me, but I, by faith, have received him. I've received him into my very heart and life. And in memory of that, I take a part of the bread and I eat it. And you come, the plate comes to you with the loaf on it, and you say, yes, not only did Christ die at Calvary, but he died for me, and I have received him. He's come into my very heart and life. He and I are one. And you take your part of that loaf. I suppose there's enough people present at the Lord's Supper so that when the last person has taken a piece of the loaf, nothing is left over, and the plate goes back empty. Now, here's a practical problem. The plate has gone back empty. Five minutes ago, there was a loaf on it. Mm. Now where is the loaf? Loaf is still there, isn't he? Well, not on the plate now, though. Ha. All the people are the loaf. Put them all together. You would have the loaf, wouldn't you? Because each one has partaken a piece of that loaf. That's what Paul is saying, isn't he? Seeing that we who are many are one bread. How did we become one bread? Why, for we all partake of the one bread. So we who are many are one bread, one body, because we each one have partaken of that one bread. How wise of God, isn't it? This is God making people whole. Uniting us with himself, removing our guilt, removing his wrath through the sacrifice of Christ, bringing us into peace with God, blessing us with all spiritual blessings, peace and plenty, and then starting to make us whole by integrating us into fellowship with himself, so that if we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another, with the Lord, and then with each other. And then in Christ, because we all partake of Christ, we become one. Isn't that a marvelous thing? Here we sit tonight, a handful of individuals, and yet it is the awesome fact that if we are believers, the Christ is in you, and in you, and in you, and in me. One. What a marvelous thing that is, isn't it? It's a miracle, it's a glory that's going to last for all eternity, formed into one body, for this is how it happened, for we all partake of the one bread. Fellowship then, through the peace offering. And then it was the offering, uh, that an Israelite would bring if he wanted to say thank you to God. To the, if you offer it for thanksgiving, says a later text. If you are suddenly become conscious of the blessings that God had bestowed on you, and you wanted to give God a gift of thanks, well, the offering par excellence that you used was a peace offering. And then God thought that there might be occasions when some of his people would like to make a vow. They didn't have to. Nobody was obliged to make a vow. It was perfectly voluntary. But then God thought sometimes that his people would like to do something for him voluntarily, out of gratitude of heart, without having to, and that they would vow to do something for God or to give something to God. A Nazarite, for instance, could make a vow that he was going to be totally devoted to God for the next six months or so, and not touch wine and not come near the dead and so forth and so on, and let his hair grow. He was going to do this voluntarily for God because he wanted to please God. Not because he had to, because he wanted to. And when the vow was fulfilled, then he would bring a peace offering amongst other offerings. What a delightful picture it conjures up, doesn't it? You'll say, here's a man, he's brought his sacrifice, he's seen part of it go up to God, and God has given him back his share, and the man has called his friends together, and there they share out what God has given back to them, bullock or whatever, you'll see, and have a marvelous meal together. As the psalmist have it, I will pay my vows in the presence of them that fear. I will pay my vows, yes, that would be bringing a peace offering. And then he adds, the meek shall eat thereof. Because when you brought a sacrifice for Thanksgiving or a vow, and God gave you back most of it, then of course you shared it with your friends. So here's the man, and he's at peace with God, and he's feeling the blessings of God, and now he's got all his friends around and enjoying their company and a bit of roast beef that tasted good, marvelous, you'll see. And uh, and then there's the priest. So he gives the priest a big piece, and that supports the priest to give thanks to God. That man is feeling rich, isn't he? Hmm. Fancy if you could hire somebody tonight to give thanks to God for the next six days, would you do it? Well, anyway, the man gave part back to the priest so that the priest could live and praise the Lord. Lovely, isn't it? Peace, plenty, blessing, health, wholeness, fellowship, Integration. integration. Now, just let's look at one or two other things about this peace offering before we pass on, because they could become important. Just look again then at Leviticus chapter three, And notice first a simple fact, verses one to five The two major things are mentioned about the peace offering. First of all, in verse two, who shall lay his hand upon the head of his oblation and kill it at the door of tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. So the first big thing about the peace offering, uh, the blood of the sacrifice. And as I say, that reminds us of our Lord Jesus. He made peace by the blood of his cross. But now the second part. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings, an offering made by fire unto the Lord, the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the gall upon the liver with the kidneys shall he take away. And Aaron's son shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt offering, which is upon the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord. So in this picture of our Lord's sacrifice, two elements. First of all, there is the blood poured out, the basis of peace. But secondly, an offering made by fire unto the Lord of the fat that was upon various of the internal organs of the animal. And perhaps you say, but Mr. Preachers, do spare us now. You're not going to talk to us, are you, about livers and the calls that are above the liver and kidneys and things like that are you. Isn't that a bit fanciful to think that such like things could be a picture of anything? Surely that's just a bit of the detail of the ancient sacrifice, that animals did have fat inside if you open them up and have a look. Well, yes, I am going to say it is significant, and presently I'm going to say it's a picture of our Lord, but perhaps we ought to soften the blow, did we? You'll see, we're not used to talking of animals inside in quite the same way as Hebrews would have talked of these things. For you see, among the Hebrews, when they wanted to talk about psychological states in human beings, our own psychological states and feelings and emotions and what have you, they very frequently talked of these things in terms of the physical organs of the human body. Let me take some examples of that. Hebrew, I say, expresses psychological states by using various parts of the body. So let's turn over to the New Testament, because it's largely written by Hebrews, Jews, and they still have this practice. Uh, yes. Eh, first of all, an easy one. Somebody read for us, please, Ephesians one eighteen. Ephesians one eighteen. Ephesians one eighteen. Yeah. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Mm-hmm. that you may know what is the hope of his calling, about the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Marvelous. Thank you very much, sir. And that's a very good translation you have. Did you notice that? The eyes of your understanding. That's how the translators have translated it into English, you see, to help us English understand what the word means. Actually, the word in Greek is a little bit different from that. Anybody else got a different translation from that, and admits to having a different translation? No, no. Yes, you have. Yes, sir. The eyes of your heart. Oh, you got the eyes of your heart. Yes. That is a literal translation. The Greek actually says the eyes of your heart. That is literal. This good brother's translation is not a literal translation because the translators said to themselves, well, they, they won't understand that in English, the eyes of your heart. Most Englishmen, I don't know about the Irish, don't have eyes in their hearts, you'll see. So what would they make out, the English or the Irish either, about eyes in your hearts? So they said, now what does the Hebrew mean when it talks about the heart? And in Hebrew, if you talk about the heart, you can be talking about people's love, but more normally you're talking about their understanding. When people in Hebrew, I repeat, talked about your understanding, your perception of things, they talked about your heart, you'll see. So the Greek keeps it, the eyes of your heart being enlightened. In the modern English, we've got to say the eyes of your understanding. Yes? The understanding or inner perception, according to a Hebrew, is your heart. Let's look at another one, shall we? Uh, this time, uh, F- Philippians chapter one and verse eight. Philippians one and verse eight. Somebody be so good as to read that for us. Philippians one verse eight. For God is my record. How greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. If you hadn't heard it so many times, that would strike you as a bit odd, wouldn't it? I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. What does it mean, you'll say? Um, anybody else got a different translation? That's what the Greek says, sir. Yeah, you're absolutely hundred percent right. That's what the Greek says. What does it mean? Vowels of Jesus Christ. Anybody got a different translation? You got a different translation? What does yours say? For God is my witness how greatly I long for you with the affection of Jesus Christ. Ah, yes, with the affection of Jesus Christ. Yes, that is what the Hebrew means, you'll see. Uh, you, you, in Hebrew, when you feel deep affection for somebody, uh, uh, then you talk about your bowels being moved. I suspect it is because when you feel deep affection for somebody, deep compassion and love and affection, it sort of affects you down here somewhere, doesn't it, in the lower regions. I don't know, perhaps that's why it is, you'll see. His bowels were moved over him, a very funny expression in modern English, but in ancient Hebrew it meant you felt that yearning love and affection for somebody. And Paul is, is not being vulgar, he's using ordinary Hebrew idiom when he says, I long after you in the bowels of Jesus Christ, meaning it metaphorically, of course, of the tender affections of Christ for his people. Psychological state expressed by means of a organ of the body. Let's look at another one. I, the Lord, search the kidneys. I, the Lord, search the kidneys. Anybody know here the scripture that says I, the Lord, search the kidneys? I actually didn't know he did. I, the Lord, search the kidneys. Well, let's see. Revelation, somebody please. Revelation two and verse twenty three. Revelation two verse uh twenty three. There's Somebody here with an authorized version, surely. And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. Ah. And I will give unto every one of you according to your works. I'm he that searches the reins and the hearts. Rains? The reins. I, the Lord, search the reins. What reins? Uh, who will have a go at guessing what the reins are, or telling us indeed. Reins? If the Lord searched your reins, what would he be searching? Your man. Pardon? Your man. Yes, that's modern English. Yes, he would, your m- your modern English mind, yes. But the old English word reins, well, it, uh, it'll be difficult, isn't it, because it's spelled R-E-I-N-S and looks all the world as if it were the reins that you have on a horse, which would be funny things to search, wouldn't they? Actually, that's not the word. This is a completely different word, though it's spelled the same, REINS, and it's an English of the Latin word renes and means kidneys. Hm. In Greek, it's plain straight nephros. It means a kidney. You'll see, if you go to the hospital in Belfast when you're having pains in the back, you might be taken to the renal unit. The renal unit is where they deal with kidneys, your renes in Latin. And so here in the English, Old English, reins from the Latin renes, meaning kidneys. I, the Lord, search the kidneys. But then you'd have to translate that into modern English, wouldn't you, or else people wouldn't understand. I, the Lord, search the kidneys. What do you suppose that means? If the Lord searched your kidneys tonight, my brothers, excuse my poking around in your anatomy, if the Lord searched your kidneys tonight, what would he be searching? Conscience. Conscience, if you like, yes. Mm-hmm, yes. I expect he would be searching, wouldn't he, what the Hebrews meant by it, as those they observed how our inner organs here sort out our food and purify the system, don't they? The kid- the kidneys sort out the poisons and take them away, and all those inner workings of our inner being. And so they used it now, they transferred the literal term kidney in a metaphorical way to deal with all those hidden thoughts and motives that go on in our hearts. Not merely our outward actions, but all the inner workings, what we really think in our heart and what our motives are. So somebody said here, I search the heart and the mind, or search the heart and the conscience. Yes, all those inner deep workings of our personality. I, the Lord, search it. Thing to be remembered, isn't it? Or one more, if you like, and then we're done with that. Matthew chapter twenty verse fifteen. Matthew twenty fifteen. Matthew twenty fifteen, one more bodily organ used in a metaphorical sense. Somebody read, please, Matthew twenty fifteen. Let's see what the translations have. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? Thank you very much. Notice that last, is thine eye evil. Everybody got that in their translation? Anybody got a translation that's different from that? Envious. Pardon? Envious. Envious? Or are you envious? Are you envious? Yes, yes. Uh, that's what the Greek means anyway. When our Lord said, is your eye evil, he didn't mean are you indulging in witchcraft or something and got the evil eye. No, an evil eye in Hebrew is said of somebody who is envious. You know, we say it in English in another connection, don't we? Oh, did you see him eye that man's car? Yes. Because when he's, we're envious, you know, we sort of cast the eye in that way, don't we? Sly kind of a look. How much has he got? Uh-huh. Is your eye evil because I am good? Meaning, are you envious? And the point of this exercise is to show that in the Hebrew world, and thus in the New Testament too, the ancients used the different parts of the body, physical parts, to express attitudes of the soul and the spirit, psychological states. And when we bear that in mind, of course, it then becomes interesting, doesn't it, when we look at these offerings? For when we read of the internal parts of some sacrifice, some animal of sacrifice, then the parts that are called attention to more easily point us to the Lord Jesus and to the working of his heart. So just look at one or two of them, and then we must hurry on to our law. We notice in chapter uh three, therefore, the peace offering. That they were to take the fat, the fat that covers the inwards, the fat that is upon the inwards, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the gall upon the liver with the kidneys, it shall he take away. One little bit more of information. Uh, you'll see the, uh, word that says, verse four, the fat that is on the kidneys, which is by the loins, then the kidneys and the loins. Here I shall have to tell you straight, the Hebrew word for loins is kesel. But kesel in Hebrew metaphorically means confidence. Your loin in Hebrew is your confidence when you use it metaphorically. So let's do now a little bit of thinking. For the Holy Spirit is pointing us to the Lord Jesus, who made peace for us, brought us forgiveness and wholeness and fellowship with God. And the Holy Spirit is pointing about him and his excellency through these simple pictures, how he was able to make peace with God for us, because he was perfect where we were sinful. So let's start by these, uh, organs and the animal, and first of all look at ourselves. Let me poke around in your kidneys for a moment, your flanks, yeah, and your inwards. What went wrong with us humans? What was it that first destroyed man's peace with God? Well, our first fathers lived in innocence and fellowship with God, didn't they? And they walked amid all the delights of the Garden of Eden in fellowship with God, and every material good around them. What went wrong? Their confidence, wasn't it? Hitherto they'd taken God simply at his word, till the old serpent came along and said, has God said? Oh yes, said Eve, he has, you'll surely die. Oh, nonsense, said the serpent. I tell you why God is keeping back this fruit from you, said the serpent. He knows that in the day you eat thereof, you'd be his God. And you see, he doesn't want you to rise. He wants to keep you down. God's like that, you know. He loves to tantalize people. Have you noticed that? He put this lovely tree. Now, my dear, he said, just look at that tree. Isn't that a beautiful tree? Well, he said, you know, you've come to talk about it. I hadn't noticed it before, but yes, it is a nice tree, isn't it? Good to look at, and good for food, and desirable to make you wise. And that's like God, said Satan, you see, puts a lovely tree there, and oh, it is so marvelous, and you want to have it and enjoy it, and then God says, no, you shan't have it. That's God, said Satan, you see. He always want to keep you down, spoil life, ruin your enjoyment. And the fact is, he, he holds this over your head, the day you eat of it, you'll die. Well, let me tell you, said Satan, you won't die at all. And thus Satan undermined man's confidence in God. And it started the whole process of disintegration. You'll see we are creatures, we depend on God, and the only way we creatures can hang together ultimately is if the central confidence of our heart is in God. And if that confidence in God be broken, then we begin to disintegrate. The lost in hell, in that sense, will, will still exist, won't they? But they'll be desperately disintegrated personalities. Gone to pieces as personalities. All confidence in God lost. And of course, when man's confidence in God was undone, then his love for God was ruined, wasn't it? His inward parts, they no longer yearned after God. Hitherto, when they heard the Lord God walking in the cool of the garden, they came running. Ah, but not now. When they heard him come, they slinked off, didn't they? And now it was a life not for pleasing God and enjoying his fellowship, but their motivation to please themselves. Yes. And that's the sorry story of the human race, of us all before we got converted, wasn't it? We were like the old prodigal. We didn't trust the father anymore. We wanted to get away from the father and to live for ourselves. It reduced the prodigal to beggary. How could we be brought back into fellowship with God? First, by the blood of Christ. But how was he able to be our sacrifice? Because he was perfect where we were imperfect. And I remind you, my talk reverently of, uh, his inwards, the bowels of Jesus Christ. How he loved God, didn't he? Isn't that marvelous? You know, how many times do you, have you ever counted it up, how many times in the New Testament the Lord is on record of saying, I love the Father? Anybody here knows? How many times in the New Testament does the Lord say, I love the Father? Well, I found one occasion. If you can find some more, I should be interested, drop me a postcard. One occasion. And one occasion was that? Well, after supper in the upper room, on the night he was betrayed. He said, the prince of this world cometh and does nothing in me, but that the world may know I love the Father. Arise, let's go hence, he said. We talk about our love for the Father a lot, don't we? Ah, but not our Lord. He showed his love by going to Calvary. I love the Father, he says. And what about his kidneys? What were his motives? Well, the Bible says that even the Lord Jesus didn't please himself, you know. I seek not my own will, he says, I seek the will of him that sent me. I do always the things that please him. And what about his confidence? Oh, this is a marvelous story. When at last they hung him on a tree, the old high priest went by, didn't they? And they mocked him, among other things, with his trust in God. He trusted in God, they said. Let God deliver him if he will have him. But all that came was the darkness. And then our Lord cried, oh my God, why have you forsaken me. What a terrible moment that was, wasn't it? With the crowd mocking him. He trusted in God to say, now look where it's brought him. If God delights in him, let him, let him deliver him. But there you are, he isn't delivering him, is he? And he's nailed to a tree and he can't get down, and God isn't moving and doing anything. And in that terrible hour, our blessed Lord repeated to himself the words of Psalm twenty two, didn't he? My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and the words of my roaring? I hold I cry in the daytime, and thou answerest not. I know you hear, in other words, but you don't answer. And in the night season, and I am not silent. Our fathers trusted in thee, and they were a poor crowd, weren't they? So full of waywardness and sin, but when in their trouble they cried to God, and thou answerst them. Why have you forsaken me? And oh, thank God for what he said next.