When Moses went up Mt Sinai, he came back down with the commandments--

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them." (Exodus 24:12)

This was the law of God. And the Law has a purpose....

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20)

No one can be justified by doing the law--but rather, the purpose of the law is to show us our sin....

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." (Romans 7:7)

The law shows us our disobedience to the perfection of God....

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23).

Just think about it. Do you receive a reward for obeying the laws in your community? Of course not! We are not rewarded by our obedience to man s laws--we are only punished if we disobey the law. This is how law works--there is no reward for obeying laws--only punishment for disobeying.

Now, if God had given Moses only the law--we would all be in trouble! The law would conclude all of us to be under sin....

"Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin....." (Galatians 3:21-22)

And the penalty for sin is death....

"For the wages of sin is death;........"(Romans 6:23).

Fortunately, God did not give only the law. The law is the first part of a system. The law shows us our sin--if only we had some way to be cleansed of our sin-! After He gave Moses the law, God called him up the mountain again, and gave him specific instructions....

"And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof." (Exodus 25:10)

God told Moses to build an ark...

"And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." (Exodus 25:21-22)

The ark of the covenant was an earthly representation of what God showed Moses up on Mt Sinai. God showed Moses the Holy of Holies in heaven--Gods own throne room--the holiest place in the universe--where God sits on His mercy seat. He told Moses to build an earthly replica of what he had seen up in the mountain....

"Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount." (Hebrews 8:5)

That tabernacle had a very important function. It was the other half of the system that God gave to take care of the problem of sin. Here is how it worked. Once a year, the high priest, and only the high priest, made a sacrifice and covered himself with the blood of this sacrifice.

Next he would enter into the tabernacle, face the mercy seat and pray for the sins of the people. God ordained that if this were done properly, He would forgive the people their sin for one year. So you see this was the system--the law shows us our sin--the sacrifice cleanses us of our sin. This was the substance of the covenant (agreement) that God made with Moses. This was the system that God used to forgive sin. This is the only system that God has ever presented in order to cleanse sin--there is no other. Our obedience to the law does not make up for our disobedience! Once the law is broken, we are placed under a curse-- (see Galatians 3:13, Deuteronomy 11:26-28))--we need the high priest and blood to forgive us, there is no other way!

Now, the question I would like to ask you is this--do you have a high priest? Do you have a high priest who makes the proper offering for your sin? The law by itself can only condemn you. The sacrifice is absolutely necessary. Do you have a high priest who can rightly make the sacrifice for your sin?

"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;" (Hebrews 3:1)

Jesus can be your high priest. You see, He has done everything that the high priest under the old covenant could do--only better! Jesus covered Himself with His own blameless blood, and entered into the true Holy of Holies in Heaven. He presented Himself to His own Father as the sacrifice for your sin.....

"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:11-14)

Jesus has done His sacrifice once for all., for whosoever calls upon His name...

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

And our High Priest understands everything we have to face in life, He knows what we are gong through....

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)

Have you asked Jesus to come into your heart and be your Savior and High Priest?

Pray this prayer... Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. Your holy law shows me the truth. I am a sinner and have fallen short of your great glory. But Lord, I believe that you died for me. That you offered yourself as the sacrifice for my sin when you shed your blood upon the cross. And I know that your are my advocate, that you sit at the right hand of God and you hear my prayer. Lord Jesus forgive me of my sin, give me the free gift of eternal life that is promised in your word. Come into my heart Lord Jesus. Be my Savior, My God and My Friend.

Thank you Jesus!

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