When Life Knocks You Down. Get Up! {Leviticus 1-5}

Life can be brutal sometimes. But when life knocks you down, get up. Join the victory march and let your life be a pleasing aroma to Almighty God. #Biblestudy #Exodus #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

When I was a child, one of our favorite family dinners was my mom’s BBQ Beef Stew.  I remember my dad would come through the door from work and say the smell made his mouth water.  It was that good!  I always make mine in the crock pot and as it cooks all day – the house is filled with this amazing aroma.

What is your favorite smell?  Perhaps a rose or fresh baked bread, pine trees, a camp fire or your husband’s cologne.

In Leviticus chapters 1-5,  we see this phrase repeated over and over in every chapter:

“it is an offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” (ESV)

It is not the smell of the offering alone that pleased the Lord but rather the heart behind the offering, the aroma represented.

Then we read this in the New Testament:

“Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:2(NASV)

Jesus was the final offering – the final sacrifice.  It was because of his love that He gave himself up for us.

All of Leviticus points to Jesus.

All of the sacrifices point to Jesus.

All of the offerings point to Jesus.

And the aroma of Jesus’ sacrifice was pleasing to God.

And now – we are no longer under the law of Leviticus.

We are under the law of love.  We are to love God and love others. These are the greatest commandments. (Matthew 22:27,28)

And as Ephesians 5:2 says, we are to “walk in love” because Jesus loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God.

His blood atoned for our sin.

I stand in awe of the parallels and symbolism and the weaving of Jesus through the Old Testament until He comes in Matthew chapter 1 – as Immanuel – God with us!

Leviticus 1-5 is messy and bloody and very foreign to us in our modern world.  This makes it a hard read.  But as we squirm and struggle and seek to understand – may we fall on our knees and give thanks to God for the forgiveness of sins He has offered us through His son – the final sacrifice.

What’s your aroma like?

Look at 2 Corinthians 2:14-15,

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (ESV)

We are the aroma of Christ to God!

And do you see how Christ leads us?

“Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.”(v14)

Our lives are to be a “triumphal procession”.  

We are the “smell of victory”.

When we proclaim the truth of Jesus’ triumph over sin and death our aroma is pleasing to God!

At the local school football games – when the home team wins – the victory bell is rung and the band plays a celebration song.  A triumphal procession takes place in the stadium and everyone celebrates.

Jesus has triumphed over sin and death!

Your life is a triumphal procession.

No matter what is going wrong in our lives, no matter what hand we are dealt by this broken world, no matter what our fears or failures are – Paul says, we are MORE than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37.)

MORE than conquerors?

How can we be more?

We are super, duper 😉 matchless conquerors!

Be this kind of woman TWW

(image credit: Time Warp Wife)

Have you been knocked down by the cares of this world or by sin that is dragging you away from Jesus?

When life knocks you down. Get up.

Draw near to God.  Don’t stay down.

The victory bell rang on Resurrection Day.

Because of the blood of the lamb shed once and for all – our lives are a triumphal procession.

You are a “pleasing aroma to the Lord.”

Live like MORE THAN a conqueror.

“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers,
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:55-58esv

Keep walking with the King,

Courtney

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*Chime In*

Can you believe how exciting Leviticus can be?
What has God taught you this week in your personal quiet times?
Have you been knocked down this week?  You are not alone – together we will help you get back up and draw near to God.  Share what God is doing in your life – we want to hear!

11 Comments

      1. Is it too late to start the Leviticus study? I’m a little late checking in, and I would like to get started from the beginning.

        1. Nope – it is not too late! We have only just begun. There are no sign-ups or enrollment, so all are welcome to join anytime.

          Please check out the intro post from Monday so you have all the resources here: https://womenlivingwell.org/2015/04/introduction-to-leviticus-resources-chapters-1-5/

          And then join the community on our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/goodmorninggirlsWLW

          And on instragram here: http://www.instagram.com/womenlivingwell

          So glad you are joining us!
          Courtney

  1. Courtney, it was not the death of His son that was pleasing to God (that would be attributing evil to God who is always good) but rather that Jesus was obedient unto death (Phil. 2:8). It is the devil who has the power of death (Heb.2:14). Jesus always did the will of His father, not his own will. That was why God said that He was well pleased in him. Likewise, God asks us to be living sacrifices, obedient to His will as beloved children are (knowing and trusting that God wants only good for us). Our love and obedience are a sweet smelling fragrance to Our Heavenly Father. God bless you! I have truly enjoyed being part of the Good Morning Girls group!

    1. Hi Kendra,

      I changed that one sentence to clarify my intended meaning – so now it reads, “the aroma of Jesus’ sacrifice was pleasing to God.”

      You explained this beautifully. Thank you!
      Much Love,
      Courtney

  2. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
    1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV

    Peter ties it back to the old testament law. I am so thankful for this closer look at how the old and new are woven together to bring the atonement. Thank you, Courtney, for your work on this for us.

  3. Hey Courtney,
    Love Leviticus! In fact, it was the first book I started to study in my late teens as a new Christian (out of a home that hated God and worshipped evil). I was just learning how to love the Lord and didn’t have a clue that Leviticus wouldn’t be a ‘normal’ choice for a first devotional. God’s Word is God’s Word – as such, it is always rich, full of deep meaning and abundantly able to change our hearts.
    Been following your blog for about a year now and have been enriched by your gleanings. Time has vaporized – now in my late 50’s. Having been a pastor’s wife for over three decades, I’m amazed at God. For the way he reaches down in love and for his gracious compassion that doesn’t give up when we so easily do.
    I guess that’s why I grimace when I see that poster. Ya know, the one that declares we ‘scare’ Satan. Been around the block too long to think that is generally (or, say …ever…) the case. Mostly, I think it’s an arrogant and distasteful sentiment.
    Love God with all of your heart. Follow Him. Devote your life to his mission. Give all. But let’s understand who we are, where we fit in, and how our humility brings most honour to Christ. After all, it’s He we live to crown. Not ourselves.
    I get media, catchy phrases and savvy advertising. Love, love, love good design. But let’s not lose sight of truth and honour to God in using our creative minds to work to His ends. That’s all. 🙂

  4. Hey Courtney, I was surprised that God required atonement for unintentional sins (in Leviticus 4). I was trying to think of a modern analogy, and I came up with leaving a department store with an item in your shopping bag that you didn’t pay for, and getting home and realizing what happened. To me this isn’t a sin to be confessed, it was a mistake. I was surprised that God required atonement for that sort of thing. I know you have to be careful about seeking application from Leviticus since we are no longer under the Law, and the system of sacrifices is no longer operative due to the final sacrifice in Christ, but this seems to reveal a truth about holiness and the Christian life that I hadn’t realized. I know this is a tough question and I know you are not a theologian 🙂 but I was just wondering whether you had any thoughts on this.

    Love and hugs from Florida

    1. Hey Jennifer! I realize your comment was left several years ago so hopefully you’ve found an answer to your question by now! But for anyone else reading through the comments that may have the same question I wanted to share my thoughts!
      The point of the law is to show the standard of holiness, perfection. Nobody can be perfect however. It’s an impossibility because we do make mistakes, like walk out of a store with an unintentionally stollen object. We consider it a mistake yes, but an absolutely perfect person doesn’t make mistakes. And therein lies the reason for Jesus. If it were possible to follow the law Jesus’ sacrifice wouldn’t have been necessary. The few exceptional, perfect ones that followed the law to the letter would be the ones going to heaven and everyone even a little bit short would have failed. I hope that helps!

  5. I just found this through pinterest and am SO glad I did! This afternoon, I was sitting outside wondering where to read next. Not even an hour went by when I found the pin and I thought I should look into Leviticus, too. This blog entry is so encouraging. I’ve forgotten that I am part of THE triumphal procession. Thank you for this and I’m excited to dive into Leviticus!

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