The Family Altar Audio Devotional - Day 108

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. (Jeremiah 7:21-23) 26 God—God full of mercy and grace, when man had sinned, as I said took a substitute, an animal. Let’s imagine just a minute. Let’s imagine a real sincere Jew back in the Old Testament. He recognizes he’s out of fellowship as long as there’s no blood for him. Now, he takes a real good selected animal from his herd. It must be a real good animal. It cannot be an infected animal, because the priest must examine it first. And it must be… On the sin offering a lamb without a blemish must be kept up and tried, as a sin offering, as Jesus was tested in all things. But this priest… Going walking down the road, a Jew bringing his sin offering up, bringing his offering for his sin, and he presents it to his priest with all sincerity. He recognizes he’s sinned. He knows he’s wrong. And he takes this animal, presents it to the priest. Then when he does that, he lays his hands up on the sacrifice. What’s he doing? He’s connecting himself with his sacrifice. You know what I mean? Then the blood is shed, and the man, Jew, can walk away feeling justified, because he’s met Jehovah’s requirements. And the only way that the Christian today can ever correctly be forgiven of his sins is to walk to Calvary with his Sacrifice, connect hisself with Him, and then accept the shed Blood. There’s not a creed in the world can do that. There’s not a educational system in the world can do it. There’s not a scientific way can do it. It only comes through the accepting of the shed Blood, his Substitute. 27 Now, he goes away. This done, he’s done Jehovah’s bidding, so he goes away feeling justified, because he’s answered Jehovah’s request. He’s done what Jehovah said do. Then he feels that he’s… By faith, he took God at His Word. And now, listen close now. He took God at His Word. He was sincere in doing what he did. He did it sincerely by the Word. No matter who laughed at him, he did it anyhow, because it was God’s requirement. And now… That was wonderful. That he knowed he was justified. He could feel that way because he had met the requirements of Jehovah (That would be the Word.), met the requirements of what the Word of God required him to do for his justification. 28 Finally… Now, that was wonderful to begin with. But finally, it become a family tradition. I’m sure you know what I mean. He went… The Jew would go offer his sacrifice just because that… well, the family did it. And well, it was a tradition. And when he walked up and said, “Wait a minute. I believe I sinned. I see. That’s right. Well, I’ll get me a lamb, go up…” See, there was no godly sorrow for his sin. It was only a ritual, just a ritualistic form of taking his animal for offering. He never got nothing out of it, because he never put nothing in it. Yet, he was obeying the commission of God by His Word. But he didn’t come in the real meaning of His Word. He was obeying it as far as… Being fundamentally, he obeyed it. But sincerely, he didn’t obey it. Therefore, it was just a ritual, following a tradition. 62-1124e - "All Things" Rev. William Marrion Branham ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Order your own copy of the Family Altar at http://store.bibleway.org