Vayikra “And he called” Leviticus 1:1–5:26 Isaiah 43:21–44:23 Luke 1–3 To Every Generation This week we begin the Book of Leviticus as well as the Book of Luke. When I read these books side by side I am at times a bit overwhelmed with the honor HaShem has bestowed upon each of us in this generation. To be allowed the awesome privilege of understanding His plan, even though dimly, should drive us all to a deep sense of humility. Let me explain. Read the first chapters of Leviticus. You and I know that each of these offerings was looking forward to the work of Yeshua. With this knowledge though, we still have a difficult time understanding the depth and details of these sacrifices. Imagine how the priests must have felt. They were standing in the Tabernacle day after day offering these sacrifices, all the while wondering what it all meant. They did not have the convenience we have to turn over a few pages in scripture and see what the outcome would be. Even so, they continued to do their work, day after day. Sacrifice after sacrifice, they obeyed what HaShem had called them to do. They did so because they walked in a righteous fear of The Holy One of Israel. Since the time of Leviticus, generation after generation has lived and died. Each generation carried out the instructions given on Mount Sinai centuries earlier. For sure, some of the priests just saw the sacrifices as a job they had been called to do because of the family they were born into, but in others there was a sense of awe as with each sacrifice they wondered about the deeper meaning of their work. Year after year the work continued. The prophets revealed that one day the mystery would be known, but to which generation, to whom would it be revealed? It may have been a day like any other in Israel, a hot, dry sunny day sometime in June or maybe July. Zachariah was on duty in the Temple in Jerusalem. It was a special day for him as he had been chosen to go into the Holy Place and burn the incense before Elohim. No doubt there was a special excitement burning within him that day, but little did he know just how much this day would change his life. In less than five minutes we can read the story of Zachariah, Elizabeth, John, Miriam, Joseph, the birth of Yeshua and up until the time He was found in the Temple at age twelve. We tend to read quickly through the words and miss a very important point. The point is that the story is not over. The end of the book has not been reached. Within the words we read are embedded clues for another generation who, just as Zachariah, will be going about their normal lives when the lot will fall in their favor and the rest of their lives will never be the same. In 2 Peter 3:3, Peter prophecies about the last days. He says there will be a question on many people's lips in that day. The question will be, "Where is the promise of His coming?" I believe this is a question which goes back all the way the Leviticus. Many priests in that day had forgotten that each and ever sacrifice was looking forward to a fulfillment in the future, while others asked within themselves, "Could this be the day, could this be the generation that understands?" At the time of Zachariah, there were many like Hannah and Simeon whom we read about this week that knew the times they were living in. When the baby Yeshua was brought to the Temple Mount and laid in their hands, we do not read how they were surprised, but rather we read how they had been expecting. Seeing Yeshua that day was almost as natural to them as seeing the sun rise that morning. The reason is because they understood the times they were living in and were looking with anticipation for the plans of God to be revealed in their day. Let us be people who continue to look like Hannah and Simeon did, like many of the priests through the centuries did. Let us be people who look with anticipation to the days ahead, for we may just be that honored generation that sees clearer than any generation before. For in this generation, we are not looking for another animal to be slaughtered, we are not looking for a baby on the Temple Mount. We are looking for the return of the King of Kings and the complete fulfillment of man's redemption.