Clay Vessels

 Leviticus 4-6; Acts 14

“’Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy…The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water.’”

Leviticus 6:27, 28

For over 300 years, the site of the Tabernacle was Shiloh in the hills north of Jerusalem. Current excavations in the Shiloh area have exposed millions of shards from the pottery dishes that held the meat from the altar, left by thousands of worshipers over hundreds of years of sacrifices. Anything touching the meat of the sacrifice offered on the altar to God became holy. In the New Covenant in Christ, he is the sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. However, we, also, are invited to offer our lives to God as “living sacrifices” in worship (Romans 12:1). We have this treasure (the presence of Christ) in jars of clay (our bodies) to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:7). We, too, are invited to offer the sacrifices of a “broken and a contrite heart” to God. It is the treasure of Christ, rather than the clay vessel, which is our focus.

“Lord Jesus, you are my holiness and the treasure of my life, for your glory.”