Without the Camp, Part 2 of 2

And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung, Leviticus 16:27

However, the story does not end there. God provided redemption in the person of His Son. The Old Testament sin offering was, like the defiled Hebrew, brought outside the camp where the body was disposed of. The blood of that sin offering was the self-same blood that was carried in by the high priest into the Holiest of All to make atonement for sin for the nation of Israel once a year. Here again we see the priest in the role of the Holy Spirit. As the priest was the conveyance by which the blood of atonement was brought behind the veil into the Holiest of All, “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 9:14.

Christ suffered without the camp, Hebrews 13:12. He took upon Him the sickness of sin and all its defilement and suffered the ultimate penalty, the likes of which was symbolized and typified in this passage in Leviticus: He suffered exile without the camp; He suffered separation from God in payment for our sins, as the defiled Hebrew had to suffer to live in solitary habitation if he was found to be unclean.

The choice is yours then. All mankind must arrive at this decision. No matter what is said by gainsayers, skeptics, atheists and enemies of the Bible, God the Son will have every tongue silenced and make every knee to bow before the glory of His majesty; and even the staunchest rebel will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord before being cast into outer darkness for eternity at the Great White Throne. Yet God dealt with sin at the cross when He died to put it away. The new and living way through Jesus Christ is open as the means to be reconciled to God, to have a relationship with the Father, and be a member of the household of God.

To reject Christ as Savior is to accept eternity apart from Him, for He will not suffer the unclean to enter Heaven; His time for tolerating sin is fast approaching an end. Do not delay in coming to Him, for all who come to Him He will by no means cast out, John 6:37. To fail here is to miss the purpose of our creation: to be a vessel through which the glory of God might shine forth, and to bring God glory in all that we do, since it is Him in us performing the deeds, Philippians 2:13. He desires fellowship. On His part He offers grace, a love that stoops down to consider mankind. On our part we must offer Him worship: a love that ascends beyond the created universe; a love that is sanctified (set apart) only for our Lord to enjoy at His pleasure. Our entire life can be worship if lived with this in mind.

Within, or without, the camp: the choice remains today. All men are defiled; this is the Holy Spirit’s unanimous claim on us. Only Christ is the font of cleansing, and to Him the Spirit’s witness will always lead us. Solitude for eternity to enjoy selfish gain for a day, or an eternity in joyous fellowship while having to deny self for an hour are man’s perpetual choices. God give you wisdom to choose well.