Feb 28: Numbers 11-13

Feb 28, Numbers 11-13

Numbers 11 - we start to see the disobedience of the Israelites and lack of trust. The people start complaining about only having manna provided for them and they reminisce about the ‘good ol days’ of slavery in Egypt. The had all kinds of food to eat for free, they say. Let us not forget - they paid for the food with their lives and bondage to Pharaoh. Do you ever do that with memory lane? You remember something being amazing when things are tough, but in reality it was not what you recall when things are tough. Or better yet, do you remember when you have gotten out of sin, but then you think of all the ‘good’ things about the sin. Tempting you to go back? Instead of thinking of all the bad and being realistic with the sin? Yet, they complain horrendously and the Lord hears it. After Moses complains to God about how hard his calling and role is, God decides to give them meat to eat… so much so that they will be sick of it when its done. God tells Moses to gather some elders and then God puts part of His Spirit onto them (like He did for Moses) and they begin to prophesy for a little while. Commentators think that this was to give validity to their calling. God decides to give them meat (quail) for a whole month to shut them up (and still provide for them). Then the day of quail comes and some of the Israelites got greedy and took way too much. The Bible says they gathered at least 10 homers. In today’s language that means that they were so greedy for meat, they gathered around 480 gallons of quail. This is the best example of ‘gluttony’ that we have in the Bible. It is being so greedy for food, that you take so much because you don’t want others to have any. This made God so mad, as this was a gift to them. And they were grabbing only for themselves, and such a huge amount that they couldn’t possibly eat themselves, as it just showed their sinful, selfish, greedy nature. God was angered at their greed and sent a horrific plague onto them and a bunch died (which is why it was called ‘Graves of craving’.) 

Numbers 12 almost seems incredulous that Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses, after all they have been through together. But, they are Israelites and human, which means they get swayed easily at times (remember Aaron with the golden calf…). It starts off with them talking about the “Cushite" woman that Moses has married. This racial chatter, soon turns to a unkind attitude towards talking about Moses behind his back. And then it turns into a spiritual debate. As they wondered if Moses was better than them. They are basically jealous of their brother getting all the attention and since God hears everything, he hears them and this infuriates God. God calls a meeting and disciplines them for going against His anointed Prophet and gives leprosy to Miriam! Then Aaron apologizes to Moses, and in return Moses intercedes for Miriam. But God tells Moses that she must be put out for a week then she can come back. What is interesting about this is that the Israelites had customs for a family. And one of those customs was that if a daughter was to humiliate or shame her father, her father was to spit in her face, and send her outside of the camp for 7 days, for her to ‘learn her lesson.’ This was for the rebuke and then the return and acceptance of a wayward daughter. So here, God the Father, is treating Miriam as if she was His daughter. Her punishment was that of a Father. It might seem harsh, but Miriam would have learned her lesson, and she would have also realized that God was indeed her loving Father, as He was sending her a sign that He was treating her as a daughter. For a Fathers responsibility afterwards, was to also accept and forgive the daughter after the week was over.   

Numbers 13. God tells Moses to send out spies into Canaan, because the Israelites will have it someday as their own land, given to them by God. Moses selects chief men from each tribe to go. They went to spy out the land and also bring back some produce representing what was there. So, after 40 days they came back with produce and also some tall tales. Caleb was all about going in and attacking, as he placed his faith in Yahweh to go before them. But, the others were not on the same page. They came back and embellished the Nephilim men (who were giants), comparing themselves as grasshoppers compared to them. But what the reality is - they did not trust that God would save them.

To sum it all up:

• IF you are tempted to go down memory lane - keep in mind who you are now and what Christ has done in you if you are a believer in Christ. It is fine to recollect memories - I am just cautioning against fantasizing about them and seeing them incorrectly to only have yourself discontent with where God currently has you.
• If you are disciplined by God, it means that you are loved enough to be treated as family. God disciplines those He loves. 
• Have you had a time recently where you didn’t trust in God? And instead saw the giants in the land, instead of seeing what God could do? 

Feb 27: Numbers 8-10

Feb 27, Numbers 8-10

Numbers 8 starts out detailing the seven lamps. Note that these lamps give light in the tabernacle, that the Lord designed and told Moses to make out of gold. Then God sets forth how to get the Levites ready to serve - cleaned (purified) and ready to serve Yahweh. Very detailed steps in preparation which would have them ready when the time to serve came (like our hearts being ready to serve God - we prepare our hearts by confessing sin and putting Him in His rightful spot - first). Then they are instructed on how to do offerings to the Lord. They were specially designated for these roles before the Lord. The Levites are set apart to the Lord to serve Him as a firstborn among all the Israelites. Historically speaking, the firstborn carries a lot of weight and importance. The chapter ends with putting age restrictions on the Levites in service - 50 years old. Mainly because transporting heavy items is a young mans job. When they were done with that at 50, they still served as guards of God’s property. 

Numbers 9 is the second Passover for the Israelites, to remember what God had done for them a year earlier in Egypt. They had to get some rules established as some of them had been in contact with a dead body (remember the strict rules about being clean before Passover? A dead body was considered dirty).They wanted to partake in Passover but were unable to, so Moses said for them to wait while he went and sought the Lord. God honored Moses and his prayer and told Moses to tell the Israelites that they could keep the Passover but they had to wait a month. For everybody else, they were to observe Passover as directed.

The cloud - no, not the cloud that backs up all of our data, the cloud of God (much cooler). The cloud covered the Tabernacle and at night it had the appearance of fire! When the cloud rested over the Tabernacle, the people were to stay. When the cloud moved, the Israelites were to follow it (pack up camp and trust that Yahweh was leading - this is what we are supposed to do with the Holy Spirit in us). 

Numbers 10. God tells Moses to make some silver trumpets. These trumpets served as war calls, when to move with the cloud in succession with how it was blown. I think of the army back in the day with the bugle and how it had various sounds that the troops new what was what and what to do - it was kind of like that. I love this - ‘They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the Lord your God.’ God sets it up so that we remember what He is doing because He is our God. As discussed earlier, the cloud is now moving and the Israelites are obeying (at least for now!). The cloud lifted, they obeyed.

The chapter concludes with Moses and his father-in-law discussing plans and Moses wants his father-in-law to stay and not go home. Then the Israelites set out on a journey (3 days) and the Lord was with them. God was in control of the Israelites and their enemies. 

To sum it all up:

• Is God your God? If not, I am sure that these portions of Scripture are boring. But if you love God - you will see that all of this is in here for a reason. 
• Are you following God or are you following something else? Intuition, money, lust, self… You know the answer and be honest with yourself so that you can repent if you are not fully following just Him.
• Also - do you believe that God is in control of you and your enemies like He was for the Israelites? He is there for us now in the same way.

Feb 26: Numbers 7

Feb 26, Numbers 7

Numbers 7 comes at just the right time - now that we have seen and learned about what the priests do and the Levites, we see how the other tribes supported the tabernacle. Again, the Israelites obeyed.

At the end of the chapter, we are affirmed of Moses’s role in hearing from God, now in the Holiest of places!

To sum it all up:

• It takes all of us to make up the body and we each have our responsibilities. Ultimate objective: Worship & Glorify God. 

Feb 25: Numbers 5-6

Feb 25, Numbers 5-6

Numbers 5 First talked about is the account of the purification requirements for cleanliness and what to do with the unclean people, and what to do with uncleanness. Then they move on to cleanliness of the heart. Notice how if you sin you are breaking faith the Lord - if we thought about our sin more that way, we may hate sin more than we do now. And the Lord shows how we are to deal with that sin. We are first, verse 6, realize our sin, as we feel the guilt. Then in verse 7, moves us to the action we must take. We must confess our sin and make it right if we can.

Then we get to read about the suspected adulterous wife… as we are learning about community cleanliness, now we are talking about cleanliness in the marriage. But what is interesting, is this phrase that is continually used throughout this chapter,  "A spirit of jealousy." But before we talk about that phrase, let you catch you up with the Ancient times.  Historically, in Ancient Israel, if you were caught in adultery, both consenting man and woman were killed. As Ancient Israel did not tolerate adultery, as it degrades a community, culture, and God's law). But as far as other nations went, adultery was often accepted. Depending on the people group, you had a different adultery culture based around that specific nation. But most nations, at that time, and into New Testament times, gave a lot of 'sexual freedom' when it came to the men. A lot of men had concubines and slept with prostitutes. When you hear of male shrine prostitutes in the Bible, this is also referring to prostitutes for the men, as they were the ones who were being attracted for worship at pagan temples. Even in Greece and Rome, it was expected for a man to be unfaithful to his wife. In the Ancient world, there were different types of women. There were prostitutes and temple prostitutes known in Greek as 'porne' meaning a buyable women and there was a distinction between them, and a 'hetaira'. As it was also common to take a 'hetaira' which was a woman who was educated and knew how to conduct herself with men as a 'companion.' So the men commonly had affairs and committed adultery on an everyday basis. We know this by Greek and Roman law as well as wills. Here is a clip of famous Aristolte's will of when he died, all of his belongs went to his hetaira. 

Aristotle's will. Athens, 4th cent. B.C. (Diogenes Laertius 5.11-16, 3rd cent. A.D. G)

This will is recorded by Diogenes along with the wills of several members of his School; the provisions for his substantial estate reflect Aristotle's notions of women's limitations (cf. no. 72), but at the same time shows his affection for them and concern for their welfare. In the will Aristotle himself is the speaker; he makes provisions for his hetaira Herpyllis and their son Nicomachus, but directs that the bones of his wife Pythias be moved to his grave.  

But the woman were forbidden to have an affair or cheat on there husbands. I know it doesn't seem fair, but that was the way that it was. Other than the rare people groups, like the Spartans who both men and women committed adultery, and women who were actually encouraged by their husbands to have affairs with 'the stronger men to have stronger babies' wasn't the norm in those days, and actually looked upon as savage, by neighboring nations. Greece and Rome recorded a lot of their court issues, and you can read about the husbands that can legally kill their wife and her lover, but the wife is unable to take any action against her husband if he is caught with another woman. Even husbands were allowed to beat their wives, divorce them, and kill them if they thought they were cheating on them. With this mind frame we have Aristotle's famous quote. 

“The male is by nature superior and the female inferior…the one rules and the other is ruled.”

                                            -ARISTOTLE

But this is the thing, surrounded by other people groups with these types of philosophies, came the Israelites, who had the same judgments for the men and for the women. Which wasn't normal. But is really fair, and not based on the sexes. This is where the 'test for adultery' comes in, in Numbers. So the men, couldn't just accuse their wives, divorce them, beat them, or kill them, like other surrounding nations maybe would. And what was the phrase that God used during this chapter? "A spirit of jealousy." So instead of a man acting on this, and ruling his wife like Aristotle did. Instead, men and women are both accountable directly to God for being unfaithful to their spouse in adultery… Anyway - this section discusses both possibilities of adultery - either it did happen or the husband is suspicious that his wife cheated on him, with '"A spirit of jealousy." To pass the test if she was innocent, the wife had to bring a sacrifice to the priest, and drink some water with dirt in it (holy dirt from the tabernacle) and if she the water poisoned her, she would get sick, which meant that she was guilty and that was God revealing it. But if she didn't get sick. It meant that it was the husbands sin of having "A spirit of jealousy." And the woman was to be respected for not cheating on her husband. What I love so much about this, is that it shows the heart of God to be equal and just. To not take advantage of the inferior, as some would say, but instead, stick up for them. We also read, for the wife that was accused, but innocent, she was to have blessings of being free from the accusation and gifted with children.   

Numbers 6  After reading about being clean both in the community and in marriage, we learn about the Nazirite's vow. By definition, A Nazirite is a person who was either chosen or consecrated for life or for a set period of time to complete a vow to God (Tyndale Bible Dictionary). They had some strict rules to tend to - no alcohol, couldn't cut their hair, couldn't be around dead people… Basically - they were to be set apart and consecrated to the Lord alone. For example, their hair was kind of like a priests crown, as it was a sign to others of their commitment. And they had the same rules, as the priest who would enter his Tabernacle. Priests could drink, but not on the day that they were sacrificing to the Lord. And the priests' actually had to shave all their hair off, as a form of cleanliness. But the Nazirite vow, was to not shave or cut their hair; until the vow was over, then the cut hair was cut and given to the Lord. This was to show devotion, or honor to God by participating in this vow to God. Then there is the Priestly Blessing. 

The Priestly Blessing is one of my favorites in the entire Bible and I often use it when closing out a sermon. 

The Lord bless you and keep you; (God’s favor on you and His closeness and presence with you)

The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;  (God’s radiance on you his forgiveness and love shown to you)

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace (May God turn His face to you, look towards you and overwhelm you with His love)

To sum it all up:

• Nothing is hidden from God - our sins will either be found out in this life or the next, so if you are in sin you might as well come clean and get foreignness from God and whoever you are sinning against!

• So, May the Lord bless you & keep you, make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you His peace. Amen!!!
• Do you treat women more like Aristotle? Or do you treat women more like God does? 

Feb 24: Numbers 3-4

Feb 24, Numbers 3-4

Numbers 3 is where we read about the sons of Aaron, remembering that 2 of his sons had died.

Then the Lord moves on to tell us about the duties of the Levites - they are to minister to the priests and the tabernacle. Their role is very important to God, which is why they are set apart for Him and His service. Then there is another recap of the tribes, listed by clan - God is a God of details! 

Numbers 4 is where God does a census of the Kohathites - they were the Levites that handles the most holy of items in the tabernacle and the non-priestly ones were not even permitted to look at them, lest they die. Then we read about various tasks given to others and we see that there are lots of chores all leading to glorifying God. 

To sum it all up:

• To be asked to serve God is not to be taken lightly, as the ultimate purpose is in serving the Holy God - in our day to day lives, we are serving this same Holy God. When we serve in that vein, our attitudes should reflect that adoration and reverence to and for Him.
• Remember - Every word of the Bible is there for us to learn about God!

Feb 23: Numbers 1-2

Feb 23, Numbers 1-2

I wanted to preface Numbers as we start to read it and I found it best to use what was in my ESV study Bible notes. It states, “The theme of Numbers is the gradual fulfillment of the promises to Abraham that his descendants would be the people of God and occupy the land of Canaan. The book shows the reality of God’s presence with Israel in the cloud of fire over the tabernacle, but the repeated displays of unbelief by Israel delay the entry into Canaan and cost many lives. Nevertheless, by the end of the book, Israel is poised to enter the land.” So, don't dread reading this book, instead look at God’s work and recording of history so that we can learn about His awesomeness and patience…

Numbers 1 God is preparing His people to enter the Promised Land, so He commands moses to take a census of every Israelite, broken down by clans. He specifies how to do it - and God even says who is to do it for him. The age recorded was men able to go to war (guys that are between 20 and approximately 60 years old). Obviously, war is imminent with neighboring countries, and that is why it starts out with listing those that were in the army of Israel. Historians guesstimate that if you included woman and males under 20 and over 60, the Israelites would have been about 2 million, in number! Note that the tribe of Judah is the largest, which hints at its supremacy (side note - David and Jesus both come from this tribe… and if you didn’t know, this is where the Jews come from. Judah - Jew). Also note, the Levites are excluded from the census - as their job was take care of the tabernacle and lead people into worship, before the presence of God. 

Numbers 2 is where we learn about how God wants the camp to be arranged, with the tribe of Judah leading (see photo attached). 

One thing I learned that was interesting, is that the Pharaoh (Rameses II around 1275 B.C.) set up his army the same way that the Lord commanded Moses to set his up - God knows what He is doing!  And God is also a God of War. After Judah leads, God lays out the progression of soldiers there after. The chapter ends with the Israelites in full obedience to what God is telling them to do. But, as you shall soon see - this is a trend that sadly will end…

To sum it all up:

• We are to fully trust in what God wants and commands, He knows what He is doing. God does care about the details of our lives and it shows in how He orchestrated everything for His people 

Feb 22: Leviticus 26-27

Feb 22. Leviticus 26-27

Congratulations! You have just gotten through another chapter of the Old Testament that a lot of people have not gotten through. I am proud of you! As we close out today’s study, we got to see what blessing comes with being obedient and walking with God and what happens when we disobey God and what God will do to us, if we choose to sin. 

Leviticus 26 God lays out the blessings and the sanctions of their covenant. It starts out with what I refer to as a dream relationship with Yahweh. IF they obey God’s laws, He will bless them beyond their wildest dreams. Bless their crops, safety, old age, and above all - He will be with them. This is the Holy God talking - He promises to be with them! He also shows that He is the one that gives all the blessings in life. One thing that I am instantly reminded of when reading this is that they are being commanded to not just be hearers of the Word of God, but doers of the Word of God. This is echoed in the New Testament by James. Then comes the sanctions part - the consequences of disobedience… Basically, if their heart is not for Yahweh and obedience is not their top priority, then God has consequences for them. God will bring pestilence and set His face against them - basically God is going to be reminding them that He is supposed to be first and they are to remember Him, love Him, and obey Him. When you are reading about the sanctions, you should be asking yourself if you would rather have God walking with you, or having God walking against you; and which one you desire to have. As a believer in Yahweh and Jesus, we should desire heavily to be walking with God, in obedience. If you are currently not, you should evaluate your heart and find out what idols have stolen your attention from Him and also ask God to get you back on track, serving Him. God disciplines those He loves, if you are walking in disobedience and if you are, then you are being disciplined because God loves you and you probably are not walking with Him. After a brief layout of consequences for disobedience, God throws in some irony - if you disobey and are taken away to live in your enemies' land, then at least the land can rest and enjoy its Sabbath, in obedience. The land obeys God and is blessed for it!

Leviticus 27 is the closing chapter of Leviticus and serves more as an addendum to the book, but is intentionally put at the end. If a person makes a pledge/vow and dedicates him or his family to the Lord, the Lord sets forth the requirements and parameters to do so. Notice over and over again, if done properly, what is pledged properly - is considered holy to the Lord. These vows made to God are above and beyond the normal sacrifice offerings - they were done willingly for those who loved God. Once a vow was made it had to be kept. Not much different than today - at the heart of this chapter, it teaches us to be a man or a woman of your word.

To sum it all up:

• If you are currently not walking with the Lord, you should evaluate your heart and find out what idols have stolen your attention from Him.
• God disciplines those He loves, and if you are being disciplined it is because God loves you and you are not walking with Him.
• Don’t make a vow, but if you do, honor it and keep what it is you have pledged before God. 

Feb 21: Leviticus 24-25

Feb 21, Leviticus 24-25

Leviticus 24 - God interjects the commentary on feasts with a word about getting oil to keep the lamps going. This is intentional - God doesn't want them to forget that the daily duties of the tabernacle are important, and not just the annual parties! Then we read about a narrative on blasphemy (sacrilegiously offending God) against God and how serious He takes it. We get a bit of important historical data, mostly that the son is the son of an Israelite mom and Egyptian dad. Knowing what we know now about how much God is against the Israelites intermarrying and becoming like the foreign neighbors, we get a better picture as to the why. An important thing to note here is that the leadership did not just react to this, they waited for the Lord to tell them what to do, as this was new to them. God instructs Moses to have all the Israelites come out and lay hands on the man and stone him to death. Couple of things to note  here - by laying hands on him, is as if they are placing the sin where it belongs (kind of like the goats being sacrificed…). Also - whoever curses God bears that sin. We cannot take lightly that God is to be respected and revered, He is Yahweh. Then comes the famous ‘eye for an eye’ section. Think about it this way - how much better would you treat people if you knew that the offense that you did to them would be done exactly to you? My guess, is you would most likely be a little bit sweeter and kinder. 

Leviticus 25 starts out by discussing the Sabbath year and the year of Jubilee. Basically, rest your crops every 7th year for the Sabbath year and eat what grows off of it for your household and travelers that you take in. This was considered to be a holy Sabbath to the Lord, for the Israelites to remember what God has done and how He created the world in 6 days and rested on the seventh. 

The year of Jubilee = the great equalizer. It was basically a big reset button for all of your assets. If obeyed, it would go well for them. God was also proving that He would provide for them through their land, even though not worked. God owned the land and lent it to them. Just like us, we may have a deed to our property, but it is still ultimately Gods. God also sets up regulations for those in financial need, and the principles still apply today - we are to show mercy to those in need as they are recipients of God’s mercy as well. 

To sum it all up:

• Everything is God’s and it is on ‘loan’ to us - so don’t get too attached! Live life to its fullest and know that God is putting things before you and will take care of you. Just obey Him and what He has called you to - which is living life as for Him.

Feb 20: Leviticus 22-23

Feb 20, Leviticus 22-23

Leviticus 22 is a continuation of chapter 21 where God is clearly stating that God is requiring holiness from the priests - setting a standard for those who He has in leadership. Here now we move on to the regulations of who can share in the priests (as a side note, please don't think of a Catholic priest when I am referring to the Old Testament Priest - those are totally different roles with the same name) food, because it is holy. If you are a child or a purchased slave of the priest you can eat of it, but nobody else. Basically, nobody can partake of the holy things of Israel if they are not holy, so that they don't contaminate the entire group with their sin. 

Moses goes on to write about what kind of animal offerings are acceptable. As we have already learned, the animal has to be perfect with no defects for God to accept it. Paraphrase - God will not accept our junk or rubbish. It would be like this: I have a lot of nice jackets and there is a jacket that I never wear because I don't like it or it has a stain on it, so I am going to donate it to charity and temporarily feel good about myself, and think God is honoring my sacrifice when in reality I honestly didn’t want it. Did I actually sacrifice anything in my giving of the jacket that I didn’t want? No I did not, it was not a sacrifice. I am just trying to show you that God is after our hearts and if you aren't willing to give God your best, then that reveals your heart. Instead, I should give away my nicest jacket and wear the stained one, and every time I wear it I would be reminded that God needs my best.

Leviticus 23. Is a summation of the feasts that God is requiring the Israelites to keep and obey. See the  picture for a really helpful summary. 

Notice, by looking around, that we still partially keep one of the feasts as Christians (and pretty much worldwide regardless of faith…) - Sabbath. All of the other feasts we have pretty much labeled as Old Testament and not required, but we have kept this one… Interesting isn't it? Sabbath was originally intended to be a day set apart for gathering with God’s people, rest and no work. We have discussed the feasts already, so I will not be going into detail about them. (Click here to go back to that blog) But, just remember that God is demanding all of us to be wholly obedient to Him, remembering what He has done for us and giving our best to Yahweh.

To sum it all up:

• God doesn't want our junk - if your sacrifice doesn't cost you something then it is not worth anything. 
• Celebrate Sabbath everyday - it is a life style of being thankful and resting in what Christ has done, not a ‘one day’ boring hour…

Feb 19: Leviticus 19-21

Feb 19, Leviticus 19-21

Leviticus 19. Yahweh is HOLY. Yeah, I put it in caps to yell it! God tells Moses that the Israelites are to be holy for He (Yahweh) is Holy. In order to do this, we are to love God more than anything else and then we will respect our parents, not love idols, not commit adultery and not want what somebody else has - because of our love for and obedience to God - this sets us apart (or makes us holy…). 

After the statement of God being Holy, God moves into us and our actions. First off - He starts with Ceremonial Law (Remember these laws pertained to how worship was to be orchestrated.) and how to be pure before Him. With Jesus, as our peace offering, we can come to God and obey Him. Then we move on to loving your neighbor. Verse 9-10 moves on to Moral Law (Remember the Moral Law is how we are to live Holy lives to God, and are still bound to this Law today) and tells us that if we have a business, to leave some of the edges of whatever we have, for the poor. This idea would have made such a serving community. Knowing that every field and business was saving some for those who needed it that year. Remember God made the poor, so He wants to make sure they are fed. Verse 11-12 tells us how we need to not lie, steal, or swear falsely about God. As the Moral Law continues, there are guidelines that we are to keep. Such as verses 15-18, which deal with how we treat others and ends with the New Testament focused quote, "But you shall love your neighbors as yourself." Some people think that this is only a New Testament idea. But what you need to understand, is that God never changes. The words in the New Testament echo those in the Old Testament. They are a constant message - not different ones. This idea that Jesus later talks about, was talked about first by His Father. We have to realize it is One Book. One Message. One way to salvation. Not cut up into pieces, that make no sense to each other. And this verse is another great example of it. Ok, back at it... Now we are getting a little deeper on how to live. Some of these jump back and forth in cases of which Law they are of. But I will do my best at it. Verse 19 starts off with Civil Law, (Remember the Civil Law was keeping them separate from other people groups, in the way the looked and acted.) We know that this is Civil, as other people groups around them, would have mixed these types of things. So they couldn't breed different kinds of cows. But instead, kept them all pure bred. They also couldn't mix seeds in a field when farming, or wear two different types of fabric as clothes. Why would God have done this? Well, my notes say that this reminder of keeping common day things separate, would have reminded the Israelites that they were in a world, separate from the surrounding nations. Just as the seeds, cows, and fabric wouldn't have been allowed to mix with other types - they too, would have to live separate from the surrounding nations without mixing religions and keeping pure. Verse 20-22 seems a little unfair, until you dig into it. It states that if a man has sex with a slave, they aren't to be put to death, because she wasn't free (and doesn't have a voice or viewed as important in society) but instead, the judgment is on him, and he has to pay a fine. But the thing is, that prostitution is against God's law, yet this man has to admit that sleeping with a slave, which would be a type of prostitution. That is why he has to pay a fee to God, and admit his sin. This man would have to confess his sin to God and the priest and the sin would remain on his head alone. This would have prevented any sexual relations with slaves, as it was viewed as prostitution. Then we have a Ceremonial Law in verse 23-25, about giving grown food to God as an offering. Then in verse 26 we have a Civil Law, mixed in with a Moral Law. How can both Laws be given? You also have to remember there was no punctuation in Hebrew. So we (scholars) have added that... Think of this section more like bullet points and it will make more sense to you. And you can also think of how they piggyback off of each other. Anyhow, it is as if the Lord starts off with a Civil Law, a law to keep them separate from pagan cultures around them, and then hits the root of why they do it, making it a Moral Law. So don't eat flesh with blood in it - which is Civil. And then turns in to a Moral Law of not doing witchcraft. Why? Because eating flesh with blood in it, stemmed from cultures with witchcraft being practiced in them. Verse 27, is Civil as it would refer to those that saw the Israelites and would know that they are different by looking at them. Not cutting their beard a certain way and have tattoos would have made them different from the other cultures. Today, both are alright, as we are the Gentile people and we are God's people through Jesus. The Jews today, still abide by these rules as they still apply to them. Verse 26 is good for all of us, as it is Moral to not make your daughter a prostitute. Verse 30 is Ceremonial, although as Christians we are to enter into God's Sabbath Rest permanently through Jesus. Verse 31 is Moral and Ceremonial as they overlap. We are not to turn or be into witchcraft, which is rampant in our pagan culture. We instead are to turn away from it. Verse 32 is both Civil and Moral, as we don't have to stand when an old person is around, but by loving our neighbor, we must honor those older than us. Verses 33-37 ends with Moral Law and reminds us to love our neighbors again by being fair and kind, echoing Jesus' words, "Love the stranger, as yourself..." 

Leviticus 20. Verse 1-5 start out with the Moral Law. Like we talked about yesterday, Molech was a false god that required child sacrifices from the Ammonites and Canaanites, to show their devotion to this false god. What is interesting about this god, is that it isn't Egyptian. Which means they have picked up this god and his ways of sacrificing their children while they are wandering around the desert and being influenced by the people in the land they were in. If the Israelites follow these new ways of sacrificing their children to this god, they will be killed for it by their own people, because God is not taking this sin lightly… Then witchcraft is being talked about in verse 6-8 right after these idea of sacrificing children. Why? Because they are linked. Killing babies is the way of the Enemy. No matter how one might try to get around it, it is demonic. And then God touches on witchcraft, because the two are linked. Today you can get an abortion, with no chanting and worship of other gods, which makes it harder to identify that it is indeed playing into the game of false god worship. But back then, if they were to sacrifice their child, their baby would have been burned alive on a idol with its hands out, chanting incantations while the baby was being killed. Which is why witchcraft is linked. And - again God is commanding us to have nothing to do with it. Back in the day playing with witchcraft deserved death… why do we play around with it today? I am not talking about tarot cards (which are demonic) as much as I am referring to liking the concepts and partaking in the movies which in turn, is bringing demons into your home/lives… There is no need for it - steer clear of it to become holy. 

Think about this verse that is spot on: ‘Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.’ God is commanding us, yes commanding us, to do what He says because He is the one who works everything out and makes us more like Him. Then God continues to speak of dishonoring parents in verse 9 and dedicates the next 10 of verse, 10-21, to ban sexual immorality. Are you starting to see the connection? Worshipping other gods, leads to witchcraft practices, which lead to sexual immorality. Look even at our movies. 20 years ago, the most popular movies were Indiana Jones and Star Wars, all acknowledging other gods and religions from our surround cultures. Then 10 years ago you have the Harry Potter series. Now 10 years later, we have 50 Shades of Grey. Even though it should be spelt like the color Gray, because that is what is happening. We are fulfilling this timeline that God warned us about. First it starts off with other gods, then witchcraft, then sexual immorality. But for us being God's people, we must not follow these roads and remember that God sets forth the punishments for sexual immorality and it is severe. Nowadays, if someone cheats on his wife, they make movies about it. If young men do sexually immoral things, culture says, "Boys will be boys." Our culture celebrates pornography - as it literally is destroying the fabric of our culture and our homes. We have to take sexual purity to a whole new level - God’s expected level. And what is His opinion about this? It says in verse 23 that God 'detests them.' 

God breaks it down very simply to His people: Do what I say and it will be well for you. Disobey and it will be bad for you. Huh, kind of like life and also what we do for our kids, isn't it? Remember - God is our Father…

Leviticus 21. In this Chapter, we have a mix of Laws again. But let's see if you can figure some of them out. We have a big push here for the priests to be holy. And God also makes rules about the handling dead people, which would make them unclean to handle sacrifices. Which is Ceremonial. And then jumps to Civil Law in verse 5, making sure the Priest of the Lord are separate from the surrounding nations in appearance. God also makes rules about whom they may marry, and rules about sexual conduct of their daughters. Verses 10 through 15 are reiterating the previous verses in more detail. They are ordained (on the outside) but God wants to make sure that they are living up to their calling (just like us). The priests also have contact with the holy objects in the tabernacle, so they are required to pursue holiness in the strictest ways. But for us, if you love Jesus, you are the temple now, and must pursue holiness in the strictest ways. Then God turns to make rules about who can serve Him, and excludes those with any 'blemishes.' This might seem harsh to those who are deaf and blind, or have some sort of physical ailment. But you have to remember something... Who is it that makes man or woman with deformities? Isn't it God Himself? Proverbs 20:12 states, "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both..." And in Exodus 4:11, God states to Moses, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" So we see that if God would have made someone with a deformity that would have excluded them from ministry, it was all planned out by God. That person that couldn't work in the Tabernacle, wasn't overlooked by God, but instead physically disqualified for some other reason. So it isn't that God is uncaring to those with ailments, but instead, saw the heart and planned for them to be unable to serve him in the Holy of Holies. Again, this isn't the case today, and we aren't held to these Ceremonial Laws. As we saw in Jesus, when He came to the Earth; he didn't remind those that were blind, that they couldn't work in the Temple. Instead Jesus healed them, and asked them to follow Him. What a beautiful picture of God bringing around the full circle of the fulfillment of Jesus, to us.  

To sum it all up:

• All of the ten commandments and more help push us to holiness - but it is our desired obedience that really gets us where we need to go.

•  We can be thankful that we aren't held to certain Laws and have the freedom of expression and variety. But to remember that we are held to the Moral Law. And obedience to Jesus is all about turning away from sin. 

•  We must steer clear of serving other gods, which leads to witchcraft, and sexual immorality. These 3 things will be a constant, repetitive message from the Living God, of what to avoid. If we are to call ourselves Christian. We need to purposely avoid these sins. 

•  We must remember that it is God who gives us our ailments. We must go to Him and ask for healing and accept His ways and plan for our life. We must honor Him as God above all gods. As the ultimate God of the Universe. 

Feb 18: Leviticus 16-18

Feb 18, Leviticus 16-18

Leviticus 16. Is where we learn about the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur  - all other purification rituals hang on this day… After Aarons 2 sons had died, God tells Moses to get Aaron ready to enter the tent and sacrifice - but only under God’s regulations. Aaron is making atonement (bringing God and man together by dealing with the sin that separated them, or easier to remember - ATONEMENT AT ONE WITH) for the priests and the people… Note: Aaron didn't do sin offerings just for his sons’ sins, but also for all the people. You ever heard of the term Scapegoat? Here we learn what it is. Aaron brings in two goats. He casts lots to see which one the Lord wants to sacrifice and releases the other one free. But before he sets it free, all the people's sins are confessed over the goat. (Think of how long that would have taken!) Then, the goat that is sent out into the wilderness, instead it isn't killed. This is for two reasons. For one, it symbolically represents the sins of the people being sent away! The other, is that while we are on this Earth, our sins are still alive and roaming. Every time they would look on the hilly mountain range, and see that scapegoat, they would know that their sins are ever present on this Earth. And it is only when Jesus reigns as King, at the end of days, that sin will be abolished. This is something, they would have looked forward to, as well as something that we get to look forward to. 

See how this Day of Atonement was fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit…!!! Now in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit our sins are forgiven because of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ did for us.

Leviticus 17. I have a great summary from my ESV study Bible, “Chapter 17 deals with the handling of animals, beginning with a reminder that the blood of slain animals should be brought to the sanctuary. As the chapter progresses, deeper rationales for the instructions are gradually revealed: they are intended to prevent ongoing idolatry and the blood of a sacrificial animal is the life that thanks the place of the offerer’s death. Animal blood is not to be used by Israel indiscriminately as it was used among the pagans at the time.” I love that concept - the sacrifice is to keep God’s people from idolatry and being thankful that something else has taken their place in their sin. Vs 11 is powerful too, ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.’ Here again, is what Jesus came to do and did for us. His blood made atonement for us, or made us one with God removing our sins. So here is God being practical again. We still do this today, we drain the blood out of animals after they are slaughtered. If you haven't ever seen or heard of this, it's true. And like it said above, for some reason, the Enemy loves blood too. But he uses it in creepy and dishonoring ways. God is warning that the Enemy is going to take this 'love of blood' to a whole new level. And in our culture with movies, gore, vampires, and the like - we have seen the effects of this. Steer clear of this sin - its a trap

Leviticus 18. One thing you will notice in the Bible - God does not shy away from teaching about everything. God is calling His people to holiness and we are not to behave like our non-Christian neighbors. Back in Ancient times, like now, sex was important. But in both times, God is calling us to holiness!!! We are to act different than our pagan neighbors - then and now. Here, for the first time in a while, we are talking about the Moral Law, which lead to rules and ideas about our morality, and the principles remain - God is calling us to holiness not living in the flesh or for the flesh. Here God sets up guidelines for sexual relations and laws that prohibit certain things. If you don't understand the term ' uncover their nakedness' think the act that actually does this, it is having sex with them. So God sets up boundaries. Before this time period, people would marry cousins and sisters. Even Abraham married his half sister. But God had not yet set up that it was unacceptable to do. Until now… Now we have rules and guidelines, who we can and can't marry, and that includes family members. We also see that this is also where the sin and unclean start to overlap. But think of it like this, sin makes us unclean to God. So here we start to see that. Stating that certain sexual relationships are prohibited, and taking in more than one wife as in verse 18. God also forbids certain sexual activities. God clearly calls homosexuality and sodomy a perversion, as well as bestiality. So in verse 22-23 it states what isn't culturally popular, but what is truth. Any pastor or preacher, that tries to tell you otherwise, is lying. God doesn't change, and He never changes His opinion on His scripture. Sexual immorality is literally defined here by God Himself and we can not change or alter this. And then the sexual mentions make a swing and it mentions that you shouldn't sacrifice your child to Molech, a god who demands children as a sacrifice. You might think that this is a strange place to throw in this little tidbit, but notice how sexual perversion or sexual disobedience leads to the temptation of the death of a child. How about Abortion today? Even though Molech isn't mentioned in the 21st century, Molech is who our children are being sacrificed via Abortion, if sexual disobedience is involved... So there is a reason that God places it in here, in this order. As it shows that our children are the ones who have been or will be sacrificed if we abide in sexual disobedience to God. 

To sum it all up:

• We as Christians should look a lot different than our neighbors. We should not be watching what they watch and on and on. We shouldn't want to be like them or emulate our neighbors. You cannot love sin and love God. IF you want to pursue a life of pleasure and sin - just admit it and do it. You are doing nobody any favors by pretending to be something that you are not. Get off the fence and decide who you are gonna live for - yourself or Yahweh?

Feb 17: Leviticus 14-15

Feb 17, Leviticus 14-15

Leviticus 14. Now we move on to readmitting a person with leprosy or unclean person back into the town! The details of the timing and what the priest is to do is staggering. Here we see that God is looking out for them, in regards of cleanliness and infectious diseases. We can see that by sending the sick person away and out of the camp, until they knew what they had, would have kept all the other people from getting the disease. Although, we might think that it is common sense now to separate the sick from the well, here God makes sure that His people don't spread sickness through the camp. We also see that the priest is involved, as God can heal any of there sickness. Notice though, how God even makes provision to bring people back if that cannot afford to. God always makes a way for us to come back to Him. We are still learning about Ceremonial Law, with regards to the sacrifice of the sick person, that Jesus fulfilled and we no longer have to abide by. It is good to learn about though and realize that God was also looking out for them. 

Leviticus 15 is very detailed about bodily discharges. Yeah, that is right, bodily discharges. God also made provision for if a man has an emission of semen or a woman gets her period. The theory on why a man emitting semen would make him unclean is perhaps because it is the life liquid that comes out of him and makes him unclean. When a woman has her period, she is unclean and her uncleanness transfers to others. Again, being Ceremonial Law, we are not held to it - but these ceremonial laws have kept Theologians and authors busy for years! But instead of thinking, "Weeewww gross...." Think of it like this, "God is taking care of His people by teaching them to be clean and to not live in the excreetments of bodily functions." Which are all good things to know. Let's be honest. How dirty and unsanitary is it to sleep on beds that are covered in filth? Very bad news. So here, God is again being very practical, to a transit community on how to stay clean and to be holy as well. I also want to make a note here, that being 'unclean' wasn't the same thing as being sinful. They are two different things. But sometimes they did overlap. But not for all things. Unclean - meant that you were not perfect for the act of worship and connection to a Holy God. But there were always something you could do to be 'clean.' Whether it was by sacrifice or the like. 

To sum it all up:

• Under Ceremonial Law, we are not bound by these rules and customs. But like I said, we serve a God who is interested in the details of life, our lives. And He takes care of His people in practical ways. 
• Everyday I am very thankful for Jesus Christ, especially when I read what life was like before Him!!!

Feb 16: Leviticus 11-13

Feb 16, Leviticus 11-13

Leviticus 11 deals with which foods are clean and which are unclean. In essence, commentators and theologians for centuries have argued over what all of this means, in the sense of what animals and the like. Basically, some animals are clean and others are not. What does it come down to? If God instructs something, obey it to a tee - or better yet, whatever God tells you to do, do it. Simple enough, don't complicate it. Remember, this too is under the ceremonial law that is no longer required for those who love Jesus Christ. 

Leviticus 12 discusses the issues of cleanliness and purification after childbirth. Historically speaking, a woman who gave birth was ‘unclean’ from the blood and needed some time to become clean (couple weeks). After that, she was able to give a sacrifice and rejoin the clan!

Leviticus 13 talks about skin diseases and again - uncleanliness. I am so glad that all 3 of these laws (chapters 11-13) deal with ceremonial laws and that we are no longer bound by them because of Jesus Christ!!! Again, God is very detailed and talked about how to get from the disease, to the inspection to what to do with the clothes that were infected…

To sum it all up:

• We have Jesus and I am so thankful. Reality - God will have nothing to do with sin or unholiness - so they had to sacrifice and follow rules, and we have to accept the love of Jesus Christ and submit to that. Thank you Jesus for all you have done for us. 

Feb 15: Leviticus 8-10

Feb 15, Leviticus 8-10

Leviticus 8 is when we read about the consecration (setting apart for God and His Holiness) of Aaron and his sons, for the work that God has for them.  What you see repeatedly in these chapters, and many others in Leviticus, is that Moses obeyed what the Lord commanded him. That should be our goal in life - to obey what Yahweh commands us. Because Moses, the leader, obeyed god - the people followed him. Obviously not always (the golden calf…). Moses anointed the tabernacle and the articles in - consecrating them. He did all that the Lord required of him and he also anointed Aaron and his sons. He dressed them as the Lord commanded. They did offerings to the Lord. These are all good starts to a chosen people with good leadership in place. 

Leviticus 9 marks what good obedience looks like to the details that God is looking for. God commanded all of these things so that the Israelites could see God’s glory and He could be with them. The offerings went good and God accepted them. 

Leviticus 10 is the first day of the tabernacle being ‘open’ for business… This is when Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, put unauthorized incense/fire before the Lord and God killed them (literally). They had failed to obey what God had commanded them.

The sons of Aaron, the priests, were not to drink alcohol while being in the Lord’s service, they were to distinguish between the holy and unholy, and were to instruct the Israelites in the ways of the Lord - all of this was to point the Israelites to God. 

To sum it all up:

• Obey the Lord and nobody gets fried:)
• Seriously though - obey the Lord when he directs you or tells you what to do 

Feb 14: Leviticus 5-7

Feb 14, Leviticus 5-7

Leviticus 5 goes farther into the sins of omission and the sins of commission. The point is that there is no excuses for sin against a Holy God. Reality is, there is less consequences if you sin unknowingly or in ignorance, but you are still responsible. 

We also learn that God has compassion on those that can not afford a lamb for an offering, and they may bring turtledoves or pigeons

Ultimately, this is about atonement for sins, or the act by which God and man are brought together in personal relationship (Tyndale Bible Dictionary). Before Jesus Christ, this is done via a sacrifice. After Jesus, it is done through our repentance because of Jesus’ sacrifice. This chapter has a lot of Ceremonial Law in it, as it pertains to the sacrifices for certain sins. Now we can read this and know that Jesus covers these sins of ours, as we learn about what God sees as sin. 

Leviticus 6 teaches how to properly dispose of the sin offerings, especially the ash. Remember - God cares about the details! Chapter 6 also clearly states that we do not just sin against our neighbor (or someone we know) but we also sin against God. Therefore, we must make it right. As the descriptions of the Priests and the Offerings, we know that although Ceremonial, shows the importance of Jesus. 

Leviticus 7 discusses how to dispose of the guilt offerings, again Ceremonial, and being very similar to the sin offering. There are various rules to be obeyed. When we read them now it may seem silly, but to them, it was life or death. And without Christ it would be life or death for us. 

To sum it all up:

• Here is an example of sinning in ignorance and how God works it all out, from Paul in 1 Timothy 1: I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 
• Ultimately, this is about atonement for sins, or the act by which God and man are brought together in personal relationship (Tyndale Bible Dictionary). Before Jesus Christ, this is done via a sacrifice. After Jesus, it is done through our repentance to God because of Jesus’ sacrifice.