Archive for the ‘Leviticus’ Category
Day 53 Lev 26-27
Comments (6)- Reward for Obedience
- Punishment for Disobedience
- Redeeming what is the Lord’s
Chapter 27 (last chapter) if you are confused it can be summed up as Put God First in Everything. Up till now we have been given not laws and rules BUT but the nature and character of God. In Leviticus, we learned to take our sins to God because He will forgive us. We are to devote ourselves to the Lord to be Holy and be set apart. God wants to be in fellowship with His people and live among us. We learned that everything we do is significant to God, down to the details. And all that should result in us worshipping him. Now what? With that said, as you read chapter 26 think of it in 2 ways: Either we do or we don’t.
1. Personally in your life.
2. Globally as a world.
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Well we are done with yet another book of the Bible. I would have to say that as far as my Bible readings this is one of the harder books to read. The point of this book was mainly for the priests to instruct the people. We relate that today as Jesus and His instructions for us. It is a call to be set apart from the world. A call to be Holy. Today is Sunday, the Sabbath day. A day to the Lord. Spend some time making some sacrifices, letting some goats go, but most importantly loving your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.
Lucky Number?
Remember when we were younger we would have a favorite number. We would ask each other….what’s your favorite number, huh? Well, I am starting to pick up on EVERYTHING is a 7. Must be one of God’s favorites.
7th daySabbath
7thYear Sabbath
7th Yearly Sabbath will be followed by a Jubilee
7 Weeks between Passover and Pentecost
Feasts lasted 7 days
7 lambs are offered at Pentecost
Everything seems to be 7 “times”
Outside Leviticus there are tons of 7′s….7 Beatitudes, 7 Days of Creation, the fall of Jericho revolves around 7 priests, 7 trumpets, 7 days.
There are 7 days in a week, 7 colors in His rainbow, 7 notes in music…all given from God.
And Finally if you want to feel drunk on the number 7…read Revelation. A book built on 7′s!
So in conclusion, I really don’t like when people send me e-mails that end with…”and if you send this to 10 people, blah blah blah”….HOWEVER, if I get one that says “to 7 people”…I just might pass it on this time hee hee.
Day 52 Lev 24-25
- Oil and Bread
- Blasphemer Stoned
- The Sabbath Year
- The year of Jubilee
Oil and Bread were put out as 12 loaves, for the 12 tribes of Israel as a reminder of their complete dependence on God’s provision. Here is what it loooked like:
Blashemer Stoned: Revisit the 3rd Commandment. We all need to be reminded that His name is Holy because He is Holy. Let’s be careful how we use His name on our lips and in our mind.
The Sabbath Year: look closely at verse 4. A Sabbath to the Lord. I think many of the people I know are in this season right now, :)
Jubilee…Such a fun word to say out loud isn’t it. I actually studied this over the summer while in the book of Ruth. I also recently heard it in a song at my Church and thought to myself, I bet so many people don’t know what they are singing right now (I barely did).
” ‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land” (Lev 25:23,24)
Anytime you hear the word Redemption in Scripture is should catch your heart. Before we dig into Jubilee let’s just take a minute to remember not who we are but Who’s we are. Nothing we are or have is our own. When we are Redeemed we are going BACK to the Lord. We were separated when sin entered the World, but there was always a plan of Redemption, Jesus. We may have been separated from God, but were are always His. Just like the land, it always gets returned to the original owner.
Anyway, any sale of land amounted to a lease that expired in the Year of the Jubilee, when it would be returned to the original owner. It occurred in the fiftieth year. Not just land but people were also freed. Jubilee is a year of Restoration for ALL! Rich , Poor, Enslaved, in Bondage…All.
The jubilee started on the Day of Atonement (all debts canceled)…and then they were Redeemed.
So if you sing about Jubilee in church, think of going back to Who’s you originally are!
Day 51 Lev 22-23
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Unacceptable Sacrifices
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Seasons and Feasts
Unacceptable Sacrifices. One of the first church services I ever attended at my current church the Pastor talked told a story about a woman who found a Butterball turkey in the back of her freezer frozen. She was not sure if it was still safe to eat. She called the “800” number on the package and the company said it was old but indeed safe to eat, BUT probably not worth baking because it would not be tasty.
So she donated it to the church.
What we bring to the Lord must be our best. When you think of God do you think of the leftover…time, money, resources…or do we bring our best? God gave us His best. He gave us the most unblemished sacrifice. In the Old Testament bringing forward their unblemished male demonstrated true worship and a foreshadow of Jesus as our unblemished male.
Feasts and Seasons:
The Sabbath:23:1-3 We have read about this several times already, after 6 days we rest on the 7th. Perpetually reoccurring. They were to rest, worship, and a day for them to remember the finished work of God’s creation (Genesis 2:2) We too are to rest and worship but we celebrate the finished work of God’s redemption.
Hebrews 4:9-11 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
The Passover and Unleavened Bread ( See Day 33 Feb 2) The Passover was one day a year. This feast reminded the Israelites of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Following Passover was a the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They would withhold the yeast from the bread for 2 reasons. 1. Yeast is a symbol of sin, this would represent moral purity. 2. If you go back and read Exodus Chapter 12 you will see that they left Egypt so quickly that they did not wait for the dough to rise. This is a reminder of that day.
The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were being celebrated at the time of the crucifixion. A true lamb of God. See Mt 26:17-19.
First Fruits: Giving to the Lord your first harvest of grain, rather than what is left over. A Festival of Harvested Crops! Today this is of food, time, money, self…we are to give to the Lord first, as God did for us. This was a reminder of God’s Provision for them (and for us).
Feast of Fruits: You will see in verse 16 it says “Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath” Are you paying attention…because it is about to get really cool….. If Jesus was sacrificed on the Passover, and The Feast of Weeks is to happend 50 days later, what is God preparing for? Fifty (pente) days after the Harvest (the Passover) is Pentecost. Jesus was crucified at the time of Passover, resurrected 40 days later and 10 days later the Holy Spirit ascended down to Earth. See God had the plan of Redemption through Jesus the entire time. The timing was always set in motion. Read Acts 2 Regarding the Pentecost.
Feast of Trumpets: We know this day on the Calendar as Rosh Hashanah. New Year’s Day for the Jewish People. A day for the Lord.
Day of Atonement: We have talked a lot about this (Lev 16)so I am just going to sum it us up a day of confession. Confession to the Lord is the first step in fellowship with the Lord. Once a year the community would come together as a nation and the High Priest would make a large sacrifice and put the blood on the cover of the tabernacle to “cover” our sins for the whole year. Something we have the privileged of doing each day with God directly through His High Priest , Jesus.
Feast of the Tabernacle Also called the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Ingathering. This feast would be celebrated out doors in booths. The entire family would sit and read the scripture as a reminder to living in the wilderness, wandering, relying solely on God.
In conclusion we are coming up to Easter soon. It will be such an amazing Holiday this year as we are saturating ourselves with the Word of God. Because of our Easter we no longer have to wander in our own lives. He gives us a promise land. HIM. So as we read about all these Feasts and Holidays they are a great reminder of our Holidays for our days of deliverance and Redemption which were set in motion FROM these holidays.
Day 50 Lev 19-21
- Various Laws
- Punishment for Sin
- Rules for Priest
Interesting read today. Just in this Book, the word Holy is used 59 times. Up till now I was looking at this as God saying to me…”BEHAVE…BE HOLY” But then skipping to Chapter 20:7 it says
‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
It is God in us that makes us Holy. We are to strive to live in His ways, and yes we have the power to do that when we have Christ is in us. We are to be Holy BECAUSE He is Holy. We cannot be Holy without Him. All else is just deed.
Anyway, back to the Various Laws. So how do we know which ones still apply today and which ones don’t?(Because I am so wanting another tattoo) And by the way, Vs 27 was not referring to a Mullet…but that should still be outlawed!
First, all these all laws still exist in principal. These laws showed concern for the unprivileged, the poor, the foreign, the disabled, He wants us to be fair and impartial, and respectful. God wants us to be caring for the earth,and how we look. These laws were to His people to set them apart from others, and they still are today. What exactly still applies? The New Testament is the covenant for ALL people. Jesus readdresses all of these laws as they apply to us now. If your Bible has the words of Jesus in Red in the Gospel…flip through some of them, you will see the principals behind them are laid out.
HOWEVER, with that said, you will see that since Jesus we are given Freedom from the Law. And for that we need to be thankful! Does freedom mean we can live as the world? No, 1Peter reiterates that we are to be Holy, but we now have a Grace that has been extended to us for our sins, not just once a year, but forever.
Many of you may have also picked up on what God considers one of the GREATEST commandment of all times, as it is written here in the laws.
Leviticus 19:18:….But love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:36…”Teacher (speaking to Jesus), which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Note:
Are you amazed as I am? All those times you have flipped through Leviticus and thought…”I don’t get that….or how Boring…or that applies to the times…or that applies to the Jewish….” is now an awesome Book to read and so relevant. Who would have thought???
Day 49 Lev 16-18
- Day of Atonement
- Sexual relations
The Day of Atonement: We have mentioned it several times so far, today you will see it on your calendar as Yom Kippur. This was the day that the High Priest would go behind the curtain in the tabernacle from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place and sprinkle blood on the ark of the covenant to make “atonement” (to cover) the sins of all their nation for 1 year. Then, the High Priest would take 2 goats, each one representing how God takes our sin from us. The first goat was scarified and God would forgive the sin. The people were to put all their guilt onto the second goat (guilt is very much alive in so many of our forgiven sins). The second goat was presented to the Lord and then sent into the dessert. It was released!
This to me was an unbelievable read. I encourage you to read it carefully and soak it all in. So much symbolism in Chapter 16. The preparation before coming to the Lord, the atonement, the washing and cleaning after the forgiveness. But I think we all noted the Scapegoat. I think many of us ask God for the forgiveness but we never release the guilt. God loves us so much that He wants to cover the sin from us forever but He also wants us to “feel” forgiven. SO spend sometime killing some goats with confession to the Lord BUT don’t forget to let that second goat run straight into the desert and NEVER come back.
We no longer come to the Lord for forgiveness through a priest, But THE Priest. Through Jesus. Hebrews chapter 10is about how he made the final sacrifice once and for all, so that we may have direct relation with God thorough is son Jesus. We also have the privileged of doing this EVERYDAY. He gives us grace every day. Do we take for granted? I do.
Chapter 17 and 18: This is actually really important chapters. Just like when we read the 10 commandments God then laid out The Book of of the Covenants to help relate the rules so that people didn’t say “ohhh, I didn’t know you meant that too” Well theses next chapters are referred to as the “holiness code”.
Chapter 18: Course: Sex Ed. 101. 3 credits.
If any of you have teenagers and are about to have the “talk” with them, feel free to take notes. Just Kidding. Why is God laying this out? Look at 18:1-3
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.
The Lord warns them that what was behind them (Egypt) and what is in front of them (Canaan) are unholy ways. The Israelites are to keep themselves pure and set apart. So to sum it up, they are not to have sexual relations with relatives, commit adultery, partake in child sacrifice, conduct homosexual relations, and bestiality (this was all happening in pagan cults in Canaan…..great , can’t wait to read ahead).
Many people I know are reading the bible for the first time and this is their first experience reading about homosexuality in the Bible, so let’s just talk about it very quickly. Then you pray about it.
Vs:22 Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, that is detestable.
First, you can’t take any one verse out of this chapter and say “well that is different”….These are God’s words. With that said, let me just point out that God said THAT is detestable not THEY. The sin is detestable not the person. And I know someone is saying “well that is Old Testament”, nope…it is repeated in Romans chapter 1. Done.
Verse 21. Child sacrifice. Molech was another God that was worshipped, I think regarding the strength of the sun (ironic pun). We will actually read about Molech sporadically throughout the Bible. But just to give you a quick recap the Canaanites would sacrifice their first born by “passing them through the fire” as an honor to their God. (uhhh have you seen Madagascar 2….pretty close idea)
Here is what one might look like.
Day 48 Lev 14-15
2 Chapters today
- Cleansing from Infectious Skin Disease
- Mildew
- Discharge
Angie, are you reading on your lunch hour again?
Yup started my diet today after all. These people are living in communities that are populated and close. Outside the camps there are all sorts of pagan medicines and witchcraft for diseases. God is educating His people on common problems so that they don’t mingle in any un-holy practices. Remember this chapter is about approaching a Holy God. He will not tolerate a “mix” of religions.
If you ask someone if they have ever read through the Bible and they said they had started it but never finished it, this is probably where they started losing interest. This is a great week to just read the chapters and then take a little break. Not much digging into cross references here. And that’s ok, it’s day 48 and I need a “day off” anyway. But don’t stop or slow down, there are some great readings just around the corner.
Tomorrow….Sex Ed Class 101.
Day 47 Lev 11-13
- Instructions for the people
- Purification after Childbirth
- Regulations about Skin Disease
I am going to put this in my head for a minute (scary…I know). I am sure a scholar would say it is much much more than this, but here is my relation to it: Ready?
They are sitting at one big Bible Study! We go to a study to help us with the things of the past, to deal with what we have currently, and how to apply His Word going forward. We are breaking old habits and traditions, and we are going to be in circumstances in our future and God knows how easy it would be to fall into those choices again. Here is the deal: We have a Bible. They don’t. God has them in 1 place (the base of the mountain) learning how to be Holy. (remember there are millions of people here) (also, this is like sitting in a large Hight School Health Class….proper hygiene/sex ed in one class)
Today we read instructions for the People. Let’s just try to picture what is going on. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Egypt worshipped many God’s and had their own way of living. Ahead of them is the land that is promised to them, Canaan, a pagan nation. The Lord is teaching them to purify themselves of sins they have committed, and teach them how to live Holy going forward. I am sorry if I have burned an image of Beth Moore in your head wearing an ephod and turban.
Chapter 11. Unclean animals. When you read all this do you ever think, “well how do we know that God doesn’t want us to still not eat those animals?” Jesus tells us (Praise God!)
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean……He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ (Mark 7)
Chapter 11 we come across a familiar verse: (I love when things are familiar) Verse 44: I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. LOL, I don’t think I need to cross referencee that to make application out of that, but many of you are saying that is familiar! Who does not love 1 Peter…ohhh I just get stuck in it all the time its so good.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”(1Peter 13-16) (Go read that in your Bible!!)
Chapter 13 Skin Disease: Good Golly right? Know that Leprosy means any skin disease and it can also be a parallel to sin. Reading this chapter that way will open up a whole new place in your heart.
Confession time: I skimmed today (to keep from throwing up) BUT I did pick up on a few choice phrases. vs 8 THE PRIEST IS TO EXAMINE (not the people)…The Priest decided what is clean and unclean. Interesting huh? Even though one has all this stuff going on on the outside, we are not to judge or cast that person. Only the priest, (Jesus). Vs 23: IT IS ONLY A SCAR, PRONOUNCE HIM CLEAN. Think about that. Do we see their past and assume? and then VS 46 as long as he is infected he must live outside the camp. OK, I am sorry this is a long blog but you have to hear this. I spoke to a girl last week, Kelly Mills, if you knew her it is really really weird getting spiritual guidance from her because she LOOKS like an angel (I peeked when she left, nope no wings) We were talking about How do we know when to separate ourselves from people and when to be close and be a “light” to them. She said to me, When you start to look like them, and they have an effect on you and your relationship with the Lord, it is time to separate.
OK, I have talked too long today so I encourage you to read two very short paragraphs in Luke..they are really really good. Click on each one.
Luke 17:11-19 Think about that all day. Do we just walk on?
Luke 5:12-13 Are we willing??
Day 46 Lev 8-10
- Instructions to the Priest
- The priests begin their Ministry
- Nadab and Abihu
At this point we have seen the priests as the mediator between the people and God. Chapter 8 we see the priests offering their sacrifice in front of the community for their own sins. Moses as the mediator. (Jesus is now our ONLY mediator) This is a reminder that only God is the true Holy one. This was a huge read for me, I have to say. I am going to keep my comments to myself on this one (ha ha if you said “thank goodness”). I think we need to just take a moment to think about our relationship with those at the church vs. our relationship with God. Old Testament vs. New Testament.
Chapter 9: My Bible titles this chapter The Priests Begin Ministry. I want you to be able to picture who they are ministering to. Glance at Joshua 21:19. They are ministering to 13 cities.
If all of this is just ummmm, not quite understandable sometimes. Let me just recap for a second. Sin entered the world. The penalty for sin is death. God loves us enough to give us an alternative. Sacrificing an innocent animal as our replacement (in Old Testament) will “cover” the sin, allowing them to be “saved”. It is God’s Love for us that He gives us this. He has Moses record all this so that when Jesus comes we know He is the final sacrifice that will cover all our sins.
Chapter 10: The Death of Nadab and Abihu. Yikes. I just got done talking about God’s perfect love and then BAM…wipes out 2 priests. It says in the first verse why…Contrary to his command. Then Aaron said Nothing. God is God. His instructions are pretty easy to understand. Sometimes when things happen, and we may think we now why…it is best to keep our lips closed. But we are learning is about God’s Grace on us today. It is evident that today we don’t deserve it..but He gives us Grace EVERYDAY! (I know some of you have a verse in your head right now…give it to me!!)
My favorite verse in the read today was : 10:10 “You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean”. In my head I was reading quick and I dead stopped on the word ”common”. The word Holy means: set apart…am I blending in with the common? Or am I being set apart?
New Testament: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
