Tag: god

SEPT 25. READ NUMBERS 34-36; DEUTERONOMY 1-2

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Numbers 34: The borders of the Promised Land. Here is a good map that shows the borders of the promised land. We assume that Moses wrote this after the 40 years in the wilderness as Israel was on the last leg to going into the promised land.

Numbers 35: The 48 Levitical cities and 6 cities of refuge. The Levitical cities also had rights to use the pasture land around the cities. The Levites were the teachers of the Law for all the tribes. The cities of refuge were for anyone who killed someone but not premeditated, what we would call “manslaughter” not capital murder. Such a person could find safety from the “blood avenger” of the relative he/she killed as long as they stayed in the city until the current high priest died. Again, maps.

Numbers 36: Laws of inheritance. Do you remember those daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27)? AI: “The daughters of Zelophehad were five courageous sisters—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah—who successfully petitioned Moses for the right to inherit land in the Promised Land when their father died without sons. Later, the leaders of Manasseh raised a concern that if the daughters married men from another Israelite tribe, their inherited land would transfer away from Manasseh. In response, God added a stipulation: the daughters were permitted to marry, but only within their own paternal tribal clan. The sisters complied and married their uncles’ sons (their cousins), securing both their inheritance and tribal integrity.” In other words, the land given to each individual tribe would belong to that tribe forever. No tribe could possess the land of another tribe.

DEUTERONOMY

Deuteronomy begins with Israel camped on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River, just across the Jordan from Jericho, the first city that Israel would conquer under Joshua. They stayed in the plains of Moab several months. Deuteronomy 1:3 notes that Moses began delivering his final speeches on the first day of the eleventh month of the 40th year. So, one year at Sinai, 38 years wandering in the wilderness, one year on the final leg of their journey to Canaan.

Here is a great slide that summarizes Deuteronomy. The book is basically 3 sermons of Moses before he dies.

Deuteronomy 1: Moses reviews the history of Israel up to the time they arrived in the plains of Moab.

Deuteronomy 2: More history including mention of the 38 years of wandering in the wilderness and how God had told Moses not to kill any of the Edomites, Moabites, or Ammonites b/c they were related to Israel. Edomites came from Esau, Jacob’s brother. Moabites and Ammonites came from the incestuous relationshp Lot’s 2 daughters had with him while he was drunk after the destruction of Sodom.

I think you will find this book very interesting. It contains a lot of laws that were only for Israel, but it also contains a lot of God’s laws that apply to His children for all ages.

SEPT 21. READ NUMBERS 14-18

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Numbers 14: The congregation listened to the negative report of the 10 spies and rebelled against Moses and Aaron, wanting to choose a new leader and return to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb begged the people to trust God and not rebel, but they wouldn’t listen. God said that He was going to destroy the people and make a great nation from Moses, but Moses interceded for them and begged God not to destroy them. Moses changed God’s mind and He spared the people but would punish them by making them wander in the wildeness for 40 years. Everyone 20 and older would die in he wilderness. Of all those 20 and older only Joshua and Caleb would live to see the land of Canaan. God sent a plague killing the 10 spies. The next day the Israelites decided to obey God and attack the Canaanites even though Moses warned them not to, and they were defeated. Their motives for attacking were not sincere. They only attacked b/c of the punishment God pronounced on them, but it was too little, too late according to Moses.

Life Lesson: The 10 spies and the people were paralyzed by their fear into disobeying God. All they needed was a little faith and courage. Fear and lack of faith will keep your from obeying God. It will also keep you from enjoying God’s blessings that He has available for you (like entering Canaan to enjoy the land that flowed with milk and honey). Psalm 118:6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” That doesn’t mean that you won’t be afraid. It just means that you will not let your fear stop you from obeying God. You will overcome that fear with faith and courage. I ask you, “What are you afraid of in life?” Trust God and step out in faith. God will reward you. I wish that worked with phobias but I can’t seem to make it work with my fear of heights!

Numbers 15 gives laws for various animal sacrifice offerings for when they eventually enter Canaan, which is kinda weird since it would be 40 years before they entered Canaan. A man gathering wood on the Sabbath was stone to death at God’s command. The command to observe the Sabbath and not work on the Sabbath had been given at Mt Sinai.

Numbers 16 is the story of Korah’s rebellion. The Levites Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 of the leaders rebelled against the authority God had given Moses and Aaron. They were mainly attacking that authority of Aaron as high priest. God was about to destroy the whole congregation, but again Moses interceded for them and God only killed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. He opened up the earth and they just fell into the earth along with their possessions. The next day the congregation blamed Moses for the deaths and God was ready to destroy the whole congregation again and began killing many with a plague. Again Moses interceded for the people and the plague was stopped when Aaron stood with his censor between those who died from the plague and those who were still alive. But 14,700 died before the plague stopped.

Numbers 17: God then told Moses to get a rod for each of the 12 tribes and a rod for Aaron and the Levites. He was to put them in the tabernacle overnight. The next morning Aaron’s rod budded with blossoms and ripe almonds, showing that God had chosen Aaron and his family as the only true priests with Aaron as the high priest. Aaron’s rod that budded was kept in the ark of the covenant from that time on.

Numbers 18 gives the duties of the Levites and a command for the people to give tithes to support the Levites since they would devote themselves to the work surrounding the tabernacle. They would be able also to eat some of the offerings the people made.

SEPT 20. READ NUMBERS 9-13

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Numbers 9: The Israelites obvserved the Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month in their calendar, which would be in our springtime. This would be the 1st month of the 2nd year after leaving Egypt. They had stayed at Sinai for a full year. There was a cloud over the tabernacle where God wanted them to camp. When the cloud moved, they moved. At night it looked like a cloud of fire over the tabernacle. This continued for the 40 years in the wilderness.

Numbers 10: They are told about blowing the trumpets to convene the people or the leaders at the tabernacle. Also the trumpets were blown as a warning of danger. In the 2nd year after leaving Egypt, 2nd month, 20th day the cloud lifted from the tabernacle and moved and Israel followed it. Of course, the tabernacle had to be taken down and reassembled each time they moved. The Levites took care of that.

Numbers 11: The people complained at Taberah and God killed some of them with fire. As always, Moses interceded for the people and the fire died out. The non-Israelite “rabble” and the Israelites complained again, wanting meat, complaining that all they had was the manna. They made it sound like they had wonderful food in Egypt. This evoked an emotional response from Moses. He complained to God about his burden of “carrying” these people. He told God that if things didn’t change that he just wished God would kill him. God then told Moses to choose 70 men to help him lead the people and then God put His Spirit on the 70 and they prophesied. Two men remained in the camp apart from the rest of the 70, but these 2 also prophesied. A man complained about those 2 men but Moses rebuked the man. God then sent quail for the people, covering an area of a day’s journey square and 3 feet deep, no doubt millions of quail. The people gorged on the quail and God sent a plague on them to punish them for their greed and many died. The place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, “graves of greed”.

Numbers 12: Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ brother and sister, criticize Moses b/c of his marriage to a Cushite woman. But the real reason for their criticism was that they envied the authority that God had given Moses. God struck Miriam with leprosy. Why did He not srike Aaron with leprosy?. Maybe Miriam was the main one criticizing Moses. Moses asked God to heal her and He did. Ineresting comment: 12:3 Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” Moses wrote Numbers so did Moses write this? Perhaps this was added by someone else.

Numbers 13: Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land of Canaan. They found bountiful fruit and brought some of it back. 10 of the spies gave a negative report, saying that there were many fortified cities and even some giants in the land and that Israel could not possible conquer the land of Canaan. Only Joshua and Caleb said that, with God’s help, they could conquer the land.

More to follow.

SEPT 24. READ NUMBERS 29-33

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Numbers 29 details the specific sacrifices and offerings required for three major autumn festivals in ancient Israel: the Festival of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), all in the 7th month of the Jewish calendar. That would be in our spring. Suffice it to say, a lot of animal sacrifices and a lot of blood. Again, I’m glad we don’t live under the old covenant. We have the blood of Jesus to forgive our sins.

Numbers 30 is about God requring the people to keep vows. Numbers 30:2If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” It then gives many situation involving wows of women, wives, husbands, and widows. Of course, God expects us to keep any vows we make, especially vows made to God. Jesus points out that our word should be sufficient: “Let you yes be yes and your no be no” (Matthew 5:37). Neither Jesus or the Law of Moses condemned the swearing in making oaths. They simply warned against not keeping those oaths.

Numbers 31: Israel slaughters the Midianite men, 5 Midianite kings, and capture their women as part of God’s vengeance on Midian. Interestingly, they kill Balaam who is apparently living in Midian at the time. The last time we saw him he was in Moab. Moses criticized Israel b/c they had spared the women since it was the women who contributed to the sin at Peor, so they killed the women who had had sex but spared the virgins. The booty of the Midianite victory was divided.

Numbers 32: Moses allows the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh to settle east of the Jordan River but only if they will cross over the Jordan and help the other tribes conquer the Canaanites in the land given to each tribe. The 2 1/2 tribes did cross over and fight as Moses commanded.

Numbers 33 gives the names of many of the places Israel traveled during the 40 years in the wilderness. They were told to drive out all the Canaanites in Canaan and destroy the Canaanite idols. They were warned that the Canaanites would become a thorn to them if they did not drive them, which is exactly what happened in the book of Judges.

SEPT 19. READ NUMBERS 4-8

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Just a few interesting things in Numbers 4-8:

The test for an unfaithful wife (Numbers 5:11-31). If a man suspects that his wife has been unfaithful, he is to bring her to the priest who makes her drink holy water. If she is guilty, her abdomen would swell and she would miscarry (if she was pregnant). I assume that she would be stoned to death if guilty. If nothing happens to her after drinking the water, then she is innocent. I know what you are thinking (or I presume to know!). What is the test for a husband who is suspected of adultery? Well there isn’t one! So is God a misogynist? God is no respecter of persons. I think this test is to protect the wives of evil Jewish husbands. As Jesus said in Matthew 19, the law for divorce in Deuteronomy 24 was b/c of the hardness of the hearts of men’s hearts, to protect the wives. I think it is the same case in Numbers 5. The test would keep an evil husband from false accusing his wife of adultery which could lead to her shame, even her stoning.

The Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:1-21). AI: “People take the Nazirite Vow (outlined in Numbers 6) to completely dedicate themselves to God for a specific season or a lifetime by removing ordinary distractions and pursuing intense spiritual focus.

Key Reasons for Taking the Vow

Intense Consecration: By abstaining from wine and grape products (symbolizing earthly joy and luxury), letting hair grow wild (a visible sign of humility and set-apart status), and avoiding dead bodies (pursuing strict ritual purity), the person removed worldly distractions to draw closer to a higher power.

Gratitude and Thanksgiving: People often took the voluntary, temporary vow to thank God for a major blessing, such as recovering from a serious illness or the birth of a child.

Combating Temptation: In Jewish tradition, an individual might take the vow as a temporary discipline to restrain physical desires or overcome personal pride and temptation.

Samuel and Samson in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New Testament took the Nazarite vow.

The priestly blessing (Numbers 6:22-27).

22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

24 “‘“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”’

27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

That’s about it in these chapters. Keep up on. your daily reading. If you fall way behind, just pick up on the current date reading.

SEPT 18 READ LEVITICUS 26-27; NUMBERS 1-3

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Leviticus 26: Blessings for obeying God’s laws; Curses for disobeying God’s laws.

Leviticus 26 outlines the conditional covenant between God and Israel, promising profound Blessings and Curses (Lev 26:1-46) — The Fellowship based on their obedience or disobedience to His commandments. [1]

Core Foundation (Verses 1–2)

  • Idolatry forbidden: God commands Israel not to make idols, carve images, or set up sacred stones.
  • Sabbath observance: They must keep God’s Sabbaths and revere His sanctuary. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Blessings for Obedience (Verses 3–13)

  • Abundant harvest: Seasonal rains will yield massive crops, allowing them to thresh grain until the grape harvest and eat safely until full.
  • Peace and security: God will grant peace in the land so they can sleep without fear, and hostile armies will flee before them.
  • Increase and fertility: The nation will be fruitful and multiply.
  • Divine presence: The ultimate reward is God walking among them to be their God while they remain His people.

Curses for Disobedience (Verses 14–39)

  • Sickness and distress: God will bring sudden terror, wasting diseases, and burning fevers that consume the eyes and sap life.
  • Unfruitful land: Their hard work will be wasted because the soil will yield no crops and the skies will turn to iron.
  • Escalating discipline: If disobedience continues, punishment intensifies in four compounding, sevenfold stages—from wild animals robbing them of children to military siege and starvation.
  • Exile: The disobedient nation will be scattered among enemy nations and their cities left desolate.

Promise of Restoration (Verses 40–46)

  • Repentance: If the exiled people humble themselves and confess their sins, God will remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  • Unbroken commitment: Even during severe correction, God promises never to utterly reject or destroy them to the point of breaking His covenant.

Numbers 1-3. The census and arrangement of the camp. These are the chapters you “skim” through. The book of Numbers is called “Numbers” b/c of the two numberings (censuses) of the people: the first at Mt Sinai during the year they are there (Numbers 1; 603,550 fighting men above the age of 20), and the second on the plains of Moab 40 years later after the disobedient generation has all died off in the wilderness (Numbers 26: 601,730 fighting men). The Levites were placed in the middle nearest the tabernacle along with Moses and the priests. The duties of the 3 Levitical families for taking care of and moving of the tabernacle are given. This is the way Israel would camp each time they would stop during the 40 years in the book of Numbers. Just imagine the logistics of this. Over 600,000 fighting men over the age of 20 would mean 1 1/2 to 2 milliion total people. They gather their manna every day. They get water from the rock every day. But I wonder what their daily life was like.

Numbers will contain the story of those 40 years in the wilderness, although 38 of the 40 years is only. told about in 6 of the 36 chapters in Numbers (chapters 15-20). A sad statistic: about 1 1/2 to 2 million Israelites die in the 40 years wandering in the wilderness. That’s about 37,000 per year and 100 per day. That had to be the most depressing time for everyone. Imagine disposing of the bodies (I assume they had to be buried to prevent diseases like cholera but the Bible doesn’t record burying them). Imagine knowing that you, if you were 20 or older, are going to die in this horrible wilderness and nothing can change that. All that for later in your reading in Numbers.

Here’s a great slide showing the contents of the book of Numbers.

Here is the map that we will be using as we study Numbers. Bible.ca is a great source of information. The map correctly (IMO) places Mt Sinai to the east of the Gulf of Aqaba instead of at the traditional site west of that gulf. That means Mt Sinai was in modern day Saudi Arabia. The Israelites spend a whole year at Mt Sinai, so that’s where Numbers begins.

SEPT 17. READ LEVITICUS 21-25

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Leviticus 21-22: Laws for priests.

Rules on Mourning and Death (Leviticus 21:1–6)

  • General priests: Cannot make themselves ceremonially unclean by touching a dead body, except for immediate family members (mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or dependent unmarried sister). [1, 2]
  • Body modifications: Priests are prohibited from shaving their heads, trimming their beards, or cutting their bodies as part of funeral mourning rituals.

Rules on Marriage and Family (Leviticus 21:7–15)

  • Marriage restrictions: Ordinary priests cannot marry a prostitute, a woman who has been defiled, or a divorced woman.
  • The High Priest: Held to an even higher standard; he must marry only a virgin from his own people and cannot marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute. He also cannot go near any dead body, even that of his own parents.
  • Family discipline: If a priest’s daughter becomes a prostitute, she brings shame upon her father and is to be burned to death.

Physical Requirements for Service (Leviticus 21:16–24)

  • No physical blemishes: Any descendant of Aaron with a physical defect or blemish cannot approach the altar to offer food/gifts to God.
  • Disqualifying conditions: Included blindness, lameness, a disfigured face, a broken limb, a hunchback, a dwarf, chronic eye/skin diseases, or damaged testicles.
  • Allowance: While disqualified from serving at the altar or entering the inner sanctuary, priests with physical defects were still permitted to eat the holy food.

Handling Holy Offerings and Uncleanness (Leviticus 22)

  • Partaking in sacrifices: Priests who are ceremonially unclean (due to a bodily discharge, skin disease, or touching something unclean) cannot eat the sacred holy offerings until they are cleansed.
  • Who may eat: Only members of the priest’s household (including bought servants or daughters who return home due to widowhood/divorce) may eat the holy food; unauthorized outsiders, guests, or hired workers cannot.
  • Unblemished sacrifices: Priests were also responsible for ensuring that any animal brought by the Israelites for sacrifice was completely free of physical defects.

Leviticus 23: The feast days.

Leviticus 24: The lamp and bread of the sanctuary. The priests were commanded to keep the lamps on the lampstand (the menora) burning continuously. There were to change out the bread on the table of shewbread every Sabbath and the priests could eat the old bread. A blasphemer is stoned to death by the entire congregation. “Eye for eye and tooth for tooth” is established as a rule of justice.

Leviticus 25: The Sabbatic year and the year of Jubilee. The laws for redemption.

Leviticus 25 outlines a system of Sabbath and Jubilee years that functioned as a radical agricultural, economic, and social reset for ancient Israel.

The Sabbath Year (Shabbat)

  • Timing: Occurred every seventh year.
  • Land Rest: Fields and vineyards were left unworked; no sowing, pruning, or harvesting of planned crops.
  • Provision: Whatever the land produced naturally could be eaten freely by everyone, including landowners, servants, hired workers, and local animals.
  • Trust: It required Israel to trust God for a triple harvest in the sixth year to sustain them through the fallow period.

The Year of Jubilee (Yovel)

  • Timing: Occurred every 50th year, following a sequence of seven Sabbath cycles (7 x 7 = 49 years).
  • Proclamation: Announced with the blowing of the ram’s horn (shofar) on the Day of Atonement.
  • Land Return: Leased, sold, or mortgaged ancestral land reverted to its original family owners.
  • Emancipation: Hebrew debt slaves and bonded laborers were set free to return to their clans.
  • Agricultural Rest: Like the Sabbath year, the land received a second consecutive year of rest from planting and harvesting.

Theological Purpose

  • Divine Ownership: The foundational premise was that “the land is mine [God’s] and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers” (Lev. 25:23).
  • Economic Equity: It prevented permanent generational poverty and the extreme accumulation of land and debt by a wealthy few. Capitalism is better than communism but capitalism breeds greed

In Leviticus 25, the laws of redemption ensured that ancestral land and impoverished Israelites could not be permanently lost or enslaved.

Rules for Redeeming Property (Land)

  • Temporary sales: Land was never sold permanently because it ultimately belonged to God; a sale was essentially a lease based on the number of crops until the next Jubilee.
  • Self-redemption: The original owner could buy their land back at any time by paying back the value of the crops for the remaining years until the Jubilee.
  • Kinsman-Redeemer (Go’el): If a person grew too poor to redeem their land, a nearest relative was obligated to step in and buy it back for them.
  • The Jubilee Reset: If neither the owner nor a relative could redeem the land, it automatically reverted to the original family during the 50th Year of Jubilee.

Rules for Redeeming People (Slaves/Servants)

  • Poverty-driven servitude: An Israelite who grew impoverished could sell themselves into service to a fellow Israelite or a foreigner.
  • Family buyout: A relative could redeem an Israelite sold into servitude to a foreigner at any time by calculating the price based on the years remaining until the Jubilee.
  • Release at Jubilee: If they were not redeemed earlier by a family member, indentured Israelites were freed automatically with their children during the Year of Jubilee.

These chapters are hard to read and sort out the detials so I hope that the AI bullet articles help clarify all the laws.

SEPT 15. READ LEVITICUS 11-15

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Chapter 11: Clean and unclean meat. Great slide. Barnes Bible Charts has a lot of great images you can research.

Why did God forbid eating of unclean meats? That avoided eating scavengers that carried harmful diseases (although rabbits aren’t scavengers, and spanish mackerel, and swordfish don’t have scales and aren’t scavengers but are unclean). I’m not sure what other reasons God might have commanded this. What about Christians eating unclean meats today? Groups like the 7th Day Adventists won’t eat pork. These food laws were given specifically to Israel and not to Gentiles or all mankind. Paul answered this question in 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” Christians are under the new covenant, not the old, and can eat anything as long as they give thanks.

Chapter 12: Laws of motherhood.

A “sin” offering after childbirth. AI: “In ancient Israelite law, contact with major bodily fluids and blood made a person ritually unclean for a set time (40 days for a boy, 80 days for a girl). The Hebrew word for “sin offering” (chata’at) is often better translated as a “purification offering.” It restored the mother so she could re-enter the holy sanctuary. The sacrifice did not mean the mother committed a personal crime or moral wrong. It simply removed the ritual barrier caused by the blood of childbirth.” Luke 2:22 “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him (the baby Jesus) to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.”

Chapter 13: The test for leprosy.

AI: The word for “leprosy” צָרַעַת (tsaraath) designates an array of divinely diagnosed contaminations that could afflict skin, clothing, and even houses. It likely included common issues like psoriasis, eczema, boils, ringworm, and lucoderma. Scripture never confines the term to modern Hansen’s disease; instead, it functions as a covenant marker of uncleanness that calls for priestly discernment and ritual resolution. The word appears about thirty-five times, with its densest concentration in Leviticus 13–14.” Of course it included Hansen’s Disease. White hair in the infection is mentioned as a test for leprosy. tzaraath actually described a broad category of escaling or inflammatory skin conditions. It most likely referred to vitiligo, an autoimmune condition where skin completely loses its pigment and the hairs inside the white patches frequently turn white. As you can see, the priests are the health officers, not doctors. Some of the skin diseases were contagious and the laws of leprosy helped keep them from spreading. God was concerned about the physical and spiritual welfare of Israel (and us also).

Chapter 14: Cleansing a leper or a leprous house.

Under the Law of Moses outlined in Leviticus 14, cleansing a healed person with a skin disease required a careful, multi-day purification ritual conducted by a priest which included several animal sacrifices. It is interesting that the priest offered a guilt offering and placed blood on the tip of the person’s right ear, right thumb, and right big toe. It is also interesting that leprosy could be found in houses, resulting even possibly in tearing down the whole house.

Chapter 15: Laws for bodily fluids and discharges

Leviticus 15 outlines ancient Israelite laws regarding ceremonial uncleanness caused by various bodily fluids and discharges. These laws included bodily discharges of sexually transmitted diseases, normal seman emission, a woman’s menstrual periods, and prolonged or abnormal bleeding outside of the normal menstrual cycle. The woman with the blood issue that Jesus healed would fit into that last category.

Many of these laws were just for ceremonial uncleanness and did not involve moral sins. Many of them were just designed to prevent the spread of disease and for good hygiene. Remember, these laws were given when the priests were serving as the health officers and there were no doctors. Doctors today could use these same methods to detect diseases today, I suppose.

Hang in there! Halfway through your favorite book in the Bible.

SEPT 16. READ LEVITICUS 16-20

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Leviticus 16: The Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur, the holies day of the year for Jews. Only the high priest entered the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies), and only once per year on the Day of Atonement. He enters twice, sprinkling blood on the mercy seat where God dwelt the first trip for his own sins, and then sprinkling blood for the sins of the people for the past year. The sins of the people are put on a goat and the goat is driven off into the wilderness to never come back. That’s where we get “scapegoat” from, an innocent person who takes the blame for a guilty person. Better watched than read:

The typology for the Day of Atonement is found in Hebrews 9:23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” Under the new covenant, Jesus is our High Priest. The tabernacle was a “copy” of the real dwelling place of God in heaven. The blood of animals sprinkled on the mercy seat forgave sins, but only b/c God would use the blood of Jesus to forgive sins in the old covenant. Hebrews 9:15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” The blood of animal sacrifices could not on its own forgive sins. The yearly Day of Atonement could not permanently remove sins. Hebrews 10:1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very [z]form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Jesus entered the real Most Holy Place in heaven where God dwelt, offered his blood, not he blood of animals, for the forgiveness of sins. He only needed to make one trip, not two like the Levitical high priests, since he did not need to offer blood for his own sins. He only needed to enter one time, not every year like the Levitical priests. His offering was “once for all time”. Hebrews 10:11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” 

Chapter 17: Warning about eating blood. Also a command to make all sacrifices at the tabernacle and not outside the camp. Why? Leviticus 17:7 They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons (goat-like or satyr-like wilderness deities) with which they play the harlot.” A satyr is a mythical creature portrayed as half-man and half-beast. Commentators note that the Israelites likely picked up these worship practices during their time enslaved in Egypt, where goat idols and gods symbolizing fertility for herds and crops were common in desert regions.

Chapter 18: Warnings against committing sins of the Egyptians or Canaanites. Leviticus 18:3 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. That would include sex or marriage with blood relatives or even bestiality. Also a condemnation of homosexuality: Leviticus 18:22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”.

Chapter 19: Various laws.

Rules for holy living, social justice, and personal behavior based on the command, “Be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy”. (19:2)

Core Command

  • Be Holy: God tells the people of Israel to copy His holiness in their daily lives.
  • Parents and Sabbaths: Everyone must respect their mother and father and keep the Sabbath holy.
  • No Idols: People must not turn to false gods or make metal idols.

Helping the Poor and Strangers

  • Leave Food: Farmers must leave the edges of their fields and fallen grapes for the poor and foreigners.
  • Fair Pay: Bosses must pay hired workers before the morning comes.
  • Help the Vulnerable: Do not curse a deaf person or trip a blind person.
  • Love Foreigners: Treat foreigners living among you like your own people and love them as yourself.

Honesty and Fairness

  • No Stealing or Lying: Do not steal, lie, or trick your neighbor.
  • Fair Courts: Judges must be fair. They must not favor the poor or the rich.
  • No Gossip: Do not spread rumors or gossip about others.
  • Love Your Neighbor: Do not hold a grudge. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Daily and Purity Rules

  • No Mixed Items: Do not plant two types of seeds in one field, breed two different kinds of animals, or wear clothes made of mixed threads.
  • Body Marks: Do not cut your skin or get tattoos for the dead.
  • Honest Weights: Use honest scales and honest measures for buying and selling.

Leviticus 20: Strict laws and punishments to keep the ancient Israelites holy and separate from neighboring nations.

Idolatry and the Occult

  • Child sacrifice: Anyone who gave their child to the idol Molech faced death by stoning. It is hard to fathom that King Manasseh of Judah offered his child to Molech but he did.
  • Spiritualism: Turning to mediums, wizards, or spiritists resulted in being cut off from the community.

Family and Respect

  • Disrespecting parents: Anyone who cursed their father or mother was put to death.

Sexual Laws and Incest

Bestiality: Having sex with an animal was forbidden, and both the person and the animal were put to death.

Adultery: Having sex with a neighbor’s or another man’s wife resulted in the death penalty for both people.

Incest: Having sex with close relatives, such as a father’s wife, a daughter-in-law, or a sister, was strictly forbidden under punishment of death or being childless.

Marrying a mother and daughter: Marrying both a woman and her mother was considered a depraved act, punished by burning.

Same-sex relations: Men having sex with men as they would with a woman were put to death. Leviticus 20:13 If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Some pro LGBTQ advocates have said that we can’t use these Law of Moses verses to condemn homosexuality today. They say that we say that verses that condemn wearing a shirt of both polyester and cotton don’t apply to us today, but that we say verses condemning homosexuality do apply and that we are inconsistent. Maybe so. But I would argue that a sin against the unnatural sin of homosexuality is an eternal principle but shirts are not. The sin of homosexuality goes back to the very beginning when God joined a man and a woman in marriage and the two would become one flesh (the sex act). I usually just go to Romans 1 where Paul clearly condemns homosexuality. Romans 1:26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Those verses in Romans should settle the debate once for all.

Conclusion: As you can see, the book of Leviticus has many commands that apply to us today along with all those commands about animal sacrifices and feast days that don’t apply to us as Gentile Christians.

SEPT 14. LEVITICUS 6-10

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

There are times where you just google it! Leviticus 6-9 is about eating the offerings described in Leviticus 1-5. AI:

Animal offerings in Leviticus were disposed of by burning them on the altar, giving portions to the priests to eat, or sharing them as a meal with the worshipper, depending on the specific type of sacrifice.

Here is how the five primary animal offerings described in Leviticus were handled:

1. Burnt Offering (Olah)

  • God’s portion: The entire animal (bull, sheep, goat, dove, or pigeon) was completely burned on the altar into smoke.
  • Disposal: Nothing was eaten by humans; the hide was given to the officiating priest as a fee, and the rest was consumed by fire overnight.

2. Peace Offering (Shelamim)

  • God’s portion: The fatty portions surrounding the entrails, kidneys, and the long lobe of the liver were burned on the altar.
  • Priest’s portion: The breast (wave offering) and the right thigh (contribution offering) went to the priests.
  • Worshipper’s portion: The remaining meat was eaten in a sacred communal meal by the offerer and their family at the sanctuary, usually within one to two days.

3. Sin Offering (Chatat)

  • For common people/laymen: The fatty parts were burned on the altar, and the remaining cooked meat was eaten by the male priests inside the Temple courtyard.
  • For the High Priest or the whole congregation: The fat was burned on the altar, but the entire remainder of the animal (skin, flesh, entrails) was carried and burned completely outside the camp or city in a clean place. No human ate it.

4. Guilt or Trespass Offering (Asham)

  • God’s portion: The fat portions were burned on the altar.
  • Priest’s portion: The remaining meat was considered holy and was eaten exclusively by the male priests within the sanctuary area, similar to the standard sin offering.

5. Grain Offering (Minchah)

  • Note: Though usually flour and oil, it accompanied animal drink offerings. A handful of the grain/flour mixture was burned on the altar as a memorial, and the remainder was baked and eaten by the priests.

THE REMAINS OF THE SIN OFFERING BURNED OUTSIDE THE CAMP One point about the remainder of the animal for the sin offering being carried and burned completely outside the camp.This was also the case on the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:27 But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in (by the high priest into the Most Holy Place and sprinkled on the mercy seat) to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. 28 Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.” Hebrews 10:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” These verses in Hebrews speak directly to the instructions in Leviticus. The Hebrew writer is writing to Jewish Christians who were leaving the Christian faith and going back to Judaism. The tabernacle and temple had a brazen altar that the sin offerings were burnt on in the courtyard of the tabernacle and temple. “We” Christians in the new covenant have an altar on which Jesus was offered and it is found outside of Judaism and the old covenant. Our altar Jesus was offered on is “outside the gates” of Judaism. Calvary where Jesus was crucified was outside the city gates of Jerusalem. Those leaving the faith have no right to eat from that Christian altar, i.e. eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus (John 6). The Hebrews writer is thus telling the Jewish Christians not to leave the faith and go back to the animal sacrifices of Judaism on the brazen altar of the temple. We must go outside the camp (i.e. Judaism) to find the altar Jesus was offered on. Jesus suffered on the cross at Calvary outside the city gates and we must be ready to suffer like He did. The faithful Jewish Christians being written to in Hebrews suffered much.

THE SIN OF NADAB AND ABIHU, AARON’S PRIESTLY SONS Leviticus 10:1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” AI: “They likely used ordinary or common fire instead of taking holy coals from the bronze altar of burnt offering where God’s fire burned. They acted on their own accord (“which he had not commanded them”), treating sacred rituals casually rather than with strict obedience. Their actions showed a failure to distinguish between what is holy and what is common, violating God’s standard that those who come near Him must treat Him as holy (Leviticus 10:3). Some biblical scholars suggest they may have acted carelessly or presumptuously under the influence of alcohol, which is linked to subsequent warnings about priests drinking before service (Leviticus 10:).”

This is a sad ending for Aaron’s 2 priest sons, Nadab and Abihu. These 2 sons had been given a special privilege of seeing, eating, and drinking with God at Mt Sinai. Exodus 24:9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.” In spite of that, they failed to obey God in using the correct fire offering. Can you imagine fire coming down out of heaven, striking them, and burning them to a crisp? Aaron probably watched his sons die in such a horrible way. Aaron was probably proud of his 2 son priests and now they are but ashes on the ground. We might wonder why God was so harsh over what some might call a careless mistake on their part. But God is setting an example of what happens when we disobey God and we Christians today need to take note of that. We are saved by grace so you don’t have to perfectly obey God so don’t’ use the sin of Nadab and Abihu to condemn instrumental music in worship as some have done in the past. But we should try to obey every command of God to the best of our ability. There is a lot of strange fire being offered today by Christians, fire that God did not command. The whole LGBTQ issue is a direct violation of clear commands in both the old and new covenant. The marriage bond between a man and a woman is sacred and holy and yet many are not treating it as holy. They are substituting unholy homosexual relationships and marriages that are strange fire.

THE SIN OF ELIAZAR AND ITHAMAR This is not of major importance but I never understand what Leviticus 10:12-20 was about, so I found this on gotquestions.org

“Due to the disobedience of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, the Lord caused those two men to die. Later that day, Aaron and his remaining sons allowed the sin offering to burn up. Moses was angry with Aaron’s other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, as a result. This situation is hard to understand until we take a closer look at the context and the Law in general.

For one thing, Moses had just commanded Aaron and his remaining sons to eat the offering (Leviticus 10:12–14). When he discovered they had let it burn up, he was understandably upset.

Also, the chapter opens with the death of two of Aaron’s sons: “Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:1–2). Likely due to their grief over the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar chose to let the sacrifice burn up rather than to eat it. Moses was upset because this was breaking the command God had given the priest to use this offering in part as their food.

Another reason Moses was upset was probably that he feared a fate similar to that of Nadab and Abihu would befall Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar. He confronted Aaron, saying, “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? . . . You should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded” (Leviticus 10:17–18).

Aaron’s response to Moses is full of pathos: “Today my sons presented both their sin offering and their burnt offering to the LORD. And yet this tragedy has happened to me. If I had eaten the people’s sin offering on such a tragic day as this, would the LORD have been pleased?” (Leviticus 10:19, NLT). These words satisfied Moses that Aaron was living in fear and obedience to God (verse 20).”

I’m sure Aaron was very concerned about possibly losing his 2 surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar b/c they had not obeyed Moses’ command to eat the priestly portions of the offering. Was God going to burn them up also? But Moses accepted Aaron’s explanation for them not eating the portions and they were not burned. I think this says a lot of motives. Nadab and Abihu had impure motives in what they did, possibly even drinking as they did it. Apparently Elezar and Ithamar just committed a careless but understandable (due to their grief over losing their 2 brothers) act of not obeying and God and Moses overlooked it. So maybe that is a note of hope for us knowing we often commit those sins of “omission and commission”.

You might be wondering what happened to Eleazar and Ithamar after this incident in Leviticus 10. Here’s a summary.

Background and Tragedy

  • Four sons: Aaron and his wife Elisheba had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
  • Fatal mistake: Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized “strange fire” to God, and fire from the Lord consumed them.
  • No public mourning: God told Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar not to mourn the deaths so they would not die themselves.

Eleazar

  • Next high priest: Eleazar was chosen by God to succeed his father Aaron as the high priest of Israel.
  • Leadership role: He served as chief over the leaders of the Levites and helped Moses and Joshua manage the camp and divide the Promised Land.
  • Lineage: Most of the high priests in Israel’s history came from Eleazar’s family line, including Zadok.

Ithamar

  • Tabernacle manager: Ithamar, the youngest son, was put in charge of the tabernacle’s construction resources, offerings, and inventories.
  • Levite supervisor: He oversaw the Gershonite and Merarite Levites who carried the heavy parts and curtains of the tent of meeting.
  • Lineage: Later high priests, including Eli, descended from Ithamar’s family line.