Are you hanging in there??? I know reading about all the sacrifices and rules and regulations and laws can seem tedious. The one that talks about if someone finds a person dead in a field and no one knows who committed the murder is especially curious to me. The priests had to play private investigator in many disputes or questions concerning breaking the "law." In this instance, they had to measure the distance from the dead body to the nearest town. The elders from the nearest town had to bring a heifer to a valley that had not been cultivated and the valley had to have a running stream. The priests and elders then broke the heifer's neck and the elders washed their hands over the heifer's neck proclaiming themselves and their town innocent or not guilty of bloodshed.
I have added Jewish links in case you would want to read more and have more insight into all the rules and regulations. When I read this section, I wish I had a rabbi across the table from me so that I could ask him all my questions. The website Judaism 101 is set up that way and is written by a Jew. Most of his questions regarding the Levitical law and sacrifices comes from non-Jews. The links are just for information purposes. PRAISE THE LORD, Jesus came not to destroy the law but to fulfill the law. Moses's Law has been improved and amended.
The Jewish people have not been able to sacrifice to God since the temple's destruction around 70 AD. Remember reading about how once the temple was established that people were no longer to sacrifice just any where or at any time but they were required to present their sacrifice to a place God would designate...the temple where the priests would present their offering to God. Deuteronomy 12:1-15. So what are the Jews suppose to do to at this time to obtain forgiveness of sin? Hosea 14:1,2 (NIV) reads Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. The portion reading "the fruit of our lips" is interpreted as "offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls". The KJV reads: Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips.
I can't imagine the smell and mess there must have been at the temple with the constant slaughter and bleeding of animals. And animals being animals, I am sure there were animals screaming as their throats were cut and lets face it, none of them were house trained. It must have been a constant offensive reminder of their sinful nature. What a wonderful thing the grace of God is. How blessed we are to have Jesus Christ as our High Priest! And don't forget, the Holy Spirit, who wants to help you discern truth and righteous living. The Holy Spirit is a very real deity and is there to guide you and to let you know when you have grieved him. A big difference from the slaughtering of animals.
The more you understand how Moses's law parallels the New Testament the more interesting and meaningful it will be to you. There are links added to the blog if you would like to learn more about that also. You'll find the links under the Jewish Website header.
Please feel free to post comments, questions etc.... I would love to hear your thoughts too!
Bon apetit
Let's read the Bible through in 2013
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A Time of Transition
Hello all. This post was suppose to post on 02/14/11 but it didn't so you'll have two slightly close together.
In these chapters we can get a little bogged down reading about the census taking again and Moses review of the Israelites exodus from Egypt. But there are also little nuggets that stand out as some of the most thought provoking things God has ever done. There is the account of Balaam and Balak. The Israelite's transition into a fighting nation. The death of Miriam and Aaron. Eleazar fulfilling the role his father, Aaron, vacated. Phinehas' stand against sin. The investure of Joshua as Moses' replacement. A lot is happening in these chapters.
Balaam stands out to me as one of the most interesting accounts in the last 5 days. God uses a spiritualist to proclaim his blessings over the Israelite people on three separate occasions. At one point, Balaam even states in Numbers 22:18 "the Lord MY God". Was Balaam arrogant enough to believe that just because God spoke to him that he and God were in a convenant relationship? No matter how hard King Balak wants Balaam to curse the Israelite people, God fills Balaam's mouth with blessings and even has him prophecy about the Messiah in Numbers 24: 10-13. Why God used Balaam this way is not entirely clear to me other than God uses who and what he wants when he wants.... Afterall, he is God. : ) God even used Balaam's donkey to speak to Balaam.
So here is Balaam son of Beor, who must see himself now as a mouthpiece of God. His perception of his relationship with God is so clouded that he helps devise a plan to circumvent God's blessings by having the Midianite women seduce the Israelite men not just in sexual immorality but it spiritual immorality with their idol. Balaam knew this would bring judgement on the Israelite's. Did Balaam think that God would not hold him accountable for his part in leading God's people into sin. What was Balaam thinking? Maybe he thought that saying what God wanted him to say was enough but that he didn't have to back it up with his actions. Maybe he was thinking that there was still a way for him to get all that money that Balak offered. How arrogant!! Balaam didn't have long to enjoy his new found status or wealth since in Numbers 37, Balaam, son of Beor, is killed with the sword along with every Midianite man, boy and non-virgin woman. God wants more than lip service from anyone claiming to be in a relationship with him. That's something I think we all should keep in mind.
Bon apetit.....
In these chapters we can get a little bogged down reading about the census taking again and Moses review of the Israelites exodus from Egypt. But there are also little nuggets that stand out as some of the most thought provoking things God has ever done. There is the account of Balaam and Balak. The Israelite's transition into a fighting nation. The death of Miriam and Aaron. Eleazar fulfilling the role his father, Aaron, vacated. Phinehas' stand against sin. The investure of Joshua as Moses' replacement. A lot is happening in these chapters.
Balaam stands out to me as one of the most interesting accounts in the last 5 days. God uses a spiritualist to proclaim his blessings over the Israelite people on three separate occasions. At one point, Balaam even states in Numbers 22:18 "the Lord MY God". Was Balaam arrogant enough to believe that just because God spoke to him that he and God were in a convenant relationship? No matter how hard King Balak wants Balaam to curse the Israelite people, God fills Balaam's mouth with blessings and even has him prophecy about the Messiah in Numbers 24: 10-13. Why God used Balaam this way is not entirely clear to me other than God uses who and what he wants when he wants.... Afterall, he is God. : ) God even used Balaam's donkey to speak to Balaam.
So here is Balaam son of Beor, who must see himself now as a mouthpiece of God. His perception of his relationship with God is so clouded that he helps devise a plan to circumvent God's blessings by having the Midianite women seduce the Israelite men not just in sexual immorality but it spiritual immorality with their idol. Balaam knew this would bring judgement on the Israelite's. Did Balaam think that God would not hold him accountable for his part in leading God's people into sin. What was Balaam thinking? Maybe he thought that saying what God wanted him to say was enough but that he didn't have to back it up with his actions. Maybe he was thinking that there was still a way for him to get all that money that Balak offered. How arrogant!! Balaam didn't have long to enjoy his new found status or wealth since in Numbers 37, Balaam, son of Beor, is killed with the sword along with every Midianite man, boy and non-virgin woman. God wants more than lip service from anyone claiming to be in a relationship with him. That's something I think we all should keep in mind.
Bon apetit.....
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Getting ready to go to Canaan
We've read how the Israelites built and created a dwelling place for God. God planned every step. Even how the tabernacle was to be dismantled and transported to the next camp site. By the way, God didn't ask the people if they wanted to or to pray about it to see if they felt led to fill those positions. He just told them. PERIOD. God doesn't let any adult off the hook. You have a God specified work to do in his kingdom.
The Israelites have celebrated their second Passover according to God's rules and regulations. Then God organized the census. The census laid the foundation for which tribe went where and who was responsible for what and so forth and so on. Even when he created the whole universe, he did it systematically and with great organization. How can anyone reading these books of the Bible not see that God really is the originator of the first "planner" or PDA?
I wondered when I read in Numbers 10: 29-32 why Moses recruited Horab, his brother-in-law, to be a guide through the desert. God was leading the people with the cloud situated over the tabernacle. I am sure that God had better eyesight and knew the lay of the land better than Horab. Afterall, he created the land and Horab. There isn't anything recorded that God had told Moses or rebuked him for recruiting a guide. I wondered if this little act of recruiting a guide without God's instructions was the first sign of Moses acting without God's guidance. I know Moses made many day to day decisions etc without God directly speaking to him. This seemed like Moses replacing God's way with Moses' way. Was this act the first sign of Moses leaning on his own abilities or understandings instead of God's? Was this act the sign of self-reliance regarding Moses' future behavior? In Numbers 20, Moses plainly disobeys God's instructions and did so in front of the Israelites. Moses states: "Listen you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?" and then he hits the rock twice instead of speaking to it. God punishes Moses and Aaron. Their punishment, they would not make the journey into the promised land. The land that had consumed Moses' life, Moses would not go into Canaan land. God still cared for Moses. Deut 34:5-7 describes Moses' death. It reads that Moses was just as strong as he was when he had began this exodus with God's chosen people. God was with him when he died and it was God who buried him.
Was Moses doing what many of us do? WE become proficient in an area of God's calling and fall into the habit of doing what had worked in the past instead of asking God if there is a different way he wants it done. If we are very proficient by doing what has always worked, how are people going to see the grace and the supernatural abilities that God has. Lets face it, that would take honor and glory from God.
Lets take time today and every day to search our lives and see if we have gotten into a rut with God and his work. Always remember he loves you and wants you to succeed.
The Israelites have celebrated their second Passover according to God's rules and regulations. Then God organized the census. The census laid the foundation for which tribe went where and who was responsible for what and so forth and so on. Even when he created the whole universe, he did it systematically and with great organization. How can anyone reading these books of the Bible not see that God really is the originator of the first "planner" or PDA?
I wondered when I read in Numbers 10: 29-32 why Moses recruited Horab, his brother-in-law, to be a guide through the desert. God was leading the people with the cloud situated over the tabernacle. I am sure that God had better eyesight and knew the lay of the land better than Horab. Afterall, he created the land and Horab. There isn't anything recorded that God had told Moses or rebuked him for recruiting a guide. I wondered if this little act of recruiting a guide without God's instructions was the first sign of Moses acting without God's guidance. I know Moses made many day to day decisions etc without God directly speaking to him. This seemed like Moses replacing God's way with Moses' way. Was this act the first sign of Moses leaning on his own abilities or understandings instead of God's? Was this act the sign of self-reliance regarding Moses' future behavior? In Numbers 20, Moses plainly disobeys God's instructions and did so in front of the Israelites. Moses states: "Listen you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?" and then he hits the rock twice instead of speaking to it. God punishes Moses and Aaron. Their punishment, they would not make the journey into the promised land. The land that had consumed Moses' life, Moses would not go into Canaan land. God still cared for Moses. Deut 34:5-7 describes Moses' death. It reads that Moses was just as strong as he was when he had began this exodus with God's chosen people. God was with him when he died and it was God who buried him.
Was Moses doing what many of us do? WE become proficient in an area of God's calling and fall into the habit of doing what had worked in the past instead of asking God if there is a different way he wants it done. If we are very proficient by doing what has always worked, how are people going to see the grace and the supernatural abilities that God has. Lets face it, that would take honor and glory from God.
Lets take time today and every day to search our lives and see if we have gotten into a rut with God and his work. Always remember he loves you and wants you to succeed.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
It amazes me how Moses remembered all of God's instructions to the "T". Every "i" dotted and every "T" was crossed. He must have been very intelligent and maybe had something like a photographic memory. I know sometimes reading some of the next passages may seem repetitive and boring. Try to read it as God's first instructions to a body of believers of how they were to prepare and present themselves to God. It shows us how God wanted all the same offerings from all the tribes no matter how large or small the tribe was and no matter how rich or poor. These passages recount how two of Aaron's sons where killed by offering "strange fire". In the next chapters, you will read of God's geographic placement of the tribes around the tabernacle.
As I read these passages it tells me that God wants us all to approach him with the very best we have. These passages speak to me of how God wants me to interact with him. How he wants me to worship him. How he provides for me. I realize that we all have are own comfort zones when it comes to worshiping God whether it is with our mouth or material possessions. These passages speak to me that God wants our best given to him CHEERFULLY. It shows how giving is a real part of worship. It shows how God wants us all to participate in his work (the church). After all, God placed the tabernacle in the very center of them wherever they traveled. It reads of how the priests and the Levites had to prepare themselves. The Levites who were working in the tabernacle were shaved of all their hair and washed by Moses. To be being totally shaved and then washed by the "leader" would have been humbling and maybe even embarrassing. Now that would have definitely been out of my comfort zone.
Next time you come to church or you are at home getting ready to pray, stop and contemplate whether you are presenting yourself to God in the fashion that HE wants you too. Are you living your life according to his will and plan?? Are you continually preparing yourselves to be in God's presence? He may speak to you about things you listen to or where you go. After all, the Holy Spirit is with you continually so you are in God's presence. Just read these passages and see what God speaks to you personally. He may speak to you about your giving and your involvement or lack of it. He may want you to get involved somehow in the church. He may speak to you about how prepared you are when you come to church to present yourselves to him. Whatever he speaks to you, I know you will be blessed if you obey him.
As I read these passages it tells me that God wants us all to approach him with the very best we have. These passages speak to me of how God wants me to interact with him. How he wants me to worship him. How he provides for me. I realize that we all have are own comfort zones when it comes to worshiping God whether it is with our mouth or material possessions. These passages speak to me that God wants our best given to him CHEERFULLY. It shows how giving is a real part of worship. It shows how God wants us all to participate in his work (the church). After all, God placed the tabernacle in the very center of them wherever they traveled. It reads of how the priests and the Levites had to prepare themselves. The Levites who were working in the tabernacle were shaved of all their hair and washed by Moses. To be being totally shaved and then washed by the "leader" would have been humbling and maybe even embarrassing. Now that would have definitely been out of my comfort zone.
Next time you come to church or you are at home getting ready to pray, stop and contemplate whether you are presenting yourself to God in the fashion that HE wants you too. Are you living your life according to his will and plan?? Are you continually preparing yourselves to be in God's presence? He may speak to you about things you listen to or where you go. After all, the Holy Spirit is with you continually so you are in God's presence. Just read these passages and see what God speaks to you personally. He may speak to you about your giving and your involvement or lack of it. He may want you to get involved somehow in the church. He may speak to you about how prepared you are when you come to church to present yourselves to him. Whatever he speaks to you, I know you will be blessed if you obey him.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The building of God's temple
Well we are knee deep into the building of the tent of meeting and the fashioning of all it's implements. We are also reading about the adornment of the priests and their ordination. I have read this account many times and had often wondered why everything was so exact. I had a hard time trying to picture what everything looked like even after reading God's detailed directions. As I grew in the knowledge of the Lord, I realized that this temple was the forerunner of things to come and how God wants us to worship him and relate to him. There is just so much in these verses.
If you are interested in learning more about the building of the tent of meeting, how everything really looked and its significance as a shadow of things to come, I recommend getting a book entitled A Dwelling Place for God, authored by Ruth Specter Lascelle. It is publisted by Rock of Israel, PO Box 9200, Van Nuys, CA 91409. Rock of Israel is an international ministry committed to reaching the Jewish people with the good news of Messiah. The book is a verse by verse description from Exodus 25-30 of the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle with new convenant applications. It includes drawings of the tent, implements and priestly garments. Their website is: www.rockofisrael.org/
If you are interested in learning more about the building of the tent of meeting, how everything really looked and its significance as a shadow of things to come, I recommend getting a book entitled A Dwelling Place for God, authored by Ruth Specter Lascelle. It is publisted by Rock of Israel, PO Box 9200, Van Nuys, CA 91409. Rock of Israel is an international ministry committed to reaching the Jewish people with the good news of Messiah. The book is a verse by verse description from Exodus 25-30 of the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle with new convenant applications. It includes drawings of the tent, implements and priestly garments. Their website is: www.rockofisrael.org/
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