Gems from the OT Law

Years ago when I was reading in the Pauline epistles I got quite exasperated with the redundancy found there: Paul wrote a lot about the importance of Jesus' sacrifice. I knew that, why keep repeating it??!!

But God in his mercy saw my heart, saw my confusion and subsequently worked to ease this confusion and this is what He did, ever so gently.

I noticed a few things: one, Paul was a Jew writing to Jews. It was from that perspective in which the NT was written. So, if I am to even begin to understand the importance of Jesus' sacrifice, I need to learn to think like a Jew, I have to understand the concepts of sacrifice, redemption, etc. and the only way was to study the OT law. I went to it and read it, allowed it to teach me. The day came when there were those AH..ha moments - Now I see! WOW! Joy flooded my being! I not only knew, I understood - vast difference - they are not one and the same. I understood perfectly what Paul was saying - how well I remember reading one of his verses and recalling that this was exactly the same concept I gleaned from the study of the law.

The inspirations found there are tremendous. As I study it I observed how there is just as much practical inspiration to be found there as there is in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. And it is these nuggets of inspiration I would like to share in this thread.

If any want to share your inspiration, I suggest you put the reference/subject in the subject box.

God bless.

Leviticus 1:9: Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water.

Wash, wash. Whenever God directs the people in how to offer sacrifices he always instructs them on how they need to wash. The concept of washing appears a lot in the law, not only in the handling of dead flesh, it cleans one from uncleanness, be it personal hygiene, contamination of anything defined as unclean.

Anyhow, wash, wash after handling raw meat. Ever thought about the scientific reasons behind the motivation of this law? Ever consider how unsafe it is to handle raw meat? How a body can become infected by it, get sick? but washing after handling raw meat makes it safe to do so? (I just recently heard of a lady who has become infected by handling of raw meat. She is very sick.)

God, in his wisdom, is concerned that his people be sanitary in their handling of raw flesh so he stipulated the command to wash, wash...

Today the health experts warn people of the dangers inherent in the handling of raw meat. How long did it take for them to discover that? Yet, God told the Israelite thousands of years ago...

Leviticus 2:1,3. Frankincense
1‘Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it

3‘The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy, of the offerings to the LORD by fire.

Frankincense is made by tapping the Boswellia tree. It has many uses among which is less known are its medicinal benefits. You can go to a health food store and buy it - it is recommended for arthritis - I have used it.

I find it fascinating that God would command that the flour offered to the priests be enriched by a substance that has medicinal benefits.

And who knew?

Good insights, Ginny. God gave these to the Israelites because they had been 400 years with the Egyptians who were sick all the time. Their affection for using dung was mind boggling, they would get sick and their physicians would give them "medicine" loaded with various concoctions of dung. (And no FDA warnings, either!)

God said if the Israelites would adhere to these practices, they would be free from all the diseases of the Egyptians.

QUOTE:
"God said if the Israelites would adhere to these practices, they would be free from all the diseases of the Egyptians."

You are making an important point that I want to visit later on. Or, if you wish, go ahead and expand on it.

God bless.

Leviticus 3.:1: "he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."

"Without blemish" appears 18 times in the book of Leviticus. This concept is so very important...let us take a look at it.

The animals offered for sacrifice were to be without blemish or defect. This is a costly requirement. As a person who grew up on a successful farm where all kinds of animals were grown for sale and profit, the animal 'without defect' was a prized one, one highly esteemed and considered to produce the best profit for the grower. And this was a requirement for the one who offers a sacrifice. In this one can easily see how costly sin is to the individual.

This is a type of the sacrifice Jesus was for us. He was highly esteemed by his father, it was a costly thing he did - he paid the cost of our sin with his life - he gave all of it. He was without blemish in every sense of the word - he was without sin, perfect. 1Peter 1:19: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Now in Romans 12:1,2 the writer teaches us that:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are to present our body as a living sacrifice to God, one that is acceptable, holy...how holy am I? Am I being conformed to His image or to the image of prevailing culture
about me? (2Peter 3:14: Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.)

In offering a sacrifice the entire body of the animal was given, not just parts of it. Am I offering my entire body as a living sacrifice to God, everyday?

Leviticus 3.:1: "he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."

"Without blemish" appears 18 times in the book of Leviticus. This concept is so very important...let us take a look at it.

The animals offered for sacrifice were to be without blemish or defect. This is a costly requirement. As a person who grew up on a successful farm where all kinds of animals were grown for sale and profit, the animal 'without defect' was a prized one, one highly esteemed and considered to produce the best profit for the grower. And this was a requirement for the one who offers a sacrifice. In this one can easily see how costly sin is to the individual.

This is a type of the sacrifice Jesus was for us. He was highly esteemed by his father, it was a costly thing he did - he paid the cost of our sin with his life - he gave all of it. He was without blemish in every sense of the word - he was without sin, perfect. 1Peter 1:19: But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Now in Romans 12:1,2 the writer teaches us that:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are to present our body as a living sacrifice to God, one that is acceptable, holy...how holy am I? Am I being conformed to His image or to the image of prevailing culture
about me? (2Peter 3:14: Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.)

In offering a sacrifice the entire body of the animal was given, not just parts of it. Am I offering my entire body as a living sacrifice to God, everyday?

Concerning Romans 12:1-2, it would be good for us to examine our lives, periodically, on that scripture, to see if we are being living sacrifices.

While it might be painful to do so, it is needed.

Greatly needed.

And how our minds need to be transformed!

The animal sacrifices were to be outwardly without blemish.

What blemishes do we have that we know about, yet will not give them up? If we refuse to give up the ones we know about, what of those we don't know about?

Fact is, we enjoy sin more than we should or than we realise.

We can't see it, but we do.

Leviticus 3.:1: "he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD."

In Malachi the Lord tied the sacrificing of blemished animals to the dishonoring of His name...

Malachi 1:6-14 NASB

6“ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

7“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’

8“But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.

9“But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.

10“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.

11“For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.

12“But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

13“You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the LORD.

14“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

REJOICE! =)
Mary

Mary,

You made a very important and profound point: how tempting it is to not give your best - God did and it was so costly...why do we want to give that which is blemished, full of defects? Col.3:23: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"

We want God to give us his best but how willing are we to reciprocate? God wants our admiration, our worship, adoration. We do our best to folks we admire, worship and want to impress, do we not? So why do we want to do any less in our service to the LORD Jesus?

Ginnyrose

Thanks for posting this very interesting topic. One of my favourite OT gems which I find has helped my walk is I Samuel 15 v 22

" Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice."

Jesus delights in our obedience in the gospel of John He tells us that the one who loves Him obeys his commands and does the will of the Father.
I see grace in obedience and I see the law in offerings and sacrifice.
By that I mean I need grace and strength from Jesus to wilfully obey. When I start to do things in my own strength that is not Sprit led e.g making promises which I fail to keep I am doing it as way of pleasing God saying look what I have sacrificed and offered to You Lord I am doing works which I can then relate to as the law.

Love in Christ
Lindi

Ginnyrose, Thanks for sharing these gems from the OT Law. I enjoyed reading them. The dietary Laws that Israel practices according to the Torah were way above the practices of concurrent pagan nations of those times.

e.g.:

Nevertheless a rational interpretation of the Biblical and Mosaic laws has at all times endeavored to find the dietary laws prophylactic of diseases of both body and soul. Indeed, many statisticians have declared that the observance of the dietary laws has greatly contributed to the longevity and physical as well as moral power of the Jewish race (see H. Behrend, "Communicability of Diseases from Animals to Man," London, 1895).

I hope, by the grace of God, to resume this thread. We had difficulties with our ISP and now everything has been corrected so I can continue to share how the OT law has taught me so much about the mercy and grace of God.

Since I touched upon the sacrifices I want to comment on the Passover. It was instituted by God on the eve of the Israelites' departure from Egypt. Here is the scripture that details this information.

Exodus 12:1-14:
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
Exo 12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Exo 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Exo 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Exo 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Exo 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Exo 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Exo 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.
Exo 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Exo 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

As I study this event and how it was to be observed "throughout your generations" I cringe. No, I am repulsed by it.

The Passover was instituted to redeem the firstborn of man and beast. Failure to do so meant death to them.

Consider: a lamb was to be taken on the tenth day by each household, or according to the number of people in it - if your household was too small, you could share it with a neighbor. This lamb was to be with the family and then four days later killed, roasted and eaten. Now think about that a minute: you take a lamb - and they make dear pets, trust me, I have done it - and then kill it and eat it! What person could do THAT without any feelings of repulsion or sorrow? Children would find it very hard to eat what has become something like a pet. (A lamb requires care and feeding by a human being if the mother is absent. You cannot turn it out to pasture and expect it to fend for itself, it is too helpless.)

Jesus is called the Lamb of God. Is it any wonder that as Jesus was hanging on the cross that God turned his back on Him? He could not stand to see it? God was repulsed as well.

This entire sacrifice highlights to us the awfulness of sin, the cost of redemption paid for us. How well do we appreciate Jesus' sacrifice for our redemption?

QUOTE:
"Indeed, many statisticians have declared that the observance of the dietary laws has greatly contributed to the longevity and physical as well as moral power of the Jewish race"

Ah, and not only the Jewish people, the entire western world...will talk more about this later.

I have read accounts of isolated people who acquired a copy of the WORD. After reading it diligently, they applied the principles delineated therein. Years pass, and then a westerner happens upon them, surprised to find a culture that was orderly and clean. Upon investigation they were told what had happened. Ah...the effect of WORD, can we ever underestimate its power?

PS: I wrote another insight to share but after writing most of it, felt in spirit I needed to delete it (I did before I submitted it). I want to stay away from doctrine as much as possible although that will be hard to do. At the moment allow it to suffice that as I understand the sacrifices as detailed in the OT law, we have it so easy...are we grateful for the Lamb of God?

The insight I am sharing today is one that begs to be posted...It is as though its importance is such that I have no rest until it is done.

I first became aware of it in Bible School when Bro. Willard Mayer (I think it was) shared this in some OT study. Then I was somewhat amused, amazed, but never deviated from the wonder, the wisdom of it. So let us take a look.
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Deuteronomy 23:13-14:

Deu 23:13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Deu 23:14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

COMMENT: Simply put - it means that you should carry a shovel with you when you are out and about so when you have to relieve yourself, you are to dig a hole, do your job and then cover it with the soil, like cats do. Why? Because God wants the camp to be clean and holy. Ever consider that cleanness and holiness are connected?

Today we have restrooms everywhere and people are expected to use them. You could get arrested if seen to deposit body waste in public places not designated for its acceptance. Do we understand how this principle promotes health? Allow me to share a couple stories.

Dorthy Clarke Wilson wrote in "Granny Brand" the story of Jesse and Evelyn Brand's ministry to the Indian people at Tamil Nadu, India beginning in the early 1900s. These people were infected with the Guinea worm (guinea worms grow several feet long under a person’s skin) which she almost eradicating from their countryside by introducing the building and use of latrines. You see, this worm was spread by people stepping in human feces which was infected with the worm that somehow attached to the human skin and worked its way under it.

Another: Recently a family from our church visited Bangladesh. They were horrified at the prevailing unsanitary conditions there. People pooped anywhere, its disposal was of no importance, the stench was overwhelming. This brother said this country will never rise above the poverty that exists there until the sewer issue is addressed and worked on. After hearing his evaluation of the situation I had to wonder if God had not turned away from the people there because he says here in Deut. 23:14: "that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee" - I do not know, but do wonder.

In any case, are we not amazed at God's desire for cleanliness? Moderns have discovered how it promotes health...

Who would have guessed this principle of sanitation was first introduced in the OT law?

Leviticus 6:1-5 NASB

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion,

3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do;

4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found,

5 or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering.

COMMENT:

I find this law very interesting.

Basically what it is saying is that of you stole anything from anyone, be it by robbery, embezzling, fraud, or whatever you were required by law to repay it PLUS a 20%. hmmmm...

In Luke 19:1-10 is the story of Zaccheus. Here it is:
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich.

3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.

5 When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”

6 And he hurried and came down and received Him gladly.

7 When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

8Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.

10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

We do not know how long Zaccheus was in the company of Jesus, but it apparently was not long. However long it was, it did not take much until he was convicted of his sin of thievery. He declared that not only will he repay the victims but he will repay 400%! wow! This is far above and beyond what the OT law required. Not only that, he did it voluntarily without any legal persuasion or threat of fines. He did it because he had met Jesus. He saw in Him someone who was so holy that it evoked a repentant attitude, change of heart where he delighted in making restitution to those wronged.

How Jesus loved Zaccheus response! He said, "“Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham." We rarely find Jesus complimenting anyone and here he gave the most wonderful compliment ever.

I like to imagine the impact Zaccheus had on his community when he went about repaying people he had defrauded. Think about that a while - let it be like a popcorn kernel stuck in your teeth!

The law said to repay the amount stolen plus 20%...when Zaccheus repaid he paid the amount taken PLUS 400%! This went far above and beyond what the law required.

Now, I wonder, if and when we are convicted are we as eager to make restitution as Zaccheus did?

Leviticus 4:3-12, et al NASB
a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
4‘He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the LORD.
5‘Then the anointed priest is to take some of the blood of the bull and bring it to the tent of meeting,
6and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
7‘The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the tent of meeting; and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.
8‘He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull of the sin offering: the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails,
9and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys
10(just as it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering.
11‘But the hide of the bull and all its flesh with its head and its legs and its entrails and its refuse,
12that is, all the rest of the bull, he is to bring out to a clean place outside the camp where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.

COMMENT:

I posted this scripture to illustrate my insight for today.

When I read of the detail, the exactness God expected of his people in the offering of these sacrifices, I am, by turns, annoyed, then exasperated with its redundancy: why so much detail? why is it important?

Years ago I felt led by the Holy Spirit to study Numbers. Initially, I questioned this prompting, but proceeded to do so. After I got into it I saw something that became very real to me: God is a God of the smallest details. He is an exacting Being in every sense of the word. If he is so exacting and cares about the smallest detail in how one is to worship him, does He not also care about the smallest detail in my life? Is He not aware of the smallest detail in my life? 1Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our cares up him for he cares for us. How much is 'all'?

One can look to nature to see this guiding principle operating. Actually, absolutely nothing in this universe is working haphazardly - all is finely tuned to work together. On the human level this principle is operating as well. I used to enjoy watching a combine (harvester that cuts grains) run. I was always amazed at all the pulleys, belts here and there making this and that another part cut, shake, turn, pull - all to harvest the grain. Now this harvester was not invented over-night but evolved with time, men improving, bettering previous improvements and it is still going on - farmers even use GPS to farm their fields!

With God, he made everything, taking six days to do it. Such detail - all made to work together in harmony. Man cannot single-handedly, or with a couple other people, even begin to accomplish much in six days.

Somehow, the longer I type the more I become overwhelmed with the greatness of God and how little I am! So small, so ignorant....now why do I find it so hard to cast all of my cares upon a God who is so much greater and bigger then me?

Greetings ginnyrose

you wrote:Somehow, the longer I type the more I become overwhelmed with the greatness of God and how little I am! So small, so ignorant....now why do I find it so hard to cast all of my cares upon a God who is so much greater and bigger then me?

________

These exact thoughts have been on my mind so often. I too find myself thinking and feeling the same way. I am nothing, and know nothing and yet in pride and self I try to do things my own way..."Forgive me LORD JESUS!"

Thank you for sharing your heart in this thread, I am learning much from it.

God Bless
mary

Leviticus 11:

1The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,
2“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth.
3‘Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. 4‘Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you.
5‘Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;
6the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;
7and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. 8‘You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

9‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat.
10‘But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you,
11and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. 12‘Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you.

Avoid the Unclean

13‘These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14and the kite and the falcon in its kind, 15every raven in its kind, 16and the ostrich and the owl and the sea gull and the hawk in its kind, 17and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture, 19and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

20‘All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you.
21‘Yet these you may eat among all the winged insects which walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth.
22‘These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and the devastating locust in its kinds, and the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds.
23‘But all other winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you.

24‘By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening,
25and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
26‘Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof but do not make a split hoof, or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27‘Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening,
28and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.

29‘Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds,
30and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand reptile, and the chameleon.
31‘These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.
32‘Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article of which use is made—it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean.
33‘As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel.
34‘Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean, and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean.
35‘Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you. 36‘Nevertheless a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean.
37‘If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean. 38‘Though if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

39‘Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening.
40‘He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

41‘Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten.
42‘Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable.
43‘Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44‘For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.
45‘For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

46This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth,
47to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

COMMENT: This chapter deserves several postings of insights...

We are aware these laws of clean and unclean creatures no longer apply to us on this side of the new Covenant. But there are powerful lessons here still.

Consider the birds who feed on carrion. While they can be eaten by humans without incurring the wrath of God, they may not be eaten without incurring the disgust of man! Seriously, I am told turkey buzzard flesh stinks - they feed on dead animals. If you see buzzards circling overhead you know they are smelling a dead animal and are feeding on it - and it has to ripe, too!

In nature it is desirable to not eat these creatures because they are essential in keeping the countryside clean of dead animals. The insects are slow in digesting these carcasses so it is important there are other creatures that will hasten the process. Just think: if there would be no creatures that would eat dead animals how they would foul up the environment. Since this is the case God was so very wise in making their flesh undesirable for human consumption although it is allowable. We by nature will not touch it IF there is other food available.

More to come...Lord willing.

QUOTE:
"I am nothing, and know nothing and yet in pride and self I try to do things my own way..."Forgive me LORD JESUS!"

Sister, you have a lot of company - many can relate..

Leviticus 11:25,28,40
25 and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

28 and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.

40 ‘He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

COMMENT:

It seems as though the oftener I look at this chapter the more insights I get...the one I will share today is not the one I noticed before reading this morning.

Washing. If any had an physical contact with any carcass of an unclean animal, they were unclean all day and had to wash themselves and their clothes at the evening to render themselves clean once again.

What makes us dirty? What can I do that makes me feel so dirty inside?

I used to milk cows twice a day. We had a modern dairy barn where these cows were fed and milked. While in there they allowed nature to empty their bladders and bowels which rendered the air smelly. This, of course, penetrated anything nearby, including me. I used to say I did not care how smelly I got, how much I stank as long as there was soap and water available to clean myself afterwards. A shower and a complete change of clothes rendered me smelling nice and sweet. Ahh...the power of water [and soap].

In John 4:14: "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Ahhh...the cleansing power of the WORD that dwells within.

2Corinthians 6:17 "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you," this scripture is more to the point. A few verses above he discussed one being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Doing so will contaminate one.

How do we get clean after being contaminated by an 'unclean' action? Is it not by shedding anything on/in our body that was touched by the unclean? Is it not by immersing ourselves daily in the WORD of God and allowing it to fill our heart, soul and mind, allow it to shape our opinions, our wants, desires, goals?

Washing. Am I daily washing my soul, spirit and heart by the Water of the WORD?

All these unclean animals - quite a list, but will limit my comments to a few of them.

When I read this through a few weeks ago, I laughed, thought how funny it was that by nature we women hate MICE, roaches, bugs, et al. If we see a mouse we will work to kill that thing NOW or ASAP! And woe if we ever see a dead one or see their deposits (yes, poop) in drawers like tea towels, kitchen utensils. We feel compelled to wash and wash it all. Yuk!

Where does this loathing for these creatures come from? Ever thought about it?

Or, how about rats? Now this belongs to the realm of men vs rats - it gets to be a full blown battle for them. If you have livestock, rats will love your grain, eat it and soon you will have a thriving population of rats in your barn - if not killed. They will burrow tunnels under your concrete complicating the battle even more. (You can try gassing them like our son did - never did learn how many died..) They are repugnant creatures not to mention how their feed consumption will cut into your profits.

Ever seen pics of Indian (in India) children with rats eating grain? Somehow, this idea and fact repulses. It almost seems demonic, if you want to describe it such.

Since God has placed within our hearts a repulsion for these creatures, is there a physical reason why this is so? Is God working to protect our physical well-being by getting us to hate these things? Science has taught us that rats, mice carry insects that will jump onto man, spreading deadly diseases. I do not know how many more of these unclean animals could potentially be the purveyors of diseases.

As one reads, studies these laws is it not amazing how we moderns do these things but never give it a thought to the origin of these concepts?

I can understand why God has cleansed these unclean animals. One only has to read and study the life of those imprisoned for their faith - like Sabrina Wurmbrand - who ate mice, rats (?) for lack of proper food. One could say God provided them with this source of food for their body.

Ahhh, do we not see how God was interested in maintaining the health of his people by teaching them to detest some creatures because they do carry vermin that threatens their physical well-being?

God loves us so much- do we appreciate His WORD and how it teaches us so much?

Hi Ginny,
Love this little section on OT gems. It is a wonder that we can find so much in the OT when a soul diligently seeks it out. He is good beyond all our ways and means of doing things. There is a little book called 'None of These Diseases' in which the writers go along some of the same lines you are going. It's a great read!
I was just reading the first chapter in which they are talking about leprosy and how for hundreds of years the cure was unknown, and it was not until the 19th century that doctors finally figured out it was an infection and quarantined people that had leprosy, "put them outside the camp," that this leprosy was finally nearly unknown of in Norway. Amazing, His law still works today!

However, also thinking about how these people decided to "finally listen to their preachers and carefully follow the biblical rules." How true it is today in following our Lord, in following His strict example that has been set out and laid out before us.

Anyways, thanks for posting these thoughts from the OT.

I have also read the book "None of These Diseases" many years ago which helped to open my eyes to the practical aspect of the law.

The restriction of separating people with infectious diseases is something most people will now do to contain its spread. And when was it that scientists discovered THAT?

The OT law was far ahead of modern scientific knowledge, was it not?

Ginny,

Thank you for this thread. It is a breath of fresh air.

Have a blessed day! May you see God's fingerprints in it!
REJOICE! =)
Mary

Leviticus 12

Laws of Motherhood

1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: ‘When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of her menstruation she shall be unclean.

3‘On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4‘Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed.

5‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days.

6‘When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.

7‘Then he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female.

8‘But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

COMMENT:

I just love this chapter! So many practical lessons here. Having said this I want to reiterate that the observance of it does not impact our salvation one way or another. But what can we learn from it? Let us take a look. This law pertains to females - I suspect males won't care one way or another...so here goes, ladies!

The law stipulated that a woman who gave birth will be unclean for a certain number of days as in her menstruation. After that she will still be unclean for a period of time but is not to touch any thing that is consecrated. The days of being unclean varied whether the child was a male or female.

Anyhow.

What does this look like in life?

It means that after birthing a child a mother is to be quiet, limit her activities including the cooking, washing of clothes, caring for the family. Instead she is to focus on caring for her baby and allow her body to heal from this episode of birthing - I promise you this is a traumatic event for a physical body.

My generation, I was born in 1947, was told that we can do whatever we want when 'flowing', that it is not necessary to be 'quiet' in our activities like our mothers had taught us. The same philosophy was applied to a new mother. Many did this. After birthing they were up, about, shopping, running the household like nothing happened. And the result?

In todays' world most women my age and many younger have had hysterectomies because of excessive bleeding OR because of over-energetic OB-GYNs, not sure which. But this used to not be the case. What happened? I am convinced it is because mothers failed to take proper care of their bodies after birthing a child or when they were flowing - after all there was a loss of blood every month or so.

When I was a young woman birthing children it was painful - I hurt - was forced to take it easy. And that was nice, actually, just sit around, care for the baby and let others fend for themselves, for once. (I am not sure I was aware of this principle as written here - I did it because mom did.)
To this day neither me nor my mom have had hysterectomies and both of us have gone through menopause without the use of drugs. (Oh, sure I had hot flashes which provided my husband with funny stories!)

OK, now let us take a look at the time a mother had to spend with her baby. We see the time of her 'uncleanness' varied with the gender of her child. This amount of time will result in a bonding between the child and the mother. The fact that a mother was unclean longer after birthing a girl seems significant and makes one wonder why. I suggest that it is to enhance the bonding of the mother with her daughter. In pagan cultures girls were readily discarded because they placed a low value on her. This bonding of mom with child will go a LONG way to prevent this from happening. She will not want to see her child suffer - you hurt her daughter and you have an angry woman on your hands - for justifiable reasons!

Did God care about the physical welfare of women? I think so. He gave these laws forcing women to care for themselves otherwise they would likely have done what moderns do - go do their own thing regardless because they felt good and never considered they will be harming their bodies and buying discomfort in the future.

I think God really loves women. Don't you? I sense his warm smile, don't you?

Leviticus 13,14 - laws dealing with Leprosy.

Due to the length of these chapters, I will forgo coping it here. But I would encourage any who reads this post to read it

I find this law fascinating for several reasons:
1. There must be an accurate diagnoses made
2. The victim is isolated until this diagnoses is certain.
3. The religious leaders were knowledgeable of skin diseases and other natural occurring disorders.

And the result:
1. Even if it is not leprosy, isolating the victim will result in containment of the disease most of the time.
2. The law of sanitation rules in halting the spread of disease.

The rule concerning 'leprosy' in/on a building is a fascinating one. If it cannot be cleaned, it is to be destroyed. When a building (house) is infected with mold, it is very hard to get rid of. This law commands that when it fails to respond to treatment it is to be destroyed.

It is an establish fact that many persons are very sensitive to mold. When it occurs in the dwelling, it will sicken its occupants.

Now, who knew how up-to-date the OT law is? These rules of sanitation, isolation are the rule in the treatment of diseases. How long has it been since this became the norm for modern life?

by ginnyrose on 2012/2/8 8:09:56

I have also read the book "None of These Diseases" many years ago which helped to open my eyes to the practical aspect of the law.

The restriction of separating people with infectious diseases is something most people will now do to contain its spread. And when was it that scientists discovered THAT?

The OT law was far ahead of modern scientific knowledge, was it not?

Ginnyrose, you are doing exactly what God instructed the Hebrews when He gave them The Mosaic Laws on creatures not to eat. The word that is traditional translated into 'obey', does not mean obey.

The Hebrew word I am referring to is 'shama', shama actually means: to hear intelligently.

In your posts, you are giving us intelligent reasons as to why it is not good to eat certain foods God banned. Though in the New Covenant (Contract with God) there is no Law against eating these creatures, meaning that we do not lose our salvation by eating them, but we are likely going to get sick.

Though not mentioned in the OT Law, but for 'intelligent reasons' (shama) we are intelligently aware that we ought not eat any fish that contains mercury.

I'm enjoying reading your posts this thread.

QUOTE:
"The Hebrew word I am referring to is 'shama', shama actually means: to hear intelligently."

Appreciate your sharing this. I know the concept was in the NT but was unaware of this definition of 'shama'. Now we do have a specific instructions to be students of the entire word of God, including the OT! Of course, we know Timothy was instructed study the WORD but what is often not understood is that the NT canon was not yet written for wide spread reading and consumption.

Thanks for this insight...

Leviticus 15 - The Cleansing Unhealthiness

Washings, washings...cleanliness is commanded. Ever notice how clean Christians are naturally?

As I look at this chapter, I notice how they were commanded to take seriously bodily fluids and its disposal of them. Be unclean, and then wash, wash...

This is our lifestyle is it not? And how many knew it was initially commanded in the OT law?

Lord willing, I will be leaving tomorrow for a funeral. I will not have access to the web during this time. If others wish to continue posting insights, I think it would be wonderful. Otherwise, I plan to take up the task after I return home.

God bless.

ginnyrose

Leviticus 9:23-10:7 - Sons of Aaron offer Strange Fire

23 Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.

24 Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

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.

3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying,‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy,
And before all the people I will be honored.’”
So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.

4 Moses called also to Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp.”

5 So they came forward and carried them still in their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had said.

6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you will not die and that He will not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which the LORD has brought about.

7 “You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for the LORD’S anointing oil is upon you.” So they did according to the word of Moses.

COMMENT:

Earlier I had passed over this portion knowing it is profound in doctrine. The type and shadows contained therein are so deep I was not inclined to touch it. Saturday when I looked at it I was so moved and since then believed I should at least comment on it.

God lit the fire for the sacrifices to be used in the tabernacle. As I understand it - do not have the time to look up the scriptures that will inform us of this fact - this fire was to never go out, but they were to keep it burning at all times.

Fire is essential to life - we learned this in grade school science. It provides heat, power and cleanses. It is no hapstance that God uses fire as an integral part of ones worship to Him. In the OT it was essential in the offering of sacrifices - can not be done without it. On the day of Pentecost God poured out his Spirit on 120 persons and tongues of fire rested on each of them. Once again we see the use of fire - in this case it was symbolic of the fire God used to light the sacrifice on the altar - it was God's seal of approval of this sacrifice offered, this time being the 120 gathered in the upper room.

It appears that Nadab and Abihu did not reverence the seriousness of the fire and met God's judgement in their improvising the offering of sacrifice[s].

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for us today. "No man cometh to the Father but by Me" is his declaration. How many work to subvert the importance of this fact? How many work to supplant the work of the Holy Spirit with psychology or whatever? Do we? Is it not by the mercy of God that we have not been struck dead when we have ignored and rendered the importance of Jesus' work on the cross by going our own way?

How much do we reverence the work of the Holy Spirit in our life - allow it to cleanse us, empower us, convict us? God will not accept a substitute for his Spirit or His commands. While we may not be struck dead as these priests were there is an eternal fire ahead.

(I found this article by A.W. Pink on the web discussing "Strange Fire" that may be an edifying read. Here is the link: http://www.eternallifeministries.org/awp_fire.htm )

As I look at this incident where God struck Aarons' sons dead with fire I see lessons...

Aaron was not allowed to mourn over God's judgement on his sons. Now think about that! What if this was you, how would you respond?

Do we see today God's judgement upon sin? Sure, if we allow ourselves to admit it. Consider STDs - this is an easy one. How do we react when one becomes infected? The afflicted may blame God for his malady and will you join him/her in their pity party OR will urge him/her to repent? In joining them are we not siding with the devil against God?

When a body chooses a path of rebellion do we work to soften its consequences or do we wait until there is repentence forthcoming before we kill the fatted calf and feed them? (I pray that I will not interfer in God's working with sinful men.)

This fact becomes a sticky issue when dealing with sinful society in rendering them humantarian aide. It requires a lot of wisdom is knowing how God can be best honored when these situations occur. AND this is why we need the infilling of the Holy Spirit to direct us. We need to OBEY him and not improvise when direction is given contrary to our own logic.

God is holy. Do we reverence him in our hearts and minds as being so holy that he is not to be dishonored? If God were to send judgement immediately as he did on Nadab and Abihu where would we be? Dead, I am sure. Do we appreciate the mercy of God in our life?

About 3,500 years ago there were two Israelites that were very special men. What made them special? Their experience and their lineage.

This was their experience:
They had witnessed the Lord bring 10 plagues down on the Egyptians and deliver His people out of Egypt with His mighty hand. They had stood and seen the Red Sea part so that Israel could walk across on dry land. They witnessed the Red Sea come back together and swallow up the pursuing armies. Everyday they ate bread out of heaven and drank pure water that came from a rock - supernatural provision by God to meet their daily needs. These two very special men followed the physical presence of God - a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They stood with the nation at Mt. Sinai and received the law. They were selected by God to come into His presence along with Moses and Aaron and seventy of the elders of Israel. They beheld God with their eyes and ate and drank in His presence. That was the experience of these two special men.

This was their lineage:
They were descendants of Abraham of the tribe of Levi and the two oldest sons of Aaron, the high priest of Israel. Out of the loins of the oldest should have descended all of the high priests for the next 1,500 years. These two men were consecrated and ordained unto the Lord in the presence of the whole nation. They were part of a perpetual priesthood to God.

These two special men, Nadab and Abihu, with all their great experience and lineage, had what seemed to them to be a great idea. They would do something for God. They would serve him in a novel way. They took their respective firepans and after putting fire in them, placed incense on them and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded of them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them and they died before the Lord. That's right. God killed them for their great idea and wanting to serve Him in their own way. Even with their great lineage and experience, God snuffed them out.

Did God not know who these men were? Did He not know that they were Aaron's sons. Yes, He knew all of that but it did not matter to Him. God is not a respecter of persons and will have things done in His way, and His time and is not interested in "My Ministry". He is interested in transformation, in the inner man. He is not interested in your ministry, at least not nearly as much as He is interested in you. Before there can ever be a proper ministry, there must be a proper vessel. There are many "vessels" today doing "God's work", who have have never let Him do His most important work, in THEM.

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=35279&forum=34&1

QUOTE:
"Did God not know who these men were? Did He not know that they were Aaron's sons. Yes, He knew all of that but it did not matter to Him. God is not a respecter of persons and will have things done in His way, and His time and is not interested in "My Ministry". He is interested in transformation, in the inner man. He is not interested in your ministry, at least not nearly as much as He is interested in you. Before there can ever be a proper ministry, there must be a proper vessel. There are many "vessels" today doing "God's work", who have have never let Him do His most important work, in THEM."

If anybody forgets everything else on this thread, I do hope they will remember this: God is NOT a respecter of persons. All of our 'good deeds' will not compensate for disobedience.

Glad you posted this pilgrim. You said it so well.

Leviticus 16:31:
31“It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.

COMMENT:

One finds in the OT numerous Sabbaths the people were to observe.

Here in this verse we read the purpose of this Sabbath: Solemn rest so you can humble your souls. Rest from work is essential to take inventory of ones standing before God. It is a time when God will speak more clearly because you have prepared your soul to hear and listen.

Modern Christianity has decided that observing the Lord's Day is a non-essential for victorious Christian living. But is it not revealing how misguided this concept is? Since then modern Christians have taken up up eastern forms of meditation, contemplation in its stead.

While the NT does not direct us to observe as many Sabbaths as they were commanded under the OT law, I do find interesting parallels in the NT.

Jesus would go up into the mountain to pray - spending all night there. Paul instructs Timothy to "Study to show thy self approved unto God..."

Can I afford to run through my days without spending time alone with God? A time when I shut off all cares and focus on Him? Many are the testimonies of Christians who got so caught up in the busyness of life where their time with God was neglected only to find themselves faced with unexpected obstacles. But when time is devoted to God, the day runs smoothly? If this is what happens when you spend a half-hour a day with the LORD, what would happen if you spent more time, like one day a week?

These times of rest mandated by God were not for his benefit, but for ours. In the busyness of life with times getting meaner and uncertain, how much more should it behoove us to get close to the LORD and abide in his presence? When we read and study the WORD it will teach our soul, our mind in how to respond to situations we are confronted with during the course of the day - takes a lot of vexation out of living.

Leviticus 17:10-16 - The Value of Blood

10‘And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.

11‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’

12 “Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any alien who sojourns among you eat blood.’

13 “So when any man from the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

14 “For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

15 “When any person eats an animal which dies or is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or an alien, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening; then he will become clean.

16 “But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

COMMENTS:

Blood. Awesome subject; challenging subject.

Many years ago I was preparing to teach a class of sisters and the subject was the crucifixion of Jesus. I was at a loss to know how I can teach it - after all, all of us have known this story all our lives. What can I say that would inspire them even more?

While I was mulling this dilemma, the Holy Spirit led me to focus on the "Blood". I took my Bible and Strong's Concordance and beginning in Genesis I read every verse and its context where the word was mentioned. I went all the way through the OT until I came to the NT. By that time I understood well the meaning behind the concept of "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." If you are interested in doing a study that results in a feeling of "WOW!" repeatedly, I suggest you do the same.

Let us take a look.

Life is in the blood. No brainer, you say. But how long have moderns known this? Remember reading in history books how doctors used to bleed people who were afflicted with certain ailments? or how they used leeches to accomplish this task? They were draining the life of a body! In fact some would suggest George Washington's death was hastened by this very procedure used to treat him.

Or, remember reading how surgeons' work was radically changed once they realized the importance of cleanliness, washing of themselves and their instruments after performing a surgery? Washing, cleansing of the body and its environment whatever was contaminated with blood...

Is it not fascinating how man's disregard for blood gets him into trouble?

Life is in the blood. Can we understand how sacred this really is? How it needs to treated with respect and honor? How its presence outside of its home is to be carefully discarded, or protected?

Blood carries life to all the cells in the body. In its circulation, it also carries impurities out of it by going through the liver, the kidneys and stored in the bladder with water until released.

Perhaps there is a medical professional here that will want to expand on the value of the blood in the body to teach us lessons on how it applies to the spiritual?

While Christians have a high respect for blood, consider the disrespect shown it by people involved in demonically inspired music, movies, etc. Mocking. I cringe, don't you?

Life is in the blood - how do I respect this principle? Is it an afterthought that the apostles instructed Gentiles to not eat blood? or from things strangled - they were not bled properly.

Life is in the blood. How do I understand Jesus' own blood being spilled for me? He gave his LIFE so I can be redeemed, bought back. He hurt, it was painful. It killed him. Where does this put me?

Consider this song:

1 What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain:

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

2 For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

3 Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

4 This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

5 Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

6 Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Leviticus 18:1-18 NASB
1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.

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.

4‘You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God.

5‘So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the LORD.

6‘None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the LORD. 7‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness.

8‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.

9‘The nakedness of your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether born at home or born outside, their nakedness you shall not uncover.

10‘The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, their nakedness you shall not uncover; for their nakedness is yours.

11‘The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, born to your father, she is your sister, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

12‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is your father’s blood relative.

13‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister, for she is your mother’s blood relative.

14‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s brother; you shall not approach his wife, she is your aunt.

15‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son’s wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness.
16‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife; it is your brother’s nakedness.

17‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, nor shall you take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; they are blood relatives. It is lewdness.

18‘You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.

COMMENT:

When I first looked at this portion I thought of stopping at v.5. However, when I read on, I noticed there is a serious connection between the first five verses with the ones following.

The conclusion in verse five is that a person will live if he follows God's statues and judgments and then he comes along and defines a few of them. This has to do with relations between the sexes. We are all aware of how much grief there is caused by violating these principles or laws.

When I read verses 6-18 I am unsure of whether God is defining incest or is he saying who you may NOT marry. As I mull this question over, I decided it may be both. What lends itself to this conclusion is the mindset of those in ungodly cultures. There the male relatives will think nothing of violating their female relatives. They think they have every right to their bodies to do as they will. And then woe on the girl if she conceives! She may find herself six feet under! In any case, sex between family members may result in conception and then what? The family unit will eventually be destroyed.

In the verses 7-18 God is saying you may not have sex with any relatives. Period!

Who are the relatives that are off limits?

1. Father - child
2. Step parent - child
3. Between Siblings, including half or step brother or sister.
4. Grandparent - grandchild
5. Aunts - nephew
6. Uncles - nieces, or nephews
7. Father - daughter-in-law
8. Male - to sister-in-law - a woman and her daughter
9. Male - to any female relative

If we consider these relations to be referring to people you are NOT to marry, what do we see? We do not marry our close relatives. No brainer, you say? Of course. Ever consider the consequences of violating this principle?

Ever hear of a closed community that consists chiefly of family members? This community is not reaching out and marrying others, but only marry cousins generation after generation. They became weak. Children are afflicted with genetic weaknesses that kill. I know of a couple communities like this. Intermarrying with relatives in generation after generation will result in the weakening of the people, hastening their demise as a family. Unless it is stopped, they will end up killing themselves - no one left to keep on populating the world.

Perhaps this is the whole thrust of this law - the preservation of the human species, literally. And we are not even talking about the emotional, spiritual level. Just the physical.

And it has only been in recent years that scientists have made the connection of problems inherent to the inbreeding between close relatives.

"Do this and thou shalt live" can be understood literally.

Leviticus 18:19 NASB

19‘Also you shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during her menstrual impurity.

COMMENT:

I find in this law God's intense love for women. He made it a law that the husband/man of a wife is to respect her during menstruation. Leave her alone (sexually). In another place we are told that she is unclean. Combining all these elements means a woman is to be protected during this time of the month. It will preserve her strength for the rest of the month and protect her from infections as well.

In looking for a verse in the prophets that details God's anger at the husbands for violating this law (I could not find it, unfortunately) I found this verse in Exekiel 35:6: "....will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee." Is it possible that when males violate this command about women that it will work to harden them against the sacredness of blood, how it is to be revered, respected? That this will cause them to become blood thirsty? Just a thought...

In any case, when critics of the OT law/Christians declare the Scriptures are hard on women, I find in the law the opposite! It works to protect women. Are we so spiritual today that we find these principles useless because of the New Covenant?

Leviticus 18:2-30 NASB

20‘You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her.

21‘You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.

22‘You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

23‘Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.

24‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.

25‘For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.

26‘But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you 27(for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled);

28so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you.

29‘For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people.

30‘Thus you are to keep My charge, that you do not practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves with them; I am the LORD your God.’”

COMMENT:

After posting comment on the verses preceding this portion, I got stuck. The insights for this section are all over the map; how can I corral them into a any thing readable and understandable? and keeping it short? Can't.

In this portion we see God's laws concerning sexual conduct that is prohibited:

1. Adultery, v 20
2. Homosexuality, v 22
3. Bestiality, v 23

AND

4. Human sacrifice, v 21

Is it not insightful that human sacrifice is listed right along with sexual misconduct? Can you have one without the others' presence?

Consider who this law applies to:
1. You, the Jew, v 26
2. The native, v 26
3. The alien who travels among you, v 26

These sins are not to be practiced by anyone around you. Violation of these laws will result in the land's expulsion of them out of the area. Ezekiel delineates this in his book - he explains God's wrath upon the people for their violation of these laws [plus others].

The law stipulates that violators are to be cut off from the people. Further on we read how this was to be done under the OT law. But what about today?

Ephesians 5:3: "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints". How can this become a reality in our own brotherhood? Why is it that immorality is being embraced in the name of 'love' among people who call themselves Christians? Does Romans 1 provide us with the answer? Let us take a look...

Romans 1:18-32 (NASB)
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and 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.

28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Do these sins worm their way into the consciousnesses via suppressing the truth in one's mind? Does this not occur when we compromise? It does not occur overnight, does it? but bit by bit - it being a gradual process.

Where am I in this mix?

QUOTE:
"The law stipulates that violators are to be cut off from the people. Further on we read how this was to be done under the OT law. But what about today?"

Referring to immorality which evoked the most severe judgment of God...What about today?

We see little of the kind of government upheavals in the western world as Israel experienced...or do we but do not recognize it? People were killed and those that were lucky to survive were either exiled or left behind to eke out a living from a countryside whose economy was destroyed but is now ruled by an enemy government.

May I suggest that we do see the judgement of God still meted out but it is primarily on the individual level. Scripture informs us that the wages of sin is death. Many people today are experiencing death, loss of health because of sin.

Immorality produces its own judgment in the form of STD's. They kill - your health, primarily. They can render you infertile. There are many young females who have had hysterectomies because of STDs. They will never be able to have children. Or, how about AIDS? It literally kills its victims, maybe not immediately, but eventually. It also poisons the minds, renders a body crazy.

It is not insightful that God included in this mix human sacrifice - where young children were killed as an offering to their idols. Is this just hap-stance? Does immorality not involve human sacrifice? Maybe not on an altar but on the surgical table of some woman's clinic. People breed irresponsibly and occasionally an unwanted conception occurs, so "let us just kill it", is the modern mindset.

And the country is beset by crime at every turn. Is this not a form of God's judgment?

What is dreadfully sad is when 'Christian' people capitulate to the modern mindset concerning these issues and declare one must keep up with the times. Is it not time God's people get more aggressive and speak out? (I admire Kirk Cameron's boldness.:-))

OK, I am preaching to the choir, here, I know. But I also know the choir likely has loved ones caught in this whorl of deception and need encouragement to stand true and not give in. You will be mocked and scorned, but know that if you stay faithful, in a hundred years you will be ever so glad. And what is a few years of suffering here compared to all eternity in heaven with the LORD?

Let us press on, because victory is a-coming...

Leviticus 19:1-8 NASB

1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

2“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

3‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.

4‘Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the LORD your God.

5‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

6‘It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire.

7‘So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted.

8‘Everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

COMMENTS:

NOTE: Today I make a foray into the doctrinal, something I am reluctant to do. But I am finding something that may be insightful into a perplexing NT question found in Hebrews 10:26.

There is a lot one could comment on this portion but today I am going to focus on this phrase, "will bear his iniquity".

One finds this phrase frequenting in Leviticus. What does it mean? I have looked at it and decided it must be the the equivalent of "he shall bear the consequences of his actions." Seems lame, perhaps...how would you understand this?

In this case the law is addressing one who eats an offering that got too old. Eating it would provoke an expulsion from the Jewish community. There apparently was no remedy, or sacrifice one could offer to atone for this sin.

On the practical level one could determine the offender was putting himself at risk for food poisoning. (Understanding this verse put me at ease to throw food away that has gotten too old!) God is saying that under no circumstances is one to risk getting food poisoning because he ate food that was offered to HIM! You get sick - your problem! I want nothing to do with you!

Hebrews10:26-27 it says:

26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.

I have asked many preachers from different theological persuasions the meaning of verse 26 and most just wished I had not asked that question! Really! They do not know, or at least they act like it. It sounds so bad it seems they do not want to admit how serious it is because of the verses following:

28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”

31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

What think ye? Serious? Yet how serious do we take the call to holiness? 1Peter 1:15,16: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Are we holy? Do the enemies of God regard us as holy? Stumped? Yes.

Lord, be merciful to me...

The point of this recent post is how serious do we take deliberate, planned out sin?

For a person to eat old food, involves a deliberate decision: eat it or not? To go ahead mean expulsion from the community and there is no sacrifice one can offer to atone for it.

When we come to the LORD, we are faced with many decisions, including those involving sin. Do we plan on sinning and asking God to forgive us later on? the Hebrew writer tells us there remains no more sacrifice for sin.

I have had clients tell me they are going to abort/kill their child, knowing full well God prohibits it, and then come back and ask God to forgive them, believing He actually will. Well, ladies and gentleman, I have not yet met any who would say they have experienced this.

This is but one aspect of this issue of deliberate sinning, knowing full well God's will in the matter.

God bless...

As I look at this chapter, I notice the phrase "I am the LORD your God". It occurs sixteen times after giving a command in how to do or not to do as pertains to life.

When I read these instructions on how God wants them to live, I am struck with how interested he is that the Jewish people have an orderly society. I am also wondering if his instructions for life did not far surpass that of their neighbors?

In the laws listed here we read how there was to be a total respect for life - no human sacrifice by them or their alien neighbors was to be tolerated. In addition to this there was to be:

No idolatry.

Provide for the poor by allowing fruits and grains to remain in the field for the poor to gather.

Do not swear falsely. (Jesus says to not swear at all.)

Do not put a stumbling block before the blind nor cure a deaf person.

Pay your employees in a timely manner.

Do not rob your neighbor.

In judgement do not be partial at all, regardless of wealth or its lack.

Do not be a gossip.

Do not work against your neighbor: do not hate him.

Do not take any vengeance against your neighbor.

Men are not to have sex with a slave female.

No harlotry.

Fruit from a newly planted tree is not to consumed for several years. (I know that after planting some kinds of fruit tree/vine its blossoms should be removed to enhance future production.)

Do not eat anything with blood.

Do not mar the corners of your beard.

Do not make any cuttings in your body for the dead.

Do not make any tattoos in your body.

Keep His Sabbaths.

Respect the aged, "rise up before them."

Love the stranger as yourself that lives in your land.

You are to have just weights and just balances. (Today if you use a scales in your business, an inspector from the Department of Agriculture will come around to inspect it, making sure it conforms to standard weights as set by the US department of weights and measurements.)

Some of these laws of life have not been reinforced by the new covenant. However, as we look at this list, can we not take lessons on how we should love our neighbor?

God is holy, and we are called to be holy as well, 1Peter 1:15,16: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

So, then, how is God's holiness demonstrated in our interactions with our neighbors? Do they experience our love? Are we known by our integrity in our financial dealings with our employees, our neighbors? How about the poor among us? Does our life reflect dependence upon the LORD or do we look to mediums and spiritualist for insights for life?

Do the people we encounter see God in us?

Leviticus 20:9 NASB

9‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.

Mark 7:9-11 KJV

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

COMMENT:

In chapter 20 one reads under what situations capital punishment was to be meted out. As one studies this list, one can sense how God hates sin. The ones listed here are so very destructive.

I would like to focus on the the sin of rebellion in your child - the one who curses his parents. According to this law, this act, mindset earned the perpetrator death.

However, in time, religious leaders thought otherwise. Apparently they considered this too harsh because they modified this law of God to say if you pay money or whatever, you will be let off the hook!

It is this mindset that Jesus battled with the religious leaders of the day - people modifying God's law to suit their own satisfaction. This is being Pharisaical - modifying God's known will.

Have you all ever noticed that when people discredit God's law for life that they will then replace it with more laws to accommodate the fallout that results from disobedience?

Obedience may be costly, at times, but not as costly as sin.

Leviticus 20:10 NASB

10‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Jon 8:1-11 NASB

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.

3The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,

4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.

5 “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”

6 They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.

10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

COMMENT:

Under the OT law adultery was punishable by death. This is the law the Pharisees appealed to when they brought this woman to Jesus. But they were not being honest or fair nor legal because the man was not brought to Jesus, only the woman.

The law stipulated that BOTH participants were to be killed, not just one. The Pharisees said she was caught in the very act, implicating their own guilt of partiality thus violating another law dealing with partiality!

I suspect that when Jesus wrote on the ground that he quoted this law of partiality (Leviticus 19:15) and the one about both participants being subject to the death penalty.

Their response? They walked out. The woman knew she was guilty as did Jesus. But the Pharisees apparently refused to acknowledge their guilt except by walking out. And who experienced forgiveness? The woman. Jesus says, "“I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

In our sharing of the Gospel are we as diligent to share the message 'from now on sin no more'?

Are we not glad the mission of the church is not to impose the death penalty upon those who violate God's law for life? but instead offer forgiveness, redemption through the blood of Jesus?

Leviticus 20:22-24;26
22 ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.

23 ‘Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.

24 ‘Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.

26 ‘Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.

27 ‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.’”

******************************************************
2Corinthians 6:14-18 NASB

14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM;
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord.
“AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
And I will welcome you.

18 “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

COMMENT:

I am struck with the similarity between these two passages.

God called the Israelites out to be a separate people, to separate themselves from the ungodly lifestyle of non-Jewish peoples. Today he calls us to do likewise.

As I look at the OT law, consider the history of the Jewish people in their walk with the LORD, compare it with us moderns the similarities are so striking it is almost scary!

Early in their history, after they had experienced a dramatic escape from Pharaoh's tyranny the Jewish people were lured away from God by idolatry - worship of the golden calf because they did not know what became of Moses - they had put their trust in another human being instead of God. The built an altar to this golden calf and then gave way to sins of the flesh. (Idolatry = immorality.)

How many times do we put our trust in another human being and when he fails to deliver according to our expectations will we find ourselves resorting to idolatry? We are in a predicament so we look to some other sources for information that will answer our questions regarding the future. Then
with God being discredited, people feel free to pursue the unrestrained desires of the flesh, namely immorality. People take the bait and they get hooked. The resultant immorality has found its way into the modern church and feels quite comfortable there.

Is it no wonder that God's judgement upon mediums or spiritists is so severe? Is it not tragic that it is alive and well in our country? But how subtle is it?

God wants us to separate ourselves from the evil influences around us. We cannot avoid it as we mingle with people, but do we invite its presence into our homes? into our private space?

God did not change and neither has human nature...sin destroys, every-time, do not be fooled.

Ann,

Many people find the command to honor their parents difficult because they believe they do not deserve it. And they may be right, they do not deserve it, but we do not read where this command is conditional, do we? Scripture also teaches us that "fathers should not provoke their children to wrath lest they become discouraged." It is a two way street...

Still, have you not noticed that when children refuse to honor their parents their own children will follow the same pattern? If the parent was abusive, the child will also abuse his own children? Ever consider the issues at work here that perpetuate this rebellion? Ever consider there may be unresolved anger at work, destroying relationships?

One time when we were traveling, I heard a radio preacher talk on this issue: a child is commanded to honor his parent and that it is not conditional. He went on to say since all things work together for good in the life of a Believer, God allowed this abuse to happen because He sees how it will teach you something that is essential for your growth. While this may be debatable, I do find gems of truth in it that are both edifying and at the same time troubling.

QUOTE:
" ... so I came here to SI.
So far I feel as though I 'have' been to Church. I'm being ministered to."

Well, Ann, am glad you find inspiration here on SI - I do, too. The interaction of posters is awesome, iron sharpening iron...

God bless - you are a blessing, Ann.

ginnyrose

Thanks Neil for posting this link - will give it a listen once I have time - right now I am so terribly busy.

I do know the Sermon on the Mount touch on the heart of what it means to live out the Christian life. The beatitudes as been described as being "Beautiful Attitudes".

God bless.

I have been reading, meditating through Leviticus, keeping in mind the history of the Jewish people along with Jesus' ministry, I am so struck by the absoluteness of God's will.

I guess it is being reinforced by a local situation I have to grapple with: is God's WORD absolute? or do we subscribe to a philosophy that changes when my family changes in order to maintain family peace? Is God's WORD authoritative regardless of the ever-changing culture about us?

Scripture is full of "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots". It is also full of incidents of what happens when these commands are violated.

As we study the WORD, allowing it to fashion our opinions, our feelings all under the supervision of the Holy Spirit we will be transformed into His image. But it is a life-long process, this of being changed from glory to glory.

God bless. Lord willing, I hope to back with more...

Annie, there has been a lot in my background that used to anger me and I took offense. Then one day I became aware that I alone am responsible for MY own sins, not anyone elses. I cannot blame God, the devil, my family or whoever for my behaviors or my responses to unpleasant incidents. God, with the aide of his Holy Spirit through the WORD will give me the victory to live above the negatives that I have endured.

When this reality sank in, I became aware of the benefits of these negatives! There were lessons I learned for which I am so grateful even though they were wrapped in ugly packaging. I learned to accept it, knowing that these people thought they may have been doing the best under the circumstances - even though others will disagree with that. But the reality is that with the grace of God I have come to the point to not fight it, but just lay it down and be thankful the mercy and grace of God was with me still and kept me.

I also know that if life had been easy, I may not ever have seen the need for a Supreme Being to save me... See! all things do work together for good! :-)

Leviticus 23

7‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 8‘But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”

(I printed this verse to use as an illustration for the rest of the chapter.)

COMMENT:

As I study this chapter and others that deal with feasts, sabbaths, holy convocations I am astounded at how much TIME was demanded of the Jewish people in setting time apart to remember God! and what all he did for them! THIS was law!

Well....

Today we are not under this law, but we are under the one that is aptly described by one PA Dutch fellow who said, "the hurrier I go the behinder I get!"

Seriously, now...

Time. We all have the same amount; no one has more nor less then another person. What do we do with it?

As I ponder the time the Jewish people were to devote them selves to formal rituals remembering God, the time that was set aside to refrain from gainful work, I see a principle at work here in which the people were to regard time as something belonging to God. So how do we redeem the time God has given us?

We live under the NT covenant in which these formal laws were set aside. But the need for setting time aside to read, study, meditate on the pure simple WORD of God has not been set aside. As we study the WORD with the Holy Spirit inspiring us, it provides us with a brand new perspective of life and the world out there. And this is where we want to be, is it not? Is this not where we will find security in these troubled times?

Annie,

I just noticed this response - sorry I am so slow...

QUOTE:
" I never in my life have been able to raise my voice at anybody. Not in childhood nor in my adulthood,"

Since this is the case, I do wonder why you ever joined the military, went to boot camp... You told me how you went into shock when you were on the firing range and shot that gun...But then that is beside the point, really. Maybe the point is that life does not always make sense, not even the things we do! And why people do the things they do! Like you said here:

QUOTE: "surprise attacks from the enemy, from someone that we trusted or are close to. As when, someone you thought was a friend turns on you when what you're saying to them is really a compliment or something to keep them out from a snare themselves. You don't expect those type of things from those that you thought you were close to"

Yes, these incidents are no accidents in God's scheme of things, are they? People, things and physical strength will give one so much security and when they are proven to not be enduring, how do we respond?

Thanks, Annie, for sharing your insights, especially that of the chameleon. Good illustration.

Leviticus 25

The Sabbatic Year and Year of Jubilee

1The LORD then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD.
3‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop,
4but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
5‘Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year.
6‘All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you.
7‘Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.
8‘You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. 9‘You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land.
10‘You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. 11‘You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines.
12‘For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field.

13‘On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property.
14‘If you make a sale, moreover, to your friend or buy from your friend’s hand, you shall not wrong one another.
15‘Corresponding to the number of years after the jubilee, you shall buy from your friend; he is to sell to you according to the number of years of crops.
16‘In proportion to the extent of the years you shall increase its price, and in proportion to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price, for it is a number of crops he is selling to you.
17‘So you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.

18‘You shall thus observe My statutes and keep My judgments, so as to carry them out, that you may live securely on the land.
19‘Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it.
20‘But if you say, “What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?”
21then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years.
22‘When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in.

The Law of Redemption

23‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.
24‘Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

25‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.
26‘Or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption,
27then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property.
28‘But if he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his property.

29‘Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year from its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year.
30‘But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not revert in the jubilee.
31‘The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall shall be considered as open fields; they have redemption rights and revert in the jubilee.
32‘As for cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession.
33‘What, therefore, belongs to the Levites may be redeemed and a house sale in the city of this possession reverts in the jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel.
34‘But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession.

Of Poor Countrymen

35‘Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
36‘Do not take usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live with you.
37‘You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain.
38‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

39‘If a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to you that he sells himself to you, you shall not subject him to a slave’s service.
40‘He shall be with you as a hired man, as if he were a sojourner; he shall serve with you until the year of jubilee.
41‘He shall then go out from you, he and his sons with him, and shall go back to his family, that he may return to the property of his forefathers.
42‘For they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt; they are not to be sold in a slave sale.
43‘You shall not rule over him with severity, but are to revere your God.
44‘As for your male and female slaves whom you may have—you may acquire male and female slaves from the pagan nations that are around you.
45‘Then, too, it is out of the sons of the sojourners who live as aliens among you that you may gain acquisition, and out of their families who are with you, whom they will have produced in your land; they also may become your possession. 46‘You may even bequeath them to your sons after you, to receive as a possession; you can use them as permanent slaves. But in respect to your countrymen, the sons of Israel, you shall not rule with severity over one another.

Of Redeeming a Poor Man

47‘Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family,
48then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him,
49or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
50‘He then with his purchaser shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years. It is like the days of a hired man that he shall be with him.
51‘If there are still many years, he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption;
52and if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption.
53‘Like a man hired year by year he shall be with him; he shall not rule over him with severity in your sight.
54‘Even if he is not redeemed by these means, he shall still go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. 55‘For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

COMMENT:

As I read this chapter, I was so impressed! How? In chapter 23 we read of the Sabbaths, Holy Days the people were to observed which involved a lot of time off of gainful work. Now in this chapter we read how they were to relinquish their rights to property acquired and I thought: God is working to help them understand they literally are strangers and foreigners in this land and that their success is TOTALLY dependent upon their obedience to HIM - and this was before I even got to v18! I concur with the writer who said this law taught:

In Obedience and unto the honour of God this was instituted:
1. For the assertion of God's sovereign right to the land, in which the Israelites were but tenants at God's will.
2. For the trial of their obedience.
3. For the demonstration of his providence as well in general towards men, as especially towards his own people. 4. To wean them from inordinate love, and pursuit of worldly advantages, and to inure them to depend upon God alone, and upon God's blessing for their subsistence.
5. To put them in mind of that blessed and eternal rest provided for all good men. (John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes)

More later...

I find the laws regarding the sabbath keeping's application to soil cultivation fascinating.

God decreed the soil was to lay fallow every seven years. No crops were to be planted nor systematically harvested. As one considers this law, simple logic asks, "how are we going to feed ourselves, our slaves, our livestock then?"

God anticipated this question when he informs them (v 18-22) how he will abundantly bless them during the 6th year - it will be so abundant it will last into the 9th year! WOW! That must be some harvest. I wonder how it was protected from varmints like rats, mice, roaches, weevils - ya' reckon God made sure their presence was kept in check as well?

I see in this law an important principle at work. When God instructs, commands people to do whatever, he will also enable them to do it! He will provide for them the resources to carry out his will. (Does it not seem as though God likes to ask his people to do hard things so he can demonstrate his grace/power?)

Maybe this is the message we need to hear today?

v.32-34
32‘As for cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession.
33‘What, therefore, belongs to the Levites may be redeemed and a house sale in the city of this possession reverts in the jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel.
34‘But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession.

Numbers 35:1-3,7-8 NASB

Cities for the Levites

1Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,

2“Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities.

3“The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.

7“All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, together with their pasture lands.

8“As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger and you shall take less from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his possession which he inherits.”

COMMENT:

I find the distribution of the lands to the Levites fascinating for a couple reasons.

First, the laws governing their behaviors, what was expected of them by God was much stricter then for the rest of the Israelites.

Second, they were to be the ones who taught the people, they were their religious leaders and by virtue of their responsibilities examples to the people of the will of God.

Because of their responsibilities, they were scattered throughout the entire region inhabited by the rest of the tribes. In doing so they will function as the ones who were to keep the people's conscience aware of the will of God because they did not have the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within.

Their placement in the country, their ministry to the rest of the tribes is a beautiful type and shadow of the function of the Believer/church in the new covenant/era.

We are called to be priests - the priesthood of the believers as Peter writes in 1Peter 2:9: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Jesus tells his disciples we are to be the salt of the earth.

Consider the properties of salt. As a cook, I use it to enhance the flavors in food: it will make the sweet sweeter, e.g. Add it to your coffee when you add sugar, or to your sweet tea and see what happens! Salt also preserves, as in meats. Salt is made to be scattered through out wherever it is applied. It is useless when sitting on a pile and not in contact with anything else.

So it was with the Levites in their ministry to the rest of the Israelites. So it is also to the Christian: we are to function as a preservative in our community, to function as a conscience to our less godly neighbor, we are to bring out the best in other people by praise and assistance where needed.

With 1Peter 2:9 guiding your meditation, the function of the Levites within the nation of Israel is very informative in teaching us how we are to live in our communities, our world.

Leviticus 26: 1,3-4, 11-18 NASB

1You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God.

3‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so as to carry them out,

4then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

11‘Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you.

12‘I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

13‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Penalties of Disobedience

14‘But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments,

15if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,

16I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.

17‘I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

18‘If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

COMMENTS:

As I look at chapter 26, I am once again reminded just how deep the love of God is for his people: how He so desperately wants to bless them with physical well-being. But there are conditions attached to make it possible.

These conditions are in place because he wants them to co-operate with Him. Unless you co-operate, these spiritual laws cannot function, but another set of laws will overtake them. Short of the long...

But are these laws still operative today - we live under the new covenant...? Jesus promised his followers they will be hounded, killed, persecuted for His names sake. So where are the promises of physical security? Has the persecuted person sinned that they hunger, are deprived of decent food and shelter? No, this cannot be true because of what Jesus told will happen to his followers. But not all are being persecuted. What does life look like when there is no persecution? Affluence sets is...Oh, OH! and why?

May I suggest the reason this happens is because the laws of loving your God and ones neighbor, your brother, sister are operational and God in turn blesses this community? I have heard testimonies of people whose communities were devastated by roving bands of bandits who were jealous of the prosperity of the Christian community. Some critics will say they were given to greed, did not help their neighbors but others say this is not true.

Still, there is the problem of affluence: how well can people handle it? Not well - the more you get the more you want. Your appetites will grow with the acquisition of things - as the money becomes more plentiful, I will want more and more expensive toys or things, never content because one looks to things to bring contentment. Don't work, never did.

Still, when one follows God's rules for life, there will be some ease in everyday living because contentment will rule your spirit. "Keeping up with the Jones" will become abhorant because of the stress it imposes upon a person. Thankfulness will have been displaced by greed. These two cannot cohabitate at the same time in the same mind, spirit.

It is a given fact that when people come to the LORD their lifestyle will change from living for self to serving their families. This will result in having more food, clothing, shelter. In fact the difference has been so great in some places that people are attracted to Faith simply because of difference they have observed in the lives of these people. You see these Christians abandoned sinful living: drunkenness, womanizing, drug use, thievery, etc.

Does following the the LORD result in physical well-being? If we compare our lives with those given to wine, women and song we have to say "YES!" They have to deal with diseases inherent to a sinful lifestyle. Moral purity protects. And we know it protects far more then physical health.

God bless! Now I have to get to work!

Leviticus 26:16-20 NASB

16I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.

17‘I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

18‘If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

19‘I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.

20‘Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.

COMMENTS:

The woes promised upon the Israelites for rebellion are woeful, indeed. No, they are frightening. We know from reading the rest of the OT these things did happen. The question then comes are these woes still operational? Has God imposed this kind of judgement upon people in the NT era?

When one reads Revelation, one could easily say 'yes', but the next question is "When?" Whether we can identify this happening today seems to me irrelevant other then that God does have control over the weather, health of the inhabitants of the earth, sets up governments as he wills. He allows wars and all kinds of natural calamities - all with the idea to force people to think of their own mortality. This principle was true in the OT and has been reaffirmed in the New.

Whether we are victims or not, there is one thing that does run rampant and I wonder how much we are aware of it OR whether we would consider it a part of God's curse upon people. This principle is found in v16a: "I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror.." Have you ever met a person who does not have faith to be a truly optimistic person as for the future? Sure, when we are aware of sin running rampant and when it becomes the normal for the way the gov does business, it does give one pause for concern. But are we so closely entangled that it threatens our security? If your security is rooted in the gov you have good reasons to be pessimistic, but if you are rooted and grounded in the WORD and have Faith in the King of Kings, what do we have to fear?

Now, I have to remember this, allow it to teach my emotions, my will, my heart today, tomorrow and in the days to come, especially since this is election year because we encounter people who are really fearful and we do not want to get snookered into their whorl of pessimism.

God bless!

Leviticus 26:9 NASB

9‘So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you.

COMMENT:

OK, so I will lift a verse out of context - or somewhat.

I have seen a trend in families that disturbs me and that is the rapid demise of family lines.

I have compiled a genealogy book of my mother's fathers family, going back to my g-grandparents. This study reinforced what I was seeing elsewhere in other families. What I was seeing is the end of family lines. When the current generation dies, this will be the end for this family. Strange.

I grew up with 39 cousins (including the four in our family) on the one side and the other had less then 30 grands. This was normal. The fact my mom came from a family of five was unusual because most of her aunts and uncles had double this number of children. Still, I had plenty of cousins to play with. Later, some of us multiplied. Others, not. And this reality of no multiplying is becoming commonplace. Why?

I see a common thread among these cousins not multiplying: apostasy. Some had only a couple children who opted to not marry at all; some are involved in all manner of immorality where there exists little semblance of family at all. But the ones who take seriously the call of God on their lives are multiplying - they have sizable families. As simple as that.

Is the promise - "So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you" - still in effect today? I suspect it is.

(A note to godly married women who are infertile: God still has a call on your life, even if it means childlessness. He may have something else for you to do to further his kingdom. I know you grieve over your situation, just like Hannah did, but God does see you - He, after all, opens and closes the womb. Why some ungodly females are prolific seems to fly in face of what was said. Some things do not make sense. What I am dealing with here are those who have rejected the WORD and the blessings or lack there of that decision.)

______________________________________________________________
QUOTE:
they have sizable families.
______________________________________________________________

A critic could point to the Amish and say this is simply a matter of nature taking its course, that it is not a result of God blessing a family. I do not know if the critic would be correct or not. But I do know one thing, the one thing the Amish have going for them: they believe in the permanence of the marriage vow. Perhaps this is the key to understanding why God's blessing of productivity rests on them or on any other group that upholds this doctrine of permanence.

Just a suggestion - I do not claim to know the mind of God on some things, but some are quite evident.

Leviticus 19: 15, 35

15‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

35‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity.

Deut. 1:17:
17Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God.

Pro.24:23 These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.

Rom.2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

Col.3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

1Peter 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

COMMENT:

I was reading in Deuteronomy when I once again came upon the law where God is warning the people against partiality in judgement, or having respect to persons. This concept is mentioned a number of times in the law - the references are not all listed.

This law is reinforced under the New Covenant. So, what is there about respect of persons that God warns people so much about? Is it pride? Does fear motivate it? Does one see advantages in doing so?

But God says He shows no respect of persons. When one reads the OT this becomes apparent already in Genesis 3. God was swift in confronting disobedience and the victims were spared nothing. They met God's judgement and so has mankind ever since. The OT is rife with stories reinforcing this principle.

As I consider life and situations that we are confronted with, how often do we feel partial to people's sins? We think that their goodness will somehow, perhaps, cause God to overlook their sin because after all we live under grace.... Or, is there a misunderstanding of the meaning of grace?

Just because we or someone has been so effective in the work of the LORD does not mean he/she will escape the judgement of God. If he/she is truly God's child He will work to convict the person to bring about repentance, but if it is spurned, all their good will not be regarded by God. Since this is an eternal principle (Ezekiel 18:19-24), how can we apply it to life?

This challenges me as I live, as I look at the world and all that masquerades as Christian.

Deuteronomy 1:26,27 NASB

26“Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God;

27and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

COMMENT:

Moses is taking the people on a trip down memory lane, reiterating their most recent history of God's delivering them from Egypt and the events that followed.

As I read this and came to the verses quoted above, I got stuck - OH! how natural, how much like moderns today!

The LORD delivers us from bondage. We are the recipients of his mercy, grace, get glimpses of his power, his majesty. Then life falls into a predictable routine when something very unexpected happens and you are left wondering at your perception of your own history of what God did for you. Then you get into a pity party that involves me, myself and I - such miserable company, I declare! and we start blaming God for the difficulty we are faced with. Well, it is true God allowed this difficulty to come, BUT are we willing to trust Him once more - again, today - for his provision? This is what God wants to do for us. These difficulties did not catch God unaware - he orchestrated it!

Ahhh, human nature has not changed any. And neither has the nature of God, either. PTL!

Deuteronomy 8

God’s Gracious Dealings

1“All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers.

2“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

3“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.

4“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.

5“Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.

6“Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

7“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;

8a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;

9a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper.

10“When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

11“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today;

12otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them,

13and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies,

14then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

15“He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint.

16“In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end.

17“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’

18“But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

19“It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.

20“Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.

COMMENT:

This potion is part of Moses' farewell speech to the Israelites just before they entered Canaan. He reminds them where they have been in the past forty years and what God will do for them IF they remain faithful.

As I ponder the points Moses makes in this chapter I am reminded of how man is so quickly drawn away from God, how affluence is the dominate factor in leading man away. God says he blessed them - they did not acquire it by their own effort. Material comforts does just that, make people comfortable and before too long they become arrogant and feel they do not need God as much as when they were struggling.

Many preachers in the recent past - like 40 years- have preached much about the danger of affluence. Is this at the heart of the apostasy we see today? People do not think they need God. The percentage of people who believe God exists is the lowest it has been for a while. Is it possible that when people's ability to acquire what they want, when they want, and how they want is no longer possible they will take a look at how fragile they are?

And you know what? I get the sense God loves to bless his people abundantly with material comforts, but I also know from reading the history of God's people they cannot handle it well, either, be it OT or NT - like now.

This is something I ponder a lot...do my comforts make me complacent? help me to forget God? If I have the ability to acquire what I want when I want why should I have to ask God for it when all I have to do is go buy it?

EDITED for clarity.

I'm not sure I would claim "insight" just yet, but I do feel that perhaps a connection was made, at least in my mind.

According to Leviticus 16:15-19, the Holy Place, the altar of sacrifice, and the tent of meeting had to be atoned for. They had to be consecrated, and made completely holy before a sacrifice could be made on and in those places for the people.

"Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel."

Bottom line: the sacrifice and the place of sacrifice had to be holy in order for the sacrifice to be acceptable before God. And in fact, it was the blood of the sacrifice that sanctified the place of sacrifice.

This lead me to wonder, "How is Jesus shown in this? How did Jesus meet these demands?" And by the light of God shining into my dark mind, I believe I have an answer: there was nothing holy about the Roman cross. It was a cruel form of punishment and torture. It certainly wasn't sanctified, it didn't glitter with bronze plating, there was no molding to catch the ashes of the sacrifice soon to be laid on it. But as Jesus was ground, beaten, bloodied, flayed, and eventually hung on the cross by the Roman guards, his blood flowed freely and profusely. He, the perfect, unblemished sacrifice, would soon be offered up on this altar, but not before his precious blood dripped off of his body and consecrated the altar of sacrifice: an old rugged cross. Jesus, the sacrifice, sanctified the place of sacrifice, the cross, with his blood. He is the perfect fulfillment of all the requirements of the Day of Atonement.

Nate,

As I read your question, I noted that Jesus was not offered up in the temple as were the sacrificial animals. But was offered outside the camp, so to speak. Goats were used as scapegoats, hands laid on them with the sins of the people imposed on them then released outside the camp. Leviticus 16:21,22. So then, Jesus was our scapegoat.

When I study the rituals as commanded by God as pertaining to the offerings, I find precise instructions given. If ever in doubt about that, read Numbers. God had no tolerance with any who would modify any ritual or command as it pertained to the sacrifice. He was very exacting and without mercy.

As I pondered this aspect of God I see a wonderful parallel in how we are not to diminish the importance of Jesus sacrifice for our sins. He was exacting in how he ministered to people, he was exacting in his obedience to his Father...he was perfect, no fault in his life or in his sacrifice.

I do not know, but it seems as though I cannot fully comprehend the depth of this issue. I know it is deep, profound, hence my study of the OT law - it enlightens but never having been in a culture where animal sacrifices were part of our religious duties, I am left with imagination... Yet, in all this, I sense a holiness that stands in contrast to the awfulness of sin. I just do not comprehend it completely.

My comment...

Nate's question has set me on a path of meditation and this has to do with the seriousness of the sacrifices, the rituals inherent to them.

Violation of the laws as pertaining to the sacrifices - how they were done with what and where and by whom, the fire, the tabernacle, its furniture was very strict. There was no sacrifice available for the violators of these laws. Justice was swift and without mercy. Violations of other laws were forgiven but a sacrifice was made for them. The exception was for adultery, beastality and homosexuality. Then the guilty were to be stoned, including the animal.

Lesson: how can man expect to play around, minimize the sacrifice of the LORD Jesus and expect to receive forgiveness? There never was one under the OT. The NT tells us all manner of blasphemy will be forgiven (Matt. 12:31) but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do we minimize Jesus' sacrifice or do we hold it sacred, hold it in high regard?