Daily Posts

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Leviticus 26 – 27

God may seem mean to basically coerce His people into doing things His way. He certainly knows how to make life miserable, doesn’t He? But He doesn’t use that misery to punish His people; rather, His intent is to compel them turn back to Him. His unwillingness that anyone should perish makes what appears to be meanness actually kindness.

God is good, but Satan doesn’t want us to believe that so he twists the truth and tries to deceive us into believing the lie. Many times we do believe it! God’s past dealings with His people are our reminders of the truth.

Perhaps right now God is bringing trials into your life to call you back to Him. Are you going to accept Satan’s lies and be hostile toward God for the difficulty, or are you going to turn to Him and be restored to peaceful relationship?

Of course, not every trial we suffer is because we need to be brought back to Him. He alone knows the reasons we suffer. Certainly our sufferings should always be accepted as God’s calls on our hearts to draw Him closer to Himself, whether in confession and repentance, or for strength and comfort. Let Him use your suffering for your good in greater intimacy with Him, rather than be duped by Satan!

Chapter 27 speaks mostly about redeeming – buying back – something one rashly devoted to God in religious zeal. It happens! Sometimes we allow our feelings to carry us farther than is reasonable, and we have to face that reality. Isn’t God good to understand the weaknesses of His people and provide for them?

Note that what was dedicated to God could be bought back, but what was devoted couldn’t. What was dedicated was promised to God. What was devoted to God was set aside for Him, forfeited. The sense was that the item was destroyed to its owner, a doomed object.

Think about the nature of our salvation. It is meant to be a covenant relationship between us and God: He gives us eternal life and we give Him our lives. We devote our lives to Him. Jesus used the idea of taking up a cross, which is a symbol of death. Paul used the term “living sacrifices.” We are dead to self. Is that how you see your life, or are you still living it for yourself? Do you see your covenant with God the same way He sees it?

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Leviticus 24 – 25

It may seem harsh that one who cursed God would be killed as punishment. However, recall that God is merciful to give us a way out of sin’s punishment at all; He doesn’t have to extend mercy for any violation of the Law. That He doesn’t extend mercy for violating this requirement should signal to us that it is very important to Him.

You may not curse Him, but do you consider Him less than how He presents Himself in Scripture? That demonstrates a lack of reverence for Him like the cursing demonstrated. Since God has preserved this account for us we need to use the opportunity the story gives us to assess our own condition.

The Law’s provisions for Sabbath and Year of Jubilee teach that the land and the wealth it produced did not belong to the people but to God. He has reasons for His requirements that are beyond our ability to comprehend, but we can discern why these requirements make sense despite the world’s calling them crazy. His people’s observance of them would curb materialistic values and build their trust in God. How do these principles apply to you? Do you demonstrate devotion for Him in the way you carry them out?

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Leviticus 19 – 20

These chapters are in the thick of what we think of when we think of the Law. Admittedly they don’t offer the most devotional reading, but let us understand what their significance is. Obviously, no law can cover every instance. Further, God doesn’t intend that His law be nothing more than items on a checklist that we can check off and consider our relationship good. Does that speak of devotion, of love, to you? If you need help answering that question, think about how you would like for your dearest love relationships to boil down to a checklist for your loved ones to follow. When they have all the items on the list done, they expect you to be satisfied; would you be?

The requirements in the Law gave principles by which God’s people would know how to please Him. In the Old Testament these were required by the covenant Israel had with God. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, and the New Testament teaches that we are no longer under the Law. However, if we love God we will want to please Him. If we love Him we will actively seek to please Him. We will want to understand the principles God puts before us in these requirements, and what that shows us about how we can better please Him. Think about what each requirement means, what it reveals of God’s heart, and how that principle applies to you today.

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Leviticus 16 – 18

On the heels of demonstrating His willingness to concern Himself with the baser aspects of our lives, God now reminds us that He is far above us, and we can come to Him only as He allows us. In the Old Testament access to God was severely limited: only the High Priest could come into God’s presence, only one day a year, and only under the conditions God specified. This was dangerous duty for the High Priest. If he failed to follow exactly the procedures for their atonement, God would strike Him dead as Nadab and Abihu had been suddenly stricken, and the nation’s sins would not be atoned for.

The concept of atonement is central to Scripture. Sin must be made right before God because He is just and because His holiness will not allow sin in His presence. If we are to enjoy relationship with Him, the sin must be paid for and cleansed. The method God has provided to do both is with blood – a life for a life -, and it’s called atonement. Atonement is cleansing for sin so that we can be made right with God and enjoy the intimacy with Him for which we were created. The animal sacrifices described in Leviticus 1 through 7, the sin and guilt offerings, were for unintentional sins; the rituals observed on the Day of Atonement were the only provision God made for all sin, intentional and otherwise.

We don’t have to have a priest accomplish this ritual for us every year because Jesus accomplished it for us once and for all on the cross. God preserved for us the commands regarding the Day of Atonement rituals for the same reason He preserved the descriptions of the other rituals: to help us understand the work that Messiah has done for us. Why not spend some time reflecting on what your Savior has done for you as revealed in the Old Testament object lesson of the Day of Atonement?

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Leviticus 11 – 15

Being unclean was not a measure of one’s character or personal value; it excluded one from participating in worship. One became unclean in ways that were beyond his control and in everyday living. Skin diseases and bodily discharges are unlovely consequences of living in a fallen world. God will not allow such contamination, brought into the world as a consequence of sin, to come into His presence. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? He wasn’t the one who sinned, so why should He have to suffer contamination from the Fall?

God’s having the conversation about uncleanness was unpleasant and perhaps embarrassing, but how precious that He would rather deal with that ugly reality than turn His back on contaminated mankind. As funny as it seems, the talk about sores and discharges should help us understand how much God loves us.

This talk about uncleanness should lead us to recognize that we New Testament people of God are also contaminated by living in this fallen world, sometimes through no fault of our own. We need to be on our guard against that which can contaminate us. How would one do that effectively, do you think? We should also not be surprised or discouraged when we need to seek cleansing because we have become contaminated by living in a sin-cursed world.

But the idea of contamination and cleansing should also remind us of what a wonderful work Jesus did for us: He offers all we need for full restoration of relationship with God in His one awful sacrifice. I suspect that all of the requirements listed for cleansing and making atonement teach about Messiah’s work to effect our salvation, and that is why the record is preserved for us. It might offer a worthwhile study.

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Leviticus 8 – 10

In our culture we generally don’t appreciate ceremony, but hopefully we can accept that other cultures have different values and so do appreciate it. God may have used ceremony because it spoke to the people: the ceremony here was for the purpose of setting the priests apart, and likely was performed to instill in the people an understanding that the high priest was due their respect and submission.  The elements of the ceremony seem strange to us, but God doubtless had a purpose in mind for each. Since we are called priests (I Peter 2:5, 9), understanding the significance of every rite in this ceremony might be valuable to us.

Although Aaron and his sons did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses, God struck them when they offered strange incense before Him. Their previous record didn’t save them from the consequences of their actions in offering what God didn’t authorize. Was it an act of rebellion? Testing God? A mistake? An attempt to honor God with the very best of their own creativity? Whatever it was, God saw their offering as dishonoring to Him. Whether or not they intended to do so didn’t matter; it dishonored Him. Does God seem harsh to you in this?

Given that God calls Himself good, what does this teach you about God? What lesson does this teach for people who draw near to God? It’s worth thinking about, because if He did this, it’s conceivable that He will one day say to those who also thought they could do whatever they felt like doing, or felt too special to suffer God’s stated consequences, or were ignorant about God’s requirements,  or preferred to be creative in approaching God, “I never knew you. Away from me.” We cannot presume on God’s mercy. C.S. Lewis was correct in saying of his allegorical lion/king/God character, “He’s not a time lion.” (The Last Battle)

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Leviticus 1 – 7

Some of the choices the sovereign creator God almighty makes are difficult for us to understand. As the One offended by sin and as sovereign God, He has the right to define what the payment for sin should be. We are fortunate that He provided a payment for sin; without it we would be doomed to eternal punishment for our sin. His choice for the method of payment for sin doesn’t mean that He is bloodthirsty or uncaring of innocent animals. Rather, it teaches us what a horrible and costly thing our sin is.

For a homeschool assignment my daughter Emma had to write a description of what sacrificing an animal as laid out in Leviticus would be like. Perhaps I’m just a proud homeschool mom, but I feel moved by her description. She gave me permission to share it here.

Offering Burnt Offerings

            I am going to show God sorrow for my sin and how dedicated I am to Him. First I must find a young bull, sheep, or goat without defect. As I look for a lamb I see my favorite, so I walk over to it. It nuzzles my hand looking for a treat or two. I whisper to him that I don’t have anything today, still he nuzzles me. His wool feels clumpy and soft like a silk blanket. Then I present my sheep at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and he looks up at me, bleating as if to say, “Please don’t choose me.” I tie my sheep’s legs together, and I put it on the altar of burnt offering. I can feel it squirming, trying to get out as I lay my hand on it. He looks up at me with pitiful eyes like he is trying to say to me, “Are you really going to do this to me? I thought you liked me!” When I slaughter him I start to cry. I can still taste my salty tears. I feel him go limp. As the priests sprinkle the blood I can smell the blood of my lamb that had to be killed because of me! I skin it and cut it into pieces, and wash the inner parts and legs. As I skin my favorite lamb I feel the skin that I used to spend a lot of time petting and grooming. I see the nose that used to be sticking in my hand looking for food. I smell the meat burning that used to be my favorite lamb. Sin is a very gruesome thing, isn’t it?

LambGoatCalf

 

Since we don’t have to kill animals to pay for our sin, we may lack an understanding of the awfulness of our sin. Since Jesus was the one to sacrifice for our sin and not we ourselves, we may be tempted to take our sin and its payment lightly. Can you ask God to give you a true understanding of your sin?

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Exodus 36 – 40

Did you notice the key phrase, “as the Lord had commanded Moses”? That gives us an indication why we are regaled with a second account of the Tabernacle. The record preserved for us could have saved us a few chapters of dull reading by simply stating that they did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. That it didn’t abbreviate the account tells me two things:

  • He wanted to show us as well as tell us that they got it perfectly right. Where God specified details for their worship they accomplished every detail, and His pleasure with the result was pleasure with nothing less than their very best and perfect obedience to His revealed will. When God reveals His desire for our work, He expects us to get it done in perfect obedience. He didn’t cheapen words by simply telling us that they got everything right. When the details were important, He specified the details.
  • Worship is important enough to pay attention to every detail. It is not something we offer on our own terms, but on God’s.

This leaves me wondering if my worship practices are too casual or too me-centered. If I insist on satisfying my own self-preference for the songs we sing in our worship service or for traditional practices or lack thereof, or if I decide I’m unable to accept God’s message because I don’t like the messenger, is that worship worthy of God? Is it worship of God at all, or worship of self?

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Exodus 33 – 35

The consequences of their sin were distressing to the Israelites. That will always be the case with sin – it never delivers what it promises, and its consequences are often beyond what we expect. Does the prospect of sin separating us from God distress us? If not, these Israelites were in better spiritual condition than we are.

But note that it’s not because of His anger that sin separated Him from His people; it was because He might destroy them in their sin. God isn’t harsh not to accept us sin and all. He can’t be in the presence of sin, and if our choices bring sin into His presence, the result is our destruction. It seems as if destruction is a reflexive response God has to sin. Thus, His refusal to allow us in His presence in our sinful condition is not harsh, but merciful.

He speaks of destroying them, and yet the first manifestation of His glory is His goodness (Exodus 33:19), mercy and compassion. In 34:5-7 the name He proclaims is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” How can we reconcile those two ends of the spectrum characterizing the same person? What does this teach you about God?

God did forgive the people, and their response was to give and serve to fulfill the need for the Tabernacle. His forgiveness should move us to action as well.

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Exodus 30 – 32

We may be frustrated by or scornful at the Israelites for their faithlessness, but we always should be warned by their example, especially when our first tendency is to be frustrated or scornful. For we are disposed by fallen human nature to be like them. If we’re not like them then we need to thank God for His mercy toward us and praise Him for His transforming power in us.

The golden calf they made was not because they wanted to worship cows; more likely they were trying to put a form to this mysterious Lord who had brought them out of Egypt, and cows were a form of god that they knew from Egypt’s religious system. Again, let’s be warned by their example. As they did, we often want to reduce God to something we know and understand, when He is much higher than we are and beyond our understanding. We believe that God thinks like we do instead of seeking to think like He does. He wasn’t honored by their attempt to put Him in a box; is He any more honored by our attempts?

The Israelites’ sin seems to us to come on the heels of their making their promise to God to do everything He said to do, but it was a reaction to Moses being gone for forty days. That is a long time, and no one could blame them for giving up on him after that length of time. Think about how frightening that must have been to them to be faced with the prospect of moving into the Promised Land with no leader, and they didn’t know how to apprehend God. So they took matters into their own hands, thinking they had been deserted. Yet another warning for us. If only they had waited another day longer!

Seeing the Israelites as a mirror of our own human tendencies apart from the transforming power of Jesus, we understand why Jesus taught us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”