February 10, 2024 Bible Study — Meaning in the Jubilee

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 24-25.

Today’s passage contains instructions for a Sabbath year every seven years.   The idea was that every seven years the land would be allowed to lie fallow and “rest”.  God told the Israelites that in the sixth year, they would harvest a bumper crop which would be sufficient to carry them through the sabbath year, with supplements from those crops which “volunteered” (If you have ever grown tomatoes, or one of many other vegetables, you know how you always end up with plants growing the following year from tomatoes which fell off the plant).  The passage goes on to describe the Jubilee, which was a kind of sabbath of sabbath years.  Every seventh sabbath year (or perhaps the year after the seventh sabbath year, depending on how you interpret the wording) would be a year of redemption: debts would be canceled, slaves freed, and property that had been sold returned to the person who sold it(or their heirs).  I don’t see how you could institute such a system today, but the passage contains an important point about the meaning of the Year of Jubilee, actually two such points.  The first of those points is that the land is the Lord’s.  In fact, everything in this world belongs to God.  We are but stewards of it using it to advance His kingdom.  The second point is that we should not take advantage of each other.  As I wrote this I realized there is a third lesson to be learned: if we do as God directs us, He will provide for us.  If we know that God has called us to endeavor which does not obviously provide for our needs we can be sure that He will meet those needs in some way as we do His will.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 9, 2024 Bible Study — Treating the Sacrifices Offered to God with Sufficient Reverence

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 22-23.

Two days ago on Tuesday I wrote about the connection between eating the Body of Christ in Communion and the priests eating the meat offered on the altar as described in Leviticus.   Today’s passage begins with warning the priests to respect the sacred offerings.  Which reminds me of Paul writing in 1 Corinthians that we don’t defile ourselves by not being respectful of the body and blood of Christ.  This passage warns that the priests may die if they treat the   offerings with contempt.  In the same way, Paul warns us that if we treat the Lord’s Supper with contempt we will experience illness and weakness.  The priests under the Law of Moses were required to approach the sacrifices with the appropriate reverence.  We should approach the sacrifice of Christ with even more reverence for God’s holiness.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 8, 2023 Bible Study — Be Holy, Because the Lord Our God is Holy

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 19-21.

Today’s passage starts off with God telling Moses to tell the people to be holy because the Lord their God is holy.  We also should seek to be holy because the Lord ,our God, is holy.   After this introduction, God gave Moses a bunch of commands to give the people.  Many of these commands were followed by one of two statements: either “I am the Lord your God,” or, “I am the Lord.”  I think that this statement refers us to the first of the Ten Commandments (or, Ten Words): “I am the Lord your God.  You shall have no other gods before me.”  Personally, I think the reference Jesus makes to the greatest commandment from Deuteronomy makes that meaning even clearer: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  So, the point of following these commands with one of those two statements is designed to remind us that following these commands is how we follow that first, most important one.  Oh, I know that some of these no longer govern our behavior as followers of Christ (e.g. “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.”).  However, I do not see a single one which is directly followed by one of those statements which I do not believe represent behavior which we should model.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 7, 2024 Bible Study — The Israelites Were Forbidden to Eat the Blood of Their Sacrifices, While We Drink the Blood of Jesus’ Sacrifice

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 16-18.

I am going to do something I almost never do today.  My first thought when I read the prohibition against eating blood this morning was of the communion service we had Sunday morning during our worship service.  In particular, one man stood up afterwards and shared that he had never before that morning made the connection between communion, eating the symbolic representation of Christ’s body and blood, and the priest’s eating the meat of the sacrificed animals as described here in Leviticus.  Christ was the ultimate Passover Lamb and when we partake of communion we are partaking of His body and blood, much as the Israelites partook of the body of the Passover lamb.  So, as I read today’s passage I was struck by the fact that we partake of Christ’s blood of sacrifice, while the Israelites were forbidden from eating the blood of their sacrifices.  Here God told them that they must not eat the blood because the life of the being (animal or human) is in its blood.  So, when we drink Christ’s blood as part of communion, and thus partake in the sacrifice He made on the Cross, we are drinking His life.  And through drinking His life we join ourselves with His life.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 6, 2024 Bible Study

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 14-15.

What am I going to write about today?  Today’s passage starts with the offerings which should be made when one is cleansed of a defiling skin disease.  It continues to discuss the offerings to be made when a house is cleansed of defiling mold.  From there it discusses how bodily fluids are a vector for the spread of disease.  OK, it doesn’t say that.  What it does say is that anyone who has a discharge of bodily fluids is unclean until the discharge ends and they wash themselves and any clothes which might have been exposed to the discharge.  Based on what we know today about the spread of infectious diseases, these commands regarding the discharge of bodily fluids seem wise.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 5, 2024 Bible Study — Protecting the Community

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 13.

Today’s passage contains instructions for dealing with “defiling” skin disease and defiling mold on fabric or leather.  I struggle with what to write about this because we have much better means to deal with such problems than they had when this was written.  However, as I thought about it I realized that both of these issues could be serious threats to a community, especially one which was nomadic.  The first thing to realize is that a “defiling” skin disease would have been contagious.  Further, mold spreads, and can be a health hazard in large enough amounts.  Fabric or leather with mold on it would eventually be destroyed by the mold and would damage the health of those exposed to it.  Additionally, allowing mold to remain on an object increases the risk of other objects becoming moldy.  So, these commands were designed to protect the community from disease.  Which brings me to an important point.  When we have contagious disease we should act to protect others from being exposed.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 4, 2024 Bible Study — Aaron Mourns the Loss of His Sons

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 10-12.

The timing here of when two of Aaron’s sons died for using unconsecrated fire in their censers is unclear.  However, as I read this, it happened on the first day after the ordination of Aaron and all of his sons was complete.  Moses commanded Aaron and his remaining sons not to openly mourn for the two who had died.  However, Moses encouraged all of the rest of the Israelites to mourn for the loss of two of Aaron’s sons.   We do not know why the two men did what they did, but the passage tells us that they used “unauthorized fire” to burn the incense resulting in fire coming out from the presence of the Lord and killing them.  So, if nothing else, their failure was an unwillingness to wait for instructions from the Lord.  I would add that it seems to me that perhaps their failure was an attempt to conduct worship according to their own ideas of what it should be rather than follow God’s instructions.  God had not yet given instructions on how to use the incense in His worship.  There is one more point to be made.  Moses was mad at Aaron’s two remaining sons because they burned up the priestly portion of the sin offering rather than eating it.  However, he was mollified when Aaron pointed out that he and his sons were in mourning for the death of his other two sons that very day.  So, while the priests were not allowed to visibly mourn while carrying out their duties, they were allowed to mourn the loss of family.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

February 3, 2024 Bible Study — Encourage People to Immediately Put Into Practice Whatever You Have Taught Them

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 8-9.

At the end of Exodus, God told Moses to setup and consecrate the tabernacle, then to consecrate Aaron and his sons.  Exodus goes on to say that once Moses had consecrated the tabernacle, the glory of God entered it in the form of a cloud and that cloud was so dense that Moses could not enter it.  Then Leviticus begins with God giving Moses instructions regarding the various sacrifices which were to be offered: how they were to be offered and what the priests’ share would be.  Finally, in this chapter God once again tells Moses to consecrate Aaron and his sons before the assembly of the people.  Actually, I don’t think  God told this to Moses for a second time.  I think this was a different recounting, with more details, of what God told Moses at the end of Exodus.  Once Moses had completed and consecrated the tabernacle, God gave him the instructions for the sacrifices which needed to be made there and for consecrating Aaron and his sons.  Moses immediately consecrated Aaron and his sons and had them begin the practices of offering the sacrifices.  It occurs to me that this gives us a great model for teaching people.  Give people instructions and immediately encourage them to put them into practice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Matthew 4 sermon for February 4, 2024 — Jesus Plans His Strategy

I have been asked to give the message during the worship services at Zion Mennonite in Birdsboro, Pa on February 4th as part of a series the pastor is doing on Matthew.  I will be using  Matthew 4 as my sermon text.  I decided to compose my thoughts here and publish them for those who read my blog.

Today’s passage picks up immediately after Jesus had Himself baptized by John.  This is important context because it tells us that Jesus was preparing Himself for His ministry.  Like many men, Jesus hoped to transform the world.  Unlike most, He was going to do so beyond what anyone else could imagine (and well beyond what anyone else had done before, or has done since).

I need to make a slight aside here. I believe that Jesus was fully God, but I also believe that He was fully human. And, as a human, His brain was limited. As a result, Jesus did not possess full omniscience, full knowledge of everything, while He went about His earthly ministry, because the human brain is finite and just cannot contain all of that knowledge.

So, once He was baptized Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and commune with His Spirit, the Spirit of God, about how He should execute His ministry. Or, perhaps I should say that His Spirit led Him into the wilderness to commune with Him.  Into this situation comes the devil to test and tempt Jesus (the Greek word which is most commonly translated as “tempt” can also mean “test”.  And I think both meanings apply here.).  Jesus faced three tests, three temptations, about a way to a “shortcut” to His ministry.  They represent three pitfalls that every spiritual leader can fall into.  And they represent three pitfalls that those seeking a spiritual leader to follow can fall for.

So, the first one:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

With the hunger which Jesus was experiencing after fasting for forty days and forty nights, the devil saw an opportunity to offer Him a shortcut which would derail His ministry

Which brings me to one of those rabbit holes I warned you I tend to go down the last time I gave the morning message. “40 days and 40 nights” represents throughout Scripture a period of preparation. When the flood happened, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. When Moses went up on Mt. Sinai, he was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (this actually happened twice: once before Aaron made the golden calf and then again afterwards). After his contest with the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled into the wilderness having given up. God provided him with food and he traveled an additional 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb, where God restored his faith. Then there are all of the periods of 40 years. There is actually a separate message right there.

The devil suggested to Jesus that He could satisfy His hunger by turning stones into bread.  And if He could satisfy His hunger that way, He could satisfy that of the poor the same way.  We don’t really understand the power represented by this, because hunger is not a daily reality for most of us.  We fail to understand the degree to which for most of human history most people went through periods of time where they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from, or even when it might come.  The temptation here was for Jesus to build a following by regularly meeting the physical needs of people.  They wouldn’t really listen to what He said, but they would fight in support of whatever it was they thought He had said.

There is another side to this as well.  We are tempted to follow those who promise us that following them and doing as they instruct us is the way in which all of our physical needs (and perhaps even our physical wants).  Jesus’ answer to the tempter tells us why that doesn’t get us where He wants us to go:  ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Jesus rejected  the “prosperity gospel” and the “social justice” answer here.  I don’t like using “social justice” here because it oversimplifies what many of those who espouse it believe they are working for, but I needed something which encapsulates the fact that there are those on both the left and the right who think that the answer is just meeting people’s physical needs.  We need to listen to what God is speaking to us and act upon it.

Which brings me to the second test:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Here, Jesus faces the temptation of a “celebrity” ministry.  Go to Jerusalem and put on a big show.  Everyone will follow you because they want to be close to the celebrity.  Harness the power of the opinion leaders to get everyone on your side.  If Jesus had put on this show, He would have had the priests and the religious leaders on His side, promoting His ministry (after that big miraculous show, they would have had to back Him, or lose their position).  The problem is, those leaders would not have followed Him because they understood how what they had been doing was wrong.  They would have just transferred those same one size fits all rules to supporting Him.  This is the test I have the hardest time summarizing.  It’s the bigger is better philosophy.  Getting caught up in the glitz and glamour and thinking that because it makes us feel good it means we are worshiping God.  Ultimately, it is expecting God to do the hard work and we can just go along for the ride.

I wish I could explain it better, but let’s move on to the third test:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’

This represents the temptation to take the political route to fixing the world’s problems.  If Jesus was just the Emperor, He could change things.  He could stop all of the injustices of the system.  From our perspective, the temptation is thinking that if we can just get the right person in charge, if we can just get the right laws in place, we can fix everything.  Jesus sees the problem with this.  In fact, it is built right into the offer.  In order to take this path, you have to compromise with evil to gain the power to act.

All of these are shortcuts to gain a mass following to change things and bring justice to the world.  The tempter told Jesus, “Do these things and you will quickly have a following which will allow you to transform the world.”  Jesus rejected each of these.  Fortunately, Matthew shows us how Jesus chose to build His ministry in the next few verses:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him.

Rather than seeking  to change the world wholesale, Jesus chose to change the world retail.  Instead of trying to change systems and institutions, Jesus sought to change individual hearts.  He chose a small group of followers and taught them how to act and how to treat others, one at a time.  He didn’t go for a one-size-fits-all method of fixing what was wrong with the world, because He knew that the problem was not the systems.  The problem that needed fixing was the desire in each of us to have mastery over our fellow man.  In order to change that, He chose to teach a few people the power of being a servant.

February 2, 2024 Bible Study — Making Restitution to Those We Have Wronged

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Leviticus 5-7.

Today’s passage tells us that we can be guilty of sin, even if we are unaware of committing the sin when it happens, and in another place that we can be guilty of sin, even if we did not intend to commit the sin.   “I didn’t know” is not an excuse for doing wrong.  A little further on this passage requires that if anyone dishonestly gains at the expense of another, they must make restitution to their victim.  As I read this, I see it is not enough to repent of our sins, we must also seek to make right the injury we have caused to others.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.