Tag Archives: Leviticus 1-3:17

February 16, 2015 Bible Study — Go, and Sin No More

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 9:13-18

    Foolish behavior appeals to those who are ignorant (lacking in knowledge). Such behavior appears to offer sweet rewards, but it disguises the dangerous consequences of following its path. Those without foresight see only the short term advantage, neglecting to take into account the long-term results of their actions.

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Psalm 35:17-28

    This psalm reminds me of a passage from a book I read (although I no longer remember what book it was), “You can tell more about a person from his enemies than from his friends.” If the various people and groups who have set themselves up in opposition to someone are consistently evil, that someone is almost certainly doing good. If we have enemies like those described by the psalmist, who are treacherous and hate us without cause, who plot against innocent people who mind their own business, we can be sure that God will come to our defense. It may seem to take Him a long time, but He will do so.

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Mark 1:29-2:12

    I am struck once again by the fact that Jesus healed many sick people who were brought to Him and cast demons out of the demon-possessed. The change in those He healed was sudden and dramatic. He told us elsewhere in the Gospels that we would perform similar miracles. Yet we rarely see such dramatic healing in the Church today (at least, not in the U.S.). I do not know why we do not see miraculous healing in the Church today, but at least part of the answer is that we do not expect to see such healing.
    Another thing that struck me as I read this was Jesus casting out demons. I am convinced that those we call mentally ill today would have been called demon-possessed in Jesus’ day. Whether the fist century understanding is more accurate than ours today, or vice versa, is really irrelevant. What is relevant was that Jesus was able to address those with these sorts of problems every bit as effectively as He was able to cure the physically sick. The Church today should be casting out “demons” from those suffering from such problems just as it should be curing the sick. In both cases, when we look at what Jesus did we see two important factors. The first is the actual removal of the infliction which the people were suffering from. The second was Jesus instruction to them to go, and sin no more. And perhaps this answers the question as to why we do not see more healing in the Church today. We do not put enough emphasis on the second. The Church spends a lot of time calling people to repentance and accepting God’s forgiveness, but not much time telling them to go and sin no more.

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Leviticus 1-3:17

    The passage describes in detail the nature of the offerings which the Israelites were to present to God. When we offer something up to God it is to be the best of what we have, not something we weren’t going to use any way. When we give of our time it is not to be, “Well, I did not have anything else to do then, so I may as well give my time to God.” When we give money to God it is not to be, “Well, I have this money left over after I paid my bills and did the other things I really wanted to do.” Let us give to God from the best of what we have, not from what is left over.

February 16, 2014 Bible Study — How Long, O Lord, Will You Look On and Do Nothing?

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Proverbs 9:13-18

     Folly appeals to those with poor judgment. Those who indulge in foolishness have short-term pleasure, but the consequences of their actions are long-term suffering. The fool is unaware that he(or she) does not know enough to make a good decision and does not take the time to discover this.

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Psalm 35:17-28

     The psalmist does not answer his question directly, but he makes it clear that he knows that God will take action. God will come to his rescue, just as He will come to ours. When God has rescued us from our troubles in the past, have we praised Him before others? Have we praised Him in front of those who do not believe in Him?
     Other questions to ask ourselves, do we come to the defense of those who are attacked without cause? Do we take up the cause of the innocent who are under assault? Are we willing to stand with the righteous who are persecuted? Do we rejoice when God vindicates those who call on Him?
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Mark 1:29-2:12

     When Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law the passage tells us that she immediately got up and fixed them a meal. The point of this is not that she got up and fixed a meal. Rather the point is that she immediately returned to full strength and was able to fix them a meal. The following morning Jesus got up before dawn so that He could have some alone time in order to pray.
     Jesus went from there and preached throughout Galilee. During this trip, He was approached by a man with leprosy. The first thing that strikes me about this passage is that the leper says to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can heal me…” The NIV chooses to translate that Jesus was indignant (other translations go with the manuscripts which say He was filled with compassion). What does it say about the other healers of Jesus’ day that the leper’s concern was with whether or not Jesus was willing to heal him? Are we willing to touch those who our society says are unclean in order to bring them healing?

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Leviticus 1-3:17

     Today’s passage discusses different types of sacrifices offered for differing reasons. There is a recurring theme throughout these descriptions, the offering must be “without defect”. When we make offerings to God, they are to come from the best that we have to offer, not from the cast-offs we were going to throw away anyway.

February 16, 2013 Bible Study — Bring Our Friends To Jesus

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Baron Gunnar shows that he can still fence
Baron Gunnar shows that he can still fence

Leviticus 1-3:17

     Today’s passage describes the procedures for making a burnt offering, a grain offering and a peace offering. The burnt offering and the peace offering were an animal, either a young bull, or a young sheep or goat of either sex. Whichever type of animal it was, it was to be an animal with no defects. It was not acceptable to give an animal that would otherwise just be destroyed as an offering. When we make a sacrifice it needs to be something that something that is actually a sacrifice.
     I found it interesting that the instructions for the variations on the grain offering were all to include salt. However, no offering was to include yeast or honey, with the exception that those were allowed to be part of the first fruits of harvest offering. I am not sure what the significance of that is, but I found it interesting.

Amaryllis up close
Amaryllis up close

Mark 1:29-2:12

     After leaving the synagogue where He had healed a demon possessed man, Jesus went to Simon and Andrew’s home. When He got there, they told Him that Simon’s mother-in-law was sick. Jesus went to her and helped her up, whereupon her fever broke completely and she prepared a meal for them. After sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He healed them all. The people of the town gathered outside the door to watch.
     The next morning Jesus got up early and went out to an isolated place to pray. When His disciples found Him, He told them that they needed to go to other towns throughout Galilee to preach. His disciples followed Him as He traveled to various towns and taught in their synagogues. Throughout His traveling and preaching He cast out many demons. At one point a man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged Him to heal him. Jesus did so. He then told the man not to tell anyone, but to go to a priest to be certified as being cleansed of the leprosy as the law commanded. I have read many attempts to explain why Jesus told this man not to tell anyone what happened. It was only during this reading that I realized that those people are missing the point of what Jesus told the man. Jesus told the man to follow the protocol laid out in the law of Moses for someone who has been healed of leprosy. If the man had followed that procedure, the healing would have been well documented and the effect would have been the same as him going and telling everyone. Except that it would have been harder for doubters to explain the healing away.
     Today’s passage ends with the story of the paralyzed man whose friends were so determined to get him to Jesus that they dug a hole through the roof in order to lower the man down in front of Jesus. They could not get the mat they were carrying the man on through the crowds to Jesus, so they climbed up on the roof and made an opening to lower the man through. Jesus saw how much faith the man’s friends had, so He told the man that his sins were forgiven. Other teachers of religious law who were sitting there were offended by Jesus saying this, since they felt that only God could forgive sins. Jesus’ response to their thoughts was to ask them whether it was easier to tell the man that his sins were forgiven or to get up and walk? He then told the man to get up, take his mat and go home. The man did exactly that. This left everyone amazed and praising God. However, they were not quite sure what to think of Jesus since He did not quite fit neatly into any of their existing categories.
     Do we have the faith of the paralyzed man’s friends? Are we confident that if we can only bring our friends before Jesus, they will be healed? How much effort are we willing to exert to bring them before Jesus? Will we match the effort that these men made?

Fencers listen to war stories
Fencers listen to war stories

Psalm 35:17-28

     The psalmist calls on the Lord to protect him from his enemies, from those who falsely accuse him. He is confident that the Lord will do so and promises to proclaim before the world that credit for his salvation from troubles belongs to the Lord. He acknowledges that he has no power to rescue himself from his enemies. Are we willing to come before the Lord and declare that it is only through His actions that we will succeed? How often do we call on the Lord for salvation from some trouble and then take credit for getting ourselves out of trouble? I just realized that to a degree I have been guilty of this. I have a chronic health issue. It is not something that negatively effects me on a day to day basis, but if I do not get it addressed it could have serious consequences down the road. At my last doctor’s appointment to monitor the issue, everything about it had improved remarkably, almost to the point where I could stop thinking about what I need to do to control it. This was despite the fact that in every aspect of working to control it that I was consciously aware of I had failed to behave in a disciplined manner. Yet until I was reviewing this passage, it never occurred to me to praise God in anything more than a perfunctory way. I will strive to rectify that failure going forward and give God full credit for the improvement in my health.

Snow in the morning
Snow in the morning

Proverbs 9:13-18

     The foolish are brash and ignorant and generally completely unaware of their lack of knowledge. They go beyond that and entice others to follow them in their foolish behavior. Those who lack judgment follow such enticement without ever recognizing the danger.