Today's reading is Leviticus 21-25.
Leviticus 21
In this chapter we see God commanding the purity of the priest in their body. No one who has a deformity or has any sickness is to be a priest.
Personally, Yes this is just my thinking here, that the command on not marrying anyone who isn't a virgin has to do with purity in body. Why you may ask? The answer is you can't get a sexually-transmitted disease from someone who never had sex (remember they didn't have blood transfusions back them).
However, whatever reason may be given for God's command on purity in the priest (which I won't discuss here), God says that a person who has a deformity though unable to serve in the tabernacle is still allowed to eat of the holy and even the most holy things (the priest portions of the sacrifices). Yes God has said they can't serve, but he doesn't remove the blessing of being part of the priestly family. These who others may look down on because they are different still have the blessing of being part of the family. They were able to partake of that which an unblemished person would never take part of.
So how do I apply this to today? There are people who may never be able to do ministry in any real sense in the church because of a deformity of other issues, but this doesn't mean that they are outside God's blessing or they will not be blessed by God.
Take in mind this is my ideas, or as I like to say, "According to Saint Charles."
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
TCN's Biblical Journey Jan. 30th
Today's reading is from Leviticus 16-20
Leviticus 19
You are to be holy (set apart).
It has always been God’s plan to have a people set apart for himself. We see it here and in the New Testament. This isn’t a new concept to God.
God’s method here was tied to not just moral guidelines but to a way of living which caused the people of Israel to stand apart from the world around them. This difference has caused much persecution and division. The children of Israel didn’t always follow the moral guidelines or the rest but the combination keeps them separated from the world so God could prepare a people for what was to come, life with Jesus.
Jesus warned his followers that the life he offered would bring troubles and persecution. However, those that are different have always faced this.
In today’s world, much has been done to remove prejudice, but the idea that someone has something someone else doesn’t is seen an attitude of prejudice and therefore acceptable to be prejudice against. I could go on but I don’t think I need to.
What I want to point out is that whether it is popular or not God’s people were always to be holy, thus different from the rest of the world. It doesn’t make us better (although we should begin to act better), it just makes us right with God.
It’s something to think about as you read the rest of Leviticus.
Leviticus 19
You are to be holy (set apart).
It has always been God’s plan to have a people set apart for himself. We see it here and in the New Testament. This isn’t a new concept to God.
God’s method here was tied to not just moral guidelines but to a way of living which caused the people of Israel to stand apart from the world around them. This difference has caused much persecution and division. The children of Israel didn’t always follow the moral guidelines or the rest but the combination keeps them separated from the world so God could prepare a people for what was to come, life with Jesus.
Jesus warned his followers that the life he offered would bring troubles and persecution. However, those that are different have always faced this.
In today’s world, much has been done to remove prejudice, but the idea that someone has something someone else doesn’t is seen an attitude of prejudice and therefore acceptable to be prejudice against. I could go on but I don’t think I need to.
What I want to point out is that whether it is popular or not God’s people were always to be holy, thus different from the rest of the world. It doesn’t make us better (although we should begin to act better), it just makes us right with God.
It’s something to think about as you read the rest of Leviticus.
Monday, January 29, 2018
TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 29th
Today's Reading is from Leviticus 11-15
Leviticus chapter 11
Do you remember your parent's telling you, "Don't put that in your mouth!"
Yes sometimes they said it just because the idea was disgusting to them but at other times it was because there was a real danger if you did it you would get sick or even die.
They may have explained it to you or if you were too young to understand they may have said the famous words, "Because I told you so."
Here we see God listing the creatures He wanted the Israelites to avoid eating. Though he said He was showing them the difference between the clean and unclean, in another way He was saying, "because I said so."
Why?
In the times the Israelites lived, they wouldn't have understood the dangers eating many of these creatures presented. Some of them if prepared and cooked the correct way today we know are okay, but back then there was no way to test temperature or to explain to them the dangers of invisible bacteria.
Besides seeing the history of the Israelites, and people in general, if God had tried to explain invisible creatures they probably would have made gods to them.
So what does God do? Just what our parent did, they laid down the law. Don't do this.
We may think we are smarter today, but let's be honest. Look around, are we?
Most everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, but people do it anyway. And this is just one example, I could list more, but I think you get the point.
There are somethings even if God explained, we wouldn't obey or we would make some excuse for why we are the exception to the rule. It is what people have done for millennia. And there is that issue of creating more gods (or doctrine) because of the explanations, so God decided in his wisdom, which is greater than ours, that silence is the best option.
What do we do? Trust God to know better than we do.
We don't have to worry about the dietary laws of Christianity, but we do have plenty of other areas where we need to trust that God knows best. Don't look for excuses. I believe that all of the commandments God gives the Christian have solid reasons behind them, but they can all be dismissed and are if you want to.
At the end of the day, will you choose to trust God, or not? Looking back in light of modern science, we can see why God commanded the Israelites to do what they did (I won't take the time to list them all ). We see God's track record as being good. So let's trust him in the areas he directs us today.
Leviticus chapter 11
Do you remember your parent's telling you, "Don't put that in your mouth!"
Yes sometimes they said it just because the idea was disgusting to them but at other times it was because there was a real danger if you did it you would get sick or even die.
They may have explained it to you or if you were too young to understand they may have said the famous words, "Because I told you so."
Here we see God listing the creatures He wanted the Israelites to avoid eating. Though he said He was showing them the difference between the clean and unclean, in another way He was saying, "because I said so."
Why?
In the times the Israelites lived, they wouldn't have understood the dangers eating many of these creatures presented. Some of them if prepared and cooked the correct way today we know are okay, but back then there was no way to test temperature or to explain to them the dangers of invisible bacteria.
Besides seeing the history of the Israelites, and people in general, if God had tried to explain invisible creatures they probably would have made gods to them.
So what does God do? Just what our parent did, they laid down the law. Don't do this.
We may think we are smarter today, but let's be honest. Look around, are we?
Most everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, but people do it anyway. And this is just one example, I could list more, but I think you get the point.
There are somethings even if God explained, we wouldn't obey or we would make some excuse for why we are the exception to the rule. It is what people have done for millennia. And there is that issue of creating more gods (or doctrine) because of the explanations, so God decided in his wisdom, which is greater than ours, that silence is the best option.
What do we do? Trust God to know better than we do.
We don't have to worry about the dietary laws of Christianity, but we do have plenty of other areas where we need to trust that God knows best. Don't look for excuses. I believe that all of the commandments God gives the Christian have solid reasons behind them, but they can all be dismissed and are if you want to.
At the end of the day, will you choose to trust God, or not? Looking back in light of modern science, we can see why God commanded the Israelites to do what they did (I won't take the time to list them all ). We see God's track record as being good. So let's trust him in the areas he directs us today.
Friday, January 26, 2018
TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 26th
Today's reading is from Leviticus 6-10.
However, today's blog is from chapter 5.
Leviticus 5:17 "If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible."
I have noticed that people like to make the claim, “That’s not fair,” though I am amazed how quick they are to dismiss the claim by others, that however, is a discussion for another time. When we look at this verse God doesn’t let anyone off the hook, ignorance is in God’s economy is not an excuse and it doesn’t let you off the hook.
The one thing God promised his people was if they did all that God commanded, they would live happier and healthier lives. Yet, we don’t see this happening for the Children of Israel. They look just as miserable and unhealthy as everyone else. So what is the deal?
I think the deal is that especially when it comes to matters of health, that ignorance doesn’t protect you. Not knowing the wire was live doesn’t protect you from getting electrocuted. Not knowing that the mushroom is poisonous doesn’t keep you from dying. Not know about STDs doesn’t protect you if you sleep around. Not knowing about bacteria doesn’t keep it from spreading. Not realizing that your working too hard, avoiding exercise, and not resting enough doesn’t stop the stroke. Not knowing there is land-mind doesn’t keep it from going off. That is the reality of our world.
However, aren’t you glad you don’t have to perfectly understand how a car works before it starts, or that you don’t first have to have an electrical degree for electricity to work or be a pharmacist for medicine to work? Or be a dietitian for food to nourish you or a chef for food to taste good? So maybe a knowledge requirement isn’t all its cracked up to be?
So where does this leave us? We need to realize that there are things both good and bad which are not a result of divine intervention but a consequence of the actions of ourselves or someone else. Second, we need to know that if it is our fault then we can go to God and ask for forgiveness. Finally, maybe we ought to be glad that life isn't fair and not complain about it.
However, today's blog is from chapter 5.
Leviticus 5:17 "If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible."
I have noticed that people like to make the claim, “That’s not fair,” though I am amazed how quick they are to dismiss the claim by others, that however, is a discussion for another time. When we look at this verse God doesn’t let anyone off the hook, ignorance is in God’s economy is not an excuse and it doesn’t let you off the hook.
The one thing God promised his people was if they did all that God commanded, they would live happier and healthier lives. Yet, we don’t see this happening for the Children of Israel. They look just as miserable and unhealthy as everyone else. So what is the deal?
I think the deal is that especially when it comes to matters of health, that ignorance doesn’t protect you. Not knowing the wire was live doesn’t protect you from getting electrocuted. Not knowing that the mushroom is poisonous doesn’t keep you from dying. Not know about STDs doesn’t protect you if you sleep around. Not knowing about bacteria doesn’t keep it from spreading. Not realizing that your working too hard, avoiding exercise, and not resting enough doesn’t stop the stroke. Not knowing there is land-mind doesn’t keep it from going off. That is the reality of our world.
However, aren’t you glad you don’t have to perfectly understand how a car works before it starts, or that you don’t first have to have an electrical degree for electricity to work or be a pharmacist for medicine to work? Or be a dietitian for food to nourish you or a chef for food to taste good? So maybe a knowledge requirement isn’t all its cracked up to be?
So where does this leave us? We need to realize that there are things both good and bad which are not a result of divine intervention but a consequence of the actions of ourselves or someone else. Second, we need to know that if it is our fault then we can go to God and ask for forgiveness. Finally, maybe we ought to be glad that life isn't fair and not complain about it.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 25th
This is taken from our readings in Leviticus 1-5
While preparing for my study of Leviticus I came across this note from Barnes’ Notes on the Bible:
“The tabernacle of the congregation - Rather, the tent of meeting. See Exodus 22:21 note. When Jehovah (Yahweh) was about to give His people the Law of the Ten Commandments Exodus 19:3 He called to Moses from the top of Mount Sinai in thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud. When He was now about to give them the laws by which their formal acts of worship were to be regulated, He called to Moses out of the tabernacle which had just been constructed at the foot of the mountain. Exodus 25:22.”[1]
I had never realized the importance of where God called Moses from when he gave the commandments, but it is important. The importance comes in light of the New Testament where we no longer obey the sacrificial system but still hold to the Ten Commandments. Some want to argue that we are inconsistent because we hold to part of the Law but not all of it. Yet we see here that the center of the Ten Commandments proceeds from the mountain which belongs one could say to everyone and to the tabernacle which held only to the children of Israel. We see Jesus and the New Testament writers repeating the commands given from the mountain (yes even a version of the Sabbath command in that God sanctifies all days, but that discussion is for another day), but throughout the New Testament, the sacrificial system is dismissed.
Why? I think the reason is seen here. We now have a new tabernacle which Stephen hints at in his address before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 and is clear talked about in Hebrew. The Levitical law laid out in Leviticus is a picture of the sinfulness of man and the sacrificial grace of Jesus, but it is not the law we now live under for we have a new tabernacle where we worship. A tabernacle not made by hand but made by God in the hearts of men as Jerimiah 31:33 says: "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
The law we are preparing to read is good to understand and know, but it is not the law which guides our lives, because now we enter into a new tabernacle, not the one Moses was called into here in Leviticus chapter 1.
[1] Barnes' Notes on the Bible. http://biblehub.com/commentaries/leviticus/1-1.htm. Accessed Jan. 25, 2018.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 24th
From today's readings Exodus 36-40
Exodus 40
Exodus 40
As we end the book of Exodus, chapter 40, we see the presence
of God filling the tabernacle and sitting over the tabernacle for the rest of
their journey. I am reminded of the faithfulness of God here. For forty years,
the pillar of fire/cloud would be with them. It was with them in obedience, in
faith, in sin, and in doubt. While they traveled through the wilderness, God
gave direction.
The other thing I notice is that God in the wilderness
journey, was their only guild. He decided when it was time to move and when it
was time to stay. There was no board meeting, no conference of moving in the wilderness,
and no vote. It was always God’s decision.
We need to remember it is still God’s decision when we
should stay or go. We stay when God say stay. If He isn’t prompting them don’t
move, don’t do anything. On the other side if God says to get going, then get
moving.
There are two dangers in many churches, though to be
honest usually the first is more often found. The first is the danger to stay
where we are doing what we are doing and not move. The second is just as bad,
change for the sake of change. Both can be argued from good intentions and good
reasons. We have never done it that way before or we have to change with the
time. The people who lean one way or the other see the other side as worst, but
both end up being without the presence of God.
Consider where is the presence of God? Also remember,
God doesn’t need your advice on when it is time to stay or move. He knows best.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
TCN's Biblical Journey Jan 23
Today's readings are from Exodus 31-35
Exodus 33
A friend of mine has said, “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” The phrase seems true yet part of me wonders if that's all there is. When it comes to spiritual matters Jesus made it clear that if we seek God with our whole hearts we will, not maybe, find him. In the scripture today in Exodus 33, Moses asks God to teach him His ways so that he, Moses, can know God and continue to please God. The student here is ready and God answers.
Then I considered where we are. Do we really want to know God’s ways? Do we really want to know him? The answer I know should be YES, but at times I think part of me prays the prayer of St. Augustine “Lord, make me chaste, but not yet.”
You see the teacher is ready, but many times we aren’t. The greatest way we can learn the ways of God is reading scripture (prayer and Bible studies are right up there too). The tools are there, the teacher is there. We can know God better, but will we move? Will we push through the hard parts and sometimes the not exciting parts? Before God revealed himself to Moses here in a new way, but first Moses had to chisel out two tablets of stone. I have to guess this wasn’t exciting or fun work, let alone quick, but afterward, God revealed Himself to Moses in a way which so changed him that his face shone like the sun.
In the next two weeks, we face some of the most difficult passages in the Bible to read, Leviticus and Numbers. It will be like chiseling stone for many, but the rewards if faithful, I believe will be worth it.
One last note, Moses realized the way to keep pleasing God was to know him better. It’s true for us as well, the only way we can continue to please God is to know him better. The words Charles Dickens gave to the ghost of Christmas Present ring in my mind, “Come near and know me better, man.” I can’t help but think this is the call of God as well.
So, let’s draw near and know Him better...
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