Leviticus 24-25

Daily Reading

Leviticus 24-25

Daily Thought

Woody Guthrie wrote a folk song about America that began, "This land is your land."  The Hebrews could adopt that line for their new nation.  The next line, however, "This land is my land," Israel couldn't sing.  God was clear about that: "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me" (Leviticus 25:23).  The year of Jubilee would remind them of this.  Every 50th year was a reset.  The game started over, everyone returned to their original place, debts were covered, and slaves were freed.  Mountains of wealth and valleys of poverty were leveled.  

It was a reminder that the land wasn't a personal possession, that the Israelites were guests of God, "strangers and sojourners with me."  It should remind us, as well, that our home isn't truly here, but somewhere else.  "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2Corinthians 5:1).  

Finally, it should remind us that we needn't fear.  We do not have to fend for ourselves, but we are under the care of God.  Two words are absolutely vital for Jubilee to work and be a good thing: "with me."  We are strangers and sojourners "with God."  That means the land is his, not some ruler who could arbitrarily use it for his needs and wants and desires.  It belongs to the righteous and holy God who cause all things to work for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes.  "I am the LORD your God."

Daily Prayer

Father in Heaven, the world is Yours, and all that is in it. You are the source of every good and every blessing. My greatest blessing is adoption into Your family because of the saving work of Your Son. You call it grace. I call it good news.

Teach me to share.    

Amen

Leviticus 22-23

Daily Reading

Leviticus 22-23

Daily Thought

In 1946, Truett Cathy opened a restaurant he dubbed the Dwarf Grill, because it was small. Right from the start, Cathy determined they would rest on the Lord's Day.  "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places" (Leviticus 23:3).  Closed on Sunday.  I guess you can do that when you're small.

Have you ever heard of Chick-Fil-A? That was Truett's next restaurant. Chain of restaurants, actually. They are HUGE! They are everywhere.  They are closed on Sunday.  Truett Cathy explains why. "Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and directing our attention to things more important than our business. If it took seven days to make a living with a restaurant, then we needed to be in some other line of work."

When I heard about Truett Cathy's commitment, I wanted to support him.  So, right after church, I took the whole family to lunch at Chick-Fil-A.  They were closed.

Daily Prayer

Creator God, in six days You created the heavens and the earth. All the glory and majesty. All of life. On the seventh day, You rested. You show me how to work and how to worship.

My desire, God, is to be like You. To reflect Your image. To be Christlike. Father, may I rest in You. Strengthen my faith so that I trust You enough to stop. To stop my efforts. To live in Your rest, Your care, Your glory.

Amen

Leviticus 19-21

Daily Reading

Leviticus 19-21

Daily Thought

Question: Why don't Christians today obey all the laws and instructions of the Old Testament?

The short answer is, we did. That needs to be explained, doesn't it?  

Leviticus 19.  Israel is not "one nation under God," it is The Nation Ruled by God, and here is what that looks like: "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."  You shall be different than those other nations around you that are not The Nation Ruled by God.  You shall be a nation set apart to me.  Count how many times chapter 19 reminds them, "I am the LORD your God."  This long list of instructions tell the Israelites how to do "I am the LORD your God."  The chapter closes simply and straightforward: "Do them!"

Jesus did them.  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17).  He fulfilled all righteousness, then offered the most incredibly, ridiculously wonderful trade of all time: his righteousness for our sin.  "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2Corinthians 5:21)."

This doesn't mean the Law goes away.  Jesus repeats, "Be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Matthew 5:48, he says 'perfect,' but means the same thing), and so do his disciples (1Peter 1:16).  The key is a verse right in the middle of Leviticus 19, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  Jesus, who did it all, says that verse sums it up: all the Law and the Prophets hang on two commandments: Love God, love your neighbor (Matthew 22:40).  

We obeyed the Law when Jesus obeyed the Law, and when his righteousness became ours.  Now we live it.  Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." ~Matthew 22:37-39

Daily Prayer

God, You so loved the world that You sent Your one and only Son. Anyone believing in Him will receive eternal life. In Your grace, You did not send Your Son to condemn me. In Your holiness, You would have been justified to do so, but Your Son became condemnation so I might receive justification in His Name.

The Name of Jesus is the Name above all names. May I never mix it with any others. May I always hold it high. May I walk in Your ways, increasing Your reputation in this world. May I humble myself and direct all glory to You.

Amen

Leviticus 16-18

Daily Reading

Leviticus 16-18

Daily Thought

There were two goats used on the Day of Atonement.  One was slaughtered and its blood was carried into the Holy of Holies by the high priest. That was the blood that covered the guilt of the people in the sight of God. Now their conscience was purified and they could serve the living God.

The other goat was held at the entrance of the tabernacle until the high priest came out and laid his hands on its head. Acting on behalf of all the people of Israel, the high priest confessed the sins of the people. He transferred them to this animal. This second goat is the "scapegoat."  That's what we call someone who takes the blame. This goat not only received the blame but also carried the guilt far away into the wilderness. As far as East is from the west.  

Together those two goats are a blueprint of the redemptive work of Jesus. His blood has covered our sins in the sight of God, just as the blood of the first goat did once each year, but now once for all time. He became the scapegoat for all his people. Jesus our Savior was loaded with all our sins and carried them far, far away.  As far as East is from West.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 

as far as the east is from the west, 

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

~Psalm 103:11-12

Daily Prayer

God, thank You for replacing my sinful nature with that of Your Holy Spirit. As I walk in Your ways year after year, I am aware of that my sins wreck my relationship with You. Help me to remove one by one those sins, so that I may walk straight Your path. 

Lord of Glory, impress on my mind that because of the cross of Jesus Christ there is for me a crown of glory, because I have placed my trust in Him.Amen

Leviticus 14-15

Daily Reading

Leviticus 14-15

Daily Thought

The ritual begins with two birds.  One bird killed and put into a clay bowl.  Birds don't belong in clay bowls. They belong in the heavens. Christ Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7).  We have this treasure in jars of clay (2Corinthians 4:7).  

The other bird dipped in the blood and turned loose to fly.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7).  

As the bird flew into the skies, Israel knew someone had been made pure and free.  For freedom Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1).

Israel is being made ready for their Savior.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, eternal God.  You knew how You were going to save me long before I sinned.  My sin is terrible, and reminders of it are terrible and bloody, but I need those reminders.  I so easily think of my sins as common, and forget that I was not made for sin, but for Your glory.  

Teach me to hate sin and love salvation.  Remind me of the death sin brings, if only to make my desire grow for Your goodness and glory and grace.  May I set my mind always on things above, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  

Amen

Leviticus 11-13

Daily Reading

Leviticus 11-13

Daily Thought

Question: What were God's reasons for declaring some food clean and some unclean, or certain conditions such as childbirth, menstruation, and leprosy unclean?

Lots of reasons have been offered.  Perhaps there is symbolism in the choice of animals.  The clean animals represented virtues, the unclean vices.  Or maybe the unclean animals were the ones that the godless countries around Israel used in their pagan worship.  One idea is that the unclean animals and the unclean conditions were psychologically repulsive.  Others argue that certain animals, scavengers mostly, and the blood of childbirth and menstruation, and, of course, the diseases of chapter 13, were unclean because they were literally unclean.  They were unhealthy and lacked hygiene.  But all of a sudden, in Acts 10, God told Peter that he could eat everything, that God had declared all these animals clean. Did they suddenly become healthy, too?

Here's what I think, and I am just speculating here, because honestly, I don't know.  There is a similar question that may help.  Why did God choose Israel?  Why didn't he choose the Egyptians or the Canaanites or some other people group.  Certainly, it wasn't because the Israelites were better or healthier or less repulsive than the others.  They weren't.  God chose them because he is God and he gets to choose.  He may have his reasons (he may not), but he does not have to tell us, and he didn't.  He simply chose.  It may sound arbitrary, but I'm eternally grateful he chose me, and I didn't give him a good reason to, either.  

He called his people to be holy.  To be holy is to be set apart, to be distinguished from what is common.   The declaration of clean and unclean reminded the Israelites that God demands purity through obedience and sacrifice.  We obey God, not because it makes sense or is beneficial, but because of who he is, the holy, good, righteous, full of grace, all-loving God of the heavens and the earth.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, You are good.  May my life be holy, set apart for Your purposes.  You have made me a saint, righteous because of the work of Your Son.  You have filled me with Your Holy Spirit.  Work Your salvation through me from the inside out.  Take my desires and make them Yours, so that what I do will reflect Your character.

God, I have choices in front of me everyday, clean and unclean.  May I discern the difference and choose wisely.  May I trust in Your ways and follow closely.  

Amen

Leviticus 8-10

Daily Reading

Leviticus 8-10

Daily Thought

Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron and priests of the tabernacle, offered unauthorized fire before the LORD (Leviticus 10:1-2).  Not sure what that fire was, except it was wrong.  So God sent his own fire, not to consume the offering, but to consume the offerers.  God not only desires obedience, he demands it, especially from priests.

In the movie Hoosiers, Coach Dale had rules if you wanted to play basketball on his team.  One was "Four passes before a shot."  By the end of the season, the discipline would make champions of the Hickory High basketball team, but early on, it just made them dull, so one of the stars decided he knew better than the coach. He ignored the rule and started shooting instead of passing. He made some baskets. He got Hickory High back into the game. He excited the crowd. He infuriated the coach. He got benched.

Near the end of the game, a Hickory high player fouled out, leaving four on the floor. "You need a fifth," the referee informed the coach, and the disobedient star, the only player available, jumped up, ready to re-enter the game.  Coach Dale sat him back down.  "My team is on the floor."

That's what God said, with more emphasis (fire out of heaven and all), "See those players who do what I say, they are my team."

"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." 

~1Samuel 15:22

Daily Prayer

Lord God, thank You for Your Word. It lights my path, and shows me how to live. It teaches me Your ways.

God, I tell You I love You.  Let me show You, as well, by obeying everything You have taught me.  By not only reading Your Word, but also doing it.  

Amen