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Six weeks and counting…counting…counting… Why do they call this book Numbers?

Well, if you’re like me you may have trouble reading Leviticus.  It may be difficult to understand and overwhelming in its detail.  However, as I read my Bible more often and read the words of Jesus and His disciples and early followers, I see the traces of Leviticus in their actions and arguments.  Actually the heart of God does begin to come through in Leviticus as I understand Him better.

Still, there may be questions arising in your head when you encounter Leviticus, such as, “How do we know when to take the words in the bible literally and when not to?“

I think the notes in the ESV Study Bible (2008 Crossway Books, pg. 213) describe it best.

   “The book of Leviticus is concerned with what it means to be the holy people of a holy God: it provides instruction for conduct, both in private and as members of the body of God’s people, and it details the ways in which the sacrifices and priesthood are to be administered as God’s gracious provision for his people’s failures.  Without doubt, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the culmination of salvation history, according to which he fulfilled the goals of the various offerings, the holy objects, the role of the chief priest, and the holy feasts.  He also, by his resurrection, entered into his Davidic kingship and has initiated the era in which the people of God include the Gentiles and are no longer defined as a nation-state.  Because of this, Christ’s atoning work made obsolete the literal observance of not only the animal sacrifices and offerings, but also the temple worship as a whole.

   But as long as believers continue to bear their sinful nature (which they do until they die), the atoning grace of Christ does not make Leviticus irrelevant to NT believers, since principles can still be learned from the underlying laws in this book.  In fact, NT writers such as the apostles Paul and Peter employ language taken from Leviticus in their exhortations to believers to follow Christ (e.g., offerings, the tabernacle, priesthood, and feasts).  NT authors use the burnt offering (1Peter 1:19), sin offering (e.g., Romans 8:3; Hebrews 5:3; 13:11; 1Peter 3:18; 1John 2:2; 4:10), and guilt offering (possibly 1Corinthians 15:3, using Isaiah 53:10) to explain what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and the peace offering to explain the Christian Lord’s Supper (1Corinthians 10:16-18).  Thus the book of Leviticus serves as a constant reminder of the person and work of Jesus Christ and challenges believers to apply his gospel.”

Makes you want to read Leviticus again, doesn’t it?

The book of Numbers starts off with a census.  We typically do them every 10 years, but counting (or “numbering”) Israel wasn’t a regular thing for the Israelites.  Notice that God commands Moses to do this only 13 months after the Exodus.  If you read carefully you’ll notice that God only commands him to count the males, the heads of the families, from 20 years old and older.  So how many does that leave out?  If you figure that the ratio of women to men is roughly 50:50 and that there were surely numerous children in each family, you can imagine just how numerous Israel really was.

So why the census and why this methodology?  Well some theologians believe there were two purposes to the census:  (1) to demonstrate the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the sand on the seashore (Gen 22:17); and (2) to count the number of men over 20 years old who could fight.  Both considerations should give the people confidence in their battle for the land.

SPOILER ALERT:      This initial generation of Israelites grumbles and complains and exhibits such a gross lack of faith that God punishes them by refusing to allow them to enter the Promised Land.  Instead they must wander the wilderness for 40 years until the next generation has grown up to be able to take the Land.  So in chapter 26 we’ll encounter another census of Israel.  This time the census is concerned with the number of able fighting men, but perhaps more importantly there is a focus on each of the families (or clans) so as to be able to properly divide the Promised Land for each of the tribes of Israel to inhabit.  With all of the “numbers” is there little doubt why this book was entitled Numbers?

Today, we are almost half way through to Easter!!!  How are you doing with your reading plan?  Are you keeping up?  There is still time to catch up if you are not.  As you prepare your hearts and minds to celebrate Jesus’ substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross for you and me, and His subsequent resurrection from the dead, think through Leviticus again and how all of Scripture points to Him.

As always, if you have questions or comments, leave them in the blog…

Let’s hear from you!

[Blog rules/protocol can be found in the Week 2(&1) blog…]

Welcome Back to the Bible Blog!

Five weeks and running…  Marathon runners call it, “The Wall”.  I call it Leviticus!  I remember the first time I tried reading the Bible from Cover-to-Cover.  Genesis was great!  Exodus was thrilling!  Leviticus was…. well…. frustrating!  What were they talking about?!?

I liked the stories of the Bible.  What’s with all these rules and regulations?!?!  I’m not a lawyer, nor did I ever want to be!

I tried three times to pick up Leviticus and read it… with no success.  So I jumped to the New Testament!  Ahh!  The Gospels!  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John!  My friends!  Stories!!!  Stories about Jesus!

This was more like it.

It took me a few years to realize that I better pick it back up, strap it on and get going with the rest of the Old Testament.  Besides, without the Old Testament we really can’t understand the New Testament, at least not fully.  The Old Testament was the bible of the disciples.  Whenever Jesus quoted from, “The Law and the Prophets,” He was quoting the Old Testament.

And… Leviticus, like it or not, was a part of the Old Testament.  Might as well suck it up, get it over with, get through it, plow ahead, muster on, and all those other metaphors that indicate an unpleasant, but unavoidable task.

Wait a minute!  If God felt it was important to instruct Israel about His Laws, if He felt it was important enough to preserve it in writing for more than 3,500 years, if He intended them (and us?) to take them seriously, maybe I’m missing something.  Maybe there’s a gold mine in this book that I’m not getting…

So we dive in to…Leviticus!

The Hebrew title for this book is wayyiqra (pronounced vai yik ra’). It means, “and he called”.  This is simply the first word in the original in Hebrew (in fact all the books in Hebrew were titled by the first word in the book).  Our chapter 1 verse 1 translation goes, “The LORD called…”

However our English title, Leviticus, comes from a Greek translation of the Old Testament that was the common bible of Jesus’ day.  The Greek version was called the Septuagint, sometimes abbreviated LXX.

LXX is simply the Roman numeral for 70 and septuaginta is the Latin word for 70.  The Septuagint, tradition tells us, was created by 70 translators working in the 3rd Century BC to translate the original Hebrew into Greek (the more common language of the day).  The details are a little more debated, but there is general agreement that the Pentateuch (or the first Five Books) were translated in the 3rd Century BC.

In this translation of the Old Testament the book, wayyiqra, is entitled leyitikon, meaning, “things concerning Levites.”  From this we get Leviticus, which is more descriptive than, “and he called,” but is a little misleading, as we are beginning to see as we read, this book is about more than just priestly duties.

Ok, by now you probably realize that I’m stalling a little here.  What you really want to know is, “What does all this stuff mean!?!?!”

Well, as you’ve already figured out, Leviticus can be difficult to understand, particularly because most of us are not familiar with ancient rituals and the worship practices of the tabernacle.  The end of Exodus showed the Tabernacle completed and God’s presence filling the Holy of Holies.

Leviticus concerns the Laws that God handed down within a month of the completion of the Tabernacle, the ordination of the first priesthood (Aaron and his sons) and the first worship service there.

In a general sense these Laws show the absolute purity of God in contrast to the moral depravity of man.  Despite our depravity God desires a close relationship with us.  However, to be a flawed sinful person and be in close proximity to an all-powerful, perfect God is a terrifying thing.  God’s Holiness demands perfect Justice.  He cannot be in close proximity to sin or His very character would be marred by it.

His character attributes of perfect Justice and Righteousness would demand destruction of the sinful people in His presence.  However, His immeasurable Love for us requires His Mercy and Grace to function if He wants to have a close relationship with us. Thus the sacrificial system with its guidelines for unintentional, and even intentional, sins.

As the Bible makes clear without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin.  These sacrifices should not only make the point that we fall so far short of God’s perfect standard, but they also point to the Ultimate Sacrifice to come, namely Jesus.

So for an overview of what we’ve read so far in Leviticus…

Chapters 1-5 (approximately) present:

Five Major Offerings

1. The burnt offering (1:1-17)
2. The grain offering (2:1-16)
3. The peace offering (3:1-17)
4. The sin offering (4:1-5:13) and
5. The guilt offering (5:14-6:7)

Chapters 6 & 7 Explain:

The Handling of these Offerings

1. The burnt offering (6:8-13)
2. The grain offering (6:4-23)
3. The sin offering (6:24-30)
4. The guilt offering (7:1-10)
5. The peace offering (7:11-36)

But what about this Clean / Unclean / Holy business?

Many conversations have taken place as to what these terms mean exactly.  Some believe they refer to hygienic conditions, but these aren’t really references to hygiene at all.  They are more references to “ritual conditions”.  In other words, you may be “unclean” or “ritually impure” because you’ve broken one of these laws, which would mean you couldn’t come into the tabernacle grounds, but it does not mean you are unhealthy or unrighteous.

Wow!  This post is getting long…

I think I’m going to stop here for this week.  Don’t worry; we’ll be in Leviticus for most of this coming week, so we’ll have plenty of time to comment more.

In the mean time, give us your thoughts and questions on what you are reading this week.  For instance, what is so special about those “white hairs”?

Let’s hear from you…

[Blog rules/protocol can be found in the Week 2(&1) blog…]

Welcome Back to the Bible Blog!

Hey!  Four weeks in!  Woo Hoo!!!  Only 11 months to go and we’re all the way through.  If you are a day or two behind, don’t worry.  It doesn’t take long to catch up!  Just try to make this an everyday habit.  In fact, if you’ve been diligent to do this every day it probably has already become a habit.

So this week’s blog…

The story picks up with 2-3 million Israelites standing on the shores of the Red Sea.  About to go for a leisurely dip?  Looking to sun themselves on one of their first days of freedom?  Nope!  Their greatest fear is about to come true.  Egypt, the world’s most formidable army, is bearing down on them.  Their backs are to the sea.  Their fate is just about to be sealed and they’re terrified.  Wouldn’t you be?  So they start to complain to Moses about their plight.  But God’s word comes through Moses as he tells them, “you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)

Q:  How many times in your life when the world seems to be crashing down on you has God been whispering in your ear, “You need only to be still”?

Not too many verses later after God rescued them we read, “And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” (Exodus 14:31)  Too bad this didn’t last…

So…

… they complain about bitter water (Exodus 15:22-27)

… they complain about lack of food (Exodus 16:1-3)

… they complain about lack of water (Exodus 17:3)

… they complain… and complain… and complain!

Q:  After being remarkably blessed by God, have you ever resembled “complaining Israel”?  (hint:  we all have)

Enter Jethro!  (I just love that name, Jethro!)  Moses’ father-in-law comes to the rescue!  There really can be wisdom in the older generation.

Q:  Do we remember to respect them and listen to them?

The “Thou Shalts”!

The Ten Commandments enter the picture! (Exodus 20:1-17).  Notice the pattern?  The first 4 concern our relationship with God and the last 6 concern our relationship with each other.

So did you think these were the only “rules”?  Read on and we begin seeing all kinds of rules for how we are to live with God and each other, including personal injuries and even injuries to our animals.  The list is just getting started?

Q:  Why do you think there are all these rules and guidelines?

Q:  With so many rules listed, why do you think the 10 Commandments get all the attention?

Someone pointed out to me that there seems to be a strange command of God in Exodus 20:26… “do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.”  What?  Hmm… the answer may be found in Exodus 28:42-43.

Let’s pitch a tent!

Between Exodus 20 and Exodus 28 we have the designs and plans for the Tabernacle and all its implements, including what the priests would wear.  Notice how God has specifically gifted each of them for the exact work they are to do for Him?  Their work brings God glory!

Q:  How has God gifted you?

Q:  What can you do to bring God glory?

Remember above we talked about “Complaining Israel”?  Incredibly blessed by God, rescued by Him, having Him make water drinkable, provide manna from Heaven, provide water from a rock, and yet… they can’t wait 40 days for Moses to return from the mountain top?

The Golden Calf

Can you believe Aaron’s story to Moses?  “Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Exodus 32:24b)

Of all the ridiculous stories… sounds like ones I’ve told at times.  How about you?

Let’s hear from you…

[Blog rules/protocol can be found in the Week 2(&1) blog…]

Week 3 – Bible Blog! (Genesis 43 – Exodus 12)

Welcome Back to the Bible Blog!

[Blog rules/protocol can be found in the Week 2(&1) blog…]

So how are you doing with your daily reading?  It’s been three weeks already and you should be up to Exodus 13-15 for today.  If you are a day or two behind, don’t worry.  It doesn’t take long to catch up!  Just try to make this an everyday habit.  In fact, if you’ve been diligent to do this every day it probably has already become a habit.

Judah – his name sounds like the Hebrew word for, “praise” (Gen 29:35).  Remember that Genesis chapter 38 seemed a little odd for its placement (not to mention its content) in the middle of Joseph’s story?  We see a glimpse of the reason in Genesis 49 as we read Jacob’s blessing to his 12 sons.  Judah’s older brothers, Reuben, Simeon & Levi, were not given enviable blessings from their dying father, but Judah… Judah was given a great blessing for the line of promise would come through him!  “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Gen 49:8-12).  The story of Judah and Tamar (Gen 38) was intended to preserve the story of the line of promise.  We’ll see later that Judah & Tamar are mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:3).

Jacob & Joseph are, “gathered to their people” – “Gathered to his people” is a euphemism for, “he bought the farm”, “he kicked the bucket”, “he passed away”,… in other words, he died.  We read at the end of Genesis that Joseph died after getting his brothers to promise that when God rescued his people from Egypt that his bones would be carried out of Egypt by the surviving Israelites (Gen 50:24-25).

And Then There Were 400 Years of Silence…

Four hundred years separate Genesis from Exodus (and most of you simply took a few hours break before continuing your reading ;).  However, God predicted all that we began reading this week.  In Gen 15:13-14 He told Abram (not yet renamed Abraham), “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.  But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves and afterward they will come out with great possessions.”

After 400 years God calls Moses (a kind of son of the King – he was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter) to lead His people out of Egypt (Exodus 3:10).  When changing a staff into a snake doesn’t convince Pharaoh that Moses’ God is The God, God begins to test Egypt with 10 plagues!  These plagues demonstrated that Israel’s God was THE GOD!  Each plague was a challenge to an Egyptian “god,” demonstrating that their gods were powerless.  Only Israel’s God was really God.

It’s interesting to note that God mentions at least 4 times that He spared the Israelites from a particular plague (flies, livestock, hail and darkness), but not the final plague, the death of the firstborn son.

For this plague God commanded Moses to have the Israelites sacrifice a one year old lamb, smear the blood of the lamb on the posts and over their doors, and stay inside for the night.  Among other directions, including making bread without yeast (called ‘unleavened’ bread) he told them to prepare for God’s deliverance.  Late at night an angel would come throughout the land of Egypt and kill the first born male (humans and animals), but when he saw the blood of the lamb he would “pass-over” these houses without harming them.  This would become known as Passover and would be an annual festival to mark how God had saved them and rescued them from bondage in Egypt (Exodus 11-12).

Hmm… 400 silent years and then the deliverer comes.  Does this sound familiar?

Between the last book of the Old Testament (Malachi) and the first book of the New Testament (Matthew) there were… 400 years of silence.

Then the Deliverer comes!  Jesus, the Prince of Peace (prince… you know, a kind of Son of the King!) comes to deliver us from our bondage to sin and death (Romans 6).  Celebrating Passover with His disciples, what some call “The Last Supper”, Jesus institutes a new memorial.  He takes the bread and says, “This is my body” and the cup of wine, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood,” and says this is, “given for you,” for me, for all who believe!  (The Egyptians didn’t believe and they were not spared.)

Jesus is called The Lamb of God who takes away sins.  He’s called The Bread of Life!

So Here’s the Question…

Moses was a child of bondage, raised in the palace, guilty of murder, self-exiled, shepherd wanderer who at the age of 80 was called by God to do what Moses believed he couldn’t do.  He was a stuttering nervous man.  However God accomplished amazing things through him (when he submitted to God).

Are you guilty of some terrible sin?  (Moses was a murderer.)

Are you too old?  (Moses was 80 when God called him.)

Are you not very eloquent?  (Moses stuttered.)

What can you do for God?  You’ll never know until you submit to Him.

So, what do you think?  Any thoughts on this or other elements of what we read this week?

Let’s hear from you!