Devoted to Scripture

Day 44 of the podcast, reading Numbers 3-4 NET, read along at:

This is day 44 of our journey.

Today, we see God set apart the Levites for special service to the Lord.  The Levites were a tribe with a history of violence who, in Genesis 49, Jacob himself prophesied would be scattered for their anger and wrath. Through the years, however, the Levites had set themselves apart in Israel as a tribe who feared the Lord and were courageous enough to obey His will when others around them walked in darkness. God chose to redeem the Levites and tasked them to serve the priests and the tabernacle. From this point forward, Levi would not be counted in the general census of Israel, but would be valued separately as a tribe devoted to the service of God, the Tabernacle, and its utensils.

Join me in Numbers 3-4 as God redeems a people known for violence and guides them to become a tribe of his most faithful servants.

Key verses:

Numbers 3:6

Numbers 4:49

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 43 of the podcast, reading Numbers 1-2 NET, read along at:

This is day 43 of our journey.

Today, we dive into the fourth book of the Bible.  While the English name of the book is Numbers, in the Hebrew language, its name is Bemidbar (Meaning "In the Desert"). Numbers begins with a census of all the people of Israel as they prepared to head into the wilderness after the year they had spent at Mt. Sinai.  Every male of fighting age was counted and every tribe was given their position in the assembly, both where to camp and where to march.  The numbers listed show that God had been faithful to fulfill his promises to Abraham...the Lord continued to bless his servant's offspring as they became a great nation.

Join me in Numbers 1-2 to hear how, in the midst of slavery and strife, God continued to keep His promises and formed a mighty nation from a single family line.

Key verses:

Numbers 1:2

Numbers 2:32

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Check out these links for more thoughts on the topic:

Commentary on Numbers 1:

Are the numbers in the Bible accurate?

Day 42 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 26-27 NET, read along at:

This is day 42 of our journey.

The book of Leviticus closes today as God draws a clear line in the sand for His chosen people.  The Lord declared that he would bless the nation of Israel if they would follow His commands and heed the word of the Lord.  Alternately, he would curse and punish his children if they chose to reject the Lord and place their trust in other gods or other nations.  Israel was warned of a future exile from their land but were promised that, even in exile, the Lord would be with them and would bring them back to the land He has promised them. Finally, God offers a redemption price for different things that could be dedicated to him.  This valuation spoke to their worth in an agrarian society instead of to their intrinsic value.

Join me in Leviticus 26-27 to hear the difference between the lives of the who choose to follow our Holy and Just God and those who deny him.

Key verses:

Leviticus 26:34

Leviticus 27:34

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Check out these links for more thoughts on the topic:

Are men more valuable than women according to Leviticus 27?

Day 41 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 24-25 NET, read along at:

This is day 41 of our journey.

Today, we learn more about God's justice amongst the people of Israel.  We will hear the tale of a man who blasphemed God to his neighbor and learn of his punishment. We are also reminded of the basic punishments prescribed for those who have inflicted injuries on others. Beyond this, we learn of property rights in Israel, especially as they pertain to the Year of Jubilee. God is providing for his people and every person has a right to their freedom and their land.  If a person is poor and forced to sell themselves or their land, that sale shall be nullified in the Year of Jubilee.  The people and the land belong to God.

Join me in Leviticus 24-25 to see a Just God working to preserve the possessions of his people.

Key verses:

Leviticus 24:22

Leviticus 25:55

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 40 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 22-23 NET, read along at:

This is day 40 of our journey.

Today, We see another picture of what it meant to be "set apart" as a priest of the Most High.  The Lord it made very clear that Aaron and his sons must remain ceremonially clean as they served Him in the Tabernacle.  We are reminded of the holiness of the things offered to God and the proper way to interact with them.  The very food that the priests ate was set apart as holy and God gave very specific rules on who was eligible to eat of the priestly food and who was not.  The reading continues as God gives a calendar of feasts to be celebrated by all Jews. These feasts, much like Israel's priests, were set aside for the worship of the Lord and were to be treated as Holy.  The Lord scattered these festivals throughout the year so that the people would remember and worship their God as well as to provide times of rest and restoration for the laborers.

Join me in Leviticus 22-23 as we are reminded of God's holiness and His faithful provision for those who serve Him.

Key verses:

Leviticus 22:32

Leviticus 23:4

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 39 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 19-21 NET, read along at:

This is day 39 of our journey.

Today, God reveals that a person cannot love the things of the world and fully love God at the same time.  His words are clear: "You are to be holy to me because I the Lord am holy and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own."  Over and over, God reiterates his call to holiness as he gives numerous example of the ways that the Canaanite people have failed to be holy.  These sinful desires and actions are the things of the world...and they show a grim picture of the lifestyles that Israel must avoid in order to serve the one True King.  They are to be different...a people set apart from the nations...a mirror to reflect the glory of the Lord and to shine His light throughout the land.

Join me in Leviticus 19-21 to see the holiness of God contrasted with the depravity of men.

Key verses:

Leviticus 19:2

Leviticus 20:23

Leviticus 21:8

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 38 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 16-18 NET, read along at:

This is day 38 of our journey.

In today's reading, God blesses the Israelites with an annual Day of Atonement. This was the most holy of God's festivals.  Despite God dwelling among His people, there was still a separation between God and man.  The Day of Atonement was the only day that the High priest could enter presence of God within the Most Holy Place to atone for the sins of the people.  Looking forward, the final Day of Atonement came when Christ died and tore the veil that separated humanity from the Most Holy Place, giving all people free access to God!  Israel is also given laws about the proper butchering of animals and a prohibition of the consumption of blood.  Finally, God gives laws regarding improper sexual relations and points to the fact that these sexual sins were the very practices that the Canaanites were taking part in that had caused them to be unworthy of continuing on the earth.

Join me in Leviticus 16-18 to learn about the grace of God covering our sins!

Key verses:

Leviticus 16:34

Leviticus 17:11

Leviticus 18:24

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 37 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 14-15 NET, read along at:

This is day 37 of our journey.

As we read more rules about ritual purity, it's important to remember being unclean was not necessarily the same thing as sin.  While sin separates us from God and makes us spiritually unclean, these laws address situations that made the bodies of the Israelites physically unclean. Because of God's holy and perfect nature, a worshiper needed to be both physically and spiritually clean to be in the presence of God at his Tabernacle.  

Join me in Leviticus 14-15 to learn more about physical purity and the ways in which God's people were kept healthy and His Tabernacle was kept sacred

Key verses:

Leviticus 14:2

Leviticus 15:31

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 36 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 11-13 NET, read along at:

This is day 36 of our journey.

Today we read about some of God's laws that deal with ritual purity.  Purity (both physical and spiritual) is of great importance to God and is a theme that we see repeated countless times throughout Scripture.  As God addresses physical purity with laws designed to protect Israel from sources of contagious disease, we learn about the animals that are eligible to be eaten by the Israelite people and also about the impurity after childbirth. God also gives his people instructions for assessing skin disorders and how to identify a variety of contagious skin diseases known collectively as "leprosy" during that era.

Join me in Leviticus 11-13 to learn about God's provision in protecting the health of His people.                 

Key verses:

Leviticus 11:47

Leviticus 12:7

Leviticus 13:2

All Scriptures are from the NET.

Day 35 of the podcast, reading Leviticus 8-10 NET, read along at:

This is day 35 of our journey.

Today Aaron and his sons are set apart as priests for the people and are made holy to the Lord, Moses makes atonement for them and anoints them according to the command of the Lord.  It is a week-long process that prepares them to serve in God's presence. But, no sooner has the process been completed, than two of Aaron's sons choose to ignore God's detailed instructions for His priests and attempt to bring glory to themselves by using God's holy instruments in their own way. The sudden death of these two prideful men was a vivid reminder for the priests of the seriousness and holy fear with which they must approach their sacred duties.

Join me in Leviticus 8-10 to learn of the holiness of Lord, the destructive nature of pride, and the requirements for priests who served within God's presence.

Key verses:

Leviticus 8:12

Leviticus 9:23

Leviticus 10:19

All Scriptures are from the NET.