Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 36.

David was a prophet, not just a king. Here in Psalm 36, David prophecies about the evil of humanity. His words condemn the godless in particular, but these words of law convict all of us, since we all share in the sinful posture of pride. In pride, we say “Chief of sinners though I be, so-and-so is worse than me.” It’s all about making comparisons.

The comparison ought to be made, however, not to the people around us, but to the unchanging judgments of God. They are higher than the heavens and more fundamental than the “cosmic abyss” of Genesis 1. The universal and timeless scope of God’s righteousness is terrifying, but it’s also comforting. God is intimately involved with His creation. He does not leave us helpless against the plots of evil men, but He thrusts them down with “the foot” of His Messiah, crushing the head of the ancient serpent and the forces of darkness.

Rev. Tom Park, Assistant Professor of Theology at Concordia University Irvine, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 8.

Numbers 8 starts by talking about menorahs, the lampstands that you seen around Advent and Christmas when Hanukkah is celebrated. Only, these menorahs are a little different: they have seven lamps which can be pointed in different directions within the dark Tabernacle. What’s that about? Why are there seven lamps, anyway?

The chapter continues with the dedication of the Levites. We already read about this in chapters 3 and 4, but remember that Numbers “started over” in chapter 7. This time, we get details we didn’t have before. The Levites are offered as a “wave offering.” What does it mean that people are presented as a sacrifice? This prefigures our Lord Jesus, who was both consecrated and offered up as the ultimate firstborn. He is the firstborn of God, and He is also the firstborn of the dead, the first “wave” of the resurrection.

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 7.

The first part of Numbers picks up where Leviticus left off, describing the roles of the Levites and the priests, concluding with the priestly blessing. Numbers chapter 7 goes back one month to where the book of Exodus left off, describing the big-picture experience of the Israelites as a whole.

This chapter is all about how every tribe gets to participate in the dedication of the Tabernacle. In the end, we have a massive feast and an impressive celebration, with more than $75,000 worth of gold and silver dedicated and over 250 animals sacrificed. The bigger and wealthier tribes however were featured no more prominently than the smaller tribes. The chapter is repetitive, but we should appreciate that scrolls were rare and expensive. It’s highly significant that every tribe’s contribution gets the same amount of space and recognition here: all of us have equal standing before God; all have fallen short, and all are beggars before Him. God needs nothing from us, and abundant grace is freely given through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rev. Stewart Crown, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 6.

Fasting, detox, and multi-day cleanses are part of our modern vocabulary. In the world of ancient Israel, these things were done for spiritual reasons as well as the physical. Numbers chapter 6 gives instructions for a special kind of fast or cleanse. Among other things, you had to give up grapes, which included many sweet foods, since the ancient Israelites used juice and dried fruit to sweeten things rather than sugarcane. You also would give up alcohol during this set period of time, abstaining from certain aspects of everyday life. Anyone in Israel could voluntarily undertake one of these spiritual experiences. But why these particular protocols, and what was the significance?

Finally, the bulk of the instructions in Leviticus and Numbers comes to a close with the blessing of Aaron, a threefold blessing over the people of Israel that emphasized the name of God. This foreshadowed our Lord’s blessing given as He ascended into heaven, giving us the three-fold name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which we put on in baptism.

Rev. John Lukomski, retired pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 5.

Numbers chapter 5 is one of the strangest and most foreign parts of the Bible from our modern Western perspective. What is leprosy? Why did people with leprosy have to live in quarantine outside of the Israelite camp? Besides this passage about disease, most of the chapter deals with suspicions and accusations of adultery. But what is this “water of bitterness that brings the curse”? Some modern readers have declared this passage to be hypocritical, superstitious, and misogynistic.

When we consider the ancient Near Eastern setting, we see God graciously caring for His people. God gave Moses laws which were comprehensible in the Israelites’ context, and yet these procedures showed much greater restraint than those of Israel’s neighbors. In the end, as good as these laws were though, they merely foreshadowed something greater to come. Our Lord Jesus gave forgiveness and healing to lepers, thieves, and adulterers. Their lives were transformed for service and love that far exceeded any rules or requirements.

Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Anaheim, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 4.

So what exactly did the Levites do, anyway? Numbers chapter 4 lays it out in detail, because lives are on the line. Only the priests can handle and look upon the most holy things; if a Levite touches or looks at something he shouldn’t, he will die.

This is the paradox of the Tabernacle: because of our sinful condition, we need God’s holy presence to have life. Yet because of our sinful condition, coming into God’s holy presence would result in a swift death. God’s detailed instructions (service beginning at age 30, wrapping the articles in red, blue, and purple cloths, etc.) show His great care and compassion to preserve His people. They also point ahead to the ultimate high priest and tabernacle, the Lord Jesus Himself, whose body and blood perfectly mediate God’s holy presence for us sinners.

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 3.

Nadab and Abihu ate and drank with God on Mt. Sinai and beheld the otherworldly sapphire at His feet. They were the eldest sons of Aaron, the original high priest. And yet, as Numbers 3 reminds us, they were executed for their disobedience. Human sin is serious, and it will be dealt with seriously in the encampment around the Tabernacle.

Thus the priesthood fell to Aaron’s younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, who hadn’t joined their father and brothers on the mountain. Although they came from the tribe of Levi, were set aside as priests. Eleazar oversaw the rest of the tribe, the non-priests who are actually called “Levites.” Although God has a claim on the life of every firstborn son of Israel, God allows the Levites to “redeem” them so that Israel’s firstborn can stay with their families. To redeem the firstborn, roughly 22,000 Levites were taken into service of the Tabernacle in the place of the roughly 22,000 firstborn sons of Israel. This redemption foreshadows our Lord Jesus, who doesn’t redeem merely one for one, but redeems the entire people of God by Himself.

Rev. Heath Curtis, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Worden & Zion Lutheran Church in Carpenter, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 2.

Numbers chapter 2 begins with two big signs that point ahead to our Lord Jesus: the tribe of Judah and the sunrise in the east. Like the Garden of Eden with its tree of life, the Tabernacle faced towards the east. As God’s people looked to the sunrise to find salvation on the shore of the Red Sea or in the Lord’s empty tomb, so the eastern bannermen led the people of Israel on to victory. Judah occupied this lead position, the tribe that would one day host King David’s throne, led by Nahshon son of Amminadab, the ancestor of Jesus the Messiah.

God arranged the twelve tribes around the Tabernacle with care, taking into account family ties as well as military strategy. It’s unclear exactly how large the military units of Israel were, but whether great or small, they needed God. If they were large, it would’ve been impossible to feed a massive coordinated force for 40 years without God providing food. If they were small, it would’ve been impossible to defeat their enemies while outpositioned and outmanned without God fighting for them. Either way, in this large movable city of our ancestors in the faith, we should see ourselves: totally dependent on God’s grace in the midst of our spiritual sojourn and warfare.

Rev. Tim Ostermeyer, pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in St. Ann, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 1.

Although Numbers begins in chapter 1 with a census, the book is much more than factoids and figures. As its Hebrew name “in the wilderness” suggests, Numbers actually tells the 40-year story of Israel’s wilderness wandering, through plagues, espionage, and miraculous events. It picks up right where Leviticus left off, one year after the Exodus. Although the census is vitally important as a way of organizing Israel’s armies for defense against their enemies, the first priority is the celebration of the Passover, establishing a pattern for us today of giving God our firstfruits and putting Him first.

The names and numbers in the census reflect the historical reality of real-life families; this is no legend or fable. We do however see the tell-tale signs of something bigger: Even though Judah was only the 4th eldest son of his father Israel, he received the preeminence of the firstborn’s blessing. Already we see that his tribe has become the largest in Israel, a trend that will only continue until the time of Christ, who was born of the tribe of Judah. Although Judah was a sinner as much as anyone else, already we see grace at work, paving the way for the true leader of Israel’s armies.

Rev. Ken Wagener, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 21.

Waves tossing against a boat on the Sea of Galilee, fish roasting over a charcoal fire on the beach: a mundane yet majestic image of the resurrection. In John’s final chapter 21, seven disciples are present for this last resurrection appearance, seemingly every disciple we’ve been on this journey with: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James & John, and probably Andrew & Philip. As Peter jumps out of the boat to swim to shore, we recall the first time the disciples encountered Jesus. Jesus again says “Follow me.” They’ve all been gathered together because there’s a larger mission of gathering that awaits them, hinted at in the miraculous catch of 153 fish.

On the seashore, Peter finds much more than breakfast. He finds forgiveness for his sins, and a new challenge: not just to feed himself as a fisherman, but to feed Christ’s lambs, the little siblings of this new brotherhood. He is challenged to the highest devotion to Christ because he will serve as an example to us: to look straight ahead to Jesus, and no one else. Even if it means a cross, we’ve already seen “the resurrection and the life,” who now lives in us through faith.