The Chapter-A-Day thread. (3)

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Leviticus 12:

Circumcision Begins.

When a male child is born, they will now be circumcised on the 8th day.

"And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised." ~Leviticus 12:3

 

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Leviticus 13:

Leprosy.

Chapter 13 gives details on how the priests are to detect leprosy and to keep it from spreading to the entire congregation.

 

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Leviticus 14:

Leprosy and Healing.

The Priest diagnoses and heals and pronounces sufferers of leprosy clean.

 

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Leviticus 15:

Contagious diseases and purity.

This chapter gives laws given by God concerning purity. These laws gave the Israelites some protection from contagious diseases and other forms of impurity.

 

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Leviticus 16:

Day of Atonement.

Thus begins the Day of Atonement, which is a forerunner of Jesus Christ's own Ultimate Atonement, for all of eternity.

"And this shall be a statute for ever unto you:that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes,even the holy garments: And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses." ~Leviticus 16:29-34

 

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Leviticus 17:

God is Holy.

Aaron and his two younger sons.

God speaks to Moses regarding Aaron and his remaining two younger sons, Eleazar and Ithamar (after God struck Aaron's two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu dead for blatant and willful abominations before Him). It seems that the sin of Nadab and Abihu was a sin of arrogance and lack of respect for the power and holiness of God. It was not just that they used strange fire, but that they did not honor God in their hearts. The "abomination" bottom line was the condition of their hearts before God.

The real issue is honoring the power and majesty of God in our hearts. Of course what we do is a reflection of our hearts condition. If we love God, we will keep his commandments. But that does not mean that we should manufacture commandments based upon a wrong understanding of what happened to Nadab and Abihu.

Tragic.

 

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Leviticus 18:

I Am the Lord Your God.

God emphasizes and repeats here again and again in chapter 18, that He IS the Lord their God, Who has taken the Israelites out of Egypt. The emphasis is also a warning to not forget that He is HOLY, and that He is not an "afterthought" or to be put on a "shelf" or to be taken "lightly" or "casually", and/or "replaced" with the "gods"/"idols" of Egypt. There is to be a Godly "fear", reverence, awe, of Him. Aaron's 2 oldest sons are to be remembered as well, on how "not" to regard the living God. For it is believed that, along with their disregard for the living God, that they were possibly drunk as well.

God emphasizes that He is the Lord their God.

And that He is HOLY.

Amen.

 

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Leviticus 19:

Honor Your Mother and Father.

So the Lord speaks to Moses again. And He emphasizes, once again, that He is HOLY. Along with this staunch reminder, is the emphasis and command to honor one's mother and father (the word "fear" is used here, in this chapter, which is an apt word indeed. For it means to "respect" one's mother and father and to "honor" each of them for the very fact that God used each of them to bring each of us into the world. What a unique position that places each of them in. And they are to be "honored" for it. Always.)

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God." `Leviticus 19:1-3

 

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Leviticus 20:

Child Sacrifice to Molech.

God speaks to Moses again. And right from the gitgo He emphasizes the abomination of men (both strangers traveling with and abiding with the Israelites, and the Israelites themselves) giving their "seed" to Molech, the Canaanite god of child sacrifice. Giving their "seed" is "child sacrifice". They were sacrificing their "seed", their "children", to Molech. And the Israelites were turning their eyes from it when it happened, being complicit in this abomination.

God makes clear the absolute abomination it is, and the utter abomination it is to "allow" it. He, through Moses, makes clear the dire consequences for both.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that givethany of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people." ~Leviticus 20:1-5

 

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Leviticus 21:

Be Ye Holy.

God spoke again to Moses regarding Aaron and his two younger sons, Eleazar, and Ithamar, and instructed them on being holy, as God is holy.

 

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Leviticus 22:

Holiness.

God speaks to Moses again regarding Aaron and his two youngest sons (the Priests) and sacrifices, to preserve the honor and Holiness of the sanctuary, for God is HOLY.

"Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: Iam the LORD which hallow you, That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD." ~Leviticus 22:31-33

 

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Leviticus 23:

Holy, Set-Apart Gatherings.

God speaks to Moses again. Moses is to speak to the Israelites about "God's feasts". That yes, these are GOD'S feasts, and that they are a "Holy Convocation" (holy set-apart gatherings).

 

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Eternal Light.

Leviticus 24:

God speaks to Moses again. Moses is to speak to the Israelites about bringing pure oil to keep the lamps burning, always, never to be put out.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually." ~Leviticus 24:1-4

 

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Leviticus 25:

The Land keeps a Sabbath Unto the Lord.

This is most intriguing and somehow very practical and endearing on God's part. Who would ever think of "land" of all things, keeping a "Sabbath" unto the Lord?

Yet, there it is, right there in verse 2, after God speaks to Moses yet again, in verse 1.

"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD." ~Leviticus 25:2

 

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Leviticus 26:

Worshiping other gods/idols.

"Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God." ~Leviticus 26:1

 

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One mo' chapter of Leviticus to read!

Ok, the countdown begins.....almost at the finished line!!!!

We're almost through the entire book of Leviticus (the 3rd book in the Old Testament)....it's been QUITE an experience. A beloved teacher i listen to has said that several Bible scholars have said that the book of Leviticus is just about the most crucial book in the Bible, and he agrees with them.

And i agree with this teacher.

 

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Leviticus 27:

Vows and Tithing: A Heart For God.

We come to the 27th and last chapter in Leviticus, the 3rd book of the Old Testament. Here, God speaks to Moses again, and He breaks down the order and meaning of vows and tithing, and that neither, especially "vows" are to ever ever be given "lightly" or carelessly and without much thought and without solemn agreement with God through prayer. To make a "vow" is to make an "oath" to God.

Oath = a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one's future action or behavior.

God wants our "heart". If our "heart" is not in our giving, we should never ever venture to make a "vow", "offering", or "tithe" if our heart is not in it in the first place.

This verse comes to mind:

"Bring no more "vain" OBLATIONS; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting." ~Isaiah 1:13

Oblations = offerings; anything offered to God.

Vain = not meaning it. The bottom line is, it means to "lie" or one's heart is not in it; insincere, deceptive. And from God's perspective it wearies Him and He finds it insulting.

This verse comes to mind:

"Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul HATETH: they are a trouble unto me; I am WEARY to bear them." ~Isaiah 1:14

And this verse:

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" ~Isaiah 29:13

 

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Numbers

Now we begin Numbers, the fourth book of Moses in the Old Testament, also known as the book of wanderings or by its Hebrew name (Bemidhbar) which means “wanderings“. It takes its name from the two numberings of the Israelites; the first at Mount Sinai and the second at Moab.

 

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Numbers 1:

The First Census of Israel.

God speaks to Moses again and He tells Moses to number the people.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies." ~Numbers 1:1-3

 

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Encamping around the tabernacle.

Well i suppose i've procrastinated long enough......this is one o' those very difficult books for me where i haf'ta pray that my eyes don't cross while attempting to read it.

So here goes, marchin' on to Chapter 2 (takes a deep breath)

Numbers 2:

God speaks to Moses again and instructs him. The tribes were to encamp about the tabernacle, which was to be in the midst of them. It was a token of God's gracious presence. Yet they were to pitch their tents afar off, in reverence to the sanctuary.