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Creator, Redeemer, we fall on our knees before you. Forgive us for seeking our own way and for not honoring your will in our lives and in our world. We were shaken again this week with the news of our Chilean brothers and we pray that you might unite us as a people with a united purpose through these struggles with life and death. We know you are protector and that our eternal lives are safe in your hands. Help us to lift one another up in Love and find that common bond in you that holds us together as one. May love and compassion for one another be obvious to all who gather here and may our thoughts and words be found pleasing in your sight. May your Kingdom come. Amen.
Response to Leviticus 27:14-Numbers 1:54
Dedication and redemption. The give and take of life. I'm in, I'm out. Counting the cost. Are you sold out for God, or would you rather relish in the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life a bit more? Is your house and all your stuff yours or His? Are you willing to play Monopoly with your life with God? I'll sell my soul to the Devil and buy it back with 20% extra tomorrow. Sounds a bit like Heavenly roulette. If you sell out at just the right time, you get it all back in the year of Jubilee, so why not take a chance! What do you have to lose - you'll find out soon enough. Until you understand the Love of the dealer, it's tough to make the choice of how to play your cards.
This redemption thing is huge! It is the message of the Bible - all the stories - all the law - all the prophets. The message may seem easy, "God has redeemed you through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross", but that doesn't make life on this earth any easier or make the importance of your actions any easier. You still have a part to play! You still owe God your honor. Those that would say He won't take you kicking and screaming through the pearly gates are exactly right. If you reject God, there is little hope my friend. If you're a betting man and refuse to honor God for His Love to you figuring, what is He going to do about it, you'll lose.
Did you notice the footnote for Leviticus 27:29? The Hebrew word for this verse is quite strong and you may wonder what person might be devoted for destruction! The footnote in the Tyndale House Publication of the One Year Bible (NIV) for verse 29 states: "The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them." My Harper Study Bible by Zondervan Bible Publishers (RSV) refers this verse to Joshua 6:17-19 reflecting the people of Jericho, of whom only Rahab the harlot was redeemed. Perhaps this law referred to all the Canaanites whom the Lord decreed must be wiped out in establishing a pure community in the promised land. Perhaps this could also refer to Jesus Christ who was destined to die according to the will and redemption plan of the Father. And He accepted such fate with a servants heart.
Leviticus ends with laws regarding those things which cannot be redeemed as they have been set apart by God by law or standing ritual. Verse 26-27 refers to the firstborn, which reflects Christ. Verse 28-29 refers to man (see Leviticus 27:1-8) or animals which are devoted (Note I Samuel 1:11 Hanah devoted Samuel to the Lord all the days of his life.) (Note Numbers 6:1-4 vows of a Nazirite - although Samson was a Nazirite and John the Baptist followed some of the vows of a Nazirite, Jesus was a Nazarene (branch) from the town of Nazareth.).
Leviticus finishes with the redeeming of the tithe. Beyond the firstfruits, there was a tithe of agricultural goods, whether seed, fruit, or animals. Such goods could be redeemed with money by adding 20% to the value, but they could not be substituted with more goods. Life for life did not apply to the tithe. If you attempt to substitute your life for the sacrifice Christ gave, both remain Holy to the Lord.
This brings us to the end of the book of Leviticus. The final verse assigns all these commands to those that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai in the first year after the Israelites left the land of Egypt and camped at the base of the mountain. According to the Harper Study Bible by Zondervan Bible Publishers The name "Leviticus" which is the Septuigent title means "pertaining to the Levites", and the Hebrew title is the first phrase of the Hebrew text, "And he called." I come away from the book with Leviticus 22:32 in my head as the theme of the book: "I am the Lord who makes you Holy." How about you?
The fourth book of the Old Testament is entitled Numbers by the Septuagint, (Wikipedia renders this "Greek version of the Hebrew Bible). The Hebrew name for the book is "In The Wilderness". The book begins on "the first day of the second month of the second year" (Numbers 1:1). Although there is one more book of the Penteteuch (first five books of the Bible - also known as Torah - attributed to Moses), Numbers brings us to the banks of the Jordan river, prepared to enter the promised land. The book gets it's name "Numbers" based on the accounting of the people primarily in chapters 1 and 26. It is there we begin.
Being finished with the Levitical law, Numbers begins with a census of the people. It makes sense that if the people are going to conquer Canaan that they would organize an army, and it would appear that is what is happening as the focus of the census is to count men able to go to war. Leaders of tribes are appointed and the men are counted.
As a father, I always loved this section of the Bible, and my kids probably hated it. It is a great excercise in training the intermediate reader. I am not aware of any major claim to fame of the leaders except that Nahshon, son of Amminadab is reflected in Luke 3:32-33 and Matthew 1:4 in relation to the ancestry of Jesus Christ.
I appreciated the layout of Numbers 1:20-43 in the Tyndale House Publisher's "One Year Bible" as it is easy to quickly read the tribal name and the number of men. The repeated words are easily identifyable for speed reading. I noticed that the tribe of Gad is placed in a different order in this section than in the naming of leaders in 1:5-15. Another item of interest is that the tribe of Judah has been blessed with nearly 12,000 more fighting men than any other tribe unless you combine the tribes of Joseph - but even then, Judah has been blessed with the most fighting men. Did you check the grand total to make sure it matches?
The grand total of fighting men was 603,550 according to Numbers 1:46. This compares to about 600,000 men besides women and children who left Egypt in Exodus 12:37. I would not be surprised if the number from Numbers 1:46 is reflected in Exodus as there had not been another chance to number the people up until this time. We do know that the exact number is used in Exodus 38:26. The total from the second census in Numbers 26:51 of the same age of fighting men was 601,730.
I was surprised as we read Leviticus that the laws dealt with only Aaron and his sons as specially called out of all the people. If I'm not mistaken, except for the the mention of the Levites slaughtering 3000 men in Exodus 32:25-29, Numbers 1:47-53 is the first section that separates the entire tribe of Levi out as holy to the Lord, giving them a special section of land and a separation of the rest of the tribes from the tabernacle.
Response to Mark 11:1-25
Bethany is a village located about 1.5 miles from Jerusalem on the east slope of Mt. Olivet. Our passage from Mark 11:1-11 (see also Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:29-44, and John 12:12-19) details how the disciples borrowed a young unbroken donkey from the village - entered Jerusalem and saw the temple - and then returned to Bethany for the night. John's account adds to the set of this day. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead and the crowd who was following that day represented many of the witnesses. Also, we know that Jesus fame had spread and many were expecting the promised King who would liberate the people as their hero's of times past. It was only after the experiences of this day that the disciples related their witness to the events of the day to Old Testament scripture. Zechariah 9:9.
Perhaps the people were expecting Zephaniah 3:14-17: "Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! ... rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. ... The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
Perhaps they had taken parts of Isaiah 63:1-2 out of context: "Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? 'It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.' Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?"
What they now understood is reflected in Matthew and John's from Zechariah 9:7-9: "7 I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God
and become leaders in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. But I will defend my house against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch. The Coming of Zion's King. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Later that same week, they would see their King suffer the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7-9 and the beginning of God's Kingdom begin on earth. The seed will have been planted in the fertile soil tilled by everything that had been before: "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'""
As Mark reflects that they returned to Bethany for the night, there should be no concern about them returning the donkey(s). I expect the Mother of the foal was led along the way so that the foal Jesus rode would follow along.
The next Spring morning as they made the 1.5 mile journey back west over the Mount of Olives and into the city of Jerusalem, they passed a fig tree in Spring foliage. We may imagine they had missed the continental breakfast at the hotel and desired to snack on figs from the tree. But, being out of season, there were none. The disciples heard him condemn the tree to be barren for life in the hearing of the disciples. This story is reflected in Mark 11:12-14 and Matthew 21:18-22. The story is continued in Mark 11:20-25 as they returned from the cleansing of the temple that evening. As they passed the fig tree, they found it withered. Being a landscaper, I question whether there had been frost in the air that morning as this can kill a newly leafed tree that is already under stress and that Jesus intended to make His point. The disciples were obviously concerned that Jesus would have cursed what appeared to be a perfectly good tree. Peter (as reflected in Mark) and Matthew expressed inspirations regarding the power of faith and the importance of blessings and forgiveness and the consequences of cursings by a man of faith.
That day, Jesus had had quite a time in the Temple. He scolded the marketplace atmosphere the Temple, driving out both merchants and buyers. Mark mentions "Pigeons" as the merchandise which would reflect that the buying and selling regarding sacrifices for the poor honoring the sacrificial laws. It appears to me he was not so angry about business being run, but the fact the business was based on sacrificial laws placing a value on penitence and God's free gift of forgiveness. He cleared out the agricultural feel of sacrificial atonement by not allowing any cattle, birds, grain, or firstfruits to be carried through the Temple, honoring the cultural ways of the Israelites, but proclaimed that this was to be a house of prayer for all nations.
He quoted part of Isaiah 56:7 which is found in Isaiah 56:6-10a "And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord, to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant - these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." The Sovereign Lord declares - he who gathers the exiles of Israel: 'I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.' Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest! Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;"
He also quoted Jeremiah 7:11 which is found in context with Jeremiah 7:8-18: "But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless." 'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"-safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord. " 'Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your brothers, the people of Ephraim.'
"So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger."
For more info on Shiloh: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiloh_(Biblical) For more reflection on the cleansing in the temple and all that Jesus did that day, see Matthew 21:12-17, Luke 19:45-48, and John 2:13-22).
Response to Psalm 46:1-11
I Chronicles 15:20 "Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah and Benaiah were to play the lyres according to
alamoth" alamoth means virgins: thus, I assume this Psalm was to be sung by a soprano, or by female voices with accompanied by an orchestra of stringed instruments called lyres.
See my blog from March 2 regarding the "Sons of Korah"
Selah [celah], is an exclamation that we should measure and reflect upon what has been said. http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/selah.html
Even in the devastation of an earthquake, such as Haiti and Chili, God remains a refuge and strength. This Psalm does not say bad things will not happen, nor does it propose He causes such things. We are far enough advanced to know about faultlines and fisures and know that the earth continues to change and adjust and we know that bad things will happen. We can all put our superstitions to rest - and continue to seek God's love in the midst of crisis. This in fact is the purpose of this blog is to find that this Love of God that is preached by so many is more than mere speculation and human superstition.
"There is a River" is a fascinating study! Call it the river of life if you will. Become immersed with me in the flow of the Spirit as we tube under the fruit trees and into the sea of everlasting life. Copy this down and follow along when you have a moment. I have mapped this river through the following verses: Genesis 2:9
Psalm 1:3, Psalm 36:8-9, Psalm 46:4, Isaiah 33:21, Isaiah 35:6-7, Isaiah 48:18, Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 17:8, Ezekiel 47:1-12, Joel 3:18, Zachariah 13:1, Zachariah 14:8, John 4:14, John 7:38, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 22:1-2.
To everyone who will take the time to read this blog or the word of God, Psalm 46:6-7 prophesies hope in the midst of despair: "Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; Be still, and know that I am God; Psalm 46:9-10
And herein lies the power I've been blogging about: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth." Fear = reverent awe and worship of His Holiness. Lord Almighty, we humbly bow.
Response to Proverbs 10:23
The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes may temporarily provide the pride of life, but the Wisdom of Scripture will provide a lasting Peace.
I Love swimming in Dad's river, don't you?
Rick
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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