Month: May 2018

We could title Numbers 21 “God’s Victory Over Israel’s Enemies!” As we read the chapter we find three external adversaries came against Israel: the Canaanites, the Amorites, and the Bashanites. In each case, God gave the Israelites victory. We also see Israel once again became their own enemy, by complaining against God and Moses. As usual, the complaints focused around the food God provided, and how much they hated it. Their lack of gratitude for God’s provision resulted in God sending poisonous snakes into the region. Many Israelites died from snake bites, and as usual they cried out for Moses to do something. As he interceded, God told him to build a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. When an Israelite was bitten by a snake, if he or she looked up at the bronze serpent he or she would be healed. While my thought was, “Wouldn’t that lead the Israelites to idol worship, because the bronze serpent was a tangible symbol?” Jesus would later refer to the serpent as a type of His own cross. He said just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so will the Son of man be lifted up (see John 3:14).

Numbers 22-24 records the interaction between King Balak of the Moabites and Balaam, son of Beer, a prophet. Balak’s goal was to get Balaam to pronounce a curse on Israel. At first, Balaam wouldn’t go to Balak. Then when Balaam did go, he had a miraculous encounter with the angel of the LORD, which included Balaam’s donkey speaking to him. When Balaam finally arrived, he told Balak he could only pronounce a blessing or a curse based on what the LORD told him. Each time he inquired of the LORD, the result was Balaam  pronounced a blessing on Israel. Each time Balak became more incensed with the result.  In reading the account, I couldn’t help but see the bigger picture: God only listens to prayers or petitions that are in keeping with His will.  When we turn to God with our requests, we do well to turn first to God’s character and nature and ask, “Is my request aligned with God’s will and purpose?”

John 10 shows us clearly Jesus is the Messiah. He refers to Himself as the “door” of the sheepfold as the “Good Shepherd” who lays down his life for the sheep, and He tells us He and the Father are one. As we would expect, these claims incensed the Jewish leaders. In fact, they wanted to stone Him for these proclamations. Jesus challenged them by asking for which of his works it was that they wanted to stone Him to death? They answered it wasn’t for any of his works (so at least they were acknowledging His good works in a back-handed kind of way), but for claiming to be God. Jesus answered that statement by quoting Scripture, which gives us incentive to read and learn the Scriptures ourselves. That way, when folks question us about our faith in Jesus, we will have reasonable responses.

In John 10, Jesus makes a powerful statement about the difference between Himself and the devil. He said, “The thief (that is the devil) comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” When we experience threats to our well-being, we can be sure they don’t come from Jesus. It isn’t His will for us to suffer, although at times God does permit us to suffer. Jesus came to bring us life, abundant life, here and now, and forever. We do well to remember that statement when we experience challenges, difficulty, and outright evil in our lives. In those times remember Jesus is for us, and is on our side.

Numbers 18 records God’s commands concerning the priests and Levites. The first part of the chapter tells Moses how they are to be disciplined, while the larger portion of the chapter tells the Levites they are to receive the majority of the people’s tithes and offerings to use for their food and livelihood. The Levites would not be given a portion of land along with the other tribes when they entered the Promised Land, but would receive a tithe of all the produce of the land from each of the other tribes. We’re not told here, but the Levites were also given cities in which to live, and land where they could keep their flocks, so God ensured they would be cared for well. An important detail in this chapter is God told Moses only the priests and the Levites could come near the Tabernacle. If anyone else came near they would die. In addition, only the priests could enter the holy places in the Tabernacle and touch the holy instruments, so a hierarchy was being established among the Israelites, which would lead to a regimented priesthood. We will see when we get to the New Testament that system was superseded in the new covenant Jesus established. In the new covenant each of us has the right to go before God personally, and as Peter would put it to be a “kingdom of priests.”

Numbers 19 records the difficult to understand command to sacrifice a red heifer, then to burn it along with scarlet thread and hyssop, and afterwards to gather the ashes and to use them in “the water of purification.” In one commentary I reviewed, the author tells us King Solomon (the wisest man to live before Jesus), was said to have stated this was the only sacrifice he did not understand! The point of the process is obvious: when someone touched a dead person, or an object was in the vicinity of a dead person the person or object had to be “purified.” This was a spiritual process, but some authors point out the hyssop was a natural antibacterial agent, so the water of purification might have had medicinal qualities, and been an early anti-bacterial agent.  Moses would not have known this, so God’s purposes could well have been both spiritual and practical. In any case, the practice was intended to ensure God’s people would regain their “cleanness,” after coming in contact with a dead person.

Numbers 20 records three specific incidents in the Israelites’ travels through the wilderness. In the first, the people ran out of water, and started complaining intensely to Moses and Aaron about the hardships they faced, and that they ought never to have left Egypt.  Moses and Aaron appealed to the Lord for water, so God told them to “speak” to a particular rock and water would come out. Moses disobeyed God, and said, “Must we produce water for you?” and “struck” the rock with his rod. This action proved to be a serious mistake–and sin. Moses took credit for God’s action. In effect, Moses “stole” God’s glory.  God will never share His glory with anyone. The result of this action was God told Moses neither he nor Aaron would enter the Promised Land.  In the second incident, the Israelites wanted to pass through the land of Edom, where the descendants of Esau lived. The Edomites denied passage. Much later in Israel’s history this action would be remembered and the Edomites would be the object of the Israelite army’s wrath. Finally, we read of Aaron’s death. The account is straightforward. God tells Moses it is time for Aaron to die, so he, Aaron, and Eleazer, Aaron’s son, go up on a mountain, and Aaron dies. The people of Israel mourned for Aaron for thirty days. This chapter shows us the consequences of our actions can be severe. God is a just and holy God. That means all our actions, whether good or evil, have consequences. While we live on the resurrection side of Jesus’ life, and our salvation and redemption are in and through Him, we need to remember the principle: actions have consequences.  God calls and expects us to live in obedience.

John 9 records another amazing miracle of Jesus, and another example of the Pharisees being more concerned about Jesus’ performing the miracle on the Sabbath than about His ability to perform miracles! In this case, Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. The disciples asked Jesus a question that reflects the beliefs of the culture in their day, and one which has held on through the ages: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” We often think bad things happen because of sin, and bad things do happen because of sin, but Jesus answered neither had sinned. In this case, the man’s blindness was going to glorify God. How? Through Jesus healing the man! Jesus helped us see not all physical ailments, and we can imply not all negative circumstances in our lives, are the result of sin. We live in a fallen world, so sometimes bad things are part of our reality. Thank God, He is there to be with us, and at times to heal the situation completely.

The Pharisees’ insistence on focusing on the miracle taking place on the Sabbath as breaking the Sabbath, rather than the man’s blindness being healed, shows us one of the problems with religion: religion sees the rules as more important than the suffering and healing of people. Jesus’ concern was for the man’s well-being. He didn’t care what day of the week it was. We see Jesus healing people on the Sabbath throughout  all four gospels, so we know  His healing of the blind man wasn’t an isolated incident. He established the principle that the welfare of people is more important than the observance of human rituals. We do well to remember this as we live out our faith in Him as well.

Numbers 14 offers us one of the best examples of what happens when people lose faith in God and make their own decisions. Hearing the report of the ten spies who said the Promised Land was impossible to overtake, the people cried all night. They decided to elect new leaders and go back to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fell face down before God and interceded for the people. God responded by telling Moses He was going to destroy the people and start a new nation from him. Can you imagine being told you and your family are going to be the source of a new nation? Moses’ response was not, “Yes!!!” He pleaded with God to spare the Israelites. He even told God the Egyptians would say God was not able to lead His people.” The LORD agreed with Moses, but the consequences of the disobedience was significant: the ten spies who gave the bad report died of a plague. The rest of the Israelites who had said they wouldn’t go into the land, were banned from ever going into it. Those twenty years and older were told they would die in the wilderness. The response was predictable: they all decided to go up and try to enter the land. They were immediately pushed back. The quick lesson here is when you don’t like what God tells you to do, don’t vote against it–do it anyway.

Numbers 15 offers us a step away from the wilderness wanderings, and presents some additional commands regarding offering sacrifices to God. One significant detail in the commands is at the end we are told those who brazenly disobey God’s commands cannot offer a sacrifice to be forgiven, but are to be cut off from the people. The chapter concludes with the example of a man who broke the Sabbath. The penalty was death. Wow! God was serious about having His laws obeyed. While we’re grateful Jesus died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins, and to give us new lives, we must remember Jesus died to forgive our sins and rose to empower us to live in victory over them. Jesus isn’t simply our “get out of jail free card,” so we can sin as much as we want, but He offers us new lives, so we will live in the freedom and victory of the Holy Spirit.

Numbers 16-17 records the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They were Levites who thought Moses and Aaron held too much power. The ensuing “battle” between these three and their clans, and Moses and Aaron gave God another opportunity to tell Moses He was going to destroy all the people. Once again, Moses, this time joined by Aaron, interceded for the people. God destroyed only Korah, Dathan, Abiram, their families and the 250 others who rebelled against God. At the conclusion of this demonstration of God’s preference for Moses and Aaron, the people continued to complain, so God sent a plague. Moses and Aaron once again interceded, but 14,700 Israelites died before God ended the plague. Finally, Moses had the leaders of each of the tribes bring a staff to him. These were placed in the Tabernacle overnight with Aaron’s staff. The next morning Aaron’s staff had budded with almond blossoms, another clear demonstration of God’s presence with Aaron and Moses and selection of them as leaders. This quieted the people for a time, and they could move on in their wilderness wanderings until this faithless generation died.

The Israelites of this era show us how difficult it is for human beings to be  convinced of God’s presence and power. They saw the LORD’s work firsthand, and yet they complained, rebelled, and disobeyed. This is a short course in human history up to the present day. I don’t write that statement to judge us, but rather to observe how seldom we offer God the worship and praise He deserves, how seldom we live in obedience to Him. As we go about this day, may we put God first, so others around us will see His presence and power and give Him glory!

John 8 is filled with Jesus’ proclamations of Himself as God and Messiah, and of the religious leaders arguing and debating those proclamations. It starts with an encounter between Jesus and some religious leaders who brought to Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. (While many of the earliest Greek manuscripts of the New Testament don’t have this account, the interaction is consistent with Jesus’ manner of teaching and acting.) Jesus’ response to the men, when they told Him Moses’ law required the woman to be stoned to death, was they were right, so the one who had never sinned could throw the first stone. We’re told they walked away from the oldest to the youngest. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized why the order–oldest to youngest. The older we are, the more certain we become of our imperfections. Sometimes in our youthful zeal, we can forget our flaws, but not so as we mature. When everyone had walked away, Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were. She said no one had condemned her. Jesus’ response was amazing, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and leave your life of sin.” Jesus freed her, but He didn’t release her from the obligation of a holy life. What a reminder for us all! We are free from our sins, and the freedom is given so we can live a godly and holy life, not a life of licentiousness.

After the encounter, we read an extensive interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders.  Jesus told them He is the light of the world, that the truth will set them free, that they are of their father the devil and that “before Abraham was, I am.” Any one of those statements is the source for a long discussion, and can be applied to bring transformation to us. All of them together point out Jesus was no ordinary human being. He is God. Such statements made it impossible for the religious leaders to remain neutral. They had to accept or condemn Jesus. How sad that they let their preconceptions rule rather than Jesus’ words and life. He backed up what He said through how He lived. What an important reminder to us as we continue to read these accounts each day–it is impossible to remain neutral toward Jesus. His claims won’t allow it. He is either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. We must choose, and then our choice dictates how we live. After all, as Jesus said, when we know the truth, the truth sets us free!

In Numbers 10, we read of the silver trumpets God commanded Moses to make. These trumpets were to call the Israelites or their leaders to assemble before the Tabernacle. In addition, once they entered the Promised Land, they would be used to call the Israelites to battle or to celebration. This “technology” was vital for the people, although it seems so primitive from our perspective. The remainder of the chapter tells us of the Israelites first move from one place in the wilderness to another. The detail of which tribe was to go first, and the order in which clans of Levites who carried the various parts of the Tabernacle and its contents were to travel, is–as we have come to expect–extensive. The planning was such that by the time the last of the people of Israel had arrived at a new destination, the Tabernacle was already set up and ready for use. As I read this account, I was reminded of how often I am not nearly that intentional with the details of my life. While we live under grace and not under law, at times I can use my “freedom” as an excuse not to be as disciplined as would be helpful. Our reading in Numbers, helps us see how important order and discipline were for God’s people. They remain important for us as well.

In Numbers 11, the Israelites complaining to Moses gets stronger. Their complaints focus on a lack of variety in their diet, and how much better it was in Egypt. They cry out for meat to replace the manna, which God provided daily. God’s responses might seem extreme. First, He sends fire, which kills some of the Israelites. They cry out to Moses for help. Moses cries out to God and God stops the fire. Then Moses cries out to God, telling God he needs help. God sends the Holy Spirit on seventy elders of Israel. This shows us how different it was in Moses’ time than in ours when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Each of us who knows Jesus as Savior and Lord have the Holy Spirit in our lives, but only Moses and the seventy elders held that blessing in Israel. Eventually, God responds to the Israelites cry for meat by sending thousands and thousands of quail to the camp. The sight must have been incredible, given the account tells us each Israelite gathered fifty bushels or more. As they started to eat, God sent a plague on the people. Again, from our perspective this seems extreme. Why would God kill people for wanting meat? We need to look to the plan of God once again. He was creating a people set apart, a holy people. They thought first and foremost of themselves and their own needs. How easy that is for each of us. God wanted the Israelites to be grateful for what He provided, not to worry about what they lacked. Another vital lesson for us!

In Numbers 12, the complaining turns from the nation as a whole to Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ brother and sister.  They complained because Moses had a foreign wife, and asked whether God only spoke through Moses? God’s response was immediate. He reminded Aaron and Miriam that Moses was His friend, and then struck Miriam with leprosy. Moses cried out for God to restore Miriam. God said He would, but only after seven days. Human nature is a complaining nature. Moses found favor with God, because He submitted His nature to God, because He lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Time after time, Moses cried out to God for His people. Such a response models God’s intention for us. We are called to intercede for others even when they have turned against God, and when they’re complaining against God and us. That is never easy, but it is part of our calling as those God has treated as friends.

In Numbers 13, we read the account of Moses selecting twelve spies, one from each of the tribes of Israel, to go in and scout out the Promised Land. When they returned, the spies reported the land was amazing. It produced incredible fruit, crops and was a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Once they had offered that report their work was done. Moses had chosen them to scout out the land and bring back a report. But the spies didn’t stop there. They told of the people who lived in the land, including giants, and then concluded, “We can’t go in there!”  Caleb, one of the twelve spies disagreed. He believed with God’s support they could take the land. As we’ll see tomorrow, the people didn’t wait for Moses to give them instructions. They voted. We don’t read about the people voting often in the Bible, but when they do, it’s not a good thing. More about that tomorrow. For today, let’s remember, when God gives us a task, it’s always best to carry out the task, and not to worry about analyzing the situation and making recommendations. I’m not saying we ought not to think when we’re obeying God. I’m saying we need to obey God, and not let our observations change our obedience into disobedience.

In John 7, we read of Jesus going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths. His appearance there caused a great stir, because the people were amazed at His teaching, as they had already been amazed by His signs and miracles. Arguments arose over whether Jesus was the Christ or Messiah,. The religious leaders attempted to arrest Jesus, but the arresting officers they sent, were caught up in Jesus’ teaching, and didn’t arrest Him. This caused the religious leaders to condemn the arresting officers and the crowds. They said the people didn’t know anything, and the testimony of the prophets was the Messiah would be descended from David and come from Bethlehem, not Galilee. (They were apparently unaware Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and was, indeed, descended from David.) As they were condemning Jesus, Nicodemus stood up for Jesus by pointing out it wasn’t the habit to condemn someone before giving him a hearing and a trial. The rest of the religious leaders turned on Nicodemus, asking whether he was also from Galilee.

Throughout John’s Gospel, we find extended discourses between Jesus and the religious leaders. The result is always the same: Jesus reveals something vital about Himself, in this case that He has streams of living water for anyone who wants them; then the religious leaders condemn Jesus and anyone who follows Him. This cycle is repeated until the point when the religious leaders arrest Jesus, give Him a “trial,” condemn Him, and then pass Him on to the Romans for execution. As we read these passages, we might automatically side with Jesus, because we live on the resurrection side of the cross. If we attempt to consider why the religious leaders took the position they did against Jesus, it becomes apparent they had many preconceived notions of who the Messiah would be, from where He would come, and the purpose of His coming. Jesus didn’t measure up to these preconceptions, so rather than examine the preconceptions to see whether they were true, they condemned Jesus. We would do well to learn from their mistakes. We might also have preconceived notions about Jesus based on what others have told us, or what we have read in books. The key is to read the book, the Bible, and then draw our conclusions about Jesus from what we find there.

Numbers 7 records the offerings the Israelites brought for the dedication of the Tabernacle. They brought a collective gift of wagons for carrying the Tabernacle’s supplies, then each tribe brought the same gift on successive days: a silver tray with a grain offering, a golden incense holder with four ounces of incense, and various animals to be sacrificed.  The ritual continued for twelve days, the same each day. At the end of chapter seven we’re told whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle, God spoke to Him. This again established the importance of Moses to the people of Israel. He was their true mediator, because he spoke to God directly for them, and brought to them God’s instructions.

Numbers 8 offers brief instructions concerning the lamps to be used in the Tabernacle and how they were to be directed, so the light would shine a certain way. Then the remainder of the chapter presents the Lord’s instruction for the dedication of the Levites to Himself. Each Levite was to wash in the water of purification, then shave his entire body. Then he would be clean. After that, the entire nation of Israel was to place their hands on the Levites, symbolizing that the Levites were becoming the substitute for the first born of each of the other tribes. This is a significant action. We see this, because the Levites were then to lay their hands on the sin offerings before they were sacrificed. That means all the Israelites would see the Levites as being “sacrifices” of a type for themselves. The final instructions concerning the Levites was their years of service. They were to start serving at the age of twenty-four and then to “retire” at the age of fifty. Retire is in quotes, because while they could no longer serve directly before the Lord after the age of fifty, they could continue to serve as guards of the Tabernacle. They wouldn’t quit working, but their work was not in a supportive role rather than a direct one.

Numbers 9 records God’s command to celebrate the Passover for the second time. The instructions (as usual) were quite explicit, and those who were ceremonially unclean at the time of the Passover were required to wait exactly one month and then to celebrate it. The remembrance was so significant that anyone who failed to celebrate it was to be cut off from the people. In the second half of the chapter, we read of how the cloud of God would hover over the Tabernacle. At night, it turned to a pillar of fire. When the cloud moved the people broke camp and followed where it led. We’re told the cloud would sometimes only stay overnight, while at other times it would stay a few days, a month or even a year. Regardless of when the cloud moved, the people followed. How awesome would it be to have God’s direction laid out that clearly in our lives? It must have been a helpful reminder to the Israelites that God was always with them, because the cloud was always there, and gave them clear direction.  Thankfully, we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us daily. We need to be sure we listen to His voice and direction and follow where He leads, because as we do, we will gain deeper discernment

John 6 is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. In it we read the account of the feeding of the five thousand. This is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels, which tells us of its significance. In John 6, we find after Jesus performed the miracle, the people wanted to make Him king. Jesus’ response was to go off by Himself to pray. Later He joined the disciples who were on a boat, which meant Jesus walked on water to join them! The next day the crowds came after Jesus asking Him to show them a miracle. (What was feeding five thousand men, along with woman and children with five loaves of bread and two fish, if not a miracle?) In the midst of the discussion, Jesus told the crowd that their “work” was to believe in Him. Think about that for a moment: our work as Jesus’ followers is to believe in Him. That believe in Jesus is not a mere acknowledgement of His existence, but faith that He is God’s Son, and Savior and Lord of our lives.

Jesus had demonstrated His worthiness to be their king the day before, but the crowd started questioning Jesus more, and eventually Jesus told them they need to eat His flesh and drink His blood, a statement pointing to the Lord’s Supper, but one the crowd interpreted literally. This caused a great many of Jesus “disciples” to fall away. When Jesus saw the mass exodus, He turned to the twelve and asked, “Are you leaving, too?” Peter answered Jesus by saying, “Where would we go? You have the words of life!” Many times in our lives, people raise questions about Jesus, about our faith in Him,  about the miracles and exorcisms of Jesus and they want to know how we can believe all those things. That is where our faith is put to the test. Jesus is true, and faith in Him results in salvation in every age, but unless we do have the faith Jesus requires, we never experience the fullness of following the one who’s words are life to us–here and now and for eternity!

In Numbers 4 we learn of the three major clans of the Levites: the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. We read of their duties, which are listed in great detail. At the end of the chapter God charges Moses to number or count the clans. In Numbers 5 we read a brief description of how the purity of the Israelite camp was to be maintained by sending any “unclean” persons out of the camp. Then follows a long explanation of how to test for an unfaithful wife. As 21st century readers, we might wonder why there was no test for an unfaithful husband. Remember, in this time women did not have many rights, while men held most of them. This was true in most cultures, and was true of the Israelites, as well. As we see in Numbers 6, though, a woman could take a Nazarite vow, and in other places we find they could take various types of vows. The difference between men and women in this case, was if a woman was not married, her father had to approve the vow, and if she was married her husband had to approve the for her to be able to follow through on it.

The description of the Nazarite vow is detailed extensively as we have come to expect with any command given by God. When we get to the book of Judges, we will meet one of the most famous or infamous Nazarites: Sampson. At the close of Numbers 6 we read what is often called the Aaronic blessing, which is used as a benediction at various types of worship services: ²⁴“The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV) Remember the blessing was given in the context of commands about purity, and making vows to the Lord. The people of Israel were a people “set apart,” collectively, within various clans, and even as individuals through their taking of vows. The result of their separateness, would be God’s blessing.  While our goal is not to separate ourselves from others in an isolationist fashion, the idea of setting ourselves apart to serve God is common to every era in biblical history. It is a principle we all do well to adopt for ourselves. We live in the world, but we are not to be of it when it comes to following the ways that lead us to a deeper love for and obedience to God.

John 5 starts with Jesus healing a man near the Pool of Bethsaida. The man had been paralyzed for nearly four decades, which makes Jesus’ original question to him seem strange, “Do you want to get well?” The man answers with an excuse. He is paralyzed and he has no one to help him get to the pool.  The people thought when the waters of the pool “stirred,” an angel was there and the first person in the pool at such times would be healed.  Jesus wasn’t concerned with any of that. He wanted to know whether the man wanted healing. That question is so vital for all of us. Jesus offers us healing of body, soul, and spirit. The question is, “Do we want to be healed?” Jesus stands ready to work in our lives, but we must be ready to say, “Yes!” to Him.

After the healing, the religious leaders respond with typical disdain. This time, because Jesus has healed on the Sabbath.  He seemed to have done that frequently. The resulting argument between Jesus and the religious leaders remind us religion never gets us into relationship with God. Even though the religious leaders of the Jews had the opportunity to know and serve the one, true, living God, and never more so than when Jesus was standing right in front of them, they preferred focusing on the rituals and traditions of the faith rather than knowing their God personally. This serves as an important warning for us, because no matter how close we are to God, the danger always exists that the relationship could degenerate into religion. The way to ensure that doesn’t happen is through daily interaction with Him through reading His word, prayer, and then applying what He tells us. After all, obedience is the kind of worship God affirms the most in His word.

The Book of Numbers is so named, because in it God orders Moses to count the people of Israel. The book continues the account of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, and shows us why the wandering required an additional forty years to complete. In Numbers 1 Moses counts the men of fighting age in each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Levites are neither included in the list of the names of the twelve tribes, nor numbered, because God orders they not be counted.  Numbers 2 tells us of how the tribes were to camp around the Tabernacle. Three tribes were to camp on each side, so the Tabernacle was surrounded by the Israelites. The order was significant, because when the Israelites broke camp to move to the next location God directed them, they would break camp in the specific order God presented. The logistics of moving more than 600,000 fighting men, along with their families must have been challenging in a day with no communication technology but rams’ horns. Yet, the accomplished the task by following God’s directions.

Numbers 3 tells us of the Levites’ place among the Israelites. First, they were to serve Aaron and his sons in the priestly ministry. This work was vital, and required diligent effort. The second “task” of the Levites was to serve as substitutes for the first born sons of all the rest of the Israelites. God required the first born son of every family as His, but in order to keep the families from having to give up their sons to Him, God accepted all the male Levites as substitutes. When all the first born sons were counted, it was determined that a shortage of 273 Levites existed. The solution was an offering of 1365 shekels of silver was given to make up the difference.

In John 4 we read an extended account of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman. As we read the account we find Jesus asked the woman for help. This would have been unprecedented for a Jewish rabbi. First, the person was a Samaritan, and the Jews detested the Samaritans considering them “half-breeds,” who had defied God’s commands. Second, she was a woman. Rabbis didn’t speak with women in public in Jesus’ day. Finally, the woman was immoral having been married five times, and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. This “trifecta” of disqualifiers didn’t stop Jesus from entering into conversation with the woman, asking her for help, and ultimately leading her into a relationship with Him. Because of her faith in Jesus, she called the rest of her village to come and meet Jesus, with the result that they all believed He was the Messiah. John 4 shows us how Jesus’ influence in one person’s life can transform many. This is good news for each of us as we share our faith in Jesus with one other person at a time. we never know when the one person God uses us to lead to Jesus, will lead many others to Him as well!

At the end of John 4, Jesus is encountered by a “royal official” who asked Jesus to heal his sick son. Jesus challenged the man by saying that unless he saw a miracle he would not believe. The man persisted to plea on behalf of his son. Jesus told him to go that his son would be healed. It happened exactly as Jesus said. When the man returned home his son was well. The entire family believed in Jesus. Once again we see how much impact one person’s healing can have, and that came from one person’s persistence in calling on Jesus.

Leviticus 26 offers us the blessings God would provide the Israelites if they obeyed His commands, and the punishments they would receive if they disobeyed.  The cause and effects relationship between obedience and disobedience was clear. As we move through the Bible, we will see this clear cause and effect between obedience and disobedience remains stable, although exceptions start to appear. Job, the most righteous man of his age, suffered a great deal, despite his righteousness. King David often complains in his Psalms that the unrighteous prosper, while the righteous suffer. By the time we get to the New Testament, righteous suffering is modeled most clearly by Jesus, yet others are also martyred for their faith in Him. The principle of blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience is still valid, but we must remember exceptions do occur.

Leviticus 27 closes out the book with a list of valuations of people based on their ages and gender when it came to redemption or vows. In addition,  valuations for property and types of animals that could be offered in these situations is provided. The chapter is one which doesn’t have much present day application, but was quite important among the Israelites in that moment.  While the Bible is all true, and it is all the word of God, parts of the Old Testament are superseded explicitly by statements of Jesus, and others were relevant mainly to their moment in history. As always principles can be drawn from the truth, such as here, we see once again how important it is to give God our best.

John 3 is perhaps one of the best-known chapters of the Bible. In it Jesus has His famous conversation with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, who came to Jesus at night. The night time meeting was surely because Nicodemus didn’t want to be seen with Jesus, but the truth Jesus offered Nicodemus has transformed the world. Jesus told Nicodemus to inherit eternal life we must be “born again.” In our day, the concept of “born again Christians” has become controversial, yet as I often point out unless we are born again, by Jesus’ definition, we are not Christians. Jesus invested a great deal of time with Nicodemus in making clear how important spiritual birth is in our lives. His explanation confused Nicodemus, a spiritual leader, so it isn’t surprising we can also get confused in our “sophistication.” The concept of being born again is quite simple, because it is simply spiritual birth, which is parallel to physical birth, but when we think too much about it, we can make it difficult. Jesus point was the only way to gain eternal life is to receive the spiritual life He alone offers. That life means having the Holy Spirit in us from the moment of our rebirth. As with physical birth and growth, spiritual birth also requires growth. Thankfully, the entire Bible gives us guidance in what it means to live the new life Jesus lived, died, and rose again to bring us. The key is to believe in Jesus, receive the new life He gives, and then live it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Leviticus 23 tells us of the appointed festivals of the Israelites. They include Passover, the Feast of First Harvest, the Fest of Harvest, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Shelters or Booths. Most of the feasts or festivals were tied in with the harvest of various crops, but the two most important festivals: Passover and the Day of Atonement were tied to God’s deliverance of the people from slavery in Egypt and from slavery to sin. While we don’t typically celebrate these festivals, feasts or holy days, our celebration of Easter is tied to the celebration of Passover, because Jesus died as our “Passover Lamb,” and His institution of the Lord’s Supper was a reinterpreting of Passover. While Passover started the process of the Israelites becoming God’s people according to the Mosaic Covenant, Jesus’ changed Passover to the Last Supper and instituted the “new covenant,” which was sealed the next day in His blood.

Leviticus Chapter 24 tells the Israelites of their obligation to provide pure olive oil for the lamps in the tabernacle and holy bread for it daily. Such details, show us once again of God’s call to holiness. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to an example of the just punishment of a man who blasphemed the name of the LORD in the middle of a fight. The punishment was death at the hands of the people.

Leviticus 24 outlines the rules for the Sabbath year, which was to occur every seventh year, and the year of  Jubilee which occurred every fiftieth year. During these special times the land was to be given “rest” from being planted, and during the Jubilee, the any land which had been sold was to be returned to its original owner. In addition, slaves were to be freed during the Jubilee. This radical concept shows us God is the ultimate owner of everyone and everything, and His desire is for us to live in freedom. Jesus becomes our redeemer through His fulfillment of the Law as our once-and-for-all sacrifice. He sets us free from sin and death, which is the ultimate Jubilee.

In John 2 Jesus performs His first miracle. A couple of points about the miracle: 1) He didn’t want to do the miracle; and 2) the miracle itself was turning water into wine.  Jesus was pushed into performing the miracle by Mary, His mother. The problem was Jesus, His disciples, and mother were attending a wedding and the wine ran out. This was a major social faux pas. Mary told Jesus about the situation, and He said it wasn’t time for Him to do a miracle. Nevertheless, He obeyed His mother and did the miracle. That’s quite a statement about the importance of honoring our parents! What about the miracle being to provide wedding guests with wine? Many contend the wine was “non-alcoholic,” but the context tells us that isn’t true. When the steward of the event was given the wine Jesus had “made” he said most people serve the best wine first, then once the guests are drunk, the cheaper wine would be served. The steward wondered why they had saved the best wine for last? We would expect anything Jesus made to be the best, but why contribute wine to a party? Many answers have been offered. Perhaps none is better than Jesus was obeying His mother and doing a culturally appropriate service to the family. He was helping. Jesus never did a miracle for His own benefit or aggrandizement. We can be sure this was not an exception, because the result was the situation was corrected, Jesus obeyed His mother, and His disciples believed in Him as a result.

Leviticus 19 starts with this command: ¹The LORD also said to Moses,
²“Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. Leviticus 19: 1-2 (NLT)  The entire chapter is devoted to various commands promoting personal holiness. In Leviticus 19:18 we read:  ¹⁸“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18 (NLT) “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Thousands of years later when Jesus would be asked, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He would respond, “Love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment, and a second one is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus took that command from Leviticus 19:18.  While Leviticus as mainly rules about sacrifices, Leviticus chapter 19 reminds us all the commands in Leviticus were designed to shape Israel into a holy people, who would reflect the holiness of their God. We find no more practical command in pursuing personal holiness than this one to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we share the love of God, which we have received, with one another, the natural outcome is lives of personal holiness.

Leviticus 20 offers the punishment for various forms of disobedience. Many of the offenses listed required capital punishment. This extreme punishment shows how serious God was about personal and corporate holiness for the Israelites. While Jesus would later tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, God told Moses to show no mercy to those who broke the Law, and the judgment for the crimes listed in Leviticus 21 was either death or being “cut off” from the people. Some see two different Gods in Jesus and the God of the Old Testament, but there is only one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The same God who pronounced judgment on the Israelites for committing specific sins, judges us for our actions. Jesus reminded us we will give an account for every idle word we speak. The grace and mercy of God is much more obvious in Jesus, although we find it all through the Old Testament. In the same way, the New Testament makes it clearl we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ when this life is over. Thankfully, that judgment won’t mean death, because Jesus paid that penalty, but when we read the Bible, we dare not think of one God of the Old Testament and Jesus a different God of the New Testament. There is one God who is holy, and who calls His people to holiness.

Leviticus 21 takes the command for personal holiness directly to the behavior of priests. In general, priests were prohibited from becoming “unclean” by touching dead people, although exceptions were made for close relatives. In addition, the priests weren’t to marry a woman who had been divorced or had engaged in prostitution. When it came to the high priest, he was not permitted to become unclean by touching any dead person, even his father or mother. In addition, he was only permitted to marry a virgin woman from within his own clan. Once again, these commands might seem strange to our ears, but the goal was to ensure those who administred the law and rituals of the faith of the Israelites modeled behavior that reflected holiness.

Leviticus 22 applies the holiness rules to the offerings presented to God, and to which priests would be counted worthy to eat the portions of the offerings devoted to them. The key phrase is “without defect.” In other, words, the people were to bring their best to God. We see this principle throughout Leviticus and is a principle that applies to us today. In Philippians 2:12-13, the Apostle Paul reminded us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling–obviously meaning we are to offer God our best. He concluded the thought by adding: for God is at work in you to will and to work for His good pleasure. The amazing difference for us is because Jesus fulfilled the commands of the Law, both in dying in our place as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sins, and in being perfect in every way, we receive that inputed holiness from Him when we are born again. We can live in His power through the Holy Spirit. That does not negate the need for our effort. We must do all we can do, and give our best to God., but that will fall short. God makes up the difference through His work in us. What an incredible truth!

Today, we turn to the Gospel of John. After reading through Mark’s Gospel twice, we will embark on two readings of John, before moving to a double reading of Matthew and finally a double reading of Luke. One of you asked me, “Why are we reading each gospel twice, when we have to get through the whole Bible in a year?” The short answer is: I want us to have a thorough introduction to the life, ministry, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. We will read through the entire Bible in a year. Yet, my goal is not simply for us to get through the Bible. I want to get the Bible through us.  As we’re reading through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, it would be easy to forget these books point toward Jesus, if we weren’t reading the Gospels at the same time. In addition, we won’t get to the New Testament until day 288 in our day-by-day readings. Without a companion reading from the Gospels each day, it would be easy to give up on our quest to read through the Bible in a year. I know many who have done so. Many folks have told me they “tried” to read through the Bible from beginning to end, but when they got to Leviticus or Numbers it was too hard, or didn’t make sense, or was boring.  The daily companion posts are intended to help by explaining some of the connections between the daily Old Testament readings and the New Testament. They’re also intended to explain some of the passages in a bit of detail, although not as a scholarly commentary would do. My goal is to help us live the Bible. The daily gospel readings help us to stay anchored in the life of Jesus all through the year.

John 1 is unlike the beginning of any of the other gospels. While Matthew and Luke tell us about Jesus’ birth, and Mark starts with the ministry of John and Jesus’ baptism, John offers us a theological explanation of Jesus being with God from the beginning. John’s gospel was written last, and John’s goal was much more to show Jesus is God, and as he tells us in chapter 20 he wrote so we may believe Jesus is the Messiah and have life in His name. In John 1 we’re also told Jesus was full of grace and truth. This powerful combination is what brings us from the judgment of the law, which was truth without grace, to the freedom of new birth in Jesus! Much more about this in the days ahead.