FEBRUARY 18
Leviticus 6:1-7:27
As you read
through this section, look for the Lord
spoke to Moses. Every place you find this phrase, God is introducing a new
subject. Look also for and this is the
law.
Leviticus 6
Vs. 1-7 These
verses build on the previous section. In the last section the sin had to do
with some breach that directly had to do with God or the worship of God in the
tabernacle. There a person had withheld some tithe or obligation that hurt
those who served at the tabernacle. Here, there is some breach of contract or
service withheld from a neighbor. Note the recurring words, realizes/realized his guilt, etc.
Notice that
this is not “unintentional.” It involves theft or oppression. When the person’s
conscience gets the better of him, he voluntarily seeks to make restitution.
Notice also, it is restitution to the neighbor, plus the cleansing for his own
sin.
In David’s sin
against Uriah, I don’t see restitution to his neighbor. I wonder if that is why
Ahithophel hated David.
Vs. 8-13 These
are notes specifically for Aaron and his sons regarding the burnt offering described in Leviticus
1:3. Again, the meaning of the burnt offering seems to be in showing God total
commitment to wanting to be reconciled to Him. The offering was to pay all
personal sin, to satisfy God and to make the person pleasing to Him. This
offering was totally consumed on the altar. Leviticus 1:4 says that the burnt
offering is for atonement. This was different than the sin and guilt offerings,
both of which had to do with specific sins, and both of which could be eaten.
Here in the burnt offering the thought seems to be the sacrifice, devotion and
resolve of the person to be totally reconciled to God by offering the animal to
take his place. There is an aspect of this offering that suggests the need for
personal cleansing and atonement for sin. The burnt offering, whether required
or given as a free-will offering, was a ransom or substitute for the nation or
person.
This burnt
offering was required by God twice a day, every day. It represented the
ransoming of the nation every day, symbolizing their need for daily cleansing
and acceptance by God.
It is
interesting that only the priests could touch or remove the ashes, and they had
to wear other clothes when they took the ashes out of the tabernacle compound.
Here it is mentioned that the fire on the altar had to be going all the time.
Apparently, every time they camped, they had to designate a special place away
from the camp of Israel where they would carry out the ashes and where they
would burn parts of certain sacrifices. I would think that for this place to
stay "clean," they had to guard it and keep people from digging
through the ashes for meat or for salvageable parts of the animals.
Vs. 14-18
Again, these are special instructions about the grain offering from Leviticus 2, specifically for Aaron and his
sons. Notice that when they ate this offering, it had to be in a holy area
within the tabernacle compound before the Lord. Interestingly, whoever ate of
this offering, or whatever touched it, became holy.
Vs. 19-23 Here
is an exception to the priest eating the grain offering. If that offering was
for the priest himself, the priest could not eat it.
Vs. 24-30 This
is the sin offering for unintentional
sin for a leader or person as seen in 4:22-35. These could be eaten by the
priests. Notice in v. 30 it mentions that if the blood of the sin offering was
brought into the tent of meeting (the
Holy Place), as it was for the sins of a priest or for the nation, they could not
eat it.
Leviticus 7
Vs. 1-10 These
instructions are for Aaron and his sons regarding the guilt offering from Leviticus 5. What is interesting here is that
the officiating priest got to keep the animal's hide.
Vs. 11-21 This
is the peace or fellowship offering from Leviticus 3. It is interesting that
this offering is the third presented by God in the list of offerings in
chapters 1-3, but it is the last one presented here. I think it is because this
offering was done totally out of gratitude to God and the desire to sit with
Him and celebrate before Him. All of the other sacrifices are required. This
one came out of gratefulness and the desire to share God's blessings.
Vs. 16-18 These
verses give a special condition to the rule that the sacrifice had to be eaten
on the same day.
Vs. 20-21 These
verses state that anyone who participated in the peace or fellowship offering,
while he was unclean before God, would be punished.
If you think about how we live today, in a figurative
sense, we violate this too. We know that Jesus accepts sinners. We know we
don't have to be perfect to live with Him. But we slowly begin to think that we
can have all manner of sin and "uncleanness" in our lives and still
have peace and fellowship with Him. We are so wrong when we think that. This
morning I was reading where Paul told the Ephesians in Ephesians 4:17, Now
this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the
Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
If you look at
what Paul warned Christians to reject and stop doing, especially in 1
Corinthians, you realize that Christians think they can live unclean and unholy
lives and still partake of God. Not so.
Vs. 22-27 Here
is some clarification regarding the eating of fat, that is, those internal
fatty parts that were not connected to the meat.
Vs. 24-25 They
couldn't eat the fat of any of these animals, because these animals were used
for sacrifice. If they found one of these animals dead from natural causes or
wild animals, they couldn't eat them; but they could use the fat and other
parts.
This did mean
that they could eat the "fat" of wild game, like a deer.
Under no
circumstances could they eat the raw, un-drained flesh or drink blood.
All of these
practices highlighted the differences between those who followed God and those
who did not. These sacrifices and ceremonies also made Israel different from
its neighbors. Even in the details and prohibitions God gave the people, they
knew that to enjoy the closeness of God, they had to come to Him His way, in
repentance, in thankfulness and in gratitude. To those who had a heart of
faith, these sacrifices would be offered willingly. For those without faith,
they would follow out of duty and practicality. And when it got tough, they
probably stopped giving and obeying.
Mark 3:7-30
Up to this
point, Mark has blazed through 12-16 months of Jesus’ ministry.
There are three
major things in this section.
Vs. 7-12 At
this point Jesus’ popularity has skyrocketed. Vast multitudes are following
Him. Also, the religious leaders were already plotting His death.
Vs. 13-19 It
was at this point that Jesus chose the Twelve. Luke mentions that Jesus was in
prayer all night. I love the description of discipleship in v. 14. The part
that really hits me is where it says, that
they might be with Him. I think this is why a lot of discipleship doesn’t
work. You can’t become a disciple via a large class. Jesus brought them to Him.
He spent time with them. He involved them in all His ministry and they learned
on the job. This slower, more personal investment doesn’t fit our model of
ministry by overburdened, multi-tasking leaders. But you also have to have the
mission, to send them out and to have authority. Link this together with the
Great Commission and you have disciples going out with authority to make disciples,
who make disciples.
It is also
interesting that Jesus gave some of them nicknames.
Since Mark
reported more of what Jesus did than what He taught, the entire Sermon on the
Mount is missing. This is where it would have been included.
Vs. 20-21 Yet
all was not well. Jesus' own family thought He was losing His mind as they
listened to the way their friends and neighbors talked about Him.
Vs. 22-30 This
section is important, because it shows how the scribes and Pharisees began to
explain away Jesus' power. They couldn't deny what He did, but they could
fabricate a lie to explain His power.
V. 23 I am
always impressed by this. Jesus heard what they were saying and called them to
Him, saying, "Guys, come on. That makes no sense." The fact that
Jesus could cast out demons with such ease showed that He Himself was the
strong man and that the kingdom of God was near them.
Vs. 28-30 In
order to have committed this sin, you had to have seen Jesus, seen His miracles
and really believed that He was possessed by Satan and that His power was of
the devil. What Jesus says here is a warning. I don't believe this sin can
happen today, because we do not see Jesus doing miracles. But still, unbelief,
powered by sin, is strong enough to get people to ignore Jesus and deny His
ability to help them. To die in our sins, without trusting Christ as Savior, is
the only unforgiveable sin.
Psalm 37:1-11
This psalm
looks like the companion to Psalm 36. Notice the relationship between the
evildoers and fretting. It is interesting to think that because this is
inspired Scripture, these commands here are meant for us to obey. The
imperatives are not suggestions, but it is only a disciple who is walking
closely to the Lord who will be able to wait on the Lord and to follow these directives.
Vs. 1-2 This is
the general message of the psalm. It is a summary of David’s long experience of
suffering and waiting on the Lord.
Vs. 3-9 Notice
all the commands in this section. We would tend to say they are advice and that
they seem worded in a gentle way; yet all the same, they are the Lord's
commands. Notice too that waiting on the Lord stands in opposition to taking
action against the one who wrongs us.
V. 8 This seems
to give the sense of taking things into our own hands and not waiting on the
Lord. David was tempted like this.
There are some
great, great memory verses in this psalm that speak to humbly waiting on the
Lord and trusting Him. What verses would you encourage others to memorize?
If I said that
Jesus apparently knew this psalm well and quoted it, what verse would it be?
Vs. 10-11 Notice
how these two verses fit together. The meek are not weak; they are strong
because they wait on the Lord and keep their hearts and attitudes pure before
Him. The meek inherit the earth because they trust in the Lord and are still
there after God's judgment.
The solution in
all our waiting and fretting is to delight ourselves in the Lord and wait on
Him. Amen.
I think that
for a disciple, working in the harvest, meditating on some of these verses is like
having a quiet cup of coffee with the Lord, just soaking in His love.
Proverbs 10:3-4
Ok, let's try
understanding this again by putting the verses together.
The Lord gives the righteous a diligent hand, and so,
does not let him go hungry,
but He thwarts the craving of the wicked by giving him a slack hand that causes poverty.
but He thwarts the craving of the wicked by giving him a slack hand that causes poverty.
This is just a
suggestion for looking for a connection between the thoughts.
If you’re reading along
and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these
comments to and for those who are following a One Year Bible and interested in
growing deeper as a disciple, following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see
the growth of a discipleship culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples,
meeting weekly, encouraging each other to follow Christ and work to reach out
and make disciples who make disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal
manual we have and key to our growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us
more focused on why we are here or what we are to be doing. My comments are
only meant to provide some explanation of the events or to show the flow of
God's plan of redemption. My comments are in no way exhaustive, but are
designed to keep us focused on Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is
that the people in these groups will grow in Christ and be willing, after a
year, to find 3 others to meet with and encourage in their growth as disciples,
disciples making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a
complete description of this model of being and making disciples you can find
it in my book: Simply Disciples*Making Disciples.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more
descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the
Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is the
commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never
hurts.
I am not endorsing any
particular One Year Bible; in fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte
Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with
us is welcome to do so and is encouraged to take their own notes and make their
own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular
tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to
criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has
written to us, as I understand it. Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like
documents containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download these to use on your computer or to
print.
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