DAY 59

HELLO, ANYBODY HOME?

Numbers 17, 18 & 19 and Mark 6:30-56

You might be thinking that I am conveniently ignoring all the people that are dying! I really am not. I pointed out a few days ago how serious God is about all that He is doing. We read in Numbers 14:37 that the men who gave the bad report were struck down with a plague, then we get Korath and others opposing Moses and Aaron killed (16:39), and the people still grumbled leading to another 14,700 dying (16:49).

Do you want to kind of say to the people, “Hello, anyone home, have you noticed a pattern here, follow God through Moses?” It is with all this rebellion in the background that God once again, in a rather benign manner, establishes who is in charge with Aaron’s budding staff. Simultaneously we have the bud, the flower and the fruit. Symbolically we have life springing forth from a dead staff.

In Mark 6 there is a similar demonstration of the God’s power: he creates food from nothing, walks on water, calms a storm, and heals the sick! I almost want to say, “All in a day’s work for Jesus.”

The point of course is that Jesus is demonstrating His Supreme and Complete Authority over this, His Creation. Isn’t that what God has been doing in the Old Testament?

The challenge of course is that the rejection we read about in Numbers and the rejection Jesus experiences still takes place today. Interestingly for me, it is not people who have been “down on their luck” that seem to struggle with the idea of God, it is those who are doing at least “OK”. Now realize I have just been to Haiti, so “doing OK” is a relative term. Yet the homeless people who come into the Cathedral, the people who are struggling to make ends meet – they seem to be more open to being people of faith (I know that is a generalization, but in my little corner of Albany it seems true).

The people who have lots of questions, well they are a little bit like the leaders of Israel. “Why is Moses in charge?” “Who died and appointed Aaron?” “You want us to do what?” And yet Moses and Jesus intercede for the people who reject them. The number of times Moses begs God not to annihilate the people is amazing – even more is God hanging on a Cross saying “Father forgive them (us)).

So maybe me comment about “Hello, anybody home?” has as much to do with me, someone who claims to believe in God. Am I too comfortable in thinking I have the right answers? How am I doing interceding for those who reject Him?

DAY 58

DON’T PANIC

Numbers 15 & 16 and Mark 6:1-29

Numbers 15 & 16 and Mark 6:1-29 are wonderful in their own right; I pray you have read them. As promised I do want to comment about yesterday’s Old Testament lessons.

I titled the Day 55 Blog “Getting our bearings”. I found that with the reading of Leviticus we may have lost the flow of time and so I provided just a quick synopsis of time as it relates to the Israelites and the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. One of the “bearings I hope you were able to sight” was that God basically spent about a year getting people organized and trained at the base of Mount Sinai. God has them celebrate the Passover, and now it is time, time to scout out, and under God’s leadership, enter the Promise Land.

Two things happen to undermine God's plan. The first is they challenge God's appointed leader Moses. The challenge comes not from the periphery of Moses circle of leaders, but from his closest allies! I am not sure of the details regards the situation with Moses marrying another women. It certainly doesn't seem proper. The issue however is Aaron and Miriam acting separate from God and not only judging Moses, but challenging his leadership - within days of their going to conquer the Promise Land. Their timing (and probably Moses) could not be worse. There are some lessons here: keep God's big picture and stay focused. If there is an issue, consult with God and certainly leave the judging to Him. 

The next situation that will undermine God's plan is the spies sent to check out the land. Think about their task, Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel…Number 13:2, emphasis mine. God has determined to give this land to them. The task of the spies is to not to tell Moses whether they should try and invade, God has already made that decision, their job was most likely to get specifics. Yet the size of the mission seems overwhelming and they panic. They say they feel like grasshoppers in 13:33!

Days ago I pointed out how serious this entire enterprise of the Exodus and the forming of His People is to God. Time and time again we have come into situations where God’s reaction might seem extreme to us. Remember when He was going to kill Moses because Moses’ children were not circumcised, or all the plagues, and then there are the reactions to the people of Israel’s seemingly unending errors. God is not just being petulant. For centuries before Abraham God seemingly disappeared from the consciousness of humanity. Then God breaks upon the scene with Abraham and begins the process of shaping a people. He has patiently waited for this moment and it is from this people that His world will be restored…with all that they panic…they panic and cannot believe that God can actually give them this land.

The result, after much negotiating on Moses part with God, is they will wander in the wilderness and none of them will enter the Promise Land. Their choice will not thwart God’s plan, but their choice does have consequences for them.

How about us, any missions out there that seem overwhelming, yet you sense they are from God? Any moments you know the right answer, but you can sense the panic coming on? How about a God mission, but right in the middle of it someone does something you completely disagreed with (like marry someone)? You might want to take a deep breath, remember all God has done in your own life, don’t panic and then...jump in. 

DAY 57

A SANDWICH!

Numbers 12, 13 & 14 and Mark 5:21-43

Today both the Old and New are full of information. I peeked ahead to tomorrow’s readings and while they are good, my plan is to comment about our Mark reading today, and I will comment on Numbers 12-14 tomorrow.

Mark in 5:21-43 offers us a sandwich. It starts with a story about Jairus and his very ill daughter, which is then interrupted by a woman who has been terribly sick for years, and then it returns to Jairus’ situation. Like a sandwich the outside and inside work together to enhance the experience. The story starts with a synagogue ruler falling at Jesus feet, but we are quickly brought to meat of the matter (sorry).

We find a woman who, because of her hemorrhaging ought not be in crowd. With all the hard work you have been doing in reading the Old Testament you already know she is…unclean. An unclean person is not suppose to put other people in jeopardy of becoming unclean, they are suppose to stay clear of everyone.

Yet if you were suffering for 12 years, suffered much under the hands of many physicians, and spent all you had might you throw caution to the wind? Can you picture the tension is this scene? She reaches out and is healed. She probably wants to leap for joy, but at that moment Jesus notices power has left his body and demands to know who touched him. Now first of all, this woman showed great faith, and second I imagine Jesus probably knew who touched him, but I think He wants her to declare her faith. Imagine you are in the crowd, you have managed to keep from being recognized, but now if you take responsibility for your actions, you will of course be recognized! She again steps out by speaking up. I wonder if she was bracing, bracing for rebuke? Instead she hears these words, “Daughter, you faith has made you well...” Imagine being ostracized for 12 years and then Jesus calls you daughter, wow, all because of her faith.

That is the rich center of this sandwich, a woman showing remarkable faith. The outside of it suddenly turns wrong. The news comes, “Don’t bother coming your daughter is dead.” Jairus does not indicate that he still wants Jesus to go to the house, he is no doubt devastated by the news. Jesus speaks up, and amid ridiculing laughter, raises the girl to life. The point is of course faith.

If the story of the women enriches the story of faith, what story in your life enriches your faith? Ponder that question for a moment, and then like Mark, allow your own rich story to enliven and enrich the other situations you are facing today.

DAY 56

COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY & HEAVY LADEN

Numbers 9, 10 & 11 and Mark 5:1-20

They set off, but not until after they celebrate the Passover. There is an exchange between some men who are unclean, and in a way it is encouraging to read of them trying to follow the Law of the Lord. We see in Numbers 9, 10 and 11 more of the details. There is a necessary trumpet to summon and move the people, and then there is the actual moving out of Sinai.

It doesn’t take long before the people complain. It is easy to sit in my chair, read about the Israelites, and judge them. Yet I am also trying to picture this situation, hundreds of thousands of people, on the move – dust, activity, and probably a fair amount of chaos. I am thinking about how I do when I use to load the family for a vacation. I must confess to you I did not do well in those situations.

I don’t think it is necessarily wrong that the people needed food; it is rather that they first began by questioning why God brought them out of Egypt. God does not despise their needs, rather their attitudes. Of course we got a few moments with Moses (the weight of responsibility he is feeling must be huge) and then God’s response to Moses and the people.

Bearing the weight of any situation is part of the life of faith. It is not that people who don’t have faith, don’t have responsibility. Rather, because we have faith, we ought to carry that load differently.

Mark 5:1-20 reveals a story of someone who was carrying a load, a load of torment. He had to live apart from his family in the tombs, that is until he met Jesus. The healing is dramatic and the man is restored. It is interesting that this troubled man did not say to Jesus, “Why did you make me like this?” That question would have paralleled the way Israelites the behaved in the Old Testament. Instead the Lord takes away the load. It is interesting to think about how the Israelites have experience with God helping them, we don’t know if this man does.

At least one lesson here is when we find ourselves under a heavy load, as people of faith, our challenge is to keep our perspective and remember all that God has done for us.

DAY 55

GETTING OUR BEARING

Numbers 7 & 8 and Mark 4:21-41

Maybe you are thinking, “We’ve been here before, didn’t Moses already consecrate the tabernacle?” Well yes he did in Exodus, but let us get our bearings:

·         The Book of Exodus covers about 360 years from the death of Joseph to the erecting of the tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (Ex. 40:1 ff). We know that it records the Hebrews mass exit out of Egypt by the help of God and demonstrates God’s mercy and care for His people. Here is an important point to help you understand where we are in the Book of Numbers: note that at the end of Exodus, in chapter 40 verse 17 it says that it is the first month of the second year.

·         The Book of Numbers begins with the Lord speaking to Moses on the first day of the second month, in the second year. So we are now continuing the events at beginning of the second year after coming out of Egypt.

·         So what was Leviticus? The Book of Leviticus is really a continuation of Exodus and it believe it or not, it seems to cover a duration of only about 50 days (Exodus 40:17 & Numbers 10:11). It is almost like a law appendix of sorts.

Israel remained at Sinai until the 20^th day of the second month of the second year (cf. Numbers 10:11-13) which means Israel spent about 12 months at Sinai receiving instructions and laws (to shape them into a holy people). They are now about to set out.

Numbers chapter 7 therefore is a point in history where the tabernacle has been constructed and set up near Mount Sinai. The tabernacle (with all its furnishings), the priests, and people have been sanctified. The time for Israel’s departure from Mount Sinai to the Promise Land is drawing near.

The Chiefs of Israel, the heads of the tribes come to make voluntary offerings, a dedication, to God before they set out. It says at the end of verse 2 and beginning of 3 that “they approached and brought”. It does not seem to say God commanded. We then see God telling Moses what to do with it all. For 12 days the offerings are made.

I know it is a lot to read, but if you ponder the outline above I think you will see where we are, and draw the distinction between Moses consecrating the tabernacle, and the heads of the tribes making a dedication.

At the end, God speaks directly to Moses (v.84-89) which is always a cool thing! Chapter 8 brings us to more instructions for the Levites. Again, you may be feeling like you have had your fill of directions concerning Levites, but the situation is pretty straightforward – they have been preparing for a year, they are about to be on the move. Once they start there won’t be a lot of time for further instruction and training.

Mark 4:21-41 is series of quick hitting and rather amazing short pericopes (that is just a fancy word which indicates a set of verses that form a coherent unit). We have the “don’t hide your lamp under a basket”, a parable of a seed growing and yet we don’t really know how, a parable of yet another seed, the mustard seed and how it becomes the largest of plants, and we end with Jesus, after a long day of teaching resting in a boat amid a storm. The storm won’t wake him from his sleep, but rather panicked disciples. Jesus of course calms the storm.

I know I have been spending a lot of time writing about the Old Testament, in part because I have personally found it harder to grasp, and so I want to share the bit that I know in the hopes of helping it become more understandable for you. I think I could blog 500 to 1000 words about any one of these fast hitting “pericopes”, but I won’t.

Instead I’ll share with you the question they are posing to me: the first one, the lamp, says, share your faith and shine the Kingdom. The next two say, don’t worry about how it (the Kingdom) grows and don’t sweat it if you think your faith is too small because it will grow into the Kingdom, and then of course there is the test of faith while the disciples are in the storm with Jesus. “Being in the storm with Jesus”, think about that for a moment, the King is there, you are in the Kingdom…Jesus says, have faith! So maybe this is a “get hit over the head” with some large object moment  so I keep my bearings and...“keep the faith”.

Keep reading my friends, remember Jesus is with you.

DAY 54

MUCH SEED HAS BEEN SOWN

Numbers 5 & 6 and Mark 4:1-20

Numbers chapter 5 & 6 are very much about “separation and sanctification”. This is the idea that the camp needed to be holy. In the first four chapters everyone was counted, organized, and even told where to camp. With the outward arrangement completed the task was now that of inward sanctification – the most complete example of that is a person who determines to spend their entire life “separate unto God”, a Nazarite.

Perhaps the most troubling portion of the text to our 21^st century minds is the section on adultery. There is obvious disproportion as compared to our world. Where are the rules for a wife who might be suspicious of her husband being adulterous we might ask? We need to remind ourselves of the culture of the day. Often people reading this text will ascribe this inequality somehow to God. God in Genesis makes it clear that He created us male and female; equal yet different. It is mankind that over and over again has put people into rank classes. A close read of the offerings will note some key differences: not fine grain, but coarse barley; no leaven is mixed in because that would have implied guilt; no oil and frankincense was mixed in because that would indicate joy. In a male dominated world these laws limit the abuse a woman might have to endure. There will be (and is) a long way for the world to go to get to equality, but here we see God again trying to limit and shape this people.

Mark 4:1-20 is a fairly easy to blog about, after all Jesus explains the parable! I have been thinking that if the Word of God is the seed, then we have had a lot of seed spread upon us with having read Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus. I have been wondering about which parts of God’s Word has taken root. I can’t imagine it all has. There is so much we are taking in that it is unreasonable to think we can absorb it and have it grow all at once. Which is why we will need to continue reading and hearing God’s Word (no doubt in smaller amounts). It will also allow time for the parts of me which are still stony, or thorny, or as hard as a path, to change. Let’s face it, I am not 100% good soil, and so there is more to do (here I will avoid the references to manure). Along the way God is faithful and will produce fruit in you.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. The blessing of God Almighty; Father, Son and Holy Spirit be upon you this day and forever.

DAY 53

LABELS

Numbers 3 & 4 and Mark 3:20-35

Labels: we all use them. In fact they are quite helpful. They often capture in one word concepts and more. They can also be dangerous and hurtful.

In Numbers we see some labels. They are family names, but they will also serve as labels to identify who is responsible for which parts of service to the Lord.

Now maybe you are getting a bit worn down with the Old Testament. Maybe you have peeked ahead wondering how long this will go on. If you did “peek ahead” then you know that we will be reading some more about laws, history, and yes numbers. All (the numbers, the law, and the history) are important as they continue to shape our understanding of God and what God desires for his people. There are going to be some days where God has to lay before us “pieces and parts” of what He is building – a Holy People.

The labels in the Book of Numbers can be laborious, but today in the Gospel we come across the other type of label: the one meant to hurt. It is in this context of labels that I want to look at the words of Mark 30:29, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness.” I don’t know about you, but they give me pause. If you want an even stronger version read Matthew 12:32. Does Jesus mean if I blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and then later say I am sorry it is too late?

I want us to think about when we feel threatened and when we get angry. In those moments we often label people with uncomplimentary names. We see it when what was an apparent peaceful protest turns ugly. You know the scene. One group is marching carrying banners and then there are others on the side of road, and often they are on the other side of the issue. One group (and it usually doesn’t matter which) begin to jeer at the other. Words are exchanged; mean words. Disparaging labels are flung, and at times violence erupts.

Why? Because the issue is important to those involved. So important that they feel threatened if the other side wins their point of view, and so they attack.

Think of the scene in Mark 3:20-35. Jesus has been healing people. He is teaching. He is working outside the construct of the religious of the day. And he is being noticed; “…scribes came down from Jerusalem…” The real religious heavy’s have arrived!

It is clear they feel threatened. They verbally attack Jesus; they assign the label. “You are of Satan!” Jesus doesn’t respond in the typical manner that people on the “other side” often do. Jesus uses logic. He basically says, “OK, let’s work with your assumption that I am from Satan. If I am, and I am doing good works, then Satan’s house has been divided and Satan’s house will soon therefore be destroyed.” Touché!

What is their response? They do not say, “Gee you are right, we are sorry, please forgive us.” No they, like the mob scene I described earlier will only yell louder and dig their heels in deeper.” They, feeling threatened and in their anger, have painted themselves into the corner. The labels and the accusations will continue and escalate to the point where they will yell “Crucify Him!”

The scene Jesus is in the middle of we know well. We know what it is like to become so entrenched in a position that we will not yield. The patient who decides the life-saving doctor is really a sadistic murderer will never submit to the treatment is one example. We all have moments of blindness and sometimes those “moments” last for years.

Jesus’ point here is not about the momentary blindness that we later repent of, but rather the “shake-your-fist-at-God” blindness that some people will not let go of. If you dig in your heels, shaking your fist at God, and say something to the effect of “I don’t care that you are God, I judge you are not!” Well then, God grants you your heart’s desire, eternity apart from Him. And isn’t that really Hell; a world where God is absent.

So let us take heart. Let us know that when we turn to the Lord in repentance that He is quick to forgive, remembering not our sins, but rather showing mercy. Step #1 is made very clear by Jesus today – turn to the Lord and acknowledge that He is indeed Almighty God. When we do, we have begun down the right path.

DAY 52

NAMES & NUMBERS – ORDER & MERCY

Numbers 1 & 2 and Mark 3:1-19

On our last night in Haiti we give small tokens of appreciation to the staff that has worked so hard to keep us safe and well fed. In a land with little by way of modern convenience the staff numbered 14! As I handed out each gift I would pronounce the person’s name. Sometimes I would do so rather poorly and was often corrected. When I came to Andrew’s name I confidently announced it. Father Milor our host asked, “Andrew, who is Andrew?” Many of us pointed at a young handsome man saying, “Right here, this is Andrew!” Father Milor told us that wasn’t Andrew, it was Wenell. We argued with Father Milor, “No” we said, “This is Andrew, we called him this all week.” Father Milor’s answer, “This is my cousin, his name is Wenell.” We knew then we had gotten this wonderful man’s name wrong all week. It seemed to be the pinnacle of my night of mispronunciations and we all laughed. Then Wenell’s cell phone rang and he answered, “Hello, this is Andrew!” We laughed even harder, it was a fun moment. Father Milor, with a wonderful grin proclaimed, “He must have three names!”

I tell this story because today in Mark we get one of the lists of names of the Disciples. The names are listed in Mark 3:16-16 (as well as Matthew 10:2-4, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:13). Students of the New Testament will note that the lists are not exact. Thaddaeus is mentioned in Matthew and Mark, but in Luke and Acts we find Jude: many think they are the same person.

It is certainly easier to count and keep track of 12 as compared to 600,000. In the Book of Numbers we see the basic need of getting organized. A census is taken, not for pride, but in order to figure out how to divide up, camp, move, etc. the masses. It may not seem a very spiritual reading, but much of our life takes place outside our own Tents of Meeting, and here God models His desire for orderliness to it all.

Orderliness is a good thing, but like many good things when it becomes its own idol it can squeeze out God. We have such an episode in the Gospel. “They watched to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath” (verse 2): The Synagogue and the Sabbath; a place and a time of order. Yet Jesus realizes they and their orderliness have usurped God’s position of mercy and love. The Scripture says, “...he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…” Anger, wow! I had not seen that before. Grieving their hard hearts, wow again! He is the author of the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, the person who wrote the need for the Sabbath. He sees that it has all gone wrong. Jesus then poignantly demonstrates what God desires. “Come here” He says and then heals the man with the withered hand.

His compassion however does not penetrate their granite hearts, but instead further solidifies their hardness. How hard did they become? Natural enemies, the Pharisees and the Herodians, are now bedfellows against Jesus. Jesus is unaffected by it all, as He continues to heal many – you might say “large numbers of people”.

Today I am wondering where in my life I have allowed my desire for something, maybe order, to squeeze out God. 

DAY 51

EXCLAMATION POINT!

Leviticus 26 & 27 and Mark 2

After yesterday’s Jubilee you might think this an awkward ending to Leviticus. At first blush you might be right and some scholars have even called it a post-script. Consider:

Leviticus 26 is not to retell the rules, instead it introduces consequences. This is the first place that God spells out in some detail the blessings and/or curses that will flow from the behavior of Israel. Many people have trouble with the curses, as if God is somehow withholding Himself from the people. Yet Israel is not losing their place as God’s people, the chapter makes this clear. In verse 40 God again declares that He accepts those who are repentant, in verse 42 he proclaims his faithfulness to the covenant, and in verse 44 he says he will not “spurn them”. God is faithful. Chapter 26 is less a post-script and more and exclamation point!

Leviticus 27 similarly may seem out of place, but think about it for a moment: when do people (you and me) make promises to God? Picture this, “Oh God, if you deliver me from this mess, then I promise…” How about this, “Dear God, if you would just this once do this, then I promise…” Then of course there is, after reading God’s Law this, “We promise to keep all your laws”. In some ways chapter 27 is a logical conclusion.

While chapter 27 is not full of exclamation points, I imagine now that you’ve finished reading Leviticus you will want to put an exclamation point on getting through it!

Mark 2 is rich with exclamation points. The healing of a paralytic, the calling of Levi, the identification of his time on earth as one of a feast and not a fast, and the claim of being Lord of the Sabbath – each in the their own right a high point!

I want to focus on one of these; the call of Levi.

Similar to the other disciples Jesus calls, there is this immediate response. Many people when they read these sections of the Bible think, “This doesn’t make sense, why would a person drop everything to follow Jesus?” There is a logical, and I think powerful, explanation.

The Jewish school system would have all the boys and girls go to primary school and memorize the first five books of the Torah (so far you have read three). The best students would then go to secondary school and memorize the rest of the Hebrew Bible. The best of those students would be interviewed by Rabbi’s to be their disciples. If chosen, the Rabbi would essentially be saying, “I think you can be like me”.

Imagine you’ve made it through secondary school, you’ve memorized large, in fact entire books of the Bible. Rabbi after Rabbi has come by, but no invitation. Or worse imagine you didn’t make it through secondary school. Either way you find yourself doing a most detestable thing to earn a living. You are collecting money from your own people to give to their (and your) oppressors. And “by the way”, they don’t pay you, you earn your living by the “extra taxes” you can figure out how to collect. You are pretty much at the bottom of your society, and you know it.

Then one day a remarkable Rabbi comes by; one that has been doing amazing things, one that there is news about through all the region. And that one comes and says, “I think you can be like me!” Might you drop everything and follow him!

The same is true for each of us. I am not commenting on where you find yourself in the socio-economic ladder of life, but rather what Jesus says to each of us. He says, “I think you can be like me, come follow me!”

DAY 50

JUBILEE!

Leviticus 25 and Mark 1: 23-45

I’ve been waiting, waiting to get to this chapter to share it with you. I feel like I have been harping on the theme that God is creating a new people and in some ways chapter 25 of Leviticus makes this clear. It is the Year of Jubilee. In that year: liberty is proclaimed to the captives, property is returned, those who sold themselves into service are set free – their debts are cancelled – it is the year of Jubilee.

Another way to describe this is to think of a game of monopoly. At some point after one person is a winner and everyone else is broke…it all goes back in the box. Isn’t that what the year of Jubilee is? Think about how this would change our free market system, it would serve to limit greed. You can work hard, you can amass wealth, but only so far!

Singer songwriter Michael Card has a song Jesus is our Jubilee. The link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I15coFa1ug0

He has come to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, to pay our debts…and more. We see him doing exactly that in Mark today.

Jesus heals a man right in the middle of a church service! He heals Peter’s mother and then it simply says that the brought all in the city who were sick and he healed them. You would think He would be exhausted, but he gets up and goes “throughout all Galilee” preaching and healing…it is a Jubilee.

It is short post today, in part because I just want to stay in this moment for a bit.

DAY 49

A DIFFERENT FACET

Leviticus 23 & 24 and Mark 1: 1-22

We start again, this time with Mark. The outline of the Gospel is similar, but it is also different. The four Gospels are like four facets of a finely cut gem. The gem is beautiful, but as you look through each facet you see rich and different dimensions. Before turning to Mark’s account, let’s quickly examine Leviticus.

While I have been deliberately, maybe even painstakingly, going through Leviticus fully, I may be growing weary of Leviticus, or possibly I have just come across something that earlier I had not taken to the time to understand. I am really wrestling with Chapter 23 of Leviticus. Many of the commentaries make the connection to how these festivals foreshadow the work of Christ Jesus.

So I have made yet another table of the Festivals, and then compared my table to other people’s analysis. Yet I want to be consistent with my approach to Leviticus and ask, “What are the principles God is communicating?” To that end Allen Ross points out that everything in this chapter is set in context of Sabbath. Not merely of “a day off”, but it signifies of day of “ceasing”.

If we think back to the first Sabbath it is God who takes this rest after completing His creative work. The Lord therefore asks his people to set aside one day a week of “complete rest”. For what purpose? To remember three things: the close relationship we originally enjoyed with him, the breakup of that relationship, and the restoration of that relationship.

Most of the Festivals revolve around the agriculture year, but they have an underlying theme: that Israel is God’s People and it is God who provides and cares for them, even when they wander away. God, in creating this new people gives them: Passover followed immediately by The Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first of the harvest is celebrated with First Fruits and then the full harvest is celebrated with The Feast of Weeks. The fall celebrations begin with Feast of Trumpets, continues into The Day of Atonement, and completes the annual cycle with The Feast of Booths.

I have mentioned (maybe too much) that God is creating a new people. We need celebrations don’t we? God know this and He appoints these festivals so that we don’t celebrate apart from Him, but with Him. Further that celebration is the celebration that we are God’s restored people – that is exactly what Mark’s Gospel proclaims.

You will quickly appreciate that Mark does not mince words. His Gospel is 50% shorter. Many scholars believe it is the first Gospel written. Its starts like a “cannon shot” by immediately proclaiming: “the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Well there it is, Son of God. By now you have read Matthew’s Gospel and maybe you are thinking, “Well yes I know this”. Don’t rush though. While this Gospel is shorter, and while you are looking at the same gem, you are looking through a different facet.

What did you see in these short 22 verses that you didn’t see before? Certainly John the Baptist’s character stands out. Two things stand out for me. The first is Jesus teaching, “repent”, I am use to those being John the Baptist’s words. Jesus tells us “turn around” as well. The closing verse speaks of how people responded to Jesus’ authority; that caught my eye as well.

These people are Jewish, they have been focused on what you and I have been wrestling with, The Law, for their entire lives – enter Jesus – one who teaches with authority.

To follow the Law of Leviticus is to accept its authority. To follow Jesus will be to accept His authority. Listen to what one writer in the New Testament will come to appreciate about Jesus:

The old system in the law of Moses was only a shadow of the things to come, not the reality of the good things Christ has done for us. The sacrifices under the old system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared …And so, dear friends, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. (Hebrews 10:1-2, 19-20)

As we near the end of Leviticus, the Law, the image of the curtain in Matthew’s Gospel lingers…What is central to all, what is the gem, is Jesus the Christ. 

DAY 48

LIVING IN THE SUNRISE!

Leviticus 21 & 22 and Matthew 28

The last chapter of Matthew is only a mere 425 words. The account of the Resurrection is even shorter, about 220 words. Matthew for other events gives us longer descriptions and his chronicling of Jesus’ teachings on any number of subjects occupies more space.

Even with its brevity there is something about it; excitement, purity, a luminescence, for the Sun has come up, The Son is Risen from the dead – Alleluia!

I will avoid the temptation to launch into an Easter Day sermon; certainly Jesus, as he set his face towards Jerusalem chapters ago, has achieved the cosmic objective of the ages. The world is different forever. We of course will spend our lifetimes pondering the significance of this event.

For the disciples it must have been completely disorienting (we know they will go into hiding until Pentecost). After the Gift of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost, more will become clear. Yet even before this outpouring of the Third Person of the Trinity, Jesus makes it clear: there is more to do. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We live in this age where death has been defeated, and yet the full restoration of God’s good creation has yet to come about.

Just as in Genesis, God is looking for us to follow Him, to go into the world…One role that now all are called to serve in is that of priest. This is what it says in the first letter of Peter (2:9): But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. That is a description of all who follow Jesus and this role is for a very specific purpose: ”…that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." There is it again, that we might tell others about God. It is similar to what we have been seeing God tellng the Israelites in Leviticus.     

Our reading in Leviticus is about the priest: their purity and the purity of the offering.

The priests had a great privilege. They were permitted to serve in the Tabernacle and to partake of the holy things. With that increased privilege came increased responsibility.

·         The ordinary Israelite could touch his parent’s corpse at the funeral. The priest could not.

·         The ordinary Israelite could marry whomever he chose. The priest could not.

·         The immoral Israelite was punished, but a member of a priest’s family who committed an immoral act was burnt with fire.

There is a principle here. For ever liberty there is a corresponding responsibility. For every privilege there is a corresponding duty.

I said earlier that there is a similarity to the Old Testament. There is also a difference. We know “how it ends” if you like. Jesus has won the victory. You and I have freedom, liberty, in Christ Jesus. You and I have privilege; we have been adopted, grafted into the family of God (cf. Romans 11) but with that great privilege comes great responsibility. It is the responsibility to be holy…let us live therefore as the sun arises for the Son has risen.   

DAY 47

PILING UP

Leviticus 19 & 20 and Matthew 27: 51-66

The laws have been piling up. We know why; God wants his people to be holy. By now this point is getting through into my brain. I do want to reflect on just a few things about this “holy people”. God is not trying to shape them into a “holier-than-thou” group, rather he is trying to shape them into a people that when others see how they live, they will want to know why they live that way and…they themselves, the onlookers, will want to live that way.

Who would not want to live in a world where children are not sacrificed? There were many ugly practices that were part of the prevailing pagan culture of the day. Some of those practices were driven by fertility worship and some by depraved societal norms. Child sacrifice, literally burning your child as part of the Church service, was the low of lows.

We read about other exclusions. Many of those have to do with worshiping idols. I am often asked if it is “still wrong” to get tattoos? I am not a big fan of “body art”. I wonder what it will look like on me as I age. I do think the point, or rather the question, is why? Why are you getting it? Are you having your body marked with a symbol or image that gives worship and glory to another god, an idol? If you are than I would suggest no. There are a number of other “thou shall not’s” and many of them have to do with pagan worship.

Beyond all the prohibitions, we also read about leaving food in your fields for the poor – what a wonderful act. We read about loving your neighbor. God is shaping a people who, if they work at it, will show the world who he is.

“If they work at it” became (and still is) the challenge. How we work at it, how we go about dealing with failure, and how we go about dealing with others who are still part of the old and other culture makes all the difference.

How we work at it: it has everything to do with us and not the “other person”. God wants us to live in a way that draw others to him; not drive them away.

How we deal with failing at it: do we accept God’s love of forgiveness through the sacrifices, and now through the complete and final act of Jesus; and not create systems and classes of sinners to make ourselves somehow feel better (well at least I am not like…).

How we deal with others who are part of the old and other culture: not judging, remaining separate from the culture, but always inviting.

SO LET’S ASK A QUESTION. Is that what the religious of the Jesus day looked like; People focusing on their own holiness in a way that was conscious of their own failures and inviting others to come and know this wonderful God?

Jesus gives us a different picture of the people who orchestrated his crucifixion.

Somehow the rules had “piled up”, somehow these laws had done the exact opposite of God’s design: holiness became holier-than-thou-ness, people were not focused on overcoming their own shortcomings – instead they pointed out others, and that other and old culture of paganism was judged rather than transformed. In all people looked upon all of this and we not drawn to God. The God of Israel was not to be approached and while apparently present in the Temple behind a steel curtain, He certainly did not seem to be “dwelling with them.”

Until…until the “curtain was torn in two”! That is what we read in the Gospel today. This pile of laws that seemed impossible to keep and was seemingly impenetrable was not destroyed, but fulfilled in the death, the sacrifice, of Jesus on the Cross.

Yesterday I was reflecting on the sorrow and sadness of this moment in time, but it also was dramatic. Think if you were standing in the Temple. It is 3 pm. The priest would have the knife to the throat of a lamb during the Passover. As he kills the lamb, The Lamb cries out on the Cross. He gives up His life. The perfect sacrifice to God has been made. You are standing there. Then, all of a sudden, you hear the screeching sound of the steel curtain being torn in two. Dare you look up? Dare you look at the Holy of Holies in the Temple? God says yes, for this is why Jesus came. Through Him we once again begin the work of becoming a holy people. Let us therefore look upon the intent, the goal of the Law, and learn from those who went before us. Let us not let “being a Christian” pile up on us, but rather shine through us to others.

DAY 46

JESUS DIES

Leviticus 17 & 18 and Matthew 27: 27-50

Are we desensitized? Have you and I read so often of the death of Jesus that we can read about it and not be shocked, or not be sad? I remember when Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ aired I had to close my eyes, I could not look at it. So I am sitting here thinking about it, about the entire thing.

Beyond the abject horror, pain and brutality of it, what I am really struck by is just how far God goes for us. The point of the Cross is to make the way for you and me to be forever with God. It pays the debt. It is the full and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It is finished! To what further extreme could God go?

I have written a number of “posts” where I have pointed out how serious God and God’s plan is. You might remember the Plague-Exodus sequence. God is not capricious. He goes to extremes to free the people He is choosing. He kills the first born of all Egypt.

In return God wants us to take seriously our relationship, dare I say, our Covenant with Him. We have been seeing the precision that God has been prescribing in Leviticus. I have tried in prior posts to get at the principles behind the detailed rules.

The first principle is that God wants us to be different, to be holy. We have seen this before, but again God states this in the first 5 verses of chapter 18 of Leviticus.

He also wants us to have integrity: if we say, “God I will follow you” then He expects we will. Consider the situation of having the “right sacrificial offering”, but “offering it in the wrong place.” Isn’t that the basic situation in Leviticus 17:1-9? Why would you? To cut corners; to not be bothered with following through on your word to God? Assuming you knew the proper manner, then that is probably the best spin you could put on it.

There is an even worse possibility. That is to say to God, “I will approach You the way I want.” To do that would be to make yourself into a god. You are the one giving the orders. I meet people who don’t want to accept any variety of Jesus’ Words such as “…all who come to the Father come through me” (John 14:6). In this instance that is exactly what is going on.

God is very serious about the principle of integrity; if you say you will follow Him, then He will expect it. He is also very serious about you uniquely being His People. In the Old Testament, coming to Him and being distinctive for Him through these rituals [and in the New Testament through Jesus His Son.]

This distinctiveness is very specific and is offered in contrast to the pagan cultures of the day.

Pagan customs of that day often revolved around fertility rituals; rituals that sought to promote the earth and its inhabitants to “give life.” [When a new crop comes up that is the earth “giving life”.] These rituals involved consuming blood. Why; because it contains the “life” of the creature. God wants us neither to try and manipulate life, nor denigrate it. God wants us to be confronted with the cost, the cost of a sacrifice, the cost of the loss of life. To drink blood is to denigrate life and disregard its divinely intended purpose. It is to be like all the pagan cultures around you.

The next set of law in Leviticus 18 is similar. It might be helpful to know the basic Jewish household structure. People lived in their father’s house, often with 3-5 generations living in close proximity. The eldest son would take over as the father lost strength. If a brother’s house got large then he would/could set up his own “father’s house.” Either way there could be up to 50-100 people from multiple generations in “the house.”

Again, I must emphasize that there is the temptation to follow Pagan/Egyptian customs, and they may have been enamored by them. They may envy some of the practices of the Canaanites so much that they would imitate them. The customs in view are cultic practices rooted in fertility rites and alternative patterns of family relationships.

When Israel entered the land of Canaan, they found a people whose ways and beliefs are deplorable, but it was not too long before those ways became their ways. Sexual intimacy is part of the institution ordained by God at Creation. Any acts that cross the sexual barriers not only desecrate what is holy but also bring chaos and confusion into this human divine law, and those who willfully rebel against it condemn themselves.

We see this every day. The world provides an overwhelming powerful threat; whether we are talking the ancient culture of Leviticus, or ours of today. What is truly amazing is that although the moral impurity of the world is perverse and detestable by any simple assessment, the more it is tolerated the more acceptable and appealing it becomes to people around it. 100 years ago people use to talk about sex before marriage and even adultery in very negative terms: it was sin! Now it is largely accepted. What are talking about today the way people use to talk about premarital sex? The answer is sex with children; that ought to give us pause.

God wants us to follow Him. What is the way of the Lord – the way of purity (Isaiah 48:17-18).

People often pick the one verse out of this text that has to do with homosexual relations. First of all the text does not condemn homosexual orientation,; it is much broader than that. The text clearly defines sexual purity in family relationships and specific relationships and acts are referred to. Consider its scope. There must never be any kind of sexual relationship between …

     -    Children and their mother or any of their father’s wives (vs. 6-8)

-    Siblings (vs. 9)

-    Grandchildren and grandparents (vs. 10-11)

-    Nephews/nieces and uncles/aunts (vs. 12-14)

-    Sons/daughters and fathers/mothers-in-law (vs. 15)

-    Siblings and siblings-in-law (vs. 16)

-    Close relatives (vs. 17-18)

-    Husband and wife during his wife’s monthly period (vs. 19)

-    A man/woman and his/her neighbor’s wife/husband (vs. 20)

-    Children and a deity (vs. 21)

-    A man and a man, a woman and a woman (vs. 22)

-    A person and an animal (vs. 23)

God desires us to have the best possible relationships and to live in ways that glorify Him. He knows we will fail. He desires we come to him, seeking forgiveness, with a desire to repent.

Which is why Jesus comes into the world and it gives us great joy. Yet it is joy that has come at a cost; the most extreme cost. Jesus dies. God desires we be grateful in receiving the free gift of His Son. I believe He also wants us to be serious about being a unique people, a holy people, a people who live in a way that leads others to Him.