Everything New is Old Again

NUMBERS 11:24-13:33

Our country, the United States of America, is facing a “dis-ease” of epidemic proportion, obesity.  Approximately one out of three of its citizens are obese, based on published studies of statistics taken between 2003/04. (JAMA).  These statistics do not even mention how many of the remaining 2/3^rd of the population is overweight.  Fat kills, and there are multitude of studies to prove it.  Gluttony killed those in the dessert too.

   
³¹ Now a wind went out from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. ³² And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³ But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague. ³⁴ So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah,^[a] because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.   
(Numbers 11:31-34, New King James Version)

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 11:34 Literally Graves of Craving

I once heard a minister, whose name escapes me, state that everything we need to live a successful Christian life can be found in the first five books of the Bible.  I am finding out the longer I live; he was and is absolutely right. 

Mean What You Say and Say What You Mean 

We may say some things but what is the real reason why we say them.  Miriam and Aaron tried to get a “posse” together to challenge Moses’ leadership.  Their verbal rational for their challenge was,

² So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. (Numbers 12:2, New King James Version)

However, the true reason was something completely different,

 ^1-2 Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses behind his back of
because his Cushite wife (he had married a Cushite woman). They said, "Is it only through Moses that God speaks? Doesn't he also speak through us?"

   God overheard their talk.  (Numbers 12:1, The Message)

Beware the folks looking to put together a posse.  Ye better know why they are trying to stir up your passions.   

Going to War in Your Promise Land

Numbers 10:1-11:23

We have this assumption, and by “we“, I mean the Christian Community, that when we get to our “Promise” land, the milk and honey will flow without conflict, not true.  If we are called to believe in the scriptures as being the complete Word of God, which is to be “rightly divided” [2 Timothy 2:15 KJV Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.] then we must hold up what we believe to the measuring rod of God’s Word. 

⁹ “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. (Numbers 10:9, New King James Version)

This does not just remain as an Old Testament “thing” because the Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church at Corinth to,

 ^1-5Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God's fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God's wonder and grace didn't seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

 ^6-10The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—"First the people partied, then they threw a dance." We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.  (1 Corinthians 10:5-7, The Message)

Israel’s wondering in the desert, their trials, there missteps, their experiences, should be used as a road map in living our lives and not just seen as some story from long ago.  The pillar of fire and the cloud to them was the leading of the Holy Spirit to us.   

When you get to your promise, make sure your fighting clothes are on. 

The Choice is Ours

In reading today’s Old Testament passage, I became fascinated with the 26th chapter. So many of us want to throw off the restraints of God and go our own way, thinking that it is better to be enslaved by our own desires than to be enslaved by God. But God offers so much more,

^3-5 "If you live by my decrees and obediently keep my commandments, I will send the rains in their seasons, the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. You will thresh until the grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting time; you'll have more than enough to eat and will live safe and secure in your land.
 ^6-10 "I'll make the country a place of peace—you'll be able to go to sleep at night without fear; I'll get rid of the wild beasts; I'll eliminate war. You'll chase out your enemies and defeat them: Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand and do away with them. I'll give you my full attention: I'll make sure you prosper, make sure you grow in numbers, and keep my covenant with you in good working order. You'll still be eating from last year's harvest when you have to clean out the barns to make room for the new crops.
 ^11-13 "I'll set up my residence in your neighborhood; I won't avoid or shun you; I'll stroll through your streets. I'll be your God; you'll be my people. I am God, your personal God who rescued you from Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I ripped off the harness of your slavery so that you can move about freely. (Leviticus 26:3-13, The Message)

When we go our own way, we suffer in “freedom,

^14-17 "But if you refuse to obey me and won't observe my commandments, despising my decrees and holding my laws in contempt by your disobedience, making a shambles of my covenant, I'll step in and pour on the trouble: debilitating disease, high fevers, blindness, your life leaking out bit by bit. You'll plant seed but your enemies will eat the crops. I'll turn my back on you and stand by while your enemies defeat you. People who hate you will govern you. You'll run scared even when there's no one chasing you.
 ^18-20 "And if none of this works in getting your attention, I'll discipline you seven times over for your sins. I'll break your strong pride: I'll make the skies above you like a sheet of tin and the ground under you like cast iron. No matter how hard you work, nothing will come of it: No crops out of the ground, no fruit off the trees. (Leviticus 26:14-20, The Message)

The choice is ours.

Leprosy, The Sin Dis-ease

Leviticus 13:1-59


Leprosy in Leviticus is a picture of “sin” and how we should deal with it in our lives. WE are not to take prisoners and leave a little bit behind. Identifying sin takes a community and not just ourselves because we would more than likely excuse it away.
 ¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: ² “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes on the skin of his body like a leprous^[a] sore, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests. ³ The priest shall examine the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous sore. Then the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean. (Leviticus 13:1-3, New King James Version)

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 13:2 Hebrew saraath, disfiguring skin diseases, including leprosy, and so in verses 2–46 and 14:2–32

The passage even deals with an environment of sin we may choose to live within our relationships and homes, the sin we cloak ourselves with.
   
⁴⁷ “Also, if a garment has a leprous plague^[a] in it, whether it is a woolen garment or a linen garment, ⁴⁸ whether it is in the warp or woof of linen or wool, whether in leather or in anything made of leather, ⁴⁹ and if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment or in the leather, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a leprous plague and shall be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ The priest shall examine the plague and isolate that which has the plague seven days. ⁵¹ And he shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, in the leather or in anything made of leather, the plague is an active leprosy. It is unclean. ⁵² He shall therefore burn that garment in which is the plague, whether warp or woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of leather, for it is an active leprosy; the garment shall be burned in the fire.
⁵³ “But if the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, ⁵⁴ then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the plague; and he shall isolate it another seven days. ⁵⁵ Then the priest shall examine the plague after it has been washed; and indeed if the plague has not changed its color, though the plague has not spread, it is unclean, and you shall burn it in the fire; it continues eating away, whether the damage is outside or inside. ⁵⁶ If the priest examines it, and indeed the plague has faded after washing it, then he shall tear it out of the garment, whether out of the warp or out of the woof, or out of the leather. ⁵⁷ But if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in anything made of leather, it is a spreading plague; you shall burn with fire that in which is the plague. (Leviticus 13:47-57, New King James Version)

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 13:47 A mold, fungus, or similar infestation, and so in verses 47–59

No matter how we try to hide it no matter how we try to filter it, sin is just that, sin.

The Burning Book

Leviticus 6-7:27

Haven’t posted in a couple of days and probably will not post much while going through the book of Leviticus.  Although this book is packed with ritual laws and ceremonies, I think it probably deserves its own blog just to go through the laws and rituals that directly point to New Testament principals and most importantly, point to Jesus Christ revealed in the New Covenant.  One of the Sacrifices that directly point to the New Testament is the Burnt Offering that was to be done before any other offering mentioned in Leviticus could be done or else nothing else that was offered up would be accepted. 

The Burnt Offering where everything of the sacrificial bull was placed on the alter and burned up completely is paralleled in,

Romans 12:1-2 NIV  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.  (2)  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Burning up for Jesus!

The Glory of the Lord

Exodus 39-40:38

To see Aaron dressed up in his High Priestly clothing must have been a glorious sight.  But we must remember that the clothing was not about Aaron but it was all about God.  In some way the covering to be worn in ministering to the people was a reflection of God.  We are suppose to see aspects of God’s Glory; His Character; His Omnipotence; His knowledge and Wisdom and all the other facets of God I have probably left off.  The engraved names of Israel on the stone and stones of the headpiece and chest piece represents how God always has us on His mind and His heart.

What is God’s Love, Really?

Exodus 34-35:9

Yesterday a co-worker sent me a devotional entitled, God's Love and Lemonheads The Writer was attempting to write down all the synonyms she could think of for Love, trying to describe God’s Love without using the word Love.  There is one big problem with that, we cannot compare man’s love, or even equate God’s love with what man describes as love no matter the language used (see Isaiah 55:8-9).  In today’s passage I saw something that might give us a clue of What God’s Love is:

        Exodus 34:5-7 NLT  Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and He called out His own name, Yahweh.  (6)  The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, "Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.  (7)  I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected--even children in the third and fourth generations."

Within this passage is something that appears to break away from love and it is something I have wrestled with for years, the laying/visiting/punishing upon the children/grandchildren the sins of their parents: It doesn’t sound like love to us humans, at least to me it doesn't.  In The Hebrew, as in the King James, that particular word is translated “Visiting”. According to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, the Hebrew word is.

[H6485 –פּקד - pâqad - paw-kad' - A primitive root; to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.: - appoint, X at all, avenge, bestow, (appoint to have the, give a) charge, commit, count, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do judgment, lack, lay up look, make X by any means, miss, number, officer, (make) overseer have (the) oversight, punish, reckon, (call to) remember (-brance), set (over), sum, X surely, visit, want.]

When someone comes to visit, you don’t have to let them in.  But if you’re living in a house under the tutelage of your parents their guests, their sins, are brought into the space you live in thus that visitor, that “sin,” becomes Familiar to you, which is how it gets passed down from one generation to the next.  Unless the children reject that sin and/or sins, it will truly move down the line from one generation to the next.  

The passage also states, God forgives, but doesn’t overlook the guilty.  Guilt, true guilt, in this context means the person never sought forgiveness from God.  They may have sought forgiveness from others, but they never stood under the cleansing Stream of God’s Forgiveness. 

In the New Testament Passage for today, we can see the –Cause-Effect-Cause, of our sins, our family sin  being  passed down one generation to the next in the following statement.  [Jesus is before the crowd at his trial.  Pilate’s wife has sent him a message about her bad dread and she warns him to leave Jesus alone.  The warning shakes Pilate up and he ceremonially washes his hands in front of the crowd and states he is not responsible for what is about to happen (As if shirking your responsibility to lead somehow gets rid of your responsibility) - The conversaton bewteen Pilate and the crowd]:

Matthew 27:24-25 NLT  Pilate saw that he wasn't getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. The responsibility is yours!"  (25)  And all the people yelled back, "We will take responsibility for His death--we and our children!"

Further down in the Matthew passage we see the “world” trying to strip Jesus of His Covering, His Favor with God which is keeping with my overall theme of Cloaks and Favor,

Matthew 27:27-31 NLT  Some of the governor's soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment.  (28)  They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.  (29)  They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on His head, and they placed a reed stick in His right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before Him in mockery and taunted, "Hail! King of the Jews!"  (30)  And they spit on Him and grabbed the stick and struck Him on the head with it.  (31)  When they were finally tired of mocking Him, they took off the robe and put His own clothes on Him again. Then they led Him away to be crucified.

God is still God; Jesus is still God as well as the son of God.  no matter what we do or don’t do. Even if we attempt to strip God verbally of his awesomeness and His power, He is still God and Jesus is still His son. 

Luke 19:11-27 NIV  While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.  (12)  He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. (13)  So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' (14)  "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' (15)  "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. (16)  "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' (17)  "'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' (18)  "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' (19)  "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' (20)  "Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. (21)  I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' (22)  "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? (23)  Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' (24)  "Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' (25)  "'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' (26)  "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. (27)  But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"