Today’s reading includes Leviticus 16:29-18:30, Mark 7:24-8:10, Psalm 41:1-13, Proverbs 10:15-16.

As I studied several sources for the meaning of Leviticus 17, it was pointed out that before the tabernacle, each man could be his own priest.  He could sacrifice whatever animal he wanted on whatever altar he created.  And this “freedom” had led to much idolatry, as highlighted when the people created a golden calf.  Many of the people unknowingly sacrificed to evil false gods and demonic influences.  There needed to be order and accountability.  That is why God was so detailed in His instructions.  Every detail is listed and every detail was expected to be carried out—from the type, color, and texture of the clothing, to the type of animal and the process of sacrifice.  This is because every detail had significance.  Every detail pointed to a story God was writing and would one day “publish” to the world, through His Son, Jesus.

Look at what Psalm 96 says:

Sing a new song to the Lord!
    Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
² Sing to the Lord; praise his name.
    Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
³ Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
    Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
⁴ Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    He is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ The gods of other nations are mere idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens!

As a book publisher and author, I can understand the process that one must go through to publish a book.  There are so many details that go into such a product–idea concept, writing, editing, re-writing, graphic design, type-setting, print quotes, printing, release plans, marketing plans, and finally the book is published.  It is ready, it is complete, it is readable.  Customers can get the book and hold it and smell it and read it and enjoy it.  But it still has to be marketed.  The world will not know about the published book, if no one says anything about it.  In my mind, this is a loose (maybe very loose) analogy of what it was like for God to “publish” His story of salvation through Jesus.  Of course, He required no re-write nor editing—His salvation plan was perfect from the beginning.  But it was not time yet.  Until it was time, God chose to write the preview to the story through all the details we have been reading in the Old Testament.  Know that perfect story has been completed.  And because it is the best story we have ever had the privilege of knowing, we are now the publishers and marketers of this story, and we should publish our own accounts of how His story changed our story.  Each day we should proclaim the good news that He saves.  Each day we should publish His glorious deeds among the nations.  Why?  Because the gods of other nations, other sources, other imaginations, other outlets are mere idols.  We can’t concoct our own version of God’s story.  It is what it is.  Only this story–found throughout the scriptures–and all its wonderful, intricate details is authored by the One who made the heavens.

In the same way, the people of ancient time could not write this story differently than God planned.  They must do it exactly as God intended, for each detail was important. Each detail was a preview of the main attraction to come through Jesus.

This is what Matthew Henry had to say about Leviticus 17:

 The reasons why God thus strictly ordered all their sacrifices to be offered at one place were, [1.] For the preventing of idolatry and superstition. That sacrifices might be offered to God, and according to the rule, and without innovations, they must always be offered by the hands of the priests, who were servants in God’s house, and under the eye of the high priest, who was ruler of the house, and took care to see every thing done according to God’s ordinance. [2.] For the securing of the honour of God’s temple and altar, the peculiar dignity of which would be endangered if they might offer their sacrifices any where else as well as there. [3.] For the preserving of unity and brotherly love among the Israelites, that meeting all at one altar, as all the children of the family meet daily at one table, they might live and love as brethren, and be as one man, of one mind in the Lord.III. How this law was observed.

As I continued through today’s reading I came across a very special verse which caused me to stop and reflect on its truth in my own life.  It is found in Leviticus 18:1-4.

Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. ³ So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. ⁴ You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.

Don’t take your cues for action from the places you have been in the past, nor the place you are now.  Don’t act like the world.  Don’t let the world around you influence your thinking, your speaking, your actions.  Let your mind be renewed by the Word each day.  That is your guide.  And it is not for the sake of denying blessing from you, it is for the sake of attaining blessing for you.  His way is not meant to deprive you, but to give you abundant life.  Verse 5 goes on to say this:

⁵ If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

This is the third time in this passage that God declares “For I am the Lord.”  That is a good enough reason to obey Him.  He is the Lord of Heaven and earth.  And that is true whether we follow Him or not.  But for believers, as the ones who have read the story and embraced it for themselves, there is the added phrase found in the first two instances of “for I am the Lord”.  That added phrase is “your God”.  He is the Lord of heaven and earth.  And at His name, one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, whether they follow Him or not.  But for us, He is the Lord our God.  He is ours—our deeply personal, intimate, Savior, Redeemer and Friend.  And for Him we will choose to act differently than we have in our past.  We will act differently than what we see around us in our present.  We will act differently than the rest of the world because He is the Lord our God.  May His sweet Spirit equip us with all we need for a life of godliness.

Today’s reading includes Leviticus 15:1-16:28, Mark 7:1-23, Psalm 40:11-17, Proverbs 10:13-14.

Today, we get an eye-opener with all the talk of bodily discharges.  I just couldn’t go there.  You are on your own for that interpretation!  I will point out that as you are reading through chapter 15 consider the filthiness of sin and the contagion of sin.  We sometimes forget how filthy our sin really is.  But its seriousness is beyond description, for it cost the life and blood of our Savior.

And an appropriate following of the reminder of the filthiness of sin is the understanding of the cure for it, which we find in chapter 16.  This chapter caused a stirring in my spirit.  The scapegoat.  Oh, what symbolism is there!  This was a description of the Day of Atonement.  What was the Day of Atonement?  It was an annual day of fasting and prayer among the Israelites, which is still observed today by the present-day Jews. Jews call this day Yom Kippur.  It occurs once a year on the 10^th day of Tishri, which is the 7^th (take note!) month of the Hebrew calendar.  This was the day the high priest came into the Holy of holies.  The priest performed elaborate preparation before he went into the Most Holy Place.  He cleansed himself and sacrificed a bull for a sin offering for himself and his family.  Note that Jesus, the greatest High Priest would not have to offer a sin offering for Himself, as He never sinned.  He was the perfect Lamb without blemish.  He was the sin offering. That is why there is no further need for the rituals which were necessary after the fall and before the Savior came to take away the sin of the world.

²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, ^qfirst for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this ^ronce for all when he offered up himself.

                                                                                                    Hebrews 7:27

After the high priest was dressed in the holy linen and cleansed physically and spiritually, he would tie a robe around his leg so that the people could pull him out if the holiness of the Most Holy Place caused him to die.  The high priest brought two goats, one to sacrifice and the other used as a scapegoat.  The high priest would then place his hands on the head of the goat and confess over it the rebellion, sin, and wickedness of all the people.  Then the scapegoat was released into the wilderness.  The goat itself carried on itself all of the sins of all of the people.  And because the scapegoat carried it away into the symbolic hell of the wilderness, the people were forgiven for another year.  (vs. 30)

Jesus descended into the wilderness of hell on our behalf, carrying our sins on Himself.  He declared “It is finished” just before He died.  It is finished.  No more needed to be done.  No more sacrifice needed to be made.  Read Hebrews 10:1-12 and discover new understanding as we now more understand the Old Covenant.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ² 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.

³ But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.⁴ For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ That is why, when Christ^[a] came into the world, he said to God,

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
    But you have given me a body to offer.
⁶ You were not pleased with burnt offerings
    or other offerings for sin.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
    as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”^[b]

⁸ First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). ⁹ Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. ¹⁰ For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.

¹¹ Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. ¹² But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

See what Leroy Ford had to say in his article Design for Teaching and Training.

The sufficiency and completeness of the sacrifice of Christ is also seen in the two goats. The blood of the first goat was sprinkled on the ark, ritually appeasing the wrath of God for another year. The second goat removed the sins of the people into the wilderness where they were forgotten and no longer clung to the people. Sin is both propitiated and expiated God’s way—only by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Propitiation is the act of appeasing the wrath of God, while expiation is the act of atoning for sin and removing it from the sinner. Both together are achieved eternally by Christ. When He sacrificed Himself on the cross, He appeased God’s wrath against sin, taking that wrath upon Himself: “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9). The removal of sin by the second goat was a living parable of the promise that God would remove our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) and that He would remember them no more (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).

The Old Testament rituals seem odd and unnecessary to us, but they are necessary to understand so that we embrace that gift God gave us when He made these rituals unnecessary, by giving His Son as the sacrifice as well as the scapegoat.

8 He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. 9 Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. 10 The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.[c]

The name Azazell in Hebrew meant “for absolute removal” and was also the name of place in the wilderness 12 miles from Jerusalem. Note the number 12.  The goat was banished for the family of God. When the first goat was slaughtered, it fulfilled the wrath of a holy God.  When the second goat was sent away to the wilderness, carrying the sins away, it was for the absolute removal of the sin, not just the punishment for it.  When Christ served as both the sacrifice and the scapegoat, He won for us the absolute removal of our sins.  They are not apart of us any longer.  Therefore, we are new creations.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

                                                                                              2 Corinthians 5:17

Of the three assignments listed as necessary for the Day of Atonement–High Priest, Sacrifice, and Scapegoat–our Jesus played all three roles on our behalf. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Today’s reading includes Leviticus 14:1-57, Mark 6:30-56, Psalm 40:1-10, Proverbs 10:11-12.

Okay, friends!  Are you hanging in there?  I don’t know about you, but between the slaughtering of animals, splattering of blood, and now the skin diseases that spread and the spreading mold, well, it is all a bit gross to me.  And yet, it should be.  Those things represent our sin and that is truly gross.  To cling to that which spreads in my heart and contaminates my soul, my relationships, my personality, my giftedness—that indeed makes me sick.  Oh, that we would be as sickened by our sin as we are by the visual of sin represented in the passages we are reading.

Today we see the purification process for the spreading skin diseases and mold issues of houses in Caanan.  It was interesting that these issues are considered the same, one of a person and one of a home.  And yet, the mold was symbolic of an uncleanness in the home.  It struck me as interesting that the Lord warned Moses and Aaron that the spreading mold would be a problem.

³³ Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew.^[a]

                                                                                                                                                                   Leviticus 14:33-34

We find two interesting truths in this one scripture.  First, He warned them that a defiling mold would be a problem.  Second, it appears that He Himself would be the One to send it.  Leprosy was symbolic for punishment in biblical times, as was the “leprosy” of a home–spreading mold. But why would God do that?  Perhaps because man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.  The real story behind this chapter is not defiling, spreading sin-representing conditions.  The real story is the purification that God provided when that happened.  He loves us too much to let us live in our sin.  Perhaps when God sent and allowed the mold to grow, it was for the purification of the whole household.  The process of purification for the leper with the spreading skin disease is the same as the purification for the whole household.  In the spiritual realm, perhaps we can discern that God is concerned with the individual and he is concerned with the family.  Matthew Henry had this to say:

The leprosy in a house is unaccountable to us, as well as the leprosy in a garment; but now sin, where that reigns in a house, is a plague there, as it is in a heart. Masters of families should be aware, and afraid of the first appearance of sin in their families, and put it away, whatever it is. If the leprosy is got into the house, the infected part must be taken out. If it remain in the house, the whole must be pulled down. The owner had better be without a dwelling, than live in one that was infected. The leprosy of sin ruins families and churches. Thus sin is so interwoven with the human body, that it must be taken down by death.

In the New Testament, there is also an account, an allegory of cleaning the house.

³⁸ One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”

³⁹ But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.⁴⁰ For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

⁴¹ “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. ⁴² The queen of Sheba^[a] will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.

⁴³ “When an evil^[b] spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. ⁴⁵ Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

                                                                                    Matthew 12: 38-45

What do we see in this “house cleaning”?  We see that the demon had been swept clean and the house had been put in order, but it had been left empty.  The work had been done by the efforts of man, by good works, which cannot save.  Yes, the house can be cleaned, but without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, evil has free range to return, grow, spread and ruin the house, much like the spreading mold and the spreading leprosy.

What is the answer for us?  We must be cleansed—not of our own efforts and our own good works.  We must be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.  And then we must ask the Holy Spirit to dwell with us, in us, and in our households.  It is interesting to note once again that the priests could only diagnose.  Only God could cure and cleanse.

What were the tools of purification for both the leper and the moldy home?  They included two birds, a stick of cedar, scarlet yarn, and a hyssop branch.  We have already seen that the hyssop was a tool of cleansing and was used to place blood on the doorposts at Passover.  We have seen that scarlet represented sin and the redemption of sin—blood atonement.  It represents an acknowledgement of sin and then a cleansing from it.  The two birds represented Jesus, one for sacrifice and one for flying away—ascending into heaven.  And the cedar? The cedar has a distinctive smell.  Most pests will not go near it.  Even today, cedar closets are a protective asset to a home.  As many insects are destroyers of homes, the cedar represents a protective covering from the plague of sin.  It represents taking action to not only prevent the spreading of sin, but also to reduce and deter that which had already begun its destruction.

So, even though these gross topics of skin disease and moldy homes does not at first glance seem to have any significance for us, in reality the symbolism of this process can still apply to us today.  Trust in God to cleanse and purify.  Keep our spiritual house swept clean and in order, not by our own good works, but through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And pray just as Jesus taught us that we and our whole household would be delivered from evil and protected from temptation.

Today’s reading includes Leviticus 11:1-12:8, Mark 5:21-43, Psalm 38:1-22, Proverbs 10:8-9.

Today, I am still thinking of the holy fire from heaven.  I am savoring the fact that God initiated a relationship with the Israelites through the Levitical law and that He initiates eternal relationship with us through the completed work of Jesus.  We need to remember that the fire of the Tabernacle could not go out because it was initiated and started by God’s holy presence.  The people did not want to put out the Presence of God, as represented by the fire. The fire on the altar was a constant reminder of God’s presence and His power.

In Leviticus 10:1 we are introduced to two sons of Aaron who served as an example of “don’t play with fire.”  They did not take the holy fire seriously.  They tried to put a counterfeit fire in their incense burners.

Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. ² So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.

This account reminds us to stay close to the warmth of the Holy Fire, the presence of God.  We cannot forget that Satan continually tempts us with counterfeit fire straight from the flames of hell.  God will not be mocked.  He will not accept a counterfeit.  We must stay close to the perpetual Holy fire, the presence of God.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist predicted that the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

                                                                                    Matthew 3:11

Fire is associated with judgement and refining, but it is also associated with the presence of God and the Holy Spirit when at Pentecost, the Spirit descended as “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3)

So, as stated in yesterday’s reading, there is good fire and bad fire.  There is fire that refines and reveals the beauty and value, and there is fire that destroys.

I remember a particular season of longing in my life.  During that season my brother, Ken, had shared with me about the freedom of relinquishing our desires to the Father. He told me that he pictured his desires, whatever that may be, as a small box, like a gift.  And in his prayers, he would offer the box, symbolizing his wants and desires, to the Lord.  He would imagine leaving the box at the altar, and praying, “Not my will, but Yours, O God”.  So, through prayer, I brought my desires to God’s altar time and time again. Yet I kept picking it back up, analyzing and trying to control it once again.  And then one day, I read about burnt offerings.  It was February 14th, Valentines Day, and once again I was tempted with discontentment and sadness.  I had begun reading the One Year Bible, as a New Year’s Resolution, but was tempted to skip the Old Testament reading because it seemed so irrelevant to me.  However, I wanted to hold true to my resolution, so I trudged through the assigned reading. The reading that day was about the preparation of the altar.  I began to pray, saying, “Lord, I’ve tried that.  I have tried again and again to lay down my desires and my unfulfilled dreams and hopes and wishes.  I have tried to lay down my sadness and heartache, but I keep picking it back up.”

And then I read further about the burnt offerings.  And I began to think about the burnt offering and the holy fire surrounding it.  I realized if I offered my desires as a burnt offering, one of two things could happen.  Either it would be something made beautiful, as silver refined in the fire, or it would be a black charred mess that I would not want to pick back up anyway. So, I prayed that my desires would be as a burnt offering.  And I finally found that place of surrender.  The things God had been trying to teach me during this difficult season suddenly began to form as truth in my heart.  He was enough!  His presence was what my heart longed for more than anything else.  Isaiah 43:1-3 reminds us that the Holy Fire, God’s presence is with us, even if life’s circumstances take us through a season of fiery trials.

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,

he who formed you, Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

When we walk through fiery trials, we don’t have to be burned.  The pain, though refining, will not set us ablaze, for the Lamb of God suffered the flames of burnt offering on our behalf. And as we walk through the fiery trials with the Holy Fire, the Light of the World, and the Tongues of Fire–the Trinity– as our companions, we will not be burned.