Leviticus 8

36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lordcommanded through Moses.

I really don't have much to say, obedience is the primary take away.  If you feel like God has instruction for you it doesn't matter how strange it might seem---do it.

knut

Leviticus 6-7

7:37 These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering, 38 which the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.

I really struggle to find meaning in all these details of proper methods of offering.  But it says right here the Lord gave these to Moses.  So regardless of understanding it makes sense that the Israelites should follow the instructions/regulations to the letter.  If nothing else I see discipline an obedience to God's instruction as a lesson in these chapters.

knut

Leviticus 5

14 The Lord said to Moses: 15 “When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel.[d] It is a guilt offering. 

As I read through these chapters about how the Israelites were supposed to act regarding their animal sacrifice, what they were supposed to do when they sinned, and what they were supposed to do when they sinned by accident or without intent......it makes me realize what a gift Jesus is to me!  
As it's Wednesday of Holy Week as I write this.  It causes me to reflect on what a big deal Christ is to me, and how much he's really done.  It sounds weird to say, but I think I can take it for granted.  It's when I read this type of context that my gratefulness is renewed.  
I'm workin' hard to make these chapters interesting.  They are dry.  But, there is GOLD in those words.  We just need to see it!

tp

Leviticus 4

22 “‘When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, when he realizes his guilt 23 and the sin he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.

Nothing super insightful today.  Just a reflection that leadership is really important.  I have been placed in a leadership position that most will never see/feel.  I have TONS of responsibility in the role.....to the company....but, more importantly to God.  My leadership might determine how others will see God.  I think that's the reason there are specific things the priests and leaders must do, in this chapter if they commit sins.  Their lives are lived under the microscope.

So are ours.

tp

Leviticus 2-3

13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

The easy take from these chapters is to give God back our first fruits.  The best of what we have....not the left overs.  Verse 13 caught my eye....the part about the "salt of the covenant."  I typed it into the old google machine, and this is what came up.  Obviously, salt was huge in their culture.  It was an essential to their life.

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13)

Who is the salt of the earth? Me? Christians? What does this really mean? Do we even have an idea of how important salt is?

Did you know that God made a covenant of salt with David? I didn’t know such a thing existed. It is listed only three times in the Old Testament.

In Numbers 18:19, it is called an “everlasting covenant of salt” and in 2 Chronicles 13:5, “the kingdom was given from the Lord, the God of Israel, to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt.” And in Leviticus 2:13, it reads a little differently, “Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.”

God made convents with people using more than salt. He used a rainbow after the great flood to show he wouldn’t destroy us by a flood again. God used the stars to show Abraham how numerous his inhabitants would be. He used tablets of stone when he presented the Ten Commandments.

But with David, it was salt.

Salt has many uses. It is used to season and to cure. Before refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food. Wars have been fought over salt. During the Civil War, one of Florida’s chief uses to the Confederacy was salt. In Roman times, soldiers were paid in salt. Did you know the word “salary” is a derivative of salt?

So, when Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, we need to pay attention.

We’re told in Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

tp

Leviticus 1

9 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water,

If I remember correctly, Leviticus is where we originally started....all those years ago.

I kept reading this line.  Both in the herd instructions and the flock instructions.  I can't for the life of me figure it out.  So, I googled it...not sure it helps find deeper meaning.  But, maybe.

This is one of those “bitter water” verses that it is hard to wade through, and even harder to tap deeper truths from.  It feels very different from the wells and springs of living water that God has been sharing with me over the last several months.   What deep meaning can I glean from washing animal guts and legs in water?  Maybe nothing….perhaps there are times in our lives when we just have to do something because God asks us to do it.  Kind of like “taking out the garbage”.  It needs to be done, no one really likes to do it, and most of us would admit to the occasional grumble when we are doing it.  Then again maybe God has a “hidden well” for me here in the desert.

Are there things in our spiritual lives and our lives as Christians that are somewhat like washing entrails and animal legs?  Things that we do just because God told us to do them.  Investing time and energy in messy relationships and people comes to mind.  Also some of the more mundane work of the church can seem hard and laborious at times.  I have to admit that there have been times when I was sitting through the fourth hour of a session meeting at church that it felt a lot like “taking out the garbage”.  In fact reflecting on this passage feels that way a bit too…but hang in there I think God has revealed a hidden well.

The somewhat tricky part about obeying God is being sure that God is calling us to do something in the first place, especially if the thing we are being called to do seems a bit crazy — like “washing entrails and animal legs”.  I can almost hear Aaron and his sons asking Moses “you want me to do what with the animal guts….are you sure…let’s pray about that again.”  So how do we know the difference between God’s spirit directing us to step out of our comfort zone and something we are doing for self interest or to please others?  I think we need to develop and exercise our discernment skills — our “spiritual whiskers” so we can sense the subtle leading of the Holy Spirit.  It also helps to seek out the wisdom and discernment of others Christians to make sure we are not headed off into “left field” or just plain crazy:)

Exodus 40

36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.

Seems so easy for them.  God was literally with them and instructing them on when to stay and when to go.  First the instructions on the build are really detailed.  Then the instructions about how and when to set it up are very specific.  There isn't much wiggle room in what God is asking them to do.

I wish I had signs like that.  It seems much more convoluted now.  Does God want me to do this?  I'm not sure.  Maybe I should jump in, and if it's his will he'll be there to make sure it succeeds......maybe I should look for the cloud or the fire.  

tp

Exodus 38-39

42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

I'm struck by a couple of things in this reading.  First, the Israelites were in their phase where they were following God's plan.  It feels like its only a short matter of time until they get disgruntled and will do their own thing again.
The second is that I need to keep reminding my self that all of this stuff that was built for the temple.....was not permanent.  In other words, the people were nomadic.  Its not like this was building.  It was a tent!  They had to pick all this stuff up and move it periodically.  All of this gold encrusted, jeweled, ornate stuff.  It had to move relatively quickly.

Crazy to think about.  I get upset when Kim packs her suitcase too heavy.

tp

Exodus 37

7 Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 8 He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

Today I'm struck with the casual-ness of how Moses is writing about the building of these elements.  If today, I told someone I made this incredible, gold sculpted box that could be carried with poles.....people would be amazed!  They would say, "how do you know how to do that?"  But, think about what it must have taken to build this stuff in that day!  They were still wandering in the desert at this point.  No Dewalt cordless tools.  It would have all been done by hand with no technology assist.  Its incredible to think about. Bezalel must have been quite a craftsman.  He definitely was using his skillz and talents for the God he worshiped.......and there it is.  See if you talk long enough, you can find the nugget for the day.

My challenge is to make sure my skills and talents are being applied to God's mission.  Before all other missions...and there are many in my life.  There is my own mission, there's the GM mission, there's the family mission, there's the friend mission.  It's up to me as to which one gets my priority and strength.

whoa!  I went a little long today.  Sorry!

tp

Exodus 35 - 36

29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

I kept reading through 2 chapters today.....looking for the nugget of practicality for me.  It's very much the same tone across both chapters.  All who have, and are willing, are giving to the cause.  All that are skilled are giving their time to construct or engrave or build.  Its a great picture of the church.  It is a literal interpretation of what Paul is talking about in Ephesians.  Everyone has skills and talents that put together can do wondrous things.  Its crazy to think that all of these people had been given specific skills and talents, by God....years ago....in preparation for this moment in time.

Amazing!

tp

Exodus 34

28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

Lots to absorb in this chapter.  There is a lot happening, but I'm finding it tough to grasp a practical nugget.
I like this sentence, just thinking about a human spending 40 days with God.  What must that have been like?  This is the only time in recorded history that this has happened.  Did Moses get hungry?  Did he feel worthy?  How did God write on the stone?

tp