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As I write the devo this week, it comes immediately after a major heartbreak this afternoon (Thursday the 13th), in the loss of one of our elder’s grown kids, Grant Oldham. Grant (27) has struggled & fought faithfully against an aggressive cancer these past 2 years. His wife, Alora, along with his parents, Brian & Anita, and his siblings & their families have been an inspiration to those nearby, and today, they tearfully celebrated his “victory in Jesus” as well as any of us could. Anytime a long-time church leader such as Brian goes thru a valley of this magnitude, I’m prompted to acknowledge them and ask for our “Finishing Well” prayers for their family. Thanks so much for allowing me to mention them to you this week. Now as we continue in the life of Moses, we take an overview of this “priestly” book in the middle of the Pentateuch, called Leviticus. Many folks who begin a “thru the Bible in a year” program, dread and bail out about February for the simple reason that it’s then when they hit this book of the Bible. So let’s break it down on a daily basis, trying to keep it clear as well as concise, and the good news is I have a song for each day this week about this theme that repeats over and over in the book….HOLINESS. It’s being “set apart” for a sacred purpose. A special “separateness”. It’s the opposite of “common-ness”. God is holy and as Peter reiterates in the New Testament, we are to “be holy as He is holy”. But what in the world does that look like? Let’s dive in and see! Glance over the Scriptures each day and get an OVERVIEW, if you will. Familiarity….recollection….tying things together. Those are the things I hope we can accomplish in our devos SO THAT we might be able to talk and discuss God’s Word more confidently with each other and those who might not be as familiar! So here we go, here we go….here we go. Monday….”RITUAL” (Chapters 1-7) God begins the book listing the OFFERINGS the nation is to perform. God “calls Moses to the Tabernacle” and passes all this info on. Notice the details of “no defects”, laying hands on the animal’s head, the death “in your place” in chapter 1. We see the details for the burnt, grain, peace, sin, guilt & ordination offerings. QUESTION….what do you notice in each of these offerings the nation was to make? Anything stand out to you at a glance? 1:17…the BURNT offering…..grasping the bird WITHOUT TEARING it’s wings 2:4…the baked GRAIN offering….WITHOUT ANY YEAST 3:16…the PEACE offering….NEVER EAT THE FAT OR BLOOD (the fat belongs to God) 4:13…..the SIN offering…if the entire community sins but the people don’t realize it, they are STILL GUILTY (ignorance is no excuse) 5:2….more on the SIN offering….you must ADMIT YOUR DEFILEMENT 5:16…the GUILT offering….you must make RESTITUTION for the sacred property you have harmed by paying an ADDITIONAL 20% (got their attention) 6:5….more on the GUILT offering…all this is to happen ON THE SAME DAY (don’t dilly dally) 6:11-13…more on the BURNT offering….make sure the priests CHANGE CLOTHES, add FRESH WOOD, and NEVER LET THE FIRE GO OUT!! 6:16…more on the GRAIN offering….Aaron & sons may eat the rest of the flour but it MUST be baked WITHOUT YEAST and eaten in a SACRED PLACE…which is MOST HOLY 6:22….the ORDINATION offering…it must be BURNT UP COMPLETELY 6:28…more on the SIN offering….if a clay pot is used it must be BROKEN and if a bronze pot is used, it must be SCOURED 7:7…more on the GUILT offering…. both belong to the priest who uses them to PURIFY someone making that person RIGHT WITH THE LORD 7:18…more on the PEACE offering…..any meat left over to the 3rd day WILL NOT be accepted by the Lord, it is CONTAMINATED and if you eat it, you’ll be punished 7:23/26…the FORBIDDEN Blood and Fat….never eat the fat or the blood! 7:30….a PORTION for the PRIEST…..present it WITH YOUR OWN HANDS as a special gift to the Lord Now I know all those details might seem like God is being “obsessed with minutia”, but that’s what HOLINESS is about. Treating things in regard to God as SENSITIVE in nature, and not flippantly or casually. I remember Ray Ortlund’s book on worship years ago suggested that we are free to come into God’s presence INFORMALLY, but never CASUALLY. In other words, we can be relaxed,but not unconscious. God begins this discipline of worship, led by the Levites with great detailin regard to His holiness. We are to be ever-so-aware of His purity and approach Him with the ultimate of RESPECT. God is teaching them HOW to treat Him as holy and in doing so, He will REGARD them as holy, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE NOT! That’s a great blend of His mercy and grace! How can you and I approach God with more “consistent respect”? Think on that a moment and we’ll look forward to tomorrow…. Tuesday….”ROYALTY” (Chapters 8-9) These 2 chapters today are about the role of the PRIESTS. Aaron and his sons get washed up, dressed up and prayed up. There is a “uniform” that goes with this role and there is significance in every part of the garment. From sash, to robe, to ephod, to chest-piece, to turban, to gold medallion, there is detail after detail. And the oil on the altar is to be sprinkled 7 times (the perfect # in Jewish numerology). Moses goes first before his brother and nephews take over. Notice in 8:15, all that Moses does “MAKES THE ALTAR HOLY”. It’s now purified. After the bull is sacrificed, the hide, meat and dung are burned in a fire OUTSIDE THE CAMP. Aaron and his sons went thru all the instructions and were told to STAY AT THE ENTRANCE FOR 7 DAYS. Night and day…day and night. And after this “dry run” or “dress rehearsal”, if you will, Aaron is ready to “be the priest of the people”. And in chapter 9 it all begins. The WHOLE community gathers and Moses commands Aaron to kick things off. He dips, he pours, he washes, he presents, he slaughters, he arranges, he lifts up the offering and finally he RAISES HIS HANDS & BLESSES THE PEOPLE. What a moment! And it’s not over yet! Here comes the FIRE blazing from the Lord’s presence consuming the burned offering and fat on the altar. And as God SHOWS UP, the people BOW DOWN, falling on their faces before the Lord in joyful worship! It’s an awesome moment! Song for Tuesday……link to YOU ARE HOLY by marc Imboden (writer of the song). This was a song we sang at the turn of the millennium. Maybe you’ll remember it. Take a moment if you’d like and listen to this song. It’s one of a kind that Michael W did an awesome job of recording it later, but this version is by the fellow who wrote it. May it be a retro-worshipful moment for you. Now tomorrow, we get some bad news. We move from RITUAL (sacrificial offerings) and ROYALTY (priestly duties) to what I call REGRET. It started so good, but liberties were taken where they were never intended to be taken. So enjoy your reflection on today’s first “priestly celebration” because it goes downhill quickly tomorrow. Thanks for joining us in the overview this week. May your Tuesday be blessed! Wednesday….”REGRET” (Chapter 10) Just one chapter today. One is enough when JUDGMENT is involved. Aaron’s sons take the casual approach to a holy God and there are no 2nd chances at this level. Like Ananias & Saphira in Acts 5, there’s no time for an apology. Take a moment and read the story for yourself. Part 1….10:1-7 Nadab & Abihu show up for their “priestly duty” bringing the coals of fire in their incense burners sprinkling incense over them. Now the next verse indicates they offered STRANGE or the WRONG KIND of fire which was different than was commanded. And fire came out much like the previous time it did for their father, Aaron, except this time, the fire CONSUMED THEM! Moses has a painful & awkward moment with his brother, saying “this is what the Lord meant when he said”, ‘I will display my holiness thru those who come near me’. How painful was that! Aaron didn’t say a word. Who in the world could after something like that happened? The cousins carry the bodies away outside the camp and make sure they pick them up “by their garments”. Moses commands his brother (their father) NOT TO SHOW GRIEF by typical mourning behavior such as unkept hair or the tearing of their clothes. The rest of the nation was allowed to grieve, though. And Aaron was not allowed to leave the Tabernacle, which I’m assuming he was not allowed to “go to the funeral”, so to speak. Whoa! That takes us all back. Are details in approaching a holy God THAT important? I guess so. I don’t think it was a miscalculation or someone stubbed their toe and had an accident. Then what was this all about? I’m speculating, but I think the next words from the mouth of God are always a great indicator. Let’s see…. Part 2…..Verse 8-10….Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation. You must distinguish between what is SACRED and what is COMMON, between what is CEREMONIALLY UNCLEAN and what is CLEAN.” “Whoa” again! Could it be that Nadab & Abihu came into the presence of the Lord “a little buzzed or possibly drunk” and “went thru the motions casually”, not paying attention to the details of God’s directions? Maybe. Can’t prove it. But it seems to me to be implied. If the police pull me over and tell me to slow down, it would be fair to assume I WAS SPEEDING! Now let’s be careful and not say what the Bible doesn’t say. He didn’t say never to have a drink, but God did say DON’T HEAD INTO THE TABERNACLE THAT WAY. If those who are called to represent God IN THAT MOMENT allow their “judgment to be impaired” then God says He has a big problem with that “misrepresentation” of Him. Now I’m not sure this was a problem ever again in Scripture, at least until the New Testament when the Corinthians (1 Cor 11) had divisions and some were abusing the Lord’s Supper by over indulgence and getting drunk. There’s that! But this day, was a very sad day for Israel, for Moses and certainly for Aaron and the rest of his family. Moses goes on in the reset of chapter 10 reiterating once again how we’re supposed to do this. Now please hear my heart on this one. We don’t want to become legalistic and Pharisaical in our approach to being believers in our day and age. But we CERTAINLY don’t want to take God’s Word lightly, letting our culture “give their take and input” on what they think God is like, which many times is contrary to what you & I read in Scripture. I believe the implications are to let God declare our VALUES and we are to STAND FOR His principles more than we are to STAND AGAINST others. But brace yourself….you’ll get judged either way. And although, many times, one leads to the other, it’s the commitment to God’s Word that determines our WORLD VIEW and VALUES, rather than what the government thinks or which voice is the loudest concerning what marriage is to be, what genders are, and when life begins. Are there more issues than just those 3? Yes, without a doubt. But you can’t get around those 3 and lessen them in the eyes of God without “offering strange fire” in my opinion. So we go back to the truth of God’s Holy Word, to see what “He thinks”, regardless of what “we think”. OK, let me reel it back in. Maybe today in our lives, in seeking to “finish well”, we find ourselves hearing the rhetoric of our culture and feel caught in the middle. We might feel we’re discounted if we’re too vocal on God’s behalf, and yet we know it’s not right to simply be quiet and inherit the consequences of unbiblical values. I believe it’s time for the Church to TRANSCEND our culture and BE God’s people with one hand reaching up to heaven and the other out to another person around us. What does that look like? Pretty much just that! People who stand for truth & grace and offer those 2 things consistently to the world around us. It can’t be all truth without compassion. There has to be justice. And it can’t be all compassion without consequences. There’s grace, but it has boundaries. There is a wideness in God’s mercy without question. But make no mistake, salvation is CONDITIONAL. God’s LOVE is not conditional, but His grace is! As Jesus told Nicodemus at night in John 3, “whosoever believes”. And as Peter said in his 2nd letter 3:9, “God is not willing that any perish but all might come to repentance”. God was telling Aaron that the rest of his sons and the priests to come needed to reflect the HEART and VALUES of God Almighty! He was saying, take My Word to heart obediently, & don’t use your discretion when my command is clear! You know many people in churches who’ve been around a while say they “long for revival”. But what brings revival? Is it excitement, joy, compassionate service or incredible times of dynamic worship? Those things are all good and godly. But what brings “revival” is “repentance”. Brokenness. As David said in Psalm 51, “a contrite heart, Oh Lord, You will not despise”. Aaron’s heart was broken. So was Moses’. So was all of Israel’s. And THEIR WAY BACK TO GOD was in simple repentant faith & recommitting to His ways, His commands, and approaching Him in His holiness the way He told them to. Join me in a moment of identifying with the sadness of Moses, which was like sadness of Isaiah in chapter 6 of his book as he “saw the Lord”. Isaiah simply said, “I am a man of unclean lips who lives among a people of unclean lips”. God had an angel touch his lips with a coal from the fire which purified him. THEN he was ready to SERVE. THEN he was ready to be SENT. THEN he was ready to RISE ABOVE his culture and speak truth and compassion in the name of the Lord. It began with repentance, just as it did with Moses and Aaron in our reading today. May we have similar hearts that are broken over the sin around us and the sin within us. And may we leave the REGRET of today allowing God alone to guide us thru His Spirit into all truth! Love you guys. It’ll get better tomorrow, I promise! Thursday….”RESTRAINTS” (Chapter 11-19) And here comes the big lists of CLEAN & UNCLEAN! Now all this was way before our good friend, Kevin Manring “Pork Chop” had smoked his first hog. And certainly before the “All You Can Eat” shrimp special at Red Lobster. But God now identifies and distinguishes the “allowed from the unallowed”. Let’s take a look at it chapter by chapter of things and moments of “uncleanness”. Chapter 11…Animals Chapter 12…Childbirth Chapter 13…Skin Diseases & Contaminated Clothing Chapter 14…the Cleansing from Skin Disease as well as the Treatment of a Contaminated House Chapter 15…Bodily Discharges Now that is quite a bit to scan over today! But wait…we’re not done yet by any stretch of the imagination. And trust me, your imagination will be engaged when we get to chapter 18! God makes it clear and ANSWERS QUESTIONS BEFORE THEY ARE EVER ASKED by His people. The animal kingdom is separated by “split hooves & chews the cud” as well as “fins & scales”, not “bottom feeders”. Cows, not pigs. Avoid paws. There is quite a list as you can see. And the same “detailed prescriptions” are found in the following chapters on all the health issues of the day. God is PROTECTING & PROVIDING. That’s what He does. That’s what every commandment is about. Protecting us and providing FOR us. Chapter 16….Now there seems to be an “intermission” here as God talks about the DAY OF ATONEMENT. It’s a beautiful moment of God teaching about the sacredness of “sin-transfer”. There are 2 goats. One is sacrificed and the other becomes the “scapegoat” and is released into the wilderness. And before Aaron sacrifices the goat FOR THE PEOPLE, he has to sacrifice a bull nto the Lord ON BEHALF OF HIMSELF. A gentle reminder of an upcoming verse in Romans 3:23, that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. That means YOU and especially ME. Chapter 17…Prohibitions against Eating Blood (this one is a permanent law and for good health reasons. Thanks, Lord!) And the dreaded Chapter 18. Double WHOA on this one! It contains every forbidden sexual practice you’ve ever heard of and I guarantee you, at least a dozen that you haven’t! Don’t over think it. Don’t phone your grown kids with questions. Give it a “glance, not a stare”. But in doing so, realize God was fully aware of pagan culture a LONG TIME AGO. And please notice in verse 28 where God says that these practices aren’t in the optional “live and let live / toleration expectation” stance the world would encourage the church to take. They are not alternative life-styles, but rather in what God calls the “VOMITORY category”. Right there in verse 28. Read it. It makes “the land throw up”. Now Chapter 19 is incredible and a breath of fresh air, especially after chapter 18! It establishes a generous & sensitive principle for the poor in that harvesters were to LEAVE THE CORNERS of the field (vss 9-10). And yet they are command to NOT STEAL reappears in the next verse! Boundaries. Without them people take & take and there has to be CONSEQUENCES. Think about it with me….. Without LAW there can be no sin. Without SIN there can be no conviction. Without CONVICTION there can be no repentance. Without REPENTANCE there can be no forgiveness. Without FORGIVENESS there can be no restoration. Without RESTORATION there can be no relationship. And without RELATIONSHIP, there is “jack squat”! The Greek on that is “yakay squatos”, which means “absolutely nothing”! (Just kidding…..kind of…) God says, “I know what I’m doing here”! He’s all about protection and provision, remember? And speaking of “remembering”, this is a great moment to bring this day to a close, call time out,and head into tomorrow. God bless each of you for engaging with the Word of God. May HE speak more clearly, and much louder to you than my voice ever will attempt to. But may YOU also raise your voice of truth & compassion to those near & dear to you. Love you guys and talk to you tomorrow. Friday…. “REMINDERS” (Chapters 20-27) My goodness, we still have 8 chapters left for today. So much for a light review! But let’s not go too deep. It’s Friday. And we’re on the Eve of “March Madness”. Last night I caught the U of L “cardiac comeback” against Stanford and the “Way to go TREY Kaufman-Renn” Purdue victory over USC. Who knows what has happened by the time this devotional goes to press though! Where was I? Oh, yeah. “Reminders”…..that’s it! God gives them in each chapter. Let’s skim away….. Chapter 20…Punishment for Disobedience. No Molech (pre-abortion child-murdering). No spiritual prostitution and here we go with the no sexual disgraceful practices. Now I think the reason God reiterates things is because they were SURROUNDED by all that and needed to be told what was wrong over and over again. And in verse 27, consulting mediums and spiritists, so stay away from the CRYSTAL BALL @ “MADAM WHATSHERNAME’S”! Chapter 21/22a….a gentle Reminder for PRIESTS…with actually a few new do’s and don’tmentioned. Chapter 22b….Worthy and Unworthy Offerings Chapter 23…..the List of FESTIVALS….Unleavened Bread / First Fruits / Harvest Homecoming (made you look!) / Festival of Trumpets / Day of Atonement / & Festival of Shelters . God says, tithe, tithe, tithe, PARTY. (rinse & repeat) You’ve gotta love it! Life is SWEET, when we regard God as HOLY and treat one another with love, justice and respect! Chapter 24a…..Keep the OIL PURE and BREAD HOLY Chapter 24b….And here’s what “Just Punishment” look like….it isn’t pretty but it is just and what God wanted back then to teach His people the value of life, which turns out to be a “life for life / eye for eye / tooth for tooth” kind of thing. Chapter 25a / b / c / d…. A…..the SABBATH year… Every 7th year it’s a major chill time. B…..the Year of JUBILEE… Every 50th year it’s “ally ally in free” C…..REDEEMING PROPERTY….. No sale is permanent. Levites get “buy back” rights. Even the common folks had a “1 year” unwind the deal option which puts that 5-day thing at CARMAX in perspective! God always has “eternity perspective” in mind! D…REDEMPTION OF THE POOR & ENSLAVED… No interest or profit at one another’s expense. “Servanthood” for fellow Jews who are poor, but never “slavery”. International with respect is another matter it appears back then. Negotiation is allowed. But God says, “make no mistake, the PEOPLE OF ISRAEL BELONG TO ME”. (verse 55) Chapter 26a…BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE God says, “Like I told Abraham back in Genesis 12, I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you”. Any questions? You’re getting peace in the land, a good night’s sleep, no wild animals, fertility, a surplus and YOU GET ME WALKING AMONG YOU! Just honor & obey! Chapter 26b…PUNISHMENTS FOR DISOBEDIENCE But if that’s not a good enough deal for you, then buckle up brother! If you REJECT His decrees, then here comes the terrors, wasting diseases, burning fevers, enemy agricultural takeover, and I’ll turn on you and you’ll RUN even when NO ONE IS CHASING YOU. God says He will NOT RELENT until our stubborn spirit is broken. The good news is He’s not giving up on us. The bad news if we remain stubborn, there’s a huge price to pay. But take heart….God doesn’t CANCEL COVENANTS (verse 44) Chapter 27…REDEMPTION OF GIFTS OFFERED TO THE LORD Now this seems kind of odd, but remember, it’s based on “work worth”. As Toby Keith once sang, “I Ain’t What I Once Was”, and this dollar value for men & women, as well as boys & girls that is “age-related”, was just like the BLUE BOOK vehicle value guide that our good friend Rick Siers has to go by at Coyle Chevrolet. (Love that guy! And he’s at every Finishing Well event!). They had to go by some form of financial guide! God also knew they’d need to be reminded of animal offerings, house dedications, seed required in planting, priestly assessment, and last but not least TITHING. It always seems to be a forgotten virtue. At last count, the overall Church in America gives 2%, while the secular world averages right at….you guessed it….2%. Similar to our divorce rate of 50% in each group. We are a weary people. And isn’t it time for us as GOD’S PEOPLE to commit ourselves to helping OUR kids and THEIR kids to be on a healthy & HOLY track to Finishing Well! And that we will do…. together…. God willing…. as He gives us strength and time needed for that calling! Love you guys…and see you in the Book of NUMBERS & DEUTERONOMY next week! Hope we have a little “wilderness warm weather” as well. But before we go….take a listen to my personal favorite rendition of the old hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Phil Driscoll. (LINK) Bless each of you…and we ALWAYS approach Him as the pure and holy God that He is, who made US in HIS image! Here’s a bonus soulful worship song from the 90s to enjoy, “Holiness is what I Long for” gr
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