In the first chapter of Joshua God reaffirms the leadership of Joshua and His desire to bless the Israelites. God details all the lands that will become a possession of the Israelites. God promises that, “no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 1:5) The people living in the promised land were filled with a sense of fear, dismay, and dread over the coming of the Israelites. The signs and wonders that God performed for the Israelites were known far and wide and increased the fear of Israel because He was their God.

Joshua chapter 1 encourages me to be strong and courageous. The leadership of Israel had changed and the people needed to know they could trust the leadership of Joshua. Their benchmark for a great leader was Moses so the people desired to follow Joshua but they wanted to be assured that God would be with Joshua as He was with Moses and that Joshua would be strong and courageous. What does it mean to be strong and courageous? I think source strength can be found in Deuteronomy 1:7,8 “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from you mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” The center of strength and courage is found when a person centers their life upon the Bible and the truths therein. Where do you place your hope for strength and courage? I know that my foundation of strength and courage is being built up on a consistent and daily basis as I seek to know Jesus Christ through the studying of scripture.

The narrative of Joshua starts in chapter 2 when spies enter into the promised land to spy on the cities of the land especially Jericho. The men were soon discovered and hidden by a woman named Rahab who hid them in her house. Have you heard this story before? Every wonder why she was able to hide these men so easily? Why did people not see a woman escorting men into her house? The key fact is that Rahab was a harlot and she commonly would have brought men into her house was key in her ability to hide these men. I am continually amazed that God will use the least people of this world in the greatest ways. We are too often feeling like we live in an exclusive club of the people that God only choose to uses. The fact that God used a prostitute to saves these men points to the truth that He looks at a persons heart and we all too often judge by outer  appearance. Rahab knew that God was on Israel’s side and she sought protection for herself and her family from the men she hid. What an amazing trust she had by acknowledging that God was in control, that it was futile to fight against God’s will by alerting the city, and knowing her only salvation would come at the hand of God. This story sounds very much like my journey of faith with God. I acknowledge my helplessness, God’s power, and His authoring of salvation. Where do you trust to obtain salvation? Will you believe that Jesus Christ is the only way for you to find help?

If my life is motivated by an ambition to leave a legacy, what I would probably leave is a legacy of ambition. But, if my life is motivated by the power of God’s spirit in me and the awareness of the indwelling Christ, if I allow His presence to guide my motives, that’s the only time I think we really leave a great legacy.

-Rich Mullins

This is my favorite quote of mine is a unique way to sum up Deuteronomy. What will your legacy be built upon? What is your motivation in life? Why do you do what you do? These and many more questions are answered within Deuteronomy.

The story of the people of Israel is summarized in Deuteronomy in a final speech given by Moses before his death and the peoples entry into the promised land. The statutes and laws repeated in the book are the necessities that the people of needed to live. The Israelites needed to remember who God was, how they disobeyed Him, and His proven faithfulness throughout their History spanning from Egypt through the wilderness as they entered into the promised land where their dependance on God was necessary to their survival.

Moses also reminded the people to not forget God by heeding the statutes and commands that He gave them. It was crucial that the generations who directly saw God’s signs and wonders emphasized the importance of following God to the following generations. The question I was challenged with as I read through Deuteronomy was how will I impart and emphasize my faith to the generations that will come after me. It is a question of my legacy and what I leave behind. All the laws and commands seen throughout Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy can be summed up as Jesus Christ said by loving God and loving people. In the commands to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love my neighbor as myself the question of how a legacy is imparted is answered. As I strive to love God and love people I will impart my faith to those around me and to the generations to come.

My reading through Deuteronomy was surprisingly enjoyable. I had the same preconceived notion that the books containing the law were boring. You would think that I would have learned that lesson from my reading of Leviticus and Numbers but it keeps presenting itself as a surprise. I am thankful that God gave me the dedication to read through Deuteronomy at a consistent pace that allowed me to reflect upon the meaning of the text. I was encouraged by the consistent foreshadowing of Jesus Christ that is glimpsed in the Old Testament. It is important not to forget that my hope and future rest in Jesus Christ alone.

The blessing:

The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord you God and walk in His ways. so all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.

Deuteronomy 28:9,10 NASB

The curse:

The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation neither you nor you fathers have known , and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone. You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.

Deuteronomy 28:36,37

The blessings and curses detailed in Deuteronomy 27 and 28 are polar opposites. If the Israelites followed God’s laws and statutes they would be blessed and prosper. If the Israelites turned aside from God’s laws and statutes they would be cursed and all their efforts would be in vain. Looking at the choices I would want to have the blessings but how do you instill the fear of the Lord into your children and grandchildren so that they would seek after the Lord because men quickly forget the promises of God but He will never forget and He will fulfill all that He says. The answer to this question is found in Deuteronomy 28:13b,14, “listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” The people needed to seek after God and follow His laws.

How does this apply to me today? I am under grace today because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross but I think that this still applies to me today because Jesus came to fulfill the law not abolish it. I believe that God is sovereign and that there is nothing I can do to gain favor from God through my own works because that would nullify the work accomplished on the cross. I do however believe that God still chooses to bless His people and I think that He would be more likely to bless someone who was following His commands. The command I speak of is every one that is in the old testament because Jesus Christ summed them up simply and eloquently when Pharisee questioned Him.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

And He said to him, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your Heart, and with all your soul, and with all you mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40 NASB

Jesus is quoting directly from Deuteronomy and Leviticus in Matthew 22. He is giving us a key to follow Him and honor God. I need to love God and love people. This simple and beautiful truth is the catalyst that will transform lives. Are you willing to embrace this truth? If this truth is instilled into our children and grandchildren that is how the future is secured. I personally need to take my eye off of today and think about the future. Will I live out the truth of Matthew?

Lord, I lift up the fellow believers around me and those that are reading this post. Work in their lives so that they my know what it is to fear the Lord. May they seek only to love You more than anything else in the world. May this love for You overflow within them and in turn enable them to love those around them. Please help me also Lord to live this truth out in my life so that You may be glorified until the day You return. Amen

Then the story in Numbers gets even more incredible. Moses enters the tent of meeting and God speaks with him from above the mercy seat between the two cherubim upon the Ark of the Testimony. How did Moses feel by now? He had spoken with God frequently and most notably at a burning bush. I don’t know if I could ever take it lightly to come before God’s presence. It makes me look upon my own life and how I approach God. Do I come to God in prayer with awe and wonder? Do I thirst for time in His presence?

Numbers chapter 8 we have all of the Levites cleansed and taken into the service of the Tabernacle. The Levites were presented as a wave offering before the Lord from the Israelites. The Israelites were instructed to place their hands upon the Levites. This must have been an incredibly solemn and personal moment between the Israelites and the Levites. It was no animal that was being offered to God it was the Levites being presented to be worthy of service. It is interesting looking back at the laws laid down in Leviticus about sacrifices. When an offering was made it became holy and the possession of the priests and used by God. The Levites were given as a gift from God to Aaron and his sons to perform service. I do not know if I can convey my amazement about how this truly amazes me. The Levites were an offering! Not and offering like the pagans who offered people as blood sacrifices these Levites were set apart in service to God. Looking forward to the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, He also served humanity in love by dying on the cross.

I am throughly enjoying taking this time to read through the Bible and blog about it as I read. I pray that you too find this an encouragement and may you be spurred to know God in a more personal way through reading through the Bible.

As a christian living today Leviticus is a standing reminder of how inadequate I am to obtain any favor from God. All the laws point to the need for a lasting sacrifice. When Jesus Christ died on the cross for mankind it was God working to restore the fellowship mankind lost when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. In Leviticus there are blessings given to the Israelites when they obey God but when they disobey and follow their own way there were consequences and loss of blessing. Even when His people are disobedient God remains faithful remembering the covenant He made and He promised to restore Israel when they turned back to Him and away from their disobedience. In the same way everyone today has a choice to make to follow God or reject God. Jesus Christ died for everyone but all we need to do is believe in Him and place are trust in Him. I know when the way seems unclear that my faith in Jesus Christ is what enables me to make it through the toughest moments.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

Take heart because God loves you.

Chapter 27 sets out the rule for which bondservants, animals, houses, and land were to be valued when sold. When something needed to be valued that was not listed specifically the item was shown to the priest and he would value it. When the priest valued an item was it recorded?

Chapter 27 sure seems to not apply to my life at this moment in time but as I think about it it does apply. It is so funny how eager I can be to say that a piece of scripture in the Old Testament can’t apply to my life today so just move along to something fun and more exciting. In this chapter God is setting a standard for fair practices when selling and trading items. These values were important because a person could restore a sold item by paying back the amount plus and extra fifth to the person currently in possession. A bond servant could by back their freedom and know the exact price needed. In my daily life I interact with people at stores and sometimes I may see an incorrectly priced item. It may be tempting to take advantage of the price but I know that God will be honored if I acknowledge the error and desire to pay the correct amount. Do I desire to live my life as honoring to God? Do you? In every action I make in life there are moments where I can give glory to God. Will I strive to bring that glory and honor to God? Lord I pray you grant me the ability to honor you.

I was inherently an harlot because of the sin that was rotting at my core. I easily chose to prostitute myself out to the desires of my flesh, the world, and I choose my own path. Unlike the people of Leviticus 27 who choose to become bondservants I was born as bondservant to sin and there was no way for me to pay the price of restoration. My valuation was shown by God through the cross. My bonds to sin were cut and my freedom from a life of sin because of Jesus Christ’s death for me on the cross. This is the grace that frees me to live. I am thankful.

God set up every 7th year as a Sabbatic Year for the land. It was a time of rest for the land where the plowing, sowing, and harvesting did not occur. During these years the people relied on God to provide for them from the harvest of the 6th year which would last 3 years. In these years what did the people do? If they were not tending fields did they just focus on the animals they took care of? I wonder what people thought when they heard that they were to work the land 6 years and then take a year off? Did doubt creep into people’s minds or were they fully trusting in God’s provision? I would have loved to have seen the massive crop in the 6th year. It would be known in that year that God was providing. How amazing that would be! After 7 consecutive sabbatic years it was the Year of Jubilee. I just love the name of this year, it sounds happy. Every 50 years horns were sounded throughout all the land on the 10th day of the 7th month. I wonder what the energy and excitement level of the people were on the 6th day of the 7th month? In the Year of Jubilee there was no plowing, sowing, and harvesting just as in the Sabbatic Years. I bet there was one massive crop in the 48th year because there needed to be enough food to last a sixth year, a Sabbatic Year, a Jubilee Year, and a year of planting and pruning the harvest. That is 4 years worth of food from one harvest, God sure is amazing. The Year of Jubilee was special because property was redeemed to people who sold it over the previous 49 years this year. It was away for people to base costs of land and even servitude. It sure seems that life was less hectic in these days. I am not exactly sure how all of this applies to me today. It just makes me feel a sense of awe about God.

In Leviticus 26 God gives two paths to the Israelites: the path of obedience and blessing, and the path of disobedience and judgement. If God’s laws were followed by the people then they could, “eat [their] food to the full live securely in [their] land.” Leviticus 26:5. I would really prefer to live in a time of bounty and peace by following God. When the Israelites didn’t follow God’s commands then they would not have blessing and they would have poor harvests, enemies and animals attacking, and destruction of buildings and towns “so that [they] will eat and not be satisfied.” Leviticus 26:26. This is what will happen if the people of Israel break God’s covenant by not honoring His commandments, statutes, and ordinances. Even though God judges Israel He will remain faithful to remember the covenant He made between Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham by not destroying them completely. When the Israelites turn back to God He will restore them again.

…if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amens for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also my covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 26:41-45 NASB

I love how in verse 44 and 45 God will not break His end of the covenant! That is amazing! God remembers the covenant for the Israelites while they are disregarding it. How humbled I am at the faithfulness of God. I love Him dearly and I am so thankful that I can know Him more. This awesome faithfulness of God reminds me of the verse in 2 Timothy 2 verses 11- 13, “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” I look forward to the time when I am in 2 Timothy and I can reflect on these truths but for now I sit and marvel at God’s faithfulness. I am eager to look at the story of the Israelites unfold as I continue reading the Old Testament where this covenant of God’s faithfulness and their unfaithfulness is played out. I thank you Lord for allowing me to relish in your truths. Thank you.

Convocations (celebrations)

• Sabbath – 7th day of the week
• Lord’s Passover – 14th day of the 1st month at twilight
• Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord – 15th day of the 1st month
• A day of rest and remembrance – 1st day of the 7th month
• Day of Atonement – 10th day of the 7th month
• Feast of Booths – 15th day of the 7th month a feast of the Lord for 7 days.

God desired that the Israelites remember Him and follow Him. These celebrations are times when the people of Israel had moments to remember and reflect on God. The Feast of Booths was a unique week long celebration once a year where people live in ‘booths’ or temporary structures for the 7 days as a memory to the descendants that God had the people live in booths after leaving egypt. In the time just after leaving Egypt it is easy to remember what God did but as generations pass the memories start to fade and life becomes comfortable in the homes of the people. I think it is all too easy to become comfortable in our lives and we forget where God brought us from. I know that it is easy for me to get too caught up in my daily routine and forget the wonderful help God bestowed upon me.

I love how God desired the Israelites to bring offerings from their first fruits of the field and flock. It is a great reminder to them where harvest comes from. It makes me think of my life with sadness. Do I bring my first fruits or my table scraps to God? Sadly I know that all too often I remember God as an after thought and that is not what He wants from me. Lord grant me the passion to bring you my first fruits!

Random Fact: I love how the lamp of the Tabernacle burned continually. It amazed me because I have no idea how a lamp works. Wouldn’t the wick burn out?

In Leviticus 24 God tells that no one can blaspheme the Name of the Lord. One who does will bear his sin and be stoned. A man did and the people who heard the man blaspheme had to place their hands on the mans head prior to stoning. What an impact it would have been to place your hand on the head of a man to be stoned. God also commanded “Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” as the one standard which the Israelites were to follow. In what ever way a person does a wrong the same will be done to them. It is interesting to look at this form of justice and restitution which was carried out. If someone killed a man they would be killed or if a man killed a cow that cow would be replaced. My mind is drawn to Matthew 5:38-42 where Jesus talks about ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. Jesus tells us not to resist if someone want to slap us, sue us, force us to walk, or borrow from us. How do these two passages meet up between Exodus and Matthew? If restitution and justice are the point of the command in Exodus what had changed between Exodus 24 and Matthew 5? How does the truth and reality of Jesus Christ change how we act? Since Christ came to fulfill the law and not nullify it what does this all mean? I think the answer can be found in the end of Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus says “But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.” Matthew 5:44-45 Jesus is telling us to love, respect, and pray for those who hate us. If we are children of God and walking in fellowship with God this will not be a burden. I know that my flesh will want to rise up and take control because it is not natural to let people do evil upon us but God calls us to be perfect as He is perfect in verse 48. I need to live my life in thankfulness always remembering what God has done for me. It will be a daily process of turning to God but in the end does anything else matter?

So how do all of these requirements for priest and the awesome holiness of God apply to me? The requirements of a perfect and holy priest as well as a perfect sacrifice always draw my thoughts to Jesus Christ. I am unable to live up to any of the requirements listed in these chapters because I am inherently sinful by nature but God loved me enough to make a way. I love the words ‘But God’ because it means that God acted against how human nature would expected and grace was extended. Jesus Christ is the ultimate High Priest and Sacrifice. That fact is humbling because I always struggle knowing that He died for me and I didn’t deserve it. Oh that marvelous grace that saved me. Do you live in that grace? The curse of sin rests upon all mankind and the only way out from that curse is to accept that grace which was given to you. Since Jesus Christ is my High Priest and my Sacrifice I am able to approach God not because of anything I have done but because of what He did. That is assurance and peace to help me through this day and everyday.

In the beginning of Leviticus chapter 19 I was faced instantly with the question why is the command that mothers and fathers to be reverenced listed right in the middle of the relationship law of chapter 18 and the sundry laws given in rest of chapter 19. It initially seemed out of place among all the laws and commands about sacrifices and daily living. I remembered that Paul in Ephesians chapter 6:1-3 states, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.” The promise that Paul is referring to is from Exodus 20:12 when God is giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” What appears to be random charge to honor your parents is actually God restating the Ten Commandments in greater detail as is seen in chapters 17 and 18.

Chapter 20 brings the consequences to the laws found in chapter 18. Laws given without consequence do not carry the same threat or dissuasive power. These consequences were not light hand slaps they were death or being cut off from the community. It seem like being cut off is better than death but image what it meant to be cut off from your friends, family, or job without a fallback plan. That is a heavy burden in a society where you rely on the community interaction to survive. It makes the burden of sin weigh even heavier on people. In addition to the consequence God is consistently telling the Israelites to be holy because He is holy and that charge is also given to me. How could the Israelites follow God’s command to be holy because He is holy? How can I? I think that this command is another reminder of how inadequate we all are. It makes me wonder how people lived before Christ died on the cross? There was no cornerstone to belief so there was no assurance in life. Jesus Christ gives assurance to christians today. At first glance I though that it would be too difficult to live with the continual sacrificing for sin and lack of assurance of forgiveness but my perspective of life under grace overshadowed a key aspect of the forgiveness extended. After someone brought their sacrifice to the Lord their sins were forgiven, end of story! An Israelite could walk away with a weight lifted off their shoulders because of God’s forgiveness. There was assurance of forgiveness from God just as we have today. A sacrificial offering had to be made in order to be forgiven but this is a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for all mankind.