BR-09 Chronological Bible Read (February 26-March 4)

Hi, Chronos!
I hope you are doing well. We're a sixth of the way through!! (Wow. That got here fast.). The difficulty of these early weeks are why a lot of people don't read through the Bible in a year. If you've fallen behind (I have a couple times), just pick yourself up and join in on the current date. Don't let a few missed days keep you away.

March is a big transition month for us daily readers. We slog through the last of the repetition of all the laws, festivals, holy days, etc. Then, we're back on the actual history. We see the death of Moses (and why he died before entering the Promised Land), the selection of Joshua as Leader, the crossing of the Jordan (finally!) into the Land, the attack on Jericho, our first psalm, and we begin the period of the Judges. WHEW!

So, buckle up.

A month from now, we'll be deep into the history of Jacobs's descendants as they settle in to the Promised Land ... and, of course, muck it up.

Blessings,
Steve

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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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THIS WEEK
1. The Book of Numbers is named that because it records when the Israelites were counted. Each census counted a different group for a different purpose. Except for two pages, this whole week of reading is in Numbers.

2. Purity is a key lesson God wants the Israelites to learn. Worth a quick re-read. (Numbers chapter 5; Feb 28)

3. The Nazarite Vow was a special way of setting oneself apart for The Lord. Parts of this become important to us when we get to the story of Samson in early April (Numbers chapter 6; March 1) and, much later, John the Baptist.

4. “Be careful what you ask for” is clearly on display in Numbers chapter 11; March 2. Blessedly, we have a different relationship with God than this fledgling nation. (X-ref Psalm 58)

5. Twelve scouts are sent into the Promised Land. Only two of them, Joshua and Caleb, recommend entering the Land (Remember these two men, more coming about them). One of my favorite Bible verses is in this week's reading (March 3rd, Numbers 14:9). In my current version Joshua and Caleb say, "... don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us!" But in the original language, the second sentence reads (say it fiercely), "They will be our bread!" In other words, "We're gonna eat them for lunch!"

6. Korah's rebellion and the budding of Aaron's staff are important because these two events settle, for all time, that Aaron's descendants will be the Priesthood, the ones who may enter the Holy of Holies. (Numbers chapters 16 & 17; March 4)

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Q: The question I received is about the blood on the garments of the priests. How did l they washed them since blood is difficult to clean?! The animals were killed very often and the blood was heavy. Is this not literal?

A: Being clean is a key practice God wants the Israelites to adopt. No doubt people had already learned that blood could be washed out with cool water if addressed soon enough. Certainly, the Egyptians knew this. No reason to believe the Israelites would not know.

Still, hygiene and ritual cleansing are new to them, so the commands are repeated often. Below is a link to some related scriptures. I think that’s the best I can do for you. Unfortunately, I don’t see anything about what cleansing agents were used ... Hyssop, maybe? Write in if you have any insights on this. I’ll share it with the group.

In Leviticus 6:27, we see a direct reference to the need to clean the priestly garments. Also Exodus 40:30-32. For a selection of verses on this topic, link to here: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Ritual-Washing

BR-08 Chronological Bible Read (February 19-25)

Hey Chronos!

Well, unless you’re an anthropologist (or a theologian), you may find much of this week’s reading a bit dull. Lots of instructions about priests, punishments, offerings, hygiene, and festivals.

THE GOOD NEWS: I think I’ve identified the key thoughts! 😇

These passages from Leviticus are all about being holy, pure, and distinct. God is telling HIS people to be different from other people, especially from the people currently occupying the Promised Land. He establishes the boundaries of this by setting standards for treatment of each other, sexual relations, which foods can be eaten, and festivals to celebrate various aspects of their relationship with God.

The "clincher" comes in Lev 18:24 "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways." God wanted His people to be the exact opposite of the people currently occupying the land. To get a sense of the wickedness of these people, read the lists in the Feb 22 reading. Now imagine a people who did ALL of those things.

Blessings,
Steve

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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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This week:
1. The famous line is in Lev 19:18 (Feb 22): "...love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus was quoting Leviticus when he identified it as the second most important commandment.

2. Gleaning is again brought up; the practice of leaving some of the harvest for the poor and needy. In a sense, we still practice this with acts of charity; by setting aside some of our money for those in need ("the poor and the foreigners living among you.")

3. Another big deal, this week, is the Sabbath Year and Jubilee. Every 7th year, the land must be allowed to lie fallow (not be planted with crops; allowed to have a sabbath). Every 50th year, the land must be allowed to lie fallow, again. All "sales" of land are only temporary. Pricing must be calculated on how long the buyer will have use of the land before having to return it to the original owner during the year of Jubilee. This way, the land stayed in the tribes to whom God had allocated it. On top of this, the seller may buy the land back at any time.

4. Redemption of the needy and enslaved: Israelites must treat a fellow Israelite who falls into poverty with respect, must not charge them interest on loans, and must treat them like a member of their family. Any Israelite who sells himself (and his family) into slavery must be freed in the Jubilee Year, even if a relative has to pay the price of their release!! This is the model of the ransom Christ paid for us. He paid the price for our release.


Questions Answered!

Yeast of Eden
Great question came in: Why does God exclude yeast from so many areas of worship and the Passover celebration (xref Exodus 12:18-20)? Also, why in Leviticus 7:13 is it (suddenly) OK to use bread with yeast? This latter question is easier to answer: the offering mentioned here includes leavened bread because it is not being offered ON THE ALTER; its just going straight to the priest for his consumption. We'll see more of this later in Leviticus.

Regarding the exclusion of yeast: I found a useful website that you may wish to reference for the longer, more detailed explanation: https://www.therefinersfire.org/yeast_or_leaven.htm

My short answer: the word "yeast" is an inadequate, modern translation of the Hebrew word "chametz." If your translation has the word, "leaven," it's closer to the original meaning. A modern equivalent of chametz would be sourdough starter. Chametz is a word that means, roughly, the stuff we use to make bread rise. Yeast is everywhere; its in the very air we breath. It's not practical that any person could remove all the yeast from a home. You take in yeast every time you breath. God's commands are about removing leavening agents from the home and for making breads, cakes, etc., without those agents. The key to all of this is the "rising" of the bread dough, not the yeast, per se.

BR-07 Chronological Bible Read (February 12-18)

Well, Chronos, this week is a bit of a slog: The Book of Exodus; Sabbath instructions, the Tabernacle (in considerable detail), offerings, the Second Passover, ordaining the priests.

So, let me just state the main idea:
The purpose of reading this is to help us understand just how important sacrifice is in the relationship between people and God. It is so important because when Jesus dies on the cross, he embodies ALL of these sacrifices: the purification offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering ... See how that works? Everything else is secondary.

Below are some things I found interesting.

Blessings,
Steve

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We are reading The One Year Chronological Bible (New Living Translation). The best way is with your own copy of this Bible translation. Or, copy and paste this link to the daily reading schedule:
http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan/oneyearchronologicalbiblereadingplan.pdf

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Some key thoughts from this week's readings:

1. Day 2/12: Moses communicates to the people God's requirements for the Tabernacle. After God says, "Let those with generous hearts" present the materials to the Lord, there is a remarkable series of statements.
A. Only those "whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved" brought materials needed for the Tabernacle.
B. Some others "willingly brought" thread, cloth, etc.
C. All the women "who were willing" employed their yarn skills
D. Just those who were "eager to help" brought their gifts

2. Day 2/12: God specifically endowed two people with the skills to construct the Tabernacle and craft all its contents. And then they we're told, He had given both "the ability to teach their skills to others." God never intended for just two people to do all that work. He set two in leadership positions, which included a requirement to teach others how to do the work!

3. Day 2/13: We come across the word, "Holy," quite a bit, and particularly in this reading with reference to the engraving on Aaron's turban medallion ("HOLY TO THE LORD"). Over time, there have been a lot of derivative meanings that have come to be associated with the word. Just to clarify, when you see “holy” in the Bible, that word means, "to be utterly apart, completely separate." When the Israelites are commanded "to keep the Sabbath holy," they understand that God means for it to be completely different from every other day; separate, apart, not like any other day. It is a gift from God to humans and must be treated with the true respect one should accord to a gift from God.

4. Day 2/14: If it wasn't clear before, it becomes abundantly so in Exodus 40 and Numbers 9: the pillar of fire/cloud is the "Glory of the Lord" and represents God's presence among the people. The cloud covers the Tabernacle to indicate God's presence there. When it lifts, the people pack up and follow it to the next location. “This continued throughout all their journeys.” = 40 years!

5. Day 2/15: Each tribal leader brought exactly the same gifts to the Tabernacle. Makes me wonder if they planned this in advance or if after the first day, each one decided to match the one that went the day before.

6. Day 2/16: (Numbers 9:1-14) — it is here that God doubles down on His instruction to celebrate the Passover every year. He makes it clear: it is a requirement of being one of God’s people. Either do it or leave. How does that impact our thinking about Jesus saying, “When you do this, do it in remembrance of me.”??

7. Day 2/16: I thought it was interesting that the Levites couldn't start serving in the Tabernacle until age 25 and had to retire at age 50. We might not burn out so many preachers/pastors if we followed this rubric in our churches. After 50, like the Levites, they can stay on staff part-time and help out, but are no longer allowed to "officiate." That sounds nice.

8. Day 2/16: I believe the Leviticus passage, here, is the first time God spells out that a person may lay his hands on the animal's head and God "will accept its death in your place, to purify you, making you right with Him." Substitutionary death. Foreshadowing of the Cross.

9. Day 2/16: "All the fat belongs to the Lord."