19.2 Moses 19, Day 2

Be

Hardships are real.  But in the same way that cataracts can cloud our vision to the point of blindness, hardships can cloud of perspective of God’s purpose for our lives.

I’ve been in situations where people treated hardships as a competition.  This will sound horrible, but I was in a bible study where people were sharing some of their struggles so the group could pray for them.  One man opened up that he had lost his wife to cancer 2 years prior and had just found out that his daughter had leukemia.  The next person started their comments with “well, I can’t beat that.”

There is nothing wrong with facing our hardships and confronting them, but they are situations, not what defines us.  We should name them, not as badges of honor, but as things to be turned over to God for prayer and support.

The challenge is that we, all too often, look to outside influences to make us something.  To make us happy.  To make us content.  To make us fulfilled.  But outside influences whether given (money, food, clothing) or taken away (fear, pain, hardship) do not “make us.”  Case in point, their are incredibly wealthy people, who lack financial security.  There are very well fed individuals, who crave certain foods.

The point is that the only way to “be” something else is from the inside out, not the outside in. Nothing pushing on the outside of a balloon is going to fill it up.  Ful-fill-ment starts on the inside.  That is where God comes in, by, literally coming in to your life.  God is not an influence, He is a “be”ing.  He says, you will “be” my people and I will “be” your God.  He fills us with the Love of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  He writes His name on us and claims us as His home, a place to fill with Himself.

When your focus turns to struggles, worries and hardships, as the song says, turn your eyes upon Jesus.  In so doing you can “be” delighted in your inheritance, “be” patient and not fret, “be” still, and most rewardingly, you can “be” content.  Content is an interesting word.  The origin of the word is the past participle of the Latin word continere, meaning: to contain.

 

My Answers:

3.
a.
grumbling

b.
fire burned among them and consumed the edges of the camp, that is how He chose to reveal His wrath so they could see what they truly deserved.

4.
a.
Cried to Moses

b.
grumble, worry, pray

c.
16:6 – boundary lines, delightful inheritance
37:7 wait patiently, do not fret about others
4:11-12 be content

18.5 Moses 18, Day 5

Multi-Sensory Experience

I was struck in our lesson today about how God connects with us not only on every level but through all of our senses.  The sight of the cloud by day and fire by night.  The smell of the burnt offerings and incense.  The feel of hands upon the scape goat.  The sound of the trumpet.  The taste of the unleaven bread and roasted lamb of passover.

It reminded me of a Sunday school lesson on Daniel in the Lion’s den from Daniel 6.  After the angel closes the mouths of the lions and Daniel survives his night locked in their den, King Darius issues a decree recorded in Daniel 6:26, “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.””

Our God is alive.  He is not some talisman or good luck charm.  He is not a rock we rub for good luck or a piece of wood we wave about.  He is not your lucky pair of gym shorts (although those may be alive in a different, gross way).  God is living.  He hears, He smells, He gives, He looks, He wept, He is jealous, He created, He has a mighty hand, He breathes, He speaks and He loves.  (some related verses from the bible)

God’s wants to connect with us in every way, not only in every sense (literally), but even ultra-sensory.  He wants to dwell within us, to wash us clean of our sin and to tend to and grow the garden of our heart.  He wants to continue doing this.  With special days of celebration.  With sabbath days and years of peace and rest. But also in every moment.  Accepting God isn’t an event that is done and complete.  It is more like a wedding or even more so, a birth.  It is the start of a whole new life in every way, shape and form.

What dead charms do you put trust in instead of God?  How are you approaching the living God?  Are you doing it with a repentant and humble heart or with pride in the good works you’ve accomplished?  Do you seek a real relationship with Him?

My Answers:

11.
a.
1 year (it was the beginning of the second year, passover occurs on the 14th day of the new year, or at least it did at that time until the Jewish new year was changed after the time of Jesus when the temple was destroyed).

b.
It was a commandment of God.  It was a commemoration of a critical event.  It only happened once a year.  It was defining.

c.
Sometimes get distracted but ask God to continue to show that He is present in the worship

12.
a.
the cloud covered it when the tabernacle was set up and looked like fire at night, whenever it lifted they set out til stopped

b.
2 trumpets, all called to order, 1 only heads of clans, when blast east tribes set out, when 2nd blast south side, sons of A blow

c.
with sight and sound, by what I see and hear

18.4 Moses 18, Day 4

Missed Blessings

My mom relayed a conversation she had with the pastor at her church.  She was talking with him about attendance at church service.  She wanted him to know that there were some days that she just didn’t feel up to making it to church.  It wasn’t because she didn’t like the music or the liturgy of the service.  It wasn’t anything against his sermons.  It wasn’t because she was behind on tithing. To use her term, “some days I’m just old.”  I thought his words back to her were very wise and thoughtful.  He told her that if she could make it at all, come for the last 2 minutes of the service and if she couldn’t make that to call him.  The final part of the service is a benediction.  Most of the time, it is the exact same words that God told Moses to tell Aaron to say.  The pastor explained to her that this was a special blessing for her.  While it was said to everyone in attendance, it was an individual blessing, something special and specific for each individual.  If she wasn’t there to receive the blessing, she would miss out on it.  If she simply couldn’t physically be there, then she should call him and he could give her her blessing.

When we recite the blessing in Number 6:24-26 we forget verse 27. “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

These weren’t just words or good wishes.  While it is a “good word” or benediction, it is more than that.  God told Moses to tell Aaron to “put my name on the people”.  God didn’t say and I might bless them, He said “and I will bless them.”

Aaron didn’t originate the blessing.  Moses didn’t originate the blessing.  God originated the blessing.  But, like in many other things, He allowed the priests, who were brothers to the community, to participate.

When we think about church attendance we tend to focus on the sermon or prayers or communion or songs.  All of those are great and help us pour our heart out to God.  But the blessing – that is something special, a gift from God given through the minister, specifically for you.

What blessings are you missing out on because you aren’t showing up?  When you receive a blessing are you grabbing on to it and pasting it into your heart?  Do you accept the gift? Do you bow your head or raise your hand and receive His name being written on to you? Do you desire His radiance, His grace, His peace, His blessing?

My Answers:

8.
When parting friends, blessing to children

9.
It is for God’s glory not my own.  Give the required tithe plus more. – Tribe of Judah gave first 4th in line, Reuben, Simeon, Levi… But also the lineage of Jesus.

10.
a.
Given wholly to God who took them in place of the firstborn Israelites.  Given as a gift to Aaron and his sons to do the work

b.
1. God can do what He wants (He is God), 2. From the passover every firstborn belongs to God, set apart.  The Levites were taken in their place

c.
25-50

 

18.3 Moses 18, Day 3

Stopping things that spread and Letting go to gain more

What do skin disease, wronging another, and jealous husbands all have in common?  They are all things that if not properly addressed can grow and spread and cause hurts that cannot be healed.

Take the requirement of restitution.  We all grew up with the understanding that if you take something without permission you have to return it.  But, we also know, that is insufficient.  The item is returned or the cost of it is provided but there is still pain and hardship.  Paying to fix someone’s car you wrecked is required but insufficient.  They have to get estimates, be without a vehicle, etc.  The Hebrews were given the +20% rule.  Fix the car + 20% more of the cost.  Buy the new sweater that you borrowed and got a hole in, plus a new scarf.  Because, if you don’t, there is still resentment.  The person wronged doesn’t feel whole.  The relationship suffers, the parties suffer, the hurt spreads.

Jealousy.  If a spouse believes the other is unfaithful, no level of discussion alone is going to bridge that gap.  If one party thinks the other capable of lying and deceit, they aren’t simply going to believe reassurances.  And, in a relationship between a man and women, the physically stronger man can cause far more than mental anguish.  Instead, the matter is taken out of the hands of the husband and given to God and the priests.

Immediately after the conditions to deal with these areas of division, the Nazirite vow is discussed.  In the Nazirite vow, certain things were set aside as they dedicated themselves to the Lord.  Grapes, wine, haircuts.  Clearly these are not significant material things that cause someone to sin, but they are symbolic, while still being tangible and visible.

Think about it this way.  Have you ever been frozen in fear?  It may have been on a ladder or the high-dive at the swimming pool.  It may have been standing on a ledge of a ropes-course.  You know it is unrational.  You know you just need to move forward, but your body won’t take that step.  You grasp ahold of something, anything.  Don’t misunderstand.  I don’t believe there is any such thing as a “leap of faith” with God.  God never expects us to just “hope” He is there.  He gives us so many assurances.  He lights our path.  He carries our load.  But we can still get stuck in fear.  When we do, the answer isn’t to force ourselves to move forward, to make the “leap”. Instead, it is to the answer is to first begin to let go.  When a person took the Nazirite vow, they let go of little things, wine, personal grooming.  In doing so they trusted in God.  By releasing their white knuckle grasp on something insignificant, they opened their hand for God to take them by the hand.  By dedicating themselves to Him for a time they entered a period of little releases while standing firmly on His foundation.

The whole Nazirite thing can seem silly to our modern ways of thinking, but it actually is a great lesson.  It is like fasting.  Denying yourself food for a period doesn’t make you stronger.  Physically, it would make you weaker.  But letting go of eating solid food for a 24 hour period of time as a vow of dedication to God for that period pays huge dividends.  By letting go of little things,  you participate in the vow.  By honoring your separation, you honor your dedication to God and honor God Himself.  You are not going to starve in 24 hours.  This is truly insignificant physically, but spiritually it opens your hand to allow God to place it on the next rung of the ladder.

If you don’t believe you are frozen in place, let me ask you a question that challenge me this week.  What can you name in your life that you completely and fully rely upon God to provide?  No contingency plan.  No backup strategy.  Start by naming one material, significant thing.  If you can name one, great, what else?  As Christians, shouldn’t we all be fully trusting and relying on God for, if not all, the vast majority of the important things in our lives?  But we grasp ahold and try to hold onto little things like control and self-sufficiency while mentally understanding that both of those are really just illusions.  Maybe it is time to renew a vow of dedication.

My Answers:

6.
a.
1-4: Send away from the camp all who had a defiling skin disease
5-10: Make full restitution for wrong
11-31: Take wife who is suspected of unfaithfulness to the priest

b.
2 Million people, while they followed God, they also had issues and grievances that could have torn them apart.  God provided a fair way to address these issues

c.
“Justice” was not put in the hands of a jealous husband.  The test was put to God through the priest.

7.
a.
A vow of dedication and separation – a full and deep devotion.  Samson, JTB

b.
prayer and fasting

18.2 Moses 18, Day 2

Order and Organization

Side Note:

Before I discussing today’s lesson I want to share something that really helped me with these first chapters.  I tend to get tripped up on all the names.  I don’t know how to pronounce them and I stumble and get distracted.  But, this week, I used the YouVersion bible on my tablet.  Not only does it have the scriptures in text that I could read, but it also had an audio version.  I played the audio version and read along and didn’t need to worry about any of the pronunciation!

 

God is all knowing.  This attribute of God simply, but completely, means that God knows everything at every time.  Nothing is hidden from Him.  Nothing is missing or lost.  He knows every star and asteroid, every tree and flower, every animal and even the number of hairs and each atom.

God doesn’t need organization and storage.  Nothing is ever lost or missing.  God doesn’t need a census.  He not only knows how many people there are, but He also knows them all by name.

This is an interesting thing to keep in mind as we open the book of Numbers.  None of this is for God’s benefit.  All of it is for ours.

We do best when we have structure, a place, a home, a family, a tribe, tribal leaders and a community.  God helps establish that for the Israelites before they leave Mt. Sinai.  He calls forth the leaders (by name).  He organizes the living arrangements by directions on the compass.  He puts Himself in the center.  He puts those dedicated to the care of the holy things immediately around the holy things.  He give every person and every tribe equal access.  He not only organized them by tribe (interesting that aver 400 years of slavery everyone knew which tribe they belonged), but we see the strength of large families.

He also instructed Moses to count the men.  The total number of fighting men, ages 20+ was over 600,000.  This is an army approximately 3 times larger than the entire colonial forces in the American Revolution.  It also shows for them and for us how God keeps His covenant with Abraham.  70 Hebrews went into Egypt.  2 to 3 Million came out.

Do you fight the organization and structure that God has provided?  Do you rebel?  The only reason it is in place is for our benefit.  How can you look on it as a blessing instead of a burden?

Do you every feel insignificant or anonymous, just another number?  There was no estimation in this census, no rounding, each person was counted and their name was written down.  You are part of God’s plan and important to Him.

 

My Answers:

3.
a.
Count of men over 20 able to serve in the army

b.
God said – they were called into different service, service to the tabernacle

c.
603,550

d.
>2 Million

e.
70 came into Egypt with Jacob

4.
a.
the tent of meeting

b.
He was to be at the center of everything they did, everyone would have access to Him

c.
service, trying to be a witness to God’s love and provision

5.
a.
Three (living) — Aaron; Eleazar; Ithamar

b.
v9. the Levites in place of the 1st born of every tribe – they were care-takers

c.
when they sided with moses and took their sword against brother

d.
The honor of being behind the scenes

17.5 Moses 17, Day 5

Holy Heart not Holey Heart

God has tremendous blessings in store for all of His children.  Bounties of harvest so great that farmers would need to move the old crops out to make room for the new ones coming in.  They would not need to build larger store houses, because there was so much security in God’s promise they didn’t need to worry about storing up more.  God promised them peace and safety, from war, from wild animals, from enemies.  God promised might and victory.  Unprecedented might and victory, where 5 people could defeat 100.

Even more so God offered to dwell among His people.

But, that isn’t where this chapter starts.  This chapter starts with specific commands.  No idols, no graven images, observe the sabbaths, have reverence for the sanctuary.  How do these things go together?

This isn’t quite equivalent, but try this as an explanation:  You have been invited to the top artisan ice cream shop in the world.  You are given free access to every flavor, every topping ever accompaniment you can imagine.  But it is BYOB – Bring Your Own Bowl.  How would you feel if you showed up and your bowl was dirty, broken, cracked, with holes.

In this case, though, the bowl is your heart.

God wants you to enjoy the bounty He has in mind.  God has carefully prepared for you the things your heart craves.  He really doesn’t want you to show up with a bowl that is broken and full of holes.  If you don’t get the message from the promise of the blessing, then He will provide other forms of discipline.  If the carrot doesn’t work, then maybe the whip will.  God does not want to punish you, no more than a loving parent wants to punish a child, but if that is what it takes to get you to show up with a clean and ready bowl – that is up to you.

Leviticus 26:40-45 confirms this.  Repent.  Get your heart back in line, and God freely hands you the golden ticket to His ice cream shop.

What is the state of your bowl (your heart)?  Have you asked God to “create in me a clean heart”?  Have you asked God to help mend your broken heart?  Have you repented and showed the chips and holes to the one who can fix them. ?  Do you have a Holy Heart, or are you showing up with a Heart full of Holes?

 

My Answers:

10.
a.
1. do not make idols or bow down to carved stone, 2.observe the sabbaths and have reverence for sanctuary

b.
3-5: send rain in its season, ground will yield crops, trees fruit,… you’ll eat all the food you want and live in safety
6-8 peace and safety, remove wild animals, no wars at home, defeat military enemies (5 chase 100) 11-13 God dwell with them, safety and freedom – He would be their king

c.
14-17: Illness, famine and defeat
18-20: Drought and bad harvest
21-22: Multiplied afflictions and destructive wild animals
23-26: Diseases and destruction by enemies

11.
a.
If repent and approach with a humble heart, God will remember His covenant

b.
That the holy of holies is open, Jesus is my high priest and He is redeeming me daily, despite my sin

12.
a.
2. a person (child or otherwise), 9. an animal, 14.a house, 16. family land, 22. purchased land/fields

17.4 Moses 17, Day 4

Being poor is a situation not a station

The first time the word poor shows up in the NIV version of the bible is in Exodus 23.  This is the chapter where Moses is giving instruction to the Hebrews that he received from God, and the chapter where he says, in verse 11, “but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it.”  In other words, the same dialogue we are studying today in Leviticus.

Even in the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, there would be poor people.  These people would likely be believers in God.  Some of them were clearly from the ranks of Hebrews.  There was no indication that they were poor because these people were being punished, nor that they were inferior.  They were just poor.

As we read these chapter of Leviticus, it is easy to fall into a “prosperity gospel” mindset.  God, the creator of everything, has unimaginable abundance and a love to pour that out upon His people in grace and great bounty.  And, all of that is actually true. But, there will still be people who are economically poor.

However, the other thing we see from this is that being poor, at least as used here, is not a station, it is not a position in society or a caste, it is just a situation.  During someone’s life, there may be times when they are economically wealthy and other times where they are economically poor.  Again, they have not “earned” either situation and both situations can bring us closer to God.  We can be on the right path of faith and still experience highs and lows, both spiritually and economically.  God can use these times to teach us and help us grow.

On one hand, this is refreshing and encouraging.  On the other, it can really challenge us, too.  For example: understanding poverty in this way draws us to approach helping the poor in a different way.  We are called to give and help the poor in what they need rather than in what we have in abundance.  Stop and read that last sentence again.

This is not “drive-by charity”.  This is a lot more challenging, it means interacting with and getting to know people who are experiencing a time of poverty.  This means not only giving stuff, but giving of ourselves so that we can give the message of a relationship with God.  It is a lot, lot, lot messier.  It is a whole lot easier to just load up a basket of food or clothes and drop them off at some collection center.  We can still do those things, they are good, just not sufficient.  Mostly because they provide a hand-out, but not a hand-up.  If these are the only approaches to charity and the poor that we take, then we need to ask “are we giving to help others or because it makes us feel better about ourselves?”

The fact is, drive-by charity is not how God approaches me or you.  God listens.  God knows us.  God shows compassion.  God gives us what we need.  Sometimes what we need and what He provides is an easy road.  Sometimes, however, it means being bent over picking up the left-overs of the field.  Both are compassionate, because, in both situations, God knows us well enough to know this is where we need to be to have the opportunity to become spiritually rich.  God is compassionate enough to allow us to be economically poor at times if it will help us to become eternally spiritually wealthy.  He is also compassionate enough to allow us to be economically wealthy to test our commitment to our faith walk.  “it is far easier for…”

When you are thinking this week about how God’s treatment of you can influence your treatment of others, think first about God’s patience and how many times He has heard you repent the same thing and how many times He has held your hand and been with you even when you were not paying attention to the fact that He was there.  Food, money, shelter, clothing, are all things we should give, but the greater gift we can give is the present of actually being present.  Through this relationship, others can see a true relationship with God.  Even in these chapters in Leviticus, God isn’t just discussing providing for the people, He is talking about dwelling among them.

 

My Answers:

8.
Do not treat outsiders better than your own, help them, provide for them without interest, Do not withold food for profit.

9.
a.
38. I am the Lord, 42 the Israelites are my servants…, fear your God 55. they belong to God as servants, He brought them out of Egypt.  “I am the LORD your God.”

b.
Today – safety, shelter, food, fellowship, a ministry, love, family, care for family, provision, a church, the bible, a relationship with Him

c.
My help to others should reflect God’s love.  I belong to Him.  They belong to Him.

17.3 Moses 17, Day 3

Mine

If you have spent time around toddlers, then you have seen mankind at its most natural state.  They can be loving and caring and adorable, but they can also be, well, let’s say – challenging.  No parent teaches their child to go and snatch something from an innocent sibling or playmate and scream the word, “mine”, to them.

But that is what toddlers do.  That is what you and I did.  It is what children did decades and millennia ago.  It is who we are.

But it isn’t mine.  No matter how you play the game of life, as John Ortberg wrote, “when the game is over, it all goes back in the box.”

We live every day with this concept of scarcity.  There is only so much of (insert item here) so I need to get mine.  If things keep going like they are going, we are going to run out.  For me to have more means someone will have less and I would rather be on the more side than the less side of that equation.

But that is a lie.  Historically, it doesn’t even prove out.  Each time we form decision on a scarcity mindset, something changes and our strategies no longer work.  A famous example of this was the London Crisis of 1894.  At that time there were enough people living in the city of London that a lot of transportation was required.  The transportation of that day was horse, either individually or in carriages, wagons, etc.  The problem wasn’t the horses themselves, per se, but what need to go into the horses and what came out of them.  There was tremendous concern over enough land to grow feed as the city swelled into the countryside and whether that land could sustain both human and horse needs.  There was concern over the growing piles of horse manure in the streets and the impact and costs it imposed.  But, as we know, this entire problem simply went away with the advent of the motor-car.

The God who created everything out of nothing does not have a scarcity mindset and, if our focus is on the right things, we won’t either.  If you start thinking about scarcity instead of abundance, remind yourself about love.  Remind yourself about freedom, liberty, happiness, peace, joy, goodwill, praise, faith, hope, beauty, grace.  Remind yourself about God.

Should I be focused on these things?  Can society or a nation?  It might be worth doing a search and seeing what is engraved on the Liberty Bell.  It might ring true for today’s scriptures.

My Answers:

5.
a.
7×7=49, +1= 50th is another sabbath year.  proclaim liberty throughout the land.  All purchased farm land returned, all go home

b.
Freedom – freedom from slavery.  Honoring of a covenant.  The gifts of inheritance belong to the family of the King

6.
a.
to identify fairness in pricing of the selling of land since it would be returned in the Jubilee year – basically you are buying the output of the land, not the land itself

b.
Follow my decrees and obey my laws – safety, crop yield, blessings of abundance

c.
A sabbath year of rest for the land, yes – it has benefits for the land.  A period of forgiveness of debts and return of property would not work as well because it would inhibit development, also our land was not a covenant land

7.
a.
to be the kinsman redeemer.  Abraham rescued Lot.  Boaz with Naomi and Ruth

b.
We have incurred debts we cannot pay and have become impoverished to sin.  Jesus came as our kinsman and redeemed us by paying our sin and bringing us into His household as His family.

17.2 Moses 17, Day 2

Heart Space: Storing Up or Overflowing?

Let’s think about our heart as a storage area in our house.  It may be your basement, attic, garage, spare bedroom, what ever works for you.  Each day, all year long, year after year, we accumulate things.  We accumulate debts, not just the monetary debts, but other obligations and guilts.  We accumulate work and tasks, long to-do lists that never get done.  We accumulate all kinds of stuff, as well as the excess luggage to lug our stuff around.

What if every so often, let’s say every 7 years, you stopped accumulating and cleared things out instead?  What if you got out of debt?  What if you forgave yourself of the guilt and burdens you carried around?  What if you gave yourself permission to re-evaluate, re-assess and, basically, clean house?

What would God be able to put in all that space in your heart that all of a sudden was free?  What if you retreated and asked and allowed God to take the lead in your life and in your heart?

In our modern culture to retreat is synonymous with failure.  We must drive forward.  We can’t pull back.  There is so much to do.  But that isn’t what the bible says.

Retreating doesn’t mean forfeiting, it means pulling back into a better position of strength.  In our day to day service to God, even with the best intentions to do good kingdom work, we can get ourselves out in front of where God wants us to be.

We look at the poor and we look at the land or resources we have and think, we’ve got to keep planting.  We think, it is up to us to feed the poor, to provide for others, they need me, God needs me.  But what they really need is God and we need to trust in His provision for ourselves and for others.  It is in the years of retreat, the years of peace, the years of rest, that God’s abundance shines.  The poor didn’t go away during the Sabbath year in the promised land, but they also did not go hungry.  Not only did they receive physical food, but they also witnessed the power of the Lord, not other men.

Who could you bless by allowing them to see your life at peace and rest and trust in God rather than a life scared by the same striving and busyness that looks just like everyone else?  Maybe it is time to go on a retreat, to clean out your heart and your life and ask and allow God to fill it with peace and rest and joy that overflows as a tremendous bounty.

My Answers:

3.
a.
When they entered the promised land

b.
sow and prune for 6 years and harvest, but in 7th year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, do not harvest, do not tend, but all can eat directly from the fields

c.
At this time they were being provided for daily (manna), so it was not unreasonable that God could provide.  They were probably also looking forward to owning their own land and amazed at the bounty it would provide

4.
a.
It is a year of freedom – freedom from debt, from servitude.  Leading up to it should be years of generosity.  There will be no poor because the Lord will provide abundance.  Abundance not scarcity.

b.
Trusting in God’s abundance, not worrying about scarcity.  The ability to start over – clean slate.  All debts are forgiven, just as God forgives our debts

c.
Opening house to be a place of joy and gathering for family, friends, visitors to church, missionaries

16.5 Moses 16, Day 5

New Year

I am very, very far from being a Jewish scholar, but I am very excited by some of the things I’ve been learning about the study regarding the festivals outlined in Leviticus 23.  I’m particularly excited to refer back to this when we study Revelation.

For example, this week we’ve been studying a lot about the holiday Yom Kippur.  But from what I’ve been studying it is appropriate to really start with the Feast of Trumpets.  The feast of trumpets is the 1st day of the 7th month of the Jewish Calendar, Tishri.  This fall day marked the end of the harvest season and a beginning of the fall feast days.  The high priest would sound a trumpet to call all in from the time of harvest.  It would begin a preparation time called “Ten Days of Repentance” or the “Days of Awe.”  This is what led up to the day of Yom Kippur on the 10th day of the 7th month.

Now, here are some really interesting facts from a Christian perceptive.  Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year is on the Feast of Trumpets.  Why is the new year celebrated on the 7th month?  It wasn’t always.  Originally, it was on the 1st day of the 1st month but after the temple was destroyed (after Jesus’ death and resurrection), the Jews changed New Years.  And what day do they pick?  The day the trumpet sounds to market the end of the harvest period and the beginning of the “days of awe” leading up to atonement day.

With what you’ve been learning read ahead to Revelation 7 and 8.  Look at the ones wearing white robes.  Look at the censer filled with coals from the altar in heaven and incense.  Look at the trumpets being sounded. In Rev 11 we see the temple of the Lord opened and the Ark of the Covenant present.

A day will come when the time of harvest will end and the days of repentance and the days of awe will follow leading to a day of atonement.  How amazing is it that God’s chosen people, the Israelites, have adjusted their calendar to mark that day as the new beginning.

My Answers:

11.
a.
once a year on Yom Kippur (10th day of the 7th month)

b.
Sacred – a day to deny yourselves and to present offerings, a day of sabbath rest

12.
a.
He is able to save completely (not repeating over and over again).  He is holy, blameless, pure, set apart, exalted.  He did not enter by means of blood of goats and calves but by his own blood – Eternal redemption

b.
By sharing the gospel with others.  By honoring his sacrifice through sacrificial love and giving.

c.
Lord, thank you for freeing us for all eternity from the penalty of our sin.  Thank you for being the sacrifice we could never be.  Thank you for loving the world so much that you gave your life so that we who believe in you might be saved. Thank you for coming again.