Burunche’s Blog

Today we are beginning the study of the Book of Numbers. Although there are lots of lists in this book, there are also some great stories as well. Pastor Chuck Swindoll in Insight for Living describes Numbers this way:

“Who wrote the book?

As it does for the rest of the Pentateuch, universal Jewish and Christian tradition attributes the authorship of the book of Numbers to Moses. Moses is the central figure within the book, and in at least two instances Numbers mentions him recording events by the Lord’s commands (Numbers 33:2; 36:13).

The name “Numbers” is a translation of Arithmoi, from the Septuagint, titled thus because the book contains many statistics, population counts, tribal and priestly figures, and other numerical data. The Hebrew name comes from the first sentence of the book and means “in the desert of ”; it is perhaps an even more accurate description of the book’s content, which follows the Israelites through almost forty years of wandering in the desert.¹

Where are we?

The events of the book began in the second year after the Israelites departed Egypt, as they camped at Mount Sinai around 1444 BC (Numbers 1:1). The narrative ends thirty-eight years later “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho” (36:13) in 1406 BC. Numbers records the people’s long wandering in the desert of Sinai, their time at the oasis of Kadesh-barnea, and their eventual arrival at the banks of the Jordan River across from the Promised Land.

The Lord directed the message of Numbers toward the younger generation, children of the former slaves who escaped through the Red Sea. Except for Joshua, Caleb, and Moses, the older generation—everyone twenty years old or older at the time of the first census—died before the completion of Numbers, due to their disobedience and disbelief (Numbers 14:22–30). Moses completed the book before his death (Deuteronomy 31:24).

Why is Numbers so important?

Numbers takes the reader on a long and winding path through a desert of excruciating detail. The book records census results for all twelve tribes not once, but twice; it documents priestly instructions for handling the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle; and it even spells out the placement of the tribes when they camped. But through it all, we cannot doubt God’s unfailing direction over the nation.

As a history of the nation not yet established in the land promised them long ago, this book unveils significant events sometimes referenced later in Scripture. Joshua and Caleb alone among the twelve spies encouraged Israel to take possession of the land (Numbers 13–14; Joshua 14:7); Moses struck a rock and water spouted forth (Numbers 20:11; Psalm 106:32); Moses lifted up a bronze serpent on a pole so that believing Israelites might be healed of their snake bites (Numbers 21:6–9; John 3:14); and Balaam was rebuked by his donkey (Numbers 22:21–34; Revelation 2:14).

What’s the big idea?

In this book, the people of Israel tested God’s patience, and He in turn tested their endurance and faithfulness. Though the people failed many times, God showed His own faithfulness by His constant presence leading the way: through a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

More than just a history lesson, the book of Numbers reveals how God reminded Israel that He does not tolerate rebellion, complaining, and disbelief without invoking consequences. He taught His people how to walk with Him—not just with their feet through the wilderness but with their mouths in worship, hands in service, and lives as witnesses to the surrounding nations. He was their God, they were His people, and He expected them to act like it.” 

How do I apply this?

Modern readers can take away from Numbers not only a thorough history of Israel’s early days but also a renewed sense of God’s delight in obedience. He is our God, too, and He wants us to live righteously, worshipping Him through our words and works.

The journey of the Israelites through the wilderness earned the apostle Paul’s notice when he penned his first letter to the Corinthian church. “These things happened,” he wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.”

Do you see any resemblance between the grumbling, rebellious Israelites and yourself? How can you avoid following their example? With humility and sincerity, pray for a soft heart, open to God’s guiding hand.”

APPLICATION: My feeling regarding the lists in Numbers is “chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” Lists can be tedious; however, just as we find ourselves going to sleep, there will be a nugget of wisdom or insight stuck in the middle of a list.

The big stumbling block for the Israelites was obedience. God deliberately chose a people who had virtually lost their identity during 400 years of slavery to become His people. Were these people grateful and eager to obey? Are you kidding? Once delivered, the Israelites “got the big head,” as people in the American South are likely to say of anyone thinking better of himself than he should.

Despite incredible miracles of food, water, protection, etc., the Israelites were rarely grateful and generally griping. (Some people think that the name “manna” means “what is it?”) Poor Moses! There were undoubtedly times when he wished he were back herding sheep. No matter how many miracles God was doing, the Israelites were kvetching. (The term “kvetch” is a Yiddish term that refers to complaining constantly in a nagging way. A kvetcher never gives up and always finds new things to complain about. An old lady in a nursing home was complaining about the food, “It’s not fit for dogs! They should take it away! And such small portions!” That lady was a chronic kvetcher. One Ghanaian friend recently described an ungrateful person as someone who would eat and then claim he never had touched a bite of food.

As we study Numbers, we must ask ourselves how closely we resemble the ancient Israelites. God has given us life and health-do we thank Him for those things or take them for granted? When God asks us to do something that is unpleasant or difficult, do we obey or argue? It’s all about choices. Today, let’s choose to be grateful and avoid kvetching.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives and to love You more each day than we did the day before. Help us to remember that You bring hard things into our lives for a variety of reasons. Help us to obey instead of rebelling. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

“Now if a man consecrates to the LORD a field he has purchased, which is not a part of his own property, then the priest shall calculate for him the value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man shall pay the assessed value on that day as a sacred offering to the LORD. In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought—the original owner of the land. Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel. (20 gerahs is equivalent to one shekel, approximately 0.4 ounce or 11.4 grams).

But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s. But if it is among the unclean animals, then he may redeem it according to your valuation and add a fifth of its value. If it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.

No person set apart for destruction may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death.

Instruction on Tithes (Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Deuteronomy 26:1-15; Nehemiah 13:10-14)

Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. If a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value.

Every tenth animal from the herd or flock that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the LORD. He must not inspect whether it is good or bad, and he shall not make any substitution. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute shall become holy; they cannot be redeemed.’” These are the commandments that the LORD gave to Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai.

Again, we borrow from David Guzik. “No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death: In this sense also, one could not escape execution by being “bought back” from the LORD. They had to face their fate or penalty.

i. An example of this is found in 1 Samuel 15 where King Saul was commanded to bring God’s judgment against the Amalekites. They were devoted and doomed to destruction. Saul failed to do this and greatly displeased the LORD.

ii. “The law mentioned in these two verses has been appealed to by the enemies of Divine revelation as a proof, that under the Mosaic dispensation human sacrifices were offered to God; but this can never be conceded. Had there been such a law, it certainly would have been more explicitly revealed, and not left in the compass of a few words only, where the meaning is very difficult to be ascertained; and the words themselves differently translated by most interpreters.” (Clarke)

7. (30-33) The payment of tithes.

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD. If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’”

a. And all the tithe of the land: In this context, the tithe simply means “the tenth” or “ten percent.” Israel gave ten percent of their flocks, of their grain, and of their fruit to God. This tithe, the ten percent, was sacred and separated unto God (It is holy to the LORD).

i. “The word ‘tithe’ (ma aser) is related to the number ‘ten’ (eser) and thus refers to a tenth. The concept of a tithe was not a new one for the Israelites, since we observe the practice before the giving of the Law (Genesis 14:20; 28:20-22). Thus what we have in Leviticus 27 is a systematization of an earlier practice.” (Rooker)

ii. Ancient Israel observed at least two tithes. Here in Leviticus 27:30-33 is the general tithe, which also seems to be described in Deuteronomy 14:22-27. Deuteronomy 14:28-29 describes a second tithe paid every three years and given to the Levite and to the poor. Some believe Leviticus 27:30-33 and Deuteronomy 14:22-27 describe two different required tithes, but there is no compelling reason to think they are different.

iii. While the New Testament does not command or emphasize tithing, it presents giving as a duty for God’s people and does not speak negatively of tithing. Jesus approved of the careful tithing of the religious leaders of His day (Luke 11:42) while rebuking them for what they left undone. Abraham was praised when he gave Melchizedek a tithe of all (Hebrews 7:4-10). The New Testament does give many principles for the giving of believers under the New Covenant.

· Giving is commanded and is not an option (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

· Giving is to be regular, planned, and proportional. It should never be manipulated (1 Corinthians 16:2).

· True giving comes as we first give ourselves to the Lord, then we will give our financial resources as we should (2 Corinthians 8:5).

· Giving cannot be commanded of any individual believer at a particular moment, not even by an apostle (2 Corinthians 8:8).

· Giving is a valid test of the sincerity of our love for God and others (2 Corinthians 8:8).

· Giving should be seen as investing money, not as spending money (2 Corinthians 9:6).

· Giving should be not grudging or of necessity (2 Corinthians 9:7).

· God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

· Giving must always include giving to the ministries that directly feed us spiritually (1 Corinthians 9:7-13).

iv. Because the New Testament emphasis is on giving more than tithing, there is no one answer to the question, “How much am I supposed to give?” Many people go back to the Old Testament law of the tithe. Since giving is to be proportional (1 Corinthians 16:2), we should be giving some percentage – and ten percent is a good benchmark – a starting place! We should have the attitude of some early Christians, who essentially said: “We’re not under the tithe – we can give more!” Giving and financial management are spiritual issues, not only financial issues (Luke 16:11).

b. If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it: Tithes could also be redeemed or “bought back” from the LORD. For example, instead of tithing good seed from his field, a farmer could pay the value of the seed plus 20%.

i. Whatever passes under the rod: “According to Jewish commentators, this expression is an allusion to the way in which animals were selected for the tithe. The animals were counted as they passed single file under the staff of the herdsman. Every tenth animal was marked with a red colored stick, to show that it had been chosen for the tithe.” (Peter-Contesse)

APPLICATION: Guzik concludes his discussion of Leviticus 27 with the following comments:

“These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. a. “These are the commandments”: These were not mere traditions and customs, though men began to attach traditions and customs to these commandments; these were – and are – the commandments (not suggestions) of the LORD.

b. “Which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai”: As we have seen before in Leviticus, the phrase before the LORD occurs more than 60 times – more than any other book in the Bible. What happens in Leviticus happens before the LORD, and every point of obedience it calls us to illustrates – either by a specific command or in a precious picture – how to walk before the LORD.

(c) 2021 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com

God is omnipresent; He is everywhere at every time and He sees everything we do, everything we think, and the intents of our hearts. No matter what we think or do, we are thinking those thoughts and doing those acts in the presence of the Lord. Sadly, the Israelites will forget that God is always with them and try to deceive and manipulate Him. Later, God will use the prophet Jeremiah to accuse His people. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

God is the Source of light and life. God loves us and wants nothing but the best for us. But do we want God’s best or something less? The choice is ours. Choose wisely.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to choose Your ways and nothing else, nothing less. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Rules about Valuations

“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons, if the valuation concerns a male from twenty to sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. And if the person is from five to twenty years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

Now if the person is from one month to five years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be five shekels of silver, and for the female three shekels of silver. And if the person is sixty years of age or older, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels for the male and ten shekels for the female. But if he is poorer than your valuation, he is to present the person before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.

(50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of silver; also in verse 16.  A shekel weighed approximately 0.4 ounce or 11.4 grams; also in verse 25. 30 shekels is approximately 12 ounces or 342 grams of silver. 20 shekels is approximately 8 ounces or 228 grams of silver. 10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver; also in verse 7. 5 shekels is approximately 2 ounces or 57 grams of silver. 3 shekels is approximately 1.2 ounces or 34.2 grams of silver. 15 shekels is approximately 6 ounces or 171 grams of silver.)

If he vows an animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such animal given to the LORD shall be holy. He must not replace it or exchange it, either good for bad or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy. But if the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest. The priest shall set its value, whether high or low; as the priest values it, the price will be set. If, however, the owner decides to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value. (paying 120% of the animal’s value.) Now if a man consecrates his house as holy to the LORD, then the priest shall value it either as good or bad. The price will stand just as the priest values it. But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him. (paying 120% of the value of the house)

If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportionate to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed. If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation. (A homer is a dry measure of approximately 6.24 bushels or 220 liters (probably about 291 pounds or 132 kilograms of barley seed.)

But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest is to calculate the price in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your valuation will be reduced. And if the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it shall belong to him. If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.

This chapter is complicated, so we are considering it in two sections. There are good reasons for all these details. David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary, explains as follows: “This chapter deals with things that are given to God by a vow. That means they were not required by a command of the law, but the vow was a freely promised and given gift to God. In this case, it deals with persons that were promised to the LORD in a vow. “A vow is a promise made to God voluntarily and not in obedience to any divine requirement.” (Morgan) For example, a man from the tribe of Judah, in a time of distress, out of gratitude, or out of a sense of calling, might want to consecrate his son to the LORD. He could not give his son to the service of the tabernacle, because he was not a priestly family. So, to consecrate his son, he would follow the procedures in the following verses.

“According to Judges 11:29–40 and 1 Samuel 1:11, it was possible for a person to dedicate another human being to God…. it was expected that the person so dedicated would serve in the sanctuary. But this passage shows that such a person could be set free by the payment of money.” (Peter-Contesse)

b. When a man consecrates by a vow , certain persons to the LORD: The beauty of these commands is that it gave the one making a vow of consecration something definite to do. The vow of consecration was therefore far more than mere words, it had a definite action associated with it – and prevented people from making empty vows to God.

“It was not a sin to refrain from making a vow (Deuteronomy 23:22), but once a vow was made, it had to be kept (Deuteronomy 23:21–23; Numbers 30:2; Ecclesiastes 5:4–6). Substitutions could be made, however, and it was this possibility of making a substitution that distinguished the vow from the sacrificial offering made on the altar.” (Rooker)

 “The prices (values) of the individuals should be understood as representing either the wage of a worker (which was a shekel a month in the biblical period) or the relative worth of the value of the person’s services in the tabernacle. If the services included heavy manual labor in working with sacrificial animals or in transporting the tabernacle, it is easy to see why young men would be given higher value.” (Rooker)

1. Again, if one simply wanted to give their unclean animal (a donkey, for example) to the LORD, he could give it to a priest, who would use it or sell it, giving the money to the tabernacle treasury; but if they desired to keep the animal, while still consecrating it with a vow to the LORD, they had to pay the price of the animal plus 20%. You could give your donkey and use him too, but it would cost you the value of the donkey plus 20%.
2. a. Every devoted offering is most holy to the LORD: To devote something to the LORD was a further step than consecration by a vow; it often had the meaning of destroying the item (or executing the person) so that it could not be used by anyone else, and all of its value was given to God. Therefore if something was already declared a devoted offering, it could not be given in a vow. It already belonged to God and was most holy to the LORD.
3. i. Joshua 6:17, among other passages, translates this word devoted with the word accursed – because that thing devoted to God would be destroyed, being used for no other purpose.
4. b. Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the LORD of all that he has: For these reasons, an item devoted to God could not be redeemed for a price. It already belonged to the LORD and had to be given to Him.”

(c) 2021 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com

APPLICATION: The fundamental principle is that vows are to be made freely but then to be fulfilled. God gives specific instructions regarding anything that might be dedicated to Him because without specific guidelines, the Israelites will wind up giving God leftovers.

Do we give God leftovers? Do we work as if we are working for God, or do we simply put in our time, waiting for the end of the work day? If we give food to charity, do we take thought for the needs of the recipients, or do we simply dump whatever is left in our kitchen cabinets? Do we donate clothing that is still serviceable, or are we donating dust rags? May God help us, so that we share our best!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to give You our best. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Offerings of Dedication

“On the day Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, along with the altar and all its utensils. And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration. They brought as their offering before the LORD six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two leaders—and presented them before the tabernacle.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Accept these gifts from them, that they may be used in the work of the Tent of Meeting. And give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.”

So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. He gave the Gershonites two carts and four oxen, as their service required, and he gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen, as their service required, all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.

When the altar was anointed, the leaders approached with their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar. And the LORD said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to present his offering for the dedication of the altar.”

On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah drew near with his offering. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels(130 shekels is approximately 3.3 pounds or 1.48 kilograms), and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, (70 shekels is approximately 1.76 pounds or 797.8 grams) both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, (10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams) filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, drew near. The offering he presented was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

On the third day Eliab son of Helon, the leader of the Zebulunites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of the Reubenites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of the Simeonites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of the Gadites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.

On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the Ephraimites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, the leader of the Benjamites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the Danites, drew near. 67His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; 68one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the Asherites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran.

On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, the leader of the Naphtalites, drew near. His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb a year old for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

So these were the offerings from the leaders of Israel for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. Each silver platter weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each bowl seventy shekels. The total weight of the silver articles was two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. The total weight of the gold dishes was a hundred and twenty shekels.

All the livestock for the burnt offering totaled twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve male lambs a year old—together with their grain offerings—and twelve male goats for the sin offering. All the livestock sacrificed for the peace offering totaled twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony. Thus the LORD spoke to him.”

Reading through these exhaustive lists, we wonder why they couldn’t just list all the offerings once and then append the names. Why not just insert ditto marks, for goodness’ sake? But these lists were necessary so that nobody would feel slighted or left out. These records were being kept for future generations and had to be as complete as possible. Where did the Israelites get all this wealth? From the Egyptians, who were so anxious for them to leave that they loaded the Israelites up with all their valuables. The most amazing part of this entire chapter is the fact that God speaks to Moses. God’s instructions will appear in Chapter 7.

APPLICATION: While these lists are tedious, one thing is clear: God has allowed the names of these tribal leaders to be preserved for several thousand years to honor their faithfulness. Sometimes we might wonder if God really knows we exist. We occupy positions of obscurity, performing tasks that merit little attention. But take heart! God sees! God knows! Your faithfulness is being noted and approved of. The same God who has preserved those names and donations over centuries is still watching over you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You that You know every detail of our lives. Help us to trust that You will lead us and guide us if we will only ask. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

“‘And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I have cut off your supply of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall bring back your bread by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.

‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you. I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.

I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest—for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. ‘And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a shaken leaf shall cause them to flee; they shall flee as though fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when no one pursues.

They shall stumble over one another, as it were before a sword, when no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall waste away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; also in their fathers’ iniquities, which are with them, they shall waste away.

‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.

The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of 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.’ ”

These are the statutes and judgments and laws which the Lord made between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.”

Today, God continues to warn His people of the consequences if they abandon Him for other gods, and those consequences are horrific. Pestilence, defeat by enemies, famines so terrible that ten women can all bake bread in one oven because there will be so little flour, distributing bread by weight so that everyone gets a little-this will just be the beginning. There will be sieges so severe that those in the cities will turn to cannibalism. This later happens during the ministry of Elisha the prophet. (2 Kings 6:28-29)

God also promises that those who worship idols will be slaughtered in the wreckage of their pagan temples. If the land is denied its Sabbaths, God will remove His people so that the land will enjoy its Sabbaths. Those in exile will live in terror and waste away.

But God also holds out hope. If those in exile will repent and return to the God of Israel, then He will bless them. “But for their sake I will remember the covenant of 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.’ ” And eventually, that is exactly what will happen.

APPLICATION: Sometimes, reading this part of the Old Testament is like watching the beginning of a horror movie. You just know that murder and mayhem are lurking as soon as the hero/heroine moves into that spooky old house or drives down that deserted road at midnight in a blinding rainstorm. Those in the audience find themselves screaming at the characters on the screen, “Don’t go in that attic! Don’t go down those basement stairs! Leave while you can!” Of course, the characters in the movie proceed to put themselves into danger. The Israelites are going to do the same kind of thing.

The mind-boggling question raised by this passage is “WHY?” Why don’t the Israelites listen to God? Why don’t they obey Him? Why don’t they believe what God says? These are the same people who have been miraculously delivered repeatedly by the God who is now issuing these warnings. Do these people think God is joking? What will go wrong with these people?

Sadly, the tragedy of the Israelites will have several root causes:

1. The Israelites in the present day might not conceive of a day when they will refuse to obey God.
2. The Israelites will fail to teach their children the ways of God, His commands, and His warnings.
3. The Israelites will lose their respect for God as they run off to pursue pagan deities and forsake His commandments.
4. The Israelites will eventually practice a form of religion that has little or no substance, saving their passion for the fertility gods, for Molech, and for other evils.
5. The Israelites have an incredible sense of entitlement, feeling that they are so special that God really won’t punish them.

Much of the rest of the Old Testament will document the disasters that befall the Israelites for failing to listen to God in the first place. But are we any better? Do we listen to God and follow His commands, or do we compromise and manipulate, somehow thinking that we can deceive the God who knows us better than we know ourselves?

In Revelation 2:4-5 God warns the Church of Ephesus, “But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Later, God tells the Church of Sardis, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead.”  And finally, God tells the Church of Laodicea,” I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!” Was God kidding? Today, all these places lie in ruins, their churches forgotten. God is no joker!

We live in an age when evil is not only being condoned but even celebrated. Are we trying to turn a blind eye, or are we actively resisting that evil? Even when we feel we are helpless, we can still pray and God will move in answer to our prayers. Let us search our own hearts, confess our sins, and pray for revival!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have allowed evil to creep into our lives and the lives of our families. We beg You to cleanse us and help us to pray aggressively and persistently for revival. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Promise of Blessing and Retribution

‘You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God.  You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.

‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.

You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.

 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant,  I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.

And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. ‘Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate.”

Coming out of Egypt, the Israelites have it made! Their God has delivered them and is now giving them all the necessary instructions so that they will be able to please Him and He will bless them. God is leading them through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God is supplying them with water and manna. Now God wants to lay down ground rules so that His people will be able to receive blessings continually.

First, God forbids idolatry and commands the honoring of the Sabbath and His sanctuary. Since God is eternal, unchangeable, and beyond form or substance, making idols to represent God is pointless and dangerous. Honoring the Sabbath and the sanctuary should not be difficult.

“If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.”  In an area dependent on rainy seasons, droughts spell disaster. Now God is promising favorable rains, great harvests, safety from predators of every kind, both human and animal. God is also promising outstanding success in battle. Finally, God is promising fruitfulness and His presence. “‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you…. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”

Sounds like a great deal, right? But if the Israelites rebel against God, catastrophe is looming, pounced to strike. “‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant,  I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.” God goes on to detail all the disasters that might overtake a rebellious people-unfavorable weather, crop failures, famine, disease, domination by cruel nations, attacks by wild beasts, the loss of children and total desolation.

APPLICATION: Why would anybody be foolish and short-sighted enough to rebel against an all-powerful God? God is giving these commands to people who have walked through the Red Sea dry-shod, only to watch Pharaoh’s army be drowned. These people are being fed and watered miraculously. They have already witnessed God’s power and wrath at Mount Sinai. But when people want to rebel, they make up their minds and refuse to be confused by the facts. Even though God has already demonstrated His power and His might, these people are still ready to wander off after the first fertility cult that looks attractive and that doesn’t demand good behavior. The Israelites are taking God and His miracles for granted.

Today’s verses only contain part of God’s warnings. We will complete this chapter tomorrow. The question for us is this: how much do we really honor God in our lives? Is God an after-thought? Do we thank God for the blessings of life and health and families and friends? Do we complain about our jobs or are we grateful that we have jobs at all? Are we dissatisfied with our possessions or are we grateful to have them? Gratitude and obedience go together. It is impossible to obey God when you are complaining, and it is equally impossible not to obey God when you are grateful. We can’t ask God to bless us if we are habitual gripers; God might want to bless us, but our ingratitude deflects God’s blessings.

As we meditate on these verses, let’s ask God to show us anything we are doing to block His blessings. Once He shows us, let us confess those as sin and seek forgiveness, for we will surely receive it.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, open our eyes to see the places where we have been ungrateful. We confess ingratitude as sin and ask for Your cleansing and healing power. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Lending to the Poor “‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

The Law Concerning Slavery ‘And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God. And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property. And you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with rigor.

 ‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family, after he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him; or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem himself. Thus he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; it shall be according to the time of a hired servant for him. If there are still many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his redemption from the money with which he was bought. And if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his redemption. He shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor over him in your sight. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him. For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

One of the surprising things about God’s laws is how practical they are. God knows that there will be those who will become so poor that they might be forced to sell themselves into slavery, so He is already providing for that eventuality.

1. The poor are not to be taken advantage of. “You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.” God demands soft loans without interest and free offering of food.
2. An Israelite selling himself into slavery to another Israelite will be treated as a hired servant and not as a slave and he and his family will become free in the Year of Jubilee.
3. God is allowing the Israelites to buy slaves who are not Israelites. These people will become permanent property that can be passed down to further generations.
4. If an Israelite sells himself into slavery to a non-Israelite, he can be redeemed at any time and the price will be calculated based on the length of time left until the Year of Jubilee.
5. The Israelites are God’s servants and are to be treated as such.

These verses are highly controversial because they appear to support the idea of slavery in modern society. Tragically, citizens of America, Great Britain, and other countries have used these verses to excuse their practice of slavery on farms and plantations. But slavery was a fact of life in Old Testament times, and even in Old Testament times, God warned His people to treat their slaves kindly. Many of the practices of Old Testament times have been abandoned, and slavery is definitely one of those practices.

APPLICATION: We work with poor people in rural northeastern Ghana and northern Togo. How poor? Recently, one family from Togo had four children sick with typhoid at the same time. The day one daughter was operated for a typhoid perforation at our hospital, her father suffered a heart attack and died! When I began talking with the mother and auntie about getting the child better food, I suddenly realized that they themselves were starving just to have enough money to feed the child. (The girl is now receiving Plumpy Nut and formula plus electrolyte drink with hibiscus powder to give her Vitamin C.) Right now we are in farming season and families who have spent everything on seed, fertilizer, plowing, etc., have nothing left for themselves. We have begun giving the mother and auntie money so their relatives can afford to feed them. This same girl has asked for a popular local fruit juice; however, one box costs as much money as we are giving her mother and auntie for food daily.

Sometimes the regulations in Leviticus seem so exhaustive that we are tempted to overlook the reason for their existence in the first place. God knows there will be poor people and God also knows there will be rich people ready to take full advantage of the poor, hence the proscriptions against usury and collecting interest on loans to other Israelites. God also orders those holding slaves to treat them kindly.

If slavery is so wrong, why isn’t God forbidding slavery completely? These commands are being given within a particular cultural context, one in which slavery is a reality. David Guzik in Enduring Word Commentary says this: “Though it is almost impossible for us to relate to in the modern world, this kind of slavery was necessary and helpful in the ancient world. For most of humanity’s history, the poorest people were sometimes confronted with a choice between death by starvation or becoming a slave. In such circumstances, it is hard to call slavery good, but it was certainly preferred to the alternative (death)… Foreign slaves from debt or poverty did not have the same rights as Israelites who went into servitude because of debt. They could be held as slaves for life (assuming their debt or obligation was never paid), though they had to be treated humanely (Exodus 20:8-11).

i. Exodus 21:16 specifically says that kidnapping a man to sell him was a sin, and not allowed in Israel. Later, the prophet Amos rebuked Tyre for their traffic in slaves as a violation of the covenant of brotherhood (Amos 1:9-10).

ii. This is a subtle yet important difference between slavery as it was (and is) commonly practiced and slavery as regulated in the Bible. Most slavery (ancient and modern) was actually a form of  kidnapping – the taking and imprisoning of a person against their will. As regulated in the Bible (and as practiced in some other ancient cultures), slavery was received willingly (usually as payment for debt) or, in the case of war, was an alternative to death. In ancient Israel, people from other cultures were not kidnapped and enslaved (as was the practice in the African slave trade).” (https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/leviticus-25/)

Slavery still exists throughout the world. The movie The Sound of Freedom has highlighted the horrors of sexual slavery; however, there are many places where child slaves are used in fishing, mining, etc. Those demanding that everyone shift to electric vehicles fail to realize that much of the precious metals used in the batteries are being mined by child slaves.

As we read these verses, let us ask God how we can most practically help the poor among us. Let us band together to abolish slavery in any form throughout the world and pray for a swift end to it. Pray for all those delivering people out of human trafficking, that their efforts will be successful, that they and their families will be protected, and that those delivered from the horrors of slavery will heal emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have tried to ignore the poor among us and we have turned away from the horrors of human trafficking. Show us what You want us to do and give us the courage and resources to do it. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Sabbath of the Seventh Year

“And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land. And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you, for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.

The Year of Jubilee

‘And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.

‘In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you. According to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according to the number of the years of the crops. Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God.

Provisions for the Seventh Year

‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.

‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

Redemption of Property

‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.

‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. Or if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, then let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.

‘If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it. But if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee. However the houses of villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee. Nevertheless the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their possession, the Levites may redeem at any time. And if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession.”

There are three main points at issue here: 1. God wants the land to rest every seventh year and promises that if His people will follow His commands, the land will yield enough during the sixth year to carry them through until the ninth year when they will have freshly harvested crops to eat. God orders the people to leave the land alone during that seventh year – neither sowing nor reaping whatever grows by itself. This is to prevent over-tillage of land with a thin layer of topsoil. 2. Land remains the permanent possession of given families as Joshua allots it to them. Every fiftieth year is a year of Jubilee, when land reverts to its original owner. The original owner or one of his relatives may redeem the land prior to the year of Jubilee; however, they must pay the person who bought the land originally at a rate that accounts for the number of years left before the Jubilee. The land belonging to the Levites remains their permanent possession forever; however, land belonging to others may be sold on a temporary basis, with the selling price calculated on the numbers of years left before the Jubilee.

3. What about houses? Houses in walled cities may be sold but redeemed within one year; however, once that year is past, the house becomes the permanent possession of the buyer. Houses in villages without walls will be handled similarly to the land-they may be redeemed but otherwise will revert to the original family in the Jubilee. Levites may sell their houses temporarily and redeem them at any time; however, those houses will automatically revert to the Levites at the Jubilee.

 Sounds complicated, right? God is continuing to make provision for people who will argue every little point and try to twist things to their advantage.

APPLICATION: At first, the idea of allowing land to lie fallow every seventh year sounds crazy; however, the principle is ecologically sound. David Guzik in Enduring Word Commentary says this about the concept of the Sabbath year:

“Israel was to do this as a radical demonstration that the land belonged to God, not to them.

i. “During the sabbatical year there must be no systematic harvesting of self-seeding crops, or such fruits as figs and grapes. Anything of this nature that the land produces without human aid is the property of all, and people are to obtain food wherever they can find it, just as the Israelites did in their wilderness wanderings.” (Harrison)

Observing the sabbath year was also a powerful testimony of dependence on God. Israel declared their belief that God would meet their needs. This was truly living by faith, and God wanted His people to live trusting Him.

i. It was wise management of the land. Giving the land some rest every seven years helped restore vital nutrients to the soil that are depleted by constant use.

ii. Matthew Poole gave an interesting additional reason for the sabbath year. He suggested that one of the reasons for the Sabbath year was to put everyone in Israel in the same place as the poor of the land, who had to simply trust that God would provide in unlikely circumstances. This would give them compassion for the poor, who had to live that way every year.

iii. Israel’s failure to keep this command determined the length of their captivity. Leviticus 26:34 said that if Israel was not obedient, God would make sure the land gets its sabbaths by removing the people to the land of an enemy. This was fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity of Israel (2 Chronicles 36:20-21).

iv. Today, some observant Jewish people find a way around the sabbath year law. On the seventh year, they “sell” their land to a Gentile, work it, and then “buy” it back from the Gentile when the Sabbath year is over. The Gentile makes a little money, and the Jewish person could say, “It wasn’t my land on the Sabbath year, so it was all right if I worked it.” Others observe this by only cultivating six-sevenths of their land at any one time, and over seven years the entire land has a year of rest.”

 In an age where there were no chemical fertilizers, allowing land to regain its fertility by resting one out of every seven years made perfect sense. The principle remains a sound one. I am not attempting to enter the controversy regarding agrochemicals, residuals in soil or ground water, etc. Land has an amazing ability to heal itself when we allow it to do so.

God wanted His people to trust that if they were faithful to give the land its Sabbaths, the land would produce enough during the sixth year to sustain them until the harvest from the eighth year was in. Land management thus became a matter of faith as well as practicality.

Are there parts of our lives that need a Sabbath? Electronic media has now made it possible for us to work from home, participating in online meetings and sending in our work electronically. But such developments mean that home is no longer a refuge from work; the work can follow us anywhere, leaving us under a constant strain. Let’s ask God to show us when it’s time to turn off phones and computers and really rest.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to carve out Sabbaths for ourselves, time that we can spend with You and rest. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Care of the Tabernacle Lamps

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:  “Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. He shall be in charge of the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

The Bread of the Tabernacle

“And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

The Penalty for Blasphemy

Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

“Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal.

 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.”

This chapter is kind of a catch-all, unless we remember that in the beginning, there were no chapters, only the writings of Moses that were not chopped up into little pieces. Let’s take the issues one by one.

Temple Housekeeping: God orders that the high priest make sure that pure oil from pressed olives be burned in the golden lamp in the tabernacle of meeting continually. Why pure oil? Anybody who has ever used an oil or kerosene lamp or anybody who has used a charcoal iron can tell you that impure fuel spits sparks and ash all over the place. There’s nothing reverent about a lamp spitting ash; only a lamp with a clear flame will do. Sadly, later, when Samuel is a child living in the temple, the lamps are allowed to go out at night, an indication of the spiritual state of the Israelites and Levi, the high priest.

The priests are to put out 12 cakes of bread sprinkled with frankincense each Sabbath. This bread will remain for one week and then be changed, at which time the priests and their sons may eat it. This is the bread that David and his men will also eat as they are fleeing from King Saul. (1 Samuel 21:5-6)

Penalties for blasphemy: “Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.” WOW! Sounds really harsh. But God wants His Name to be respected and no lesser penalty would really work. Eventually, the man in question is stoned to death.

Penalties for disfigurement and murder:

 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”

These edicts also sound harsh, unless we realize that the standard for that era was the blood feud and that men would otherwise seek revenge out of proportion to the original injury. The injuries here are deliberately inflicted, not accidental, and there will be judges who determine the intent of the one who has inflicted the injury. In addition, strangers are actually protected, since they might otherwise be slaughtered for inflicting a minor injury accidentally.   

APPLICATION: Repeatedly, God orders His people to offer pure oil, pure flour, pure animals, and gold that can withstand fire. While the Israelites might preen themselves on being special, God has actually chosen them to show forth His glory, taking a people who were no people and forging a nation. In the process, God knows full well the nature of these people and how swiftly they will compromise if given the slightest opportunity. But this chapter raises embarrassing questions for us.

How pure are our offerings to the Lord? Are we giving God our best or leftovers? How much respect do we demonstrate for God’s Name? These days “Oh My God!” is not only a catch phrase, but has also become one of the most frequently used text abbreviations, as “OMG!” While we might not take God’s Name seriously, what does God think? And how likely are we to compromise and fold under the slightest pressure? These days, we are hard put to find examples of righteousness in government, in business, in academics, or in sports. At a time when standards are falling, virtuous role models are in short supply.

God’s standards have not changed; He is immortal and unchangeable, pure and holy. This is not the first era in which rulers have proven corrupt; corrupt leaders have been around since the dawn of time. Our choice is simple: God’s way or something less? An old hymn says, “Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side; Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight, And the choice goes by forever, ‘twixt that darkness and that light.” (James Russell Lowell) The conflict is real and the choices lie before us. Choose wisely and well!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we live in an age of moral confusion; yet, Your Word remains our standard. Help us to choose Your righteousness and to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:1-6)

“The LORD also said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts. You must not do any ordinary work, but you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD.’”

The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34; Numbers 29:7-11)

Again the LORD said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You shall hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, (or afflict your souls) and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day.

You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble your souls. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.”

The Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:13-18; Zechariah 14:16-21)

And the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Feast of Tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it continues for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly. (That is, Sukkot, the autumn feast of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; also translated as the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Shelters and originally called the Feast of Ingathering (see Exodus 23:16 and Exodus 34:22)

You are not to do any regular work. For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you are not to do any regular work.

These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting offerings by fire to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day. These offerings are in addition to the offerings for the LORD’s Sabbaths, and in addition to your gifts, to all your vow offerings, and to all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to celebrate a feast to the LORD for seven days. There shall be complete rest on the first day and also on the eighth day.

On the first day you are to gather the fruit of majestic trees, the branches of palm trees, and the boughs of leafy trees and of willows of the brook, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.

You are to celebrate this as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come; you are to celebrate it in the seventh month.

You are to live in booths for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in booths, so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’” So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.”

The seventh month is a month of celebration. The first day of the seventh month is the Feast of Trumpets, marked by the blowing of trumpets, offerings, feasts, and rest from work. The tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur. “On this day you are not to do any work, for it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. If anyone does not humble himself on this day, he must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on this day. You are not to do any work at all. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live. It will be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall humble your souls. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to keep your Sabbath.”  The Day of Atonement is a day for people to confess their sins but also to reconcile with anyone with whom they have had disagreements. The idea is to achieve a spiritual cleansing before moving into the rest of the year.

Finally, there is the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. Sukkot is a delightful festival during which families are supposed to make booths from leafy branches and live in them for a week in honor of the fashion in which the Israelites had to live when they first came out of Egypt.

Each of these feasts is accompanied by special offerings and by times of rest. God wants His people to rest but also to rejoice.

APPLICATION: Joy is health-giving. Recently we have had a series of unfortunate patients with typhoid perforations, some of whom have developed intestinal fistulas. Using aggressive nutritional treatments, we are slowly succeeding in seeing these patients improving. We have realized that patients are definitely getting better when they begin smiling and laughing. Their very joy is helping them to heal.

In an earlier era, doctors used to describe the “positive lipstick syndrome.” At a time when many women routinely wore cosmetics, doctors knew their female patients were improving when they began applying lipstick and wearing bed jackets over their ugly hospital gowns.

The Lord God of the universe is a God of celebrations! God loves us and wants us to enjoy His creation. Let us praise and thank Him!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for times of celebration and joy! Help us to celebrate You as much as we do other things such as birthdays and anniversaries. In the might and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.