Can a 120-year-old preacher hold our attention? Absolutely -- if you're Moses and inspired by God Himself.

An Introduction to the Book of Deuteronomy

Today we begin our study of the 5th book of Moses -- Deuteronomy. Each installment of this study helps us find the hidden gems that we otherwise might miss.  Don't miss any of it. Here's an intro to the book itself.

(I am indebted here to the publishers of the New American Standard Bible for the following comments on this, the fifth book of Moses.)

This book consists of a series of farewell messages by Moses, Israel’s 120-year-old leader. I venture to say that is older than anyone reading this right now. It is addressed to those that were quite young when the Israelites left Egypt or who were born during the 40 years of roaming in the wilderness but were now ready to possess the promised land.

There’s a lot of legal detail, but unlike the book of Numbers, the emphasis is on the ordinary people and not the priests. Moses’ key message is “if you don’t want to repeat the mistakes of your parents, obey God”.

The book of Deuteronomy is an adaptation and expansion of much of the original law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The book is also referred to as the “Book of Remembrance”.

There is controversy over the authorship of the book. But there is sufficient internal (in the book’s content) and external evidence (historical) to support the Mosaic authorship, and that it was not a later account of oral tradition.

It is estimated that the book was written at the end of a 40-year period after the people of Israel left Egypt.  So, it is placed at c. 1405 B.C.

Christ is made reference to in Deuteronomy 18:15 where we read, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like (Moses) from among you (the Israelites), from your countrymen, you shall listen to Him.”

Key Word: Covenant. The book is about the renewal of the covenant established at Mount Sinai and being renewed on the plains of Moab, before the children of Israel take the promised land.

Key Verses: These deal with what the children are expected to do with respect to God as well as that doing so is a matter of life and death.  We will say more about these key verses when we reach these references in our study.

Key Chapter: Chapter 27 – when the formal ratification of the covenant occus which makes Israel “a people for the Lord your God”.

Deuteronomy is divided into three main sermons: 1:1 to 4:3 (a review of the past); 4:4 to 26:19 (a review of the law required for a right relationship with God); and 27:1 to 34:12 (writing the history of Israel in advance).

Stay with us throughout this study. You can sign up to get an email notice when the next installment is published. Just go to the right-hand column on the website page and go the box that says, “Subscribe via Email”, fill in your email, and click “Subscribe”.

Looking forward to studying with you.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

When It Comes to Being Declared Ceremonially Clean, the Rules Have Changed and I'm Glad

Clean or Unclean? It’s the Priest’s Call.

Leviticus 13:9-17 

⁹ “When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest.¹⁰ The priest shall then look, and if there is a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is quick raw flesh in the swelling, ¹¹ it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean. ¹² If the leprosy breaks out farther on the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of him who has the infection from his head even to his feet, as far as the priest can see, ¹³ then the priest shall look, and behold, if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; it has all turned white and he is clean. ¹⁴ But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵ The priest shall look at the raw flesh, and he shall pronounce him unclean; the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy. ¹⁶ Or if the raw flesh turns again and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest,¹⁷ and the priest shall look at him, and behold, if the infection has turned to white, then the priest shall pronounce clean him who has the infection; he is clean.

Thoughts on the Passage

In this part of Leviticus 13, we see that the fate of someone infected with leprosy depends on two things. First, the progress of the infection on his/her body and second, the accurate and fair diagnosis of the Priest doing the inspection. It is thus one is deemed to be “clean” or “unclean”.  You don’t isolate an ‘unclean’ person. Isolation is for remedial purposes and there’s no chance a chronic leper will heal.

There is an interesting twist in verse 12, however.  Here the indication is that if the leprosy is deemed to have covered the entire body, the infected person is to be cleaned, while the skin remains white, and he is deemed ceremoniously ‘clean’.

Verse 14 describes the serious physical situation of the appearance of “raw flesh” in which case the individual is definitely unclean and a leper.  Verse 16 offers the opportunity for such raw flesh to change color and become white, thus after further examination by the priest, the individual may be pronounced ‘clean’.

What strikes me in this passage is, as mentioned above, one’s “ceremonial cleanliness” for the Israelites in the wilderness depended on the condition of one’s skin and/or the judgement of the Priest examining them. And that decision had an incredible impact on how that individual would live the rest of his/her life.

But thank God that today we know that only the blood of Jesus Christ and His grace and mercy can make as ‘ceremonially’ and ‘spiritually’ clean. The condition or color of our skin does not matter one iota.  Neither does what a local priest or pastor or anyone else may think of us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

An Intimate Journey Probing the Mind of Jesus

In The Flesh, My Story

Author: Michael Gabriele

Publisher:self-published, 2017

I’m convinced that the best way to get to know a person intimately if you can’t sit down with them is to read their autobiography. The second-best way is to read their biography. When it comes to the Son of God, we have neither in the true sense of the words. What we have is a pretty consistent account of the last three years of His life on earth.

Michael Gabriele, a professional writer for more than 25 years has taken those accounts of Christ’s life provided in the Gospels, and rewritten them, with vivid details, almost always sticking to the original, as if Christ was narrating them. What results is a most moving piece of literature.  The book is a novel. That helps perhaps to avoid those that would criticize the author’s every word. But even though Gabriele adds his own interpretations of what Jesus “might” have been thinking, his desire to present the unique perspective, the well-versed student of New Testament Scriptures cannot easily find much straying from the facts.

The book is divided into 30 chapters taking us through the key events in the life of Jesus – all from his perspective. The author attributes to Christ a transparency in describing the content and context, and more importantly, the Lord’s imagined thoughts and intents. So much so, that often it ran shivers up my spine in a most positive way.

I can only share some of my feelings as I soaked it all in and allowed myself to be transported to the land where Jesus walked and taught and performed miracles and ultimately died. Needless to say, I felt I knew Him better once I had finished.

Throughout the book we get a sense of Jesus’ relationship with, and love for, His Heavenly Father, often referring to Him as Dad.

Gabriele’s writing skills are superb.  Giving us spiritual insights that we otherwise may well miss. Here are some examples that speak for themselves:

·     “These (carpenter)tools that had practically become extensions of my own hands would never be part of my life again.”

·     On leaving his earthly mother to begin His ministry: “I will take with me the perseverance you taught me, the love you showered upon me and the will to please God that you demonstrated every day.” What a model for all mothers.

·     On the early lack of faith of his disciples, and by inference, us: “These were my brothers. Still too stubborn at times to readily allow faith and trust to guide them, I nonetheless cherished them like my own.”

·     On being approached by the 10 lepers while walking with His disciples: “My entire group took an obedient (to the lepers’ request) step backward. I stepped forward.” That to me was so powerful an expression of who Jesus is and what He does.

·     On dealing with Judas who wanted Jesus to lead an insurrection against Rome: “You, Judas, are my friend . . . here . . .in the present. . . with me. Disturbing yourself with fantasies of future events will only bring stress and distraction from the most important here and now.”  I wrote on the margin of the book, “Good advice.”

·     On Martha greeting Jesus after Lazarus had died: “Such faith. Such a selfless heart. She did not reproach me, asking where I had been. She did not beg me to bring her brother back or grovel through desperate sobs to turn back time. She did not ask or suggest anything. Rather, Martha freely put the matter into my hands.”  Amen. That’s the lesson we need to learn.

The reader also learns a lot that he/she may have simply missed in reading the Gospels. For example, while Jesus’ first two disciples were brothers, I had not noticed that the second pair He chose were fishing competitors of the first two. That speaks to His desire that we are to minister with even those that we have competed with in the past.

There is an intense description of what Jesus went through in communication with His Father before being able to calm the waters that scared His disciples while He had slept. Gaining that perspective and understanding alone, is worth the price of the book.  And it goes on:

·     In response to being questioned on His teaching style: “I illustrate with parables because those who are open to the truth will find meaning in my words, while those who are filled with pride will not.”

·     Gabriele provided me a new understanding of “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  He uses one of Christ’s disciples to do so, on the occasion of the rich young man that would not sell his all to follow Jesus, when he has the disciple saying, “I guess those who have many things find it difficult to imagine life without them.”  Bingo.

·     When Martha was complaining about Mary not helping, the author effectively helps us to understand that when we choose the “right thing” for God, the other things are also taken care of. 

Throughout the book, we can also see the desire of Christ to mentor His disciples preparing them for greater works after He was gone. The care, patience, love, and prayer with which He does that comes out over and over again.

One of my favorite parts was Christ considering the imposition He was placing on Lazarus in bringing him back from the dead, a desirous state for many who believed in life after death as Lazarus did. Well worth the read.

Sharing with us what may have been going through Christ’s mind as He headed for the last time to the Garden of Gethsemane and then on to various Roman rulers He had to appear before, Gabriele gives us a fascinating and emotional account of what may have transpired between Christ and His Father at the time. 

Both my wife and I rated the book “excellent” but she wisely reminded me, as I know the author would (after all, he did call it “a novel”), that it is not the inspired word of God.  Agreed, but it provided a window into His Word that is most valuable.

This is a great book for anyone preaching on the various accounts of Jesus’ life from the Gospels to read from during their sermons in order to provide their audiences with some very vivid perspectives. Worship leaders or pastors choosing to recreate short dramas or monologues on the life of Christ would benefit greatly from this work.

n Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, June 29, 2018, www.accordconsulting.com

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

While some could use different animals to sacrifice, ALL sinners needed to atone for their sins.

An Offering for the Common People

Leviticus 4:27-35:

This passage describes the process to be followed when an ordinary person (not a priest, not a leader, and not the congregation as whole) has committed a sin unintentionally and it is drawn to his attention. This offering may involve the sacrifice of a goat or a lamb – but both to be of the female gender.

Thoughts on the Passage

Notice the big difference here is that common folk were required to bring female animals. Matthew Henry summarizes by saying a common or private person could bring a female goat or lamb, but a ruler must bring only a goat and it is to be male. All other observances are the same.

Robert Jamieson also reminds that the blood of the sacrificed animal when offered by a common person was only applied to the altar of burnt offering in the court of the Tabernacle, whereas in the atonement of transgressions by the priests or the whole congregation, the process called for a further penitence – the application of the blood on the altar of incense.

We note in this chapter that sin atonement offerings were required by rich and poor, individuals and the congregation, as well as priest and rulers. No matter our status and role in society, we are all required to atone for our sins. The terms of acceptance were basically the same for them all at that time.  They are the same for all of us today.  There are no special passes like one may be available to purchase at Disneyland to avoid the line-ups or to get special seating privileges. Christ welcomes all of us in the same manner – just as we are. He offers us the same benefits from His sacrifice.

So, what can we learn from all these laws about sin offerings? Henry suggests two things:

First, to hate sin, and to guard against it. It is a serious thing that God wants taken care of, or He wouldn’t have prescribed the slaying and mangling of so many innocent and useful creatures to deal with it.

Second, to value Christ, the great and true sin offering, whose blood cleanses us from all sin – something the blood of bulls and goats could not do. And Christ does this for all of us – not just the Jewish people.

Finally, Jamieson reminds us that “none of these sacrifices possessed any intrinsic value sufficient to free the conscience of the sinner from the pollution of guilt, or to obtain his pardon from God; but they gave a formal deliverance from a secular penalty; and they were figurative representations of the full and perfect sin offering which was to be made by Christ.”

As I watch people of various faiths pursue such “formal deliverance” from the penalty their beliefs or their sects or cults or untrue religions impose, my heart breaks as I realize they are only pursuing a momentary relief and missing out on the benefits of true and eternal spiritual freedom through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

On a side note, I have no explanation as to why the common folk were allowed to use a female animal in this offering. The only thing I can think of is that they were more plentiful and/or perhaps, less expensive. If you have other thoughts, please share them with us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

In God's Service? What Are You Wearing with Honor?

The garments and other accessories of the High Priest and other Priests

Exodus 39:1-31:

This is an account of the following:

Verses 1-7, the making of the ephod or sleeveless garment as specified earlier in Exodus 28:5-14.

Verses 8-21, the making of the breastplate for the high priest as specified earlier in Exodus 28:15-29.

Verses 22-26, the making of the robe for the high priest as specified earlier in Exodus 28:31-35.

Verses 27-29, the making of the tunics, turbans, sashes, trousers, for all the priests as specified in Exodus 28:39-43.

Verses 30-31, the making of the turban for the high priest as specified in Exodus 28:36-38.

Thoughts on the Passage

As I have been studying these chapters describing all the work done on the Tabernacle and how it followed the earlier instructions given by God to Moses, I can’t help but think about the fact that God wants us to follow His instructions about life in general. He has given us a combination “designer’s and manufacturer’s manual” in the form of His Word, the Bible. God knew that there was no way that man could follow the “maintenance schedule” required which was given in the form of the hundreds of Old Testament Laws. So, in the New Testament, He provides for each of us, a means by which we could have life and have it more abundantly and eternally – He gives the Ultimate Care package in the person of His own Son, Jesus Christ.

With respect to our current passage in Exodus, Robert Jamieson points out that gold metal was actually beaten with a hammer in thin plates or sheets (verse 3), then cut somehow into long strips, and rounded into filaments or threads.  (This has been observed in the presence of cloth with which ancient mummies have been wrapped.)

In verse 30, we read of the inscription on the plate of the holy crown. It was the text says like the engravings on a signet-ring worn both by ancient and modern Egyptians. The inscription contained the owner’s name along with a sacred symbol intimating that the wearer was the servant of God and/or expressed his trust in God. Jamieson believes that what we have here alludes to that practice and he invites us to compare the thought with what John wrote in his gospel, chapter 3, verse 33.

Matthew Henry has several things to say about this passage.

He points out the fact that the priests’ garments were called “clothes of service” or “for ministering in the holy place” (vs. 1). Several thoughts come to mind here.  First, are we should we have special attire for those that minister in our local church?  Second, is our local church (if it is represented by the Tabernacle), a “holy place” as referred to here? Clearly our modern thinking, as a result of our interpretation of the New Testament and the New Covenant through Christ, would lead us to say that the answer to both those questions is ‘no’. Many congregations today struggle with both these questions even though they may feel they don’t. However, the fact that “anything goes” is not readily the modus operandi with respect to what a minister wears or does not wear (there is a limit) or with respect to what can be done in the church building (there is a limit here as well).

Henry points out that what is more important is that these clothes are clothes of honor and we need to remember that “upon whom honor is put service is expected.” He quotes Revelation 7:13,15 which says that those that are arrayed in white robes “are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple.”  He reminds us that holy garments were not made for us to sleep in, but to do service in, and that the Son of Man Himself “came not to be ministered to, but to minister”.

Secondly, Henry reminds us that given the repetition and the emphasis on everything being constructed or made exactly as God had earlier specified, everything was by divine appointment. And he says, this “is an intimation to all the Lord’s ministers to make the Word of God their rule in all their ministrations, and to act in observance of and obedience to the command of God.”  That’s the bottom line.

Given the richness and splendid of these garments, it is easy for us to see how this was carried over into garments of not only more modern services of the Jewish faith, but also in our Roman Catholic, Greek and Eastern Orthodox, and the Anglican or Episcopalian traditions. In all these cases, the church tried to copy the material or physical aspects of worship.  Now, however, as we are under the Gospel and the ministration of the Spirit, following such traditions is certainly not necessary and perhaps inappropriate. To Henry, doing so, that is following such habits may “betray ‘the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free’, and to entangle the church again in the bondage of those carnal ordinances which were imposed only till the time of reformation.”  Well, we certainly know where he stands.  Each of us will have to make up our own minds of course, but for me, this is certainly not a hill I want to die on.

Matthew Henry does take us back to the main foreshadowing of this chapter’s contents. “Christ is our great high-priest; when He undertook the work of our redemption, He put on the clothes of service – He arrayed Himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit. . ..  And (lastly) He crowned himself with ‘holiness to the Lord’, consecrating His whole undertaking to the honor of His Father’s holiness.”

But there’s a message for us as well. “True believers,” he says, “are spiritual priests. The clean linen with which all their clothes of service must be made is ‘the righteousness of saints’ (Rev. 19:8), and ‘Holiness to the Lord’ must be so written upon their foreheads that all who converse with them may see, and say, that they bear the image of God’s holiness, and are devoted to the praise of it.

How are our clothes of service? Are we wearing them with honor? What do others see when they talk with us? Whose image are we bearing? What are we devoted to?

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.