feasting on his presence

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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HE PROVIDES WHAT WE NEED: HIMSELF

Leviticus 24:5-9

Lev 24:5 “You will take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah will be in each loaf.
Lev 24:6 And you will set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold in Yahveh’s sight.
Lev 24:7 And you will put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a reminiscence as a fire offering to Yahveh.
Lev 24:8 Every Sabbath day Aaron will arrange it in Yahveh’s sight regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a permanent covenant.
Lev 24:9 And it will be for Aaron and his sons, and they will eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of Yahveh’s fire offerings, a permanent prescription.”

feasting on his presence

Aaron and his sons, as priests, regularly feasted on the santified bread. It represented both the presence of the LORD, and the holiness of the people (twelve tribes). This was because God intended to manifest his presence — not just within the confines of the tabernacle, but within the community of faith. By feasting on the sanctified bread, the priests were essentially feasting on the promise of the presence of God among them. Later, when Christ told us to pray for our daily bread, he might have been expanding this concept to include all that God gives his people.

LORD, thank you for providing all that we seek for — especially your presence among us.

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regular oil change

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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Leviticus 24:1-4

Lev 24:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 24:2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, so that a light may be kept burning regularly.
Lev 24:3 Outside the veil of the testimony, in the conference tent, Aaron will arrange it from evening to morning in Yahveh’s sight regularly. It will be a permanent prescription throughout your generations.
Lev 24:4 He will arrange the lamps on the lamp-stand of pure gold in Yahveh’s sight regularly.

regular oil change

God will supply the olives for the oil by his grace, but it will be up to his people to change the oil and keep the light regularly burning. Jesus is the light of the world, and he calls on us to light the world as a reflection of his light, so that people may see our good works, and praise God. The symbol of the light is helpful because the light makes the tabernacle visible, so that even though the light is kept going by human effort, it reflects God’s presence, and thus teaches of his grace.

LORD, show us how to reflect your presence and grace in our regular worship.

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that your generations may know

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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THIS MORNING’S DISTRACTION

Leviticus 23:37-44

Lev 23:37 “These are the appointed feasts of Yahveh, which you will proclaim as times of holy convention, for presenting to Yahveh food offerings, ascending offerings and tribute offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day,
Lev 23:38 besides Yahveh’s Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your solemn pledge offerings and besides all your spontaneous voluntary offerings, which you give to Yahveh.
Lev 23:39 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you will celebrate the feast of Yahveh seven days. On the first day will be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day will be a solemn rest.
Lev 23:40 And you will take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you will rejoice in Yahveh’s sight your God seven days.
Lev 23:41 You will celebrate it as a feast to Yahveh for seven days in the year. It is a permanent prescription throughout your generations; you will celebrate it in the seventh month.
Lev 23:42 You will stay in booths for seven days. All native Israelites will stay in huts,
Lev 23:43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel stay in huts when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahveh your God.”
Lev 23:44 Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahveh.

that your generations may know

This morning I am a little distracted doing my devotions. I am visiting my daughter and her family in the USA, and my granddaughter is showing me her play-doh toy. I really enjoy my time with my grandchildren. They are very special to me. They light up my face when I am around them.

The Israelites loved their children and grandchildren too. They shared their lives and experiences with the next generations, so they would never forget that God had brought them freedom, and gave them their land.

LORD, help us to invest our time in the lives of the next generations, so that they may know about you, too.

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celebrating the temporary

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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NOW IS IMPORTANT,TOO!

Leviticus 23:33-36

Lev 23:33 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 23:34 “Speak to the people of Israel, and this is what you should say, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Huts to Yahveh.
Lev 23:35 On the first day will be a holy convention; you will not do any ordinary work.
Lev 23:36 For seven days you will present fire offerings to Yahveh. On the eighth day you will hold a holy convention and present a fire offering to Yahveh. It is a solemn assembly; you will not do any ordinary work.

celebrating the temporary

The feast of huts gave the Israelites the opportunity to celebrate their transit in the desert on their way to permanence in the promised land. Those of us who are goal-driven need to stop and figure this out. We are accustomed to thinking of life as a search for the ultimate. God does have an ultimate destiny for those whom he has called to himself. But he is also very much interested in our next breath, and our next step. None of us have arrived at our ultimate destiny, but it is a comfort that God wants us to celebrate the present in addition to anticipating the future. It is all the same to him.

LORD, show us how to stop and celebrate our relationship with you today.

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self-sovereignty

Posted on October 26, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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WE ARE ALL TEMPTED TO RESIST GOD’S WILL

Leviticus 23:26-32

Lev 23:26 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 23:27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Reconciliations. It will be for you a time of holy convention, and you will discipline your souls and present a food offering to Yahveh.
Lev 23:28 And you will not do any work on that very day, because it is a Day of Reconciliations, to provide reconciliation for you in your God Yahveh’s sight.
Lev 23:29 Because every soul who is not disciplined on that very day will be eliminated from his people.
Lev 23:30 And every soul who does any work on that very day, that soul I will destroy from among his people.
Lev 23:31 You will not do any work. It is a permanent prescription throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
Lev 23:32 It will be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you will discipline your souls. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening will you keep your Sabbath.”

self-sovereignty

As much as we might want to deny it, words like these cause us inner turmoil. As much as we proclaim our devotion and loyalty to God, there is an impulse within every soul that dares to defy him — to insist on our own sovereignty over ourselves. That inner self is enraged that anyone would dare to tell it that it must stop working for someone else — even God. That inner self laughs at the notion that some other precept is more important than personal liberty.

My point is not that all believers are obligated to keep the festival of Yom Kippur: we are not. Christ’s death on the cross fulfilled that festival as a prophecy. To attempt to keep that festival as a Gentile is to deny the gospel. My point is that in spite of this fact, these words still haunt us, because we still have an impulse to respond to them as many of the Israelites did — with contempt.

LORD, we repent again of the sin of self-sovereignty

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with blast of trumpets

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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Leviticus 23:23-25

Lev 23:23 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 23:24 “Speak to the people of Israel, and this is what you should say, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you will observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convention.
Lev 23:25 You will not do any ordinary work, and you will present a fire offering to Yahveh.”

with blast of trumpets

The feast of trumpets introduces a whole month of special celebrations in the covenant community. Are the trumpets intended to instill fear or to provoke excitement and joy. The answer is yes. It all depends on your relationship with God. Just like resurrection day, when the last trumpet will sound. That same trumpet call will rescue the dead in Christ from their mortality and set them free to live forever, so it will be a joyful sound. But that same trumpet will call the angels of heaven to bring death and disaster on the planet as a judgment against all powers that have stolen dominion from the Lord, so it will be a fearsome sound.

LORD, we are straining to hear your trumpet blast. Come and rescue us, and restore your creation.

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national deliverance

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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Leviticus 23:15-22

Lev 23:15 “You will count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.
Lev 23:16 You will count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you will present a new tribute offering to Yahveh.
Lev 23:17 You will bring from wherever you stay two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They will be of fine flour, and they will be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to Yahveh.
Lev 23:18 And you will present with the bread seven perfect lambs a year old, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They will be an ascending offering to Yahveh, with their tribute offering and their drink offerings, a fire offering with a soothing aroma to Yahveh.
Lev 23:19 And you will offer one male goat for a mistake offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice for healthy relationships.
Lev 23:20 And the priest will wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering in Yahveh’s sight, with the two lambs. They will be holy to Yahveh for the priest.
Lev 23:21 And you will make a proclamation on the same day. You will hold a holy convention. You will not do any ordinary work. It is a permanent prescription wherever you stay throughout your generations.
Lev 23:22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you will not reap your field right up to its edge, nor will you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You will leave them for the poor and for the temporary resident: I am Yahveh your God.”

national deliverance

The festival of Pentecost was a national celebration. It focused on God’s relationship with the whole people of Israel. The New Testament event that we call Pentecost was also a national miracle, as the participants were all Jews. The book of Acts recounts the story of God’s move to rescue first Jews, then Samaritans, then Gentiles. While each person who experienced that deliverance had a personal faith in God, Pentecost reminds us that God wants to rescue nations, not just individuals. He wants to transform nations so that they reflect his holiness and justice. We see that in the rule about leaving the gleanings for the poor and the temporary resident.

LORD, deliver our nations. Transform them so that they reflect your love and holiness.

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sustenance

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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Leviticus 23:9-14

Lev 23:9 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 23:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you will bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest,
Lev 23:11 and he will wave the sheaf in Yahveh’s sight, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest will wave it.
Lev 23:12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you will offer a perfect male lamb a year old as an ascending offering to Yahveh.
Lev 23:13 And the tribute offering with it will be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to Yahveh with a soothing aroma, and the drink offering with it will be of wine, a fourth of a hin.
Lev 23:14 And you will eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a permanent prescription throughout your generations wherever you stay.

sustenance

The tribute offering to be given along with the firstfruits presentation was twice the amount as that given to accompany the other festivals. None of the new bread was to be eaten before this offering was made. But on this day, the bread was sanctified for the use of the people, from then on. In the New Testament, Christ is called the firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). He is called that because he is the first to be raised to immortal life. He is also called the bread of God (John 6:33). He is God’s provision to give life to the world.

LORD, thank you for our daily bread, and the bread of life who you sent to sustain us forever.

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up time

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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Leviticus 23:4-8

Lev 23:4 “These are the appointed feasts of Yahveh, the holy conventions, which you will proclaim at the time appointed for them.
Lev 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is Yahveh’s Passover.
Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahveh; for seven days you will eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:7 On the first day you will have a holy convention; you will not do any ordinary work.
Lev 23:8 But you will present a fire offering to Yahveh for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convention; you will not do any ordinary work.”

up time

Notice the prepositional phrases associated with the description of Israel’s feasts:
“feasts of Yahveh”
“Yahveh’s Passover”
“Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahveh”

The celebrations were to be dedicated to, and centred around Yahveh, the God of the Bible. Their holidays had to be holy days because their entire culture revolved around God. Taking time off of ordinary work meant taking time for God. Their times of rest were not down time, they were up time.

LORD, help us to focus our down time to include up time for You.

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rescue and rest

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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Leviticus 23:1-3

Lev 23:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 23:2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, these are the appointed feasts of Yahveh that you will proclaim as holy conventions; they are my appointed feasts.
Lev 23:3 “Six days will work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convention. You will do no work. It is a Sabbath to Yahveh wherever you stay.

rescue and rest

The LORD listed the Sabbath among the festive celebrations because that is what he intended it to be. It was to be a time set apart every week to celebrate the freedom from bondage bought by the blood of the Lamb. It was to be a celebration of grace, looking forward to the perfect rest promised when the Messiah rules. Jewish legalism turned it into something else, a bondage of works. So, Jesus (the Lord of the Sabbath) had to set the record straight and remind his followers that the Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28).

Christians are not under any obligation to keep the Sabbath just like we are under no obligation to keep any of the other Jewish celebrations. Paul indicated that Sabbath keeping is an option for us under the new covenant, not an obligation (Romans 14:5). There are many Christians who observe a day of the week (either Saturday or Sunday) as a day of rest and spiritual renewal). It is appropriate to do so as long as you are doing it because of your devotion to the Lord. Under the old covenant, the LORD required Israelites to keep the Sabbath to identify with him, and to celebrate their deliverance from slavery.

LORD, thank you for the rescue we have from sin, and the rest you promise us when Jesus returns. We celebrate our rescue and rest every day.

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