the price of innocent life

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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DEMONIC LOGIC

Leviticus 24:17-23

Lev 24:17 “Whoever takes a human soul will surely be put to death.
Lev 24:18 Whoever takes an animal’s soul will make it good, soul for soul.
Lev 24:19 If anyone injures his associate, as he has done it will be done to him,
Lev 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a human will be given to him.
Lev 24:21 Whoever kills an animal will make it good, and whoever kills a human will be put to death.
Lev 24:22 You will have the same rule for the temporary resident and for the native, because I am Yahveh your God.”
Lev 24:23 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed and stoned him with stones. And the people of Israel did as Yahveh commanded Moses.

the price of innocent life

The man who had blasphemed God in the desert on the way to the promised land was to pay the penalty with his own life, and the LORD used that opportunity to remind Moses and the Israelites of the sanctity of human life. It is not a contradiction to tell the people that they are to protect life but also that some lives had to be taken as a judgment. On the one hand, God wants to protect the innocent, but on the other hand, he warns that those guilty of major crimes will have to pay the price for their mistakes with their own lives. There is a valuation here — just like the valuation that makes a difference between the taking of a human soul (life) and an animal soul (life).

But that valuation is turned upside down by those who argue against a government’s right to put a criminal to death, but that government cannot prevent a parent from killing his innocent unborn child. There is no logic in that. It is demonic.

LORD, restore our nations to the godly wisdom of protecting all their innocent lives.

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his glorious reputation

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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ARE YOU SHARING HIM OR SHAMING HIM?

Leviticus 24:13-16

Lev 24:13 Then Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,
Lev 24:14 “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
Lev 24:15 And speak to the people of Israel, and this is what you should say, whoever curses his God will be responsible for his mistake.
Lev 24:16 Whoever blasphemes the name of Yahveh will surely be put to death. All the congregation will stone him. The temporary resident as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, will be put to death.

his glorious reputation

In this incident, God directly clarifies his law, so that Moses and all Israel knows that blasphemy carries the death penalty, and that it applies to anyone who lives among the covenant community. The actual hearers of the blasphemy are to identify the criminal by placing their hands on his head, then the congregation will execute him by stoning. The reason this crime is considered so extreme is that the whole community lives by means of God’s redemption. The community lived to share his glorious reputation with the watching world. To blame him for one’s troubles was to rebel against his grace.

LORD, instill in us a fear of harming your glorious reputation, and a strong desire to enhance it and preserve it.

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extreme blamism

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

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IT IS NOT GOD’S FAULT

Leviticus 24:10-12

Lev 24:10 Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp,
Lev 24:11 and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
Lev 24:12 And they put him in custody, till the will of Yahveh should be clear to them.

extreme blamism

One of the bad character traits of ancient Egypt was the tendency to blame their gods when things went wrong. This man was among the mixed crowd of families that went out with the Israelites, intending to make a new home in Israel once it was established in the promised land. But this man could not resist the urge to continue acting like his people did in Egypt. That meant engaging in extreme blamism, even blaming the gods for their problems. Unfortunately for him, blaming God for one’s problems is actually a major crime under the Mosaic covenant.

While the new covenant does not prescribe stoning as a deterrent for extreme blamism, it does strongly warn those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit. That sin is unpardonable in any age.

LORD, we know you are not the cause of our problems. No matter what goes wrong in our lives, may we have the wisdom to seek you, not blame you.

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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.

Posted in deliverance, dependence upon God, ethnic Israel, holiness, righteousness, sanctification | Tagged | 1 Comment