Sonshine!

Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. Numbers 9:22 (Chapters 7-10)

With the dedication to the tabernacle the new nation is sealed and whole. The Levites are consecrated, and Passover has been observed. Everything is ready, but God is in no hurry. He has a nation to mold in strength and faithfulness. This cannot be rushed.  God’s guidance is clear, a tangible reality in the form of a cloud by day, and a fire at night.  When God did not move, the people didn’t either.

“No LORD, I cannot do this!” would be my reply when told to sit tight until the cloud lifted from the tabernacle. I need a plan, a time table, and a map with a reliable ETA.  I’m glad to do God’s will when He kindly accommodates these area’s of anxiety. I desire to be organized and prepared. Then, I can free God up for others who are prone to crisis due to careless lack of planning. I can need Him less, so others can need Him more.

This journey across the Sinai peninsula was so much more than getting from point A to point B.  It was formative and educational.  God was protector, provider and navigator, but the foundation of this nation was faith! And an impenetrable, rock solid determination to obey takes a little spiritual and physical conditioning.  The faith of an entire people, their thought processes and panic mode defaults were being set. Oh! The precious, patient love of God, that led them to these strengths! He is leading you too. There is value in waiting. Obedience is what’s asked for. Give it in every season of your life.

Love,

Gretchen

“The LORD Bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Chapter six begins with the vow of the Nazarite, a spiritual status of total purity and consecration to God. Not to be confused with Nazarene, someone from Nazareth, this status was temporary. Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist were among their number.

Preparations were being made to leave Sinai and embark on a lifelong journey to the Promised Land. God bestows the duty of the priestly prayer, Aaron’s Blessing. Used by both Christians and Jews in worship, it acknowledges that God is the source of all good things, especially peace.

These words are God’s own prayer for those who trust and obey. Bask in the glow of His face and know His peace.

Love,

Gretchen

Say to the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty. Numbers 5:6 (Chapter 5)

Our behavior toward one another cannot be separated from the purity of our hearts. When you wrong another person, you have first, sinned against God.  And, the reverse is true. If you have been abused or used badly, it is God who first felt the sting of your pain and the sin that hurt you.

Not only does God’s law emphasize Holiness before Him, but among each other, in our communities and families. It is important to treat each other with the highest respect and regard for well-being.

If you think it is okay with God to mistreat someone, you would be wrong! And…….if you are suffering at the hands of abusive tormentors, take heart, because God is going to fix it, better than you ever could.

Love,

Gretchen

So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family. Numbers 2:34 (Chapter 1-4)

Three months after the Hebrew slaves were emancipated they arrived at Sinai. There they received the Law and became a nation. They learned the patterns of living and worshiping in a community of Holiness, and becoming the state that would bless all people.

Now, two years laters, they are ready to set out again toward their forever home. They must get organized. God ordered a census and then directed the moving process down to the most minute detail. Military precision, efficiency and obedience is the plan.

Faith and fidelity were man’s obligation to God’s constancy. Only God can make every moment of a twenty-four hour day count. He alone can give perfect rest, and budget all other minutes of a day as they need to be spent to achieve the greatest value. 

Put away the authority of your watch and let God’s wisdom and peace guide your progress forward.

Love,

Gretchen

“I will grant you peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”  “I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life.” Leviticus 26:6a and 16b (Chapters 24-27)

The Hebrew children have been stationary for some time. God has made His inhabitance among them, set up His tabernacle, instructed correct worship and religious habits, given Laws for practical living and taught them well self preservation as a nation. Soon they will be moving again toward their permanent inheritance. They MUST remain Holy, for without Holiness God’s presence will be lost.

God is not selfish. He gives. There is a simple reward for obedience! Peace and rest. Disobedience leads to suffering and eventual death.  Just as guardians perpetually teach and remind their charges that good perpetuates good and bad breeds sorrow, God will never quit teaching us His ways of abundant life. He does not quit on us in any way, shape or form!

When you mess up, don’t turn your back and give up! God is faithful and just. Mercy and grace are in abundance. God’s every endeavor is to remain constant in your life, all you have to do is obey.

Love,

Gretchen

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18 (Chapters 19-23)

Chapter 19 echoes the Ten Commandments. Verse 18 is one of the highlights of Mosaic Law, quoted by Jesus Himself. We are to reflect God’s Holiness by how we treat others.  While these laws were superseded by Jesus’ blood, we should still look upon them as a window into God’s character.  He is a concerned and loving Father who calls His children to respect life and reputation.

Holding a grudge voids joy and opens the door to selfish and sinful decisions, while turning devotion away from faithful dependence on God’s wisdom, justice and timing. Let it go! God’s got it!

Many surrounding nations had governance and laws with similarities to Israel’s, but they also centered around sensual and perverted behaviors, things strictly forbidden by God. The phrase, “I am the LORD.” repeated after each proclamation emphasizes that these are the laws of God, designed to set His people apart from all others.

God prioritizes the dignity of all people. This is not the standard of other principalities. God is good and those who believe should radiate His countenance so that the world may know.

Love,

Gretchen

But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat. Leviticus 16:10 (Chapters 11-18)

The Orthodox Laws of everyday Jewish life, hygienic and dietary, are somewhat confusing, but from the time man was cast from the perfect presence of God, God gave specific directions for man to remain healthy, both physically and spiritually. The ancient people lived in very primitive circumstances. There was no formal medical protocol or means of food preservation. Food poisoning and parasites were serious risks. Also, the Canaanite culture, soon to be neighbor to this new nation, practiced many abominable behaviors. I do not care to list their perversions but their temple practices involved sensual and sexual rites. This was strictly forbidden in the worship of The One True God. Kashrut, the laws concerning kosher diets, is a weapon against assimilation with idolatrous cultures. God stressed that mingling and sharing life with such people would be Israel’s down fall.

The Day of Atonement was the one day of the year Aaron entered the Holy of Holies. On this day, a scapegoat became the sacrifice for all man’s sin. Sin cuts us off from God’s presence, but forgiveness and atonement restores this relationship. The goat was led away from the people into the wilderness, bearing away the sins of the people. This ceremony is God’s historical picture of the coming Christ.

I often superimpose God onto my attitude toward the children I encounter daily. I wish I could correct their behavior once and be done with it, but the reality is, I must restate reminders everyday of the school year, even after I have said, “I’m NOT telling you this again!” Well, aren’t we fortunate that I’m not God and God never says, “I’m through telling/helping you.”  There is always an atonement opportunity because Jesus was our scapegoat.  He took our sins as His own and we can be forgiven.

Love,

Gretchen

You must distinguish between the Holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean. Leviticus 10:10 (Chapters 8-10)

God has placed Himself at the very center, the heart of the Jewish nation. There is now a place of worship, forgiveness and atonement. Moses has acted as Israel’s priest, the mediator between God and man, but now God ordains a Hereditary order from the tribe of Levi. Priests will begin with Aaron and his sons. They will be supported by tithes and sacrifices.

At the center of life for this migrant nation is an unceasing fire of sacrifice. The perpetual glow is to remind people of their propensity to return to sinfulness but also, God’s gift of opportunity to seek reconciliation with Him. These blood sacrifices point to an age long picture and plan for the final, perfect, first born, The Christ. The New Testament book of Hebrews ties the priesthood and the sacrifice together clearly as, Jesus, Lamb of God.

In Chapter 10 there is an accounting of two of Aaron’s sons who were highhanded with God’s ordinances and decided to do things their way. They were swiftly put to death by the same fire that led the Hebrew children, the fire of God’s presence. God’s holiness demands respect from those who believe. His commands and gospels are meant to be obeyed, not tailored or distorted to fit man’s fancy or convenience. We are called to be uncommon, Holy. It is possible, because what God demands, He provides.

Love,

Gretchen

He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. Leviticus 1:4 (Chapter 1-7)

The opposite of ‘Holy’ is ‘common’.  The characteristics of Holiness are revealed in Leviticus. God promised to dwell in the midst of the Israelites, but there are conditions to existing in close proximity to God. In Exodus, God set boundaries for His ‘set apart people.’ This close relationship means a life of obedience and faith and sin must be dealt with. God gives detailed instructions on these procedures.

The burnt offering symbolized the total dedication of the offerer.  By laying a hand on the sacrifice, the animals blood becomes ‘substitutionary’ for the worshipper. A grain offering is made for renewal and rededication to the Lord. Peace offerings were made when reconciliation occurred with the Lord and communion resumed. In Love, God provided protections from our negligence with sin/purification offerings and finally, the guilt offering allowed compensation for damages to be made between men, neighbor to neighbor. 

Some things change. The ‘new covenant’ through the blood of Jesus supersedes this Old Testament Law. Yet, God is Holy and requires Holiness from those who follow Him. This is constant throughout time. Jesus quoted from this book, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (19:18) Holiness is found in justice and love. We have all sinned, but God doesn’t leave us there.  He didn’t then, He doesn’t now.

Love,

Gretchen

So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the could by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels. Exodus 40:38 (Chapters 35-40)

A nation has been born. Now it is time to build God’s home in their midst. These final chapters of the Exodus narrative tell the detailed labor of building God’s tabernacle, or God’s dwelling place at the center of everyday life. 

This primitive, yet elaborate, home for Israel’s Lord, had purpose and still has relevant meaning to Christians today. The Tent faced the east. The Holy of Holies was the sacred place of the Ark. The Ark held the Tablets of Testimony, a jar of manna and Aaron’s staff. The Israelites knew this Ark was the place where Law and Mercy came together. The Holy place contained a table of gratitude for God’s provision, a candlestick representing the community, and the Altar of incense signifying perpetual prayer. A veil separated the Holy of Holies, God’s Throne, and the Holy place, man’s waiting room.  At the crucifixion this veil was torn and the door to God’s presence was finally, freely open to man. There was a basin for washing, the foreshadowing of Baptism and an altar for burnt offerings. Man’s access to God is through the shed BLOOD of atonement.

God is not haphazard, wasteful of our time and energy, or trite and small of heart.  He intends for His people to worship Him alone and He will be their government, Provider, Protector, Judge, Justice, source of Hope and eternal existence.

The determination of God to dwell with us is His love manifested in action. We can not ask for more than this.  He is worthy of Praise.

Love,

Gretchen