The Center of the Camp
Today’s Passage – Leviticus 26 – 27; Proverbs 13
(Second Milers also read John 17 – 18; memorize John 3:36)
“Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.” – (Numbers 2:17)
In Numbers chapter 2, God gives us a description of what the camp of Israel looked like when they were not on the move. A careful reading of this chapter will reveal that the nation of Israel was divided into 13 different groups, which included 11 of the original 12 tribes; and also the two half-tribes of Joseph (Manasseh and Ephraim). These groups were all strategically placed around the tabernacle. Immediately surrounding the tent on all four sides was the tribe of Levi. They were placed there as closely as possible to the tabernacle because that was their place of service. They were the ministers and priests of the Lord. Beyond the Levites the remaining twelve tribes and half-tribes were positioned by threes in each direction. For instance, on the east side of the tabernacle, beyond the Levites, were the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon. There were also three tribes on the west, south, and north. The thought that I am trying to develop here, however, is that the tabernacle was in the very center of the congregation. The tabernacle was the place where God dwelt, between the cherubims on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. God, and His chosen place of worship was the very center of the lives of the people of Israel.
Now let’s fast forward a few thousands years to the time of the local church. I realize that today God dwells in the hearts of His children, but the local church is God’s chosen place for corporate worship, and it is the place where we are to be organized in the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” – (1 Timothy 3:15)
God should still be at the center of our lives; and the local church should be at the center of the life of our family. I have been a pastor now for nearly ten years, and I have been involved in God’s work for twenty. I have observed that the families who place a high value on the local church, recognizing it’s importance, tend to be stronger and happier than the families that do not. Don’t misunderstand, I do not think that the church has a higher priority than the home; but I do believe that successful homes are built around a strong, Bible believing, New Testament church. The churches’ role is critical to healthy marriages and to the spiritual development of our children.
Take a moment to consider the role that the local church plays in your life; and then consider the role that you play in your local church. We need to keep our local churches strong, and I believe that there are many ways that you can help:
1 Participate in the local church – attend the services and find something that you can do that will serve others. God has uniquely equipped you in certain areas that can be used in the local church.
2 Pray for your church and your pastors and leaders. The ministry can be very discouraging, but you can be an encouragement to the people that minister to you simply by lifting them up in prayer. It wouldn’t hurt for you to let them know on occassion that you are praying for them.
3 Support your church with your tithes and offerings. The work of God cannot go forward without the tithes of God’s people. When you don’t give you are telling God and the church that they have no place of value in your life. You can also support the church by not bashing it. Let people know where you stand. If you are for the ministry, speak out for it, and don’t let others run it down in your presence. Negativity and complaining are like cancers inside the church that will destroy it from within.
Is the local church important to you, or isn’t it? God says that it should be. Remember, He died for the church. It’s His body. He places a great value on it, and so should we.
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The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Peace
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 24-25, John 15-16, Proverbs 12
Memory Verse: John 3:36
Today’s Passage: John 16:33
Good morning. John 16:33. This is a great verse to start your day with. There are many comforts I could write to you about surrounding John 16:33. If you look at the cover of my Bible, you will see “John 16:33” just below my name. This is MY verse.
We go back a long way. Back in the 1980’s, as a group leader in Concurrent Computer’s National Repair Center, one of my duties was to prepare work assignments. One time we had gotten swamped with peripherals. Dennis, a good Christian brother, was assigned to repair them. The list was extremely long: several pages. I looked up the word tribulation in my concordance and found John 16:33. I wrote the reference at the end of his list just as a joke, not realizing that John 16:33 was meant for me. Shortly after this, I was hit with a lawsuit for one-quarter of a million dollars for an accident involving my truck. I remember getting the notification in the mail. I sat down on the tailgate of my truck and cried. Where was I going to get $250,000? My insurance only covered up to $100,000. I had just gotten married. I was in the process of buying a house, would I lose that? As I wept, I lifted up the letter to the Lord so he could read it. As I held the letter up, He reached down. The only way to describe that moment is that He hugged me, and dried my tears. Everything would be alright. John 16:33 became my verse. I had peace. As for the lawsuit, after several years, it never made it past the litigation stage.
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Are you worried about the economy? Did you lose your job? Do you have a lawsuit against you? Are you overcome by the world? Jesus has overcome the world. He has given us His Word, His Spirit, and His peace. Sometimes it takes time before you realize that God already knows what you are going through. I didn’t have to hold the letter up for Him to read. He already knew about it, what I would do, what he would do, what the lawyers would do, and what the outcome would be. All that we go through is orchestrated to draw us closer to One who loved us enough to die for us: so be of good cheer.
Do you know what else Jesus said? At the end of Matthew, Jesus said, “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Peace. (John 16:33)
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Have You Taken Time Out To Remember?
Today’s Passage – Leviticus 22 – 23; Proverbs 11
(Second Milers also read John 13 & 14; memorize John 3:16)
“These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.” – (Leviticus 23:4)
In chapter 23 in the Book of Leviticus, we see the Lord giving His instructions regarding special days that would be set apart from other days. On these holy days, or “holidays” the people were commanded to stop their normal routine, and refrain from doing any kind of work. God wanted their focus to be on Him during these days. The special days (or in some cases weeks) listed in the chapter were as follows:
1 The Sabbath – every Saturday the people were to take a break from their work in order to rest. God rested the seventh day after He created the earth, so in some ways the Sabbath was memorial of God’s work at creation.
2 The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread – a memorial to God’s deliverance of the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. It seems to be that God wants us to remember some things. We are quick to forget the provision and protection that God has given us.
3 The Feast of First fruits – this Feast took place on the day after the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast was an acknowledgement that the whole barley harvest belonged to the Lord.
4 The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost – This was a dedication of the wheat harvest. It took place in May/June 50 days after the Sabbath before the Feast of First fruits.
5 The Feast of Trumpets – 1st day of seventh month – it consecrated the entire seventh month as a Sabbatical month.
6 The Day of Atonement – 10th day of the seventh month – this was the day the priest went in to the Holy of Holies to offer for his own sins, and the sins of the nation.
7 The Feast of Tabernacles (also called Booths or Ingathering) – beginning on the 15th day of the seventh month – commemorated the time that God provided for Israel as they wandered the wilderness in tents after being delivered from Egypt. This feast is also a celebration of the fall harvest.
All of these special days and feasts were designed to help the children of Israel to remember things that should be important to them. God wants His children to remember all of the wonderful things that He has done for us. We tend to get very discontented when we forget all of the blessings that God has provided in our lives.
I believe it is important to continue these traditions in our lives today. We may not observe the same days, but there ought to be some special days in our lives where we take time out to remember. And, I believe we should be very careful to come apart on the Lord’s Day – Sunday – that one day out of seven for the purpose of resting the body, and reflection upon Christ. We are all busy people, or at least, we should be; but we need to take time out to remember. We need to take time to remember God on a daily basis by spending time with in our devotions. We also need to keep the Lord’s day holy and separated from the normal rotines of the week. And there also needs to be some special days in the calendar year when we set apart time toremember important blessings from God.
There also ought to be special days that we set apart time for reasons other than spiritual. Today, many of the couples of our church are taking a day off in order to attend a “couples getaway” in Lancaster, Pa. I believe that this is a wonderful way for these couples to remember the goodnes of God in providing them with a life partner. It is a very healthy thing for married couples to get away regularly to spend time alone together. Pray for our couples, that their marriages will be strengthened as they set apart some time to remember each other.
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What’s the Difference?
Today’s Passage – Leviticus 19 – 21; Proverbs 10
(Second Milers also read – John 11 & 12; memorize John 3:16)
“Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” – (Leviticus 19:2)
“And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” – (Leviticus 20:26)
In the passages which we have read from Leviticus today, we see that God intended there to be a difference in the people of Israel from the world that surrounded them; or actually would surround them when they finally entered into the land of Canaan where God was bringing them. God warns them not to be like the people of the land. God was removing them (the Canaanites, etc.) from the land because of their sinful lifestyles. God’s people would have to be different, or God would expel them out of the land as well.
In the three chapters that we have read today there are many different commandments from the Lord regarding how they were to be a holy people, set apart from the rest of the world. I will not take the time to deal with all of them, but I will mention a few here in this devotion. Think about the world we live in today as we examine these thoughts; and see if we, as Christians, are as “set apart” as we should be. Let’s take a quick look at how the children of Israel were to be different:
1 They were to be different morally. Much of chapter 20 deals with sexual sins such as adultery, homosexuality, and even bestiality. God says that the previous inhabitants of the land were all guilty of these things. The people in our world today are also very perverted in their ability to live morally pure lives. We live in the era of “if it feels good, do it.” God says that His children are to be different.
2 They were to be different in their compassion for others. They were to make provisions in their crops for the poor and the stranger. God reminds them that they were strangers at one time. He wanted them to leave the corners of their fields, and the gleanings for people who needed help. How concerned are we today about helping people. Many of us have been blessed of God with abundance. God wants us to share part of that blessing with others. I think the key here is that God wants us to remember that it all comes from him anyway. We are often like the kid who was eating with his dad at McDonalds. When his dad reached for a french fry out of his son’s meal, the son pulled them away. Not very wise considering the dad supplied the meal in the first place, and would be the supplier of many future meals.
3 They were also to be different in their faith. The people of the land were very superstitious. They worshipped all kinds of “gods” and idols. Some were even guilty of sacrificing their own children. God wanted the people of Israel to stay far away from all of that stuff. No wizards; no witches; no familiar spirits; no divination; no astrologers; no soothsayers; none of that junk. God wants his children to be wholly dependent upon Him; and He does not want to share His glory; or His worship with anybody, or anything else. We have a lot of “idols” in our society today also, don’t we. They may not be little statues, but they are there none the less. An idol is anything that comes between us and God.
4 They were to be different in their respect for the older folks. I think that we are getting away from this in our world as well. There used to be a time in America when Granddad and Grandma were the patriarchs and matriarchs of the family. They were deeply revered and respected by their children and grandchildren. It isn’t like that any more; but we need to get back to it. Today, even young children will mock their elders, and answer back to them. Christian parents need to be very careful that they do not tolerate such behavior in their children.
5 They were to be different in their business dealings. They were to be fair and honest with people; never cheating them with unjust balances and such. The world today is replete with people who will are trying to steal money away from others. There are myriads of scams out their designed to rob others. God’s people should never be involved in any business dealing that is not providing a good product or service at a fair price.
These were just a few thoughts from the passage. There are many more examples contained in the text. But how do we fare today in this present world that we live in? Are we any different from them? Or are we just like them with the exception of the “fish emblems” on our cars. As time goes by, there ought to be more and more of a striking difference between God’s people and the people of this world. Just a thought.
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There Is A Fountain
(Second Milers also read John 9 & 10; Memorize John 3:16)
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” – (Leviticus 17:11)
In Leviticus chapter 16, we learn about The Day of Atonement. This was the one day in the year that the high priest, which at this time was Aaron, would be permitted by God to go into the most holy place, called The Holy of Holies. On this day the priest would go into the most holy place where the ark of God was, and where the presence of God dwelt between the cherubims on the top of the mercy seat, which was the covering for the ark. He would go in first with the blood of a bullock which he offered for his own sins and for the sins of his family; and then he would go in with the blood of a goat which was for the sins of all of the congregation of Israel. This was the only day that he was allowed to enter into the presence of God. If he attempted to go in at any other time; or if he did not go in with the right heart, his offering would not be accepted and he would be smitten by God.
This Day of Atonement served as a sort of temporary appeasement of God for the sins of the people. The New Testament is very clear that the sacrifice of an animal could never really atone for man’s sins. It did remind God annually, however, that there would someday be the perfect sacrifice; the Sinless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. He would someday come, and shed all of His blood for the sins of all men. The Old Testament Day of Atonement was merely a picture of the only true sacrifice that could be accepted by a Holy God. His blood was shed for you and me. I love the hymn, “There Is a Fountain Filled With Blood”. It reminds us of the awesome love that God has for us; and, praise God, sinners are still being plunged beneath that flood in order to have their sins completely and permanently cleansed and forgiven.
Have you applied the payment that the Lord Jesus made to your eternal account yet. He made a deposit 2000 years ago of His precious, perfect blood in order to pay the price for your sins and mine. I received that payment, by faith, over twenty years ago. I pray that if you haven’t done so yet, that you will receive it today.
And by the way: remember how the high priest could only go into God’s presence once per year. Things are different now. God has ripped the veil that separated a Holy God from a sinful people through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now we can enter into His presence anytime we want; all because of the precious blood of Jesus.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” – (Hebrews 4:16)
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Got Mold?
Today’s Reading – Leviticus 14 – 15; Proverbs 8
(Second Milers also read John 7 & 8; memorize John 3:16)
“When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;” – (Leviticus 14:34)
As we continue reading in chapter 14 of the Book of Leviticus, we come across this curious passage that deals with leprosy within a house. This leprosy spoken of here would not be what is commonly called leprosy today (Hansen’s Disease); but rather this leprosy that appears on the walls of a house seems to be a type of mold or mildew. I remember when I was in Bible College down in Longview, Texas. There was a man there that was on staff at the college that had purchased a beautiful home there, but shortly after moving in they discovered that there was a mold problem in the house. Now I’m told that some types of mold can be very dangerous, and can cause many physical problems for people that come in contact with it. Anyway, this dear brother and his family had to eventually move out of the house for several months until the mold was completely removed from it. From what I understand this was no easy undertaking either. I believe if I remember correctly, that most of the drywall had to be removed and replaced after the framework was cleansed.
We have had a little trouble with mold in our house, here in Galloway, as well. We had to completely “gut” two of our bathrooms during our time here. One thing that I have learned about mold is that, like leprosy, it starts out very small; and often can be growing within the walls, as well as without. In fact, it probably grows better inside the walls where there is no light and perhaps a little moisture. In the right conditions, if left untreated, it will quickly spread. It must be removed early and completely.
Even though tis is not the same physical disease that was spoken of involving humans, it is still a picture of sin. We must be careful that we are vigilant about keeping sin out of our homes. We must watch for it, and remove it as quickly as possible; and then strive to keep the area as clean as we possibly can. If sin is allowed to multiply and grow, it will eventually destroy our homes from within. When it gets that bad, it will require much more than a little cleaning. We will have to “gut” areas, or possibly the whole home. It will take major reconstruction to fix the problem. Don’t let sin gain this kind of a foothold in your home. Nip it in the bud as early as you can.
I want to challenge to think for a moment about your home. Ask God if there is anything in your home that needs to be removed and cleansed. If there is, do it now, before it grows into a huge problem that may not be able to be easily fixed.
Posted in Thoughts from Leviticus by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Unclean, Unclean
Leper Colony in India
Today’s Reading – Leviticus 13; Proverbs 7
(Second Milers also read John 5 & 6; memorize John 3:16)
“And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.” – (Leviticus 13:45-46)
Sorry about the “no-post” yesterday. Sundays are always crazy days when I am off of my normal routine. Also, be aware that there was a mistake on the “Second Miler” Bible reading schedule. For the last couple of days it was posted that the reading was in the Gospel of Mark. It should have been John’s Gospel. I apologize if this messed you up at all.
This morning we have been reading all about the plague of leprosy from Leviticus 13. Leprosy was certainly a horrible disease which, I believe, was fatal in almost all cases. If a person was determined by the priests to be a leper, he was separated from all others in the congregation, including his family, and was required to live outside the camp presumably among other lepers. If they were ever in a situation where they were in a close proximity with non-lepers, they were required to cry out unclean, unclean, so as to warn the people to keep their distance. This policy may seem to be harsh to us, but it was the only way to keep leprosy from spreading throughout the entire congregation of Israel.
Leprosy in the Bible is a picture, or type, of sin. Sin is like leprosy in many ways. It starts out on the inside, but eventually works its way out to the outside. It starts out small, but soon covers the entire body. If not dealt with, it will also spread to everybody. It causes us to be separated from God, and the people we love; and it leads eventually to death. We are all sinners, so we should all be able to relate to this dreaded disease. Fortunately for us there is a cure, a cleansing for this spiritual leprosy that we are plagued with. It is called the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the song says, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” What a blessing it is to know that there is a cure for the penalty of sin in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we are unclean in our flesh, He comes near to us and cleanses us from our sin. Praise the Lord!
One more thought regarding the leprosy of sin. God spared no precaution in trying to keep the people away from leprosy, and He feels the same way today about sin. He wants us to stay as far away from sin as possible. We are supposed make much of sin, instead of trying to minimize it. Don’t try to justify the sin in your life; do your best to eradicate it. We will never be able to remove the presence of sin in our life altogether. There is no such thing as “sinless perfection”; but we can get as close to God as possible, and through our closeness to God, see sin as He sees it. Maybe then we will strive to keep sin as distant from us as Israel attempted to keep leprosy from their congregation. This does not mean we loathe the sinner; we are commanded to love them, and pray for them, and do everything we can do to help them get to the cure; just as somebody helped us.
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Post is Coming Soon
Today’s Passage – Leviticus 11 – 12; Proverbs 6.
(Second Milers also read John 3 & 4; memorize – John 3:16)
Pray for our services today in Galloway. I am preaching from Genesis 13, “Back to Bethel”.
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The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 8-10, John 1-2, Proverbs 5
Memory Verse: John 3:16
Today’s Passage: Mark 1:40-44: God’s Love And Leprosy
Good morning. The picture shown here is that of a 24 year-old man with leprosy. What do you know about Leprosy? You may know about it from what the Bible says. Many passages compare sin to Leprosy. It is a disease of the nervous system. It is not an STD. Many doctors agree that it is transmitted by sweat. The Leprosy itself does not cause you to lose toes, fingers, legs, or arms. The bacteria attacks the nervous system. As you lose the feelings in your extremities, it only takes a small cut and infection to set in. That’s all it takes, and as the infections grow you start losing your fingers and toes.
At the Saturday morning prayer, Phil Jr. gave the devotional an hit on Proverbs 5:21: “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.”
Even though God knows our goings from the beginning to the end, we are still on His mind. In our passage, a leper comes to Jesus and begs Jesus to heal him asking, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”
Jesus was moved with compassion. He put forth his hand, touched the leper, and healed him. Leprosy is spread through sweat and Jesus touched him. Here’s the lesson. The Bible compares sin to leprosy. Even though God hates sin, He still reaches down to us, touches us, heals us, or comforts us. As Christians, our sins are forgiven, but we carry the results of sin with us. The forgiven ex-drug addict still has the track marks running up his arm and may have hepatitis reeking havoc on his body. The forgiven ex-homosexual may still have the AIDS virus attacking his body’s defenses. The point is that we all carry the affects of sin in us. We carry the results in us. And even though God hates sin, He still has compassion on us, reaches out His hands, and touches us. Does sin disgust you? Good. Just remember that there are others who are still feeling the hurt that sin brought on them. They could use some godly compassion from you and me. Don’t be afraid to reach out and touch someone: showing them God’s love. Isn’t that what God did to you?
Peace. (Mark 1:41)
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Do You Want To Shine?
Today’s Passage – Leviticus 5 – 7; Proverbs 4
(Second Milers also read Luke 24; memorize Psalm 119:11)
“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” – (Proverbs 4:18)
In yesterday’s post I spoke a little bit about the Old Testament offerings or sacrifices, and how they all pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. In chapters 5 – 7 of Leviticus today, we were introduced to the trespass offering, and we also learned some more details regarding the O. T. sacrificial system. Rather than repeat much of the same information that I discussed yesterday, I have opted to write a thought from the passage in Proverbs.
In verse 18 of chapter 4, the Bible speaks about the path of the just. The word “just” in the Bible means righteous, which is often used to speak of someone who is saved. The saved person is positionally righteous or just in the sight of the Lord, because his sins have been forgiven. Consider these New Testament verses:
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. … Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” – (Romans 3:20, 24)
The concept of justification is very interesting. When a person gets saved, God sees them as completely just or righteous. In fact Romans 3:22 tells us that God gives us the righteousness of God when we believe. Yet, we know that in a practical sense, our lives are really anything but righteous. We know that we are still sinners, undeserving of his mercy; but because of our relationship with Christ, God is merciful and gracious towards us.
However, in Proverbs 4:18, I believe the context would require that this “just” person is not only just in a positional way; but he is also “just” in a practical way; not perfectly, of course, because there is a not [perfectly] just man on earth that doeth good and sinneth not.(Ecclesiastes 7:20) However, the idea of this verse is that this man’s path is pointed in the right direction. He is moving closer and closer to perfection, or maturity. His life is conforming to the very image of Christ as he is walking in the Spirit and yielding to the will of God. The result of all this is that His light is shining brighter and brighter each day.
I remember years ago listening to a preacher on the radio who was answering questions from his listeners. One lady had asked his opinion regarding dancing. He gave a very interesting answer. He told the lady that as a Christian she had the liberty to go dancing if she chose too, but then he asked the lady if she was concerned about shining the light of the Lord to others around her. He basically stated that if we are to shine in our Christian life, there will be certain things that perhaps we may enjoy, that we should be willing to sarifice. The basic idea of this verse is that if we are walking in the path of the just, we will be walking in the Spirit, away from the world, and toward the image of Christ. Let me ask you the question that radio preacher asked his audience that day: Do you want to shine?
Posted in Devotions, Thoughts from Proverbs by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.