Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Feb 12th Rest for the Land

Today’s Passage – Leviticus 24 – 25 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – John 17 – 18; Proverbs 12; Psalms 61 – 65)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 47:1

Read the “0212 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this morning’s reading – “The Mind of the Lord.”

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.” (Leviticus 25:2-4)

The image above is of a scene typical in the southern plains during the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, which afflicted parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. There were many contributing factors that caused the barren and desert-like conditions covering this huge land mass of once fruitful grassland, including a severe shortage of rain over and extended period of time. However, one of the components that added to the problem was a serious lack of intelligent land management. The government had encouraged and had given incentives for people to move to this area and farm the land; but, they over-farmed it and stripped the land of its topsoil and nutrients. In Egan Timothy’s book, The Worst of Times, Melt White from Texas was quoted as saying, “God didn’t create this land around here to be plowed up, He created it for Indians and buffalo. Folks raped this land. Raped it bad.”[1]

J. Vernon McGee refers to a similar “dust bowl” of sorts that he experienced as a young boy: “The southland where I was reared has learned, to its sorrow, that one should let the land lie fallow. A great deal of the land has been worn out by planting cotton every year, year after year. The Sabbatical year was actually a good agricultural principle which God gave to them. It is quite interesting that God knows all about farming, isn’t it?”[2]

Thousands of years before the Dust Bowl hit America, God had commanded His people to let their land “rest” one year out of seven in order for the land to be replenished with the nutrients it needs. The people could cultivate, plant, and reap their fields for six years, but on the seventh year they were forbidden to do so. On that seventh year, the people could go out in the field and eat of the fruits that grew on their own, but they could not harvest what had grown to be sold in the market. The poor and the wild beasts were also permitted to eat of anything that grew on its own in the year of rest. By resting their fields one year out of seven, God also replenished the nutrients that were taken from them during the six years. This way, the fields would continue to produce.

Unfortunately, it seems that Israel did not obey God and let their land rest one year out of seven as He commanded them. According to 2 Chronicles 36, God sent His people into Babylonian captivity for seventy years, and during that time He gave the land in Israel time to rest in proportion to the number of years that they did not voluntarily rest the land when they lived there:

“To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.” (2 Chronicles 36:21 – See also Jeremiah 25:8 – 11)

Though I am certainly not an expert on agricultural matters, I am told that many farmers today will rotate their fields in order that they can “rest” one year out of seven. Some farmers will actually plant something in the seventh year that they will not harvest. Then, they will plow it all back into the field returning the nutrients to the soil. The bottom line, is that farmers have learned that they cannot keep taking from the ground, without allowing it to be replenished.

A spiritual application that we can make from this is that neither can we keep selfishly taking what God has provided without every once in a while giving back. Just a thought.

[1] Egan, Timothy. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl (p. 9). HMH Books. Kindle Edition.

^[2] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 1 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 437.

Feb 10th Love Thy Neighbour As Thyself

Today’s Passage – Leviticus 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – John 13 – 14; Proverbs 10; Psalms 51 – 55)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 34:1 – 4

Read the “0210 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “What’s the Difference“

“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18)

We read the commandment, “thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” often in the Scriptures, especially in the New Testament where it appears seven times. Leviticus 19, however, is where this phrase appears first. The context surrounding verse 18, is replete with laws for Israel, many of which have to do with how the people of God treat one another.

In verses 9 and 10, God tells the people to make sure that they leave a little food for the poor:

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:9-10)

In verse 13, God warns them not to take advantage of people who work for them:

“Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.” (Leviticus 19:13)

God was very concerned that His people be different from other people who did not know Him. The principles that God gave in the Law were not given to put an unreasonable burden on the people, but rather were given to help them to live selfless, yet profitable and abundant lives. As long as God’s people continued to love Him, live for Him, as well as loving their neighbors, God abundantly blessed them.

Maybe this is why America is struggling so much today. We have long ago cast God and His Word aside and as a result, we have become a very selfish and materialistic nation. Perhaps, if we could learn to love God and our neighbors again, God would see fit to bless us once again.

Feb 9th The Blood

Today’s Passage – Leviticus 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – John 11 – 12; Proverbs 9; Psalms 46 – 50)

Read the “0209 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “There Is a Fountain,” and “Abomination.“

“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. … And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.” (Leviticus 17:11, 13-14)

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

I must confess to you that when I first was saved, I thought Christian churches had a somewhat strange obsession with blood. We sing songs like, “Nothing But the Blood,” “There’s Power in the Blood,” and “Are You Washed in the Blood.” I did not understand then that “the blood” referenced in all of these songs as well as in the preaching was the perfect, sinless blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for me on the Cross of Calvary. the Bible is very clear, that unless Jesus’ blood was shed for us there would be no remission of sins.

In the Book of Leviticus, we learn that even in the Old Testament sacrificial system, the blood of animals was seen as special to God, and He actually forbade people from “eating” the blood. When I was a kid, I used to get grossed out when I saw an adult drinking the blood that was on the bottom of their very rare plate of steak. Even way back in Genesis nine, when Noah and his sons were starting their lives in a brand post-flood new world, God permitted the eating of animals, but God prohibited the eating of any animal raw or uncooked:

“Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” (Genesis 9:3-4)

God stated twice in Leviticus 17 that the life of all flesh is in the blood. It’s the presence of blood, which allows us and all animal life to live. God also said that because life is “in the blood,” blood was the only thing that could make atonement for the soul. The blood of animal’s could not atone for man’s soul in the Old Testament time period, but it did serve to remind the people of God of the coming blood sacrifice Christ would make on the Cross:

“But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:3-4)

I get it now. The blood of Christ is precious. The emphasis that God placed upon the blood back in Leviticus, is the same that we should place upon it today. We don’t worship the blood, just as we do not worship crosses; but blood should remind us of life; Christ’s life that was poured out for us on Calvary.

Feb 7th Leprosy – A Picture of Sin

Today’s Passage – Leviticus 13 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – John 7 – 8; Proverbs 7; Psalms 36 – 40)

Read a previous post from this morning’s reading – Unclean

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 19

Read the “0207 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.”

45 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. 46 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)

This morning’s reading contained one long chapter dedicated to leprosy, a disease that was both debilitating and deadly in Bible times. Today, leprosy (or Hansen’s Disease) is curable through a multi-drug therapy but in Bible days, it was incurable. The descriptions given of various skin ailments in chapter thirteen include Hansen’s disease but also reference other, less serious skin issues as well. The observation and treatments given by the priests in this chapter were used to determine if an individual skin problem was indeed leprosy or perhaps a less serious condition.

While leprosy along with its devastating symptoms was and still is a physical disease that affected all kinds of people, whether they were saved or not, in the Bible this horrible disease serves as a picture or type of what sin does to both the soul and to the body. Isaiah talked figuratively about the sinful condition of Israel, picturing it as a physical ailment:

“4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” (Isaiah 1:4-6)

• Sin, Like Leprosy, Is Deadly

Leprosy in the Bible was usually ultimately fatal, though it sometimes took years to completely ravage the body. The sin condition of mankind is also fatal. Sin is the cause of death. Had there been no sin, there would be no death.

“23 For the wages of sin is death;…” (Romans 6:23)

“12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: … 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:12, 21)

• Like Leprosy, The Effects of Sin Start Small and Progress Slowly

Leprosy started out with a tiny blemish on the skin. Slowly but surely, however, it progressed until it completely infected and debilitated the entire body. Sin is the same way. It sometimes starts out small and seemingly has little effect on the guilty person, but like leprosy it grows and its effects increase until it becomes debilitating. 

“13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:13-15)

• Sin, Like Leprosy, is Contagious

Leprosy is contagious, though perhaps not as contagious as other diseases. It was contagious enough, however, that people did their best to stay far away from someone who had it. Sin, like leprosy, is also contagious in the sense that it is spread to everyone. But more than just the general condition of sin being spread, individual acts of sin are often transferred to other people. Sinners love to get other sinners to join them in their sin.

“10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.” (Proverbs 1:10-16)

• Sin, Like Leprosy, Separates Us From God But Should Also Cause Us to Separate

“2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)

In the Bible, lepers were required to live away from other people, and were even commanded to cry out “unclean” when they approached someone or got near them. Sin is what separated us from God in the first place, and now that we are cleansed from our sin by the blood of Christ, it should be our desire to separate ourselves from those who are yet in their sins and content to remain that way. Christians today ought to separate themselves from sin, and from sinners who are unrepentant about their sin. This does not mean that we should isolate ourselves from people; nor does it mean that we should not be willing to help them by sharing Christ and His gospel with them. It does mean that we should not be intimate with them to the point where their sin is influencing us to sin. 

“17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (2 Corinthians 6:17)

• Sin, Like Leprosy, Can Only Be Cured by God

In the Old Testament, the prophet Elisha was used by the Lord to miraculously cure Naaman the Syrian from his leprosy (see 2 Kings 5). In the New Testament, there were several examples where the Lord Jesus healed those who had leprosy:

“2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:2-3)

“22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” (Luke 7:22)

In Bible times, leprosy could only be cured by God. Sin, like leprosy can only be cleansed by Christ. As the song states: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The only way for sin to be forgiven (cleansed) is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

J. Vernon McGee said this regarding this chapter:

So leprosy stands as a perfect type of sin. It is sin, as it were, made visible in the flesh. The priest was to look on the leper and pronounce him unclean. Just so, the Great Physician looks on the human family and pronounces it unclean. He does this so that we might come to Him for cleansing. He is ready to touch the leper (and sinner) and make him clean. [J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 1 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 380.]

Spurgeon said:

Leprosy is to be considered by us as the type of sin. To describe all the loathsomeness and ghastliness of the aggravated cases of Jewish leprosy would be too sickening, if not disgusting. But it would still be a poor portrait of the loathsomeness of sin. The leper was not only loathsome in his person but was also defiled in all his acts. All the actions of the unbeliever are tainted with sin. Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he continues to sin against his God. If he should come up to God’s house and sing and pray, there is sin in his songs, for they are but hypocrisy. There is guilt in his prayers, for the prayers of the wicked are abominations to the Lord. Every person by nature is like a leper; he is incapable of fellowship with God’s people, and he is shut out utterly and entirely by his sin from the presence and acceptance of God. [Spurgeon, The Spurgeon Study Bible: Notes (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 144.]

Feb 6th Provision for the Poor

Today’s Passage –Leviticus 11 – 12 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – John 5 – 6; Proverbs 6; Psalms 31 – 35)

Read a previous post from this passage – Creeping Things

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 18:3 & 46

Read the “0206 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.” (Leviticus 11:2)

Our reading in Leviticus 11 records the dietary requirements for Israel. As I read this passage, I asked myself the question: why did God have all of these rules regarding eating? I am sure that there are many reasons, but one of them must be that God was concerned about the health of his people. The creatures that God permitted them to eat were healthier for them.

Leviticus 12 discusses the laws for women regarding purification after giving birth. If she had given birth to a boy, she would be separated from the rest of the congregation for a total of 41 days. For the birth of a baby girl, the time of her separation was even longer, totaling 80 days. Again, I am not sure as to why God required these specific numbers of days, but I think it provided the mother with a sufficient time for rest and recuperation, as well as a period of needed bonding with her child.

The thought that captured my attention from this passage, however, was the fact that God made provision for those that were poor among his people when it came time to offer their sacrifices for ceremonial cleansing after giving birth. Typically, a lamb was required along with a turtledove or pigeon; but for the poor, two turtledoves or two pigeons were all that was required:

“And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” (Leviticus 12:8)

Mary and Joseph must have been pretty poor, because there is no mention of a lamb being offered at the time of Mary’s purification at the Temple:

“And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24)

It’s hard to believe that the God who owns all the silver and gold, and a cattle on a thousand hills, was born into poverty; but He was.

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

God did not demand unreasonable expectations on the poor. Even the system of tithing was not unreasonable. Both rich and poor were to give a percentage, and percentages are fair to everyone.

God loves all people, the rich as well as the poor, and God does not want the poor to be neglected as far as ministry is concerned; nor does He want them to be excluded from participation in worship. The New Testament church opens its doors wide to everyone:

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” (James 2:1-5)

Feb 5th A Downward Spiral

Today’s Passage – Leviticus 8 – 10 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – John 3 – 4; Proverbs 5; Psalms 26 – 30)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Joshua 1:8

Read the “0205 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Strange Fire.“

“And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? And when Moses heard that, he was content.” (Leviticus 10:16-20)

This had to be a very discouraging period in Aaron’s life. His sons, Nadab and Abihu, were slain by the Lord for offering “strange fire” in the Tabernacle instead of the fire from off of the brazen altar (Leviticus 10:1 – 5). It is possible, even probable, that their lack of judgment in doing this was caused by their consumption of alcohol. Immediately after this happens, God prohibits the drinking of alcohol by priests (Leviticus 10:8 – 11). It seems odd that God would include this prohibition in the middle of this chapter if it had nothing to do with what happened to Aaron’s boys. Just a side note here, but notice that God specifically mentions in verse 10 and 11 that drinking alcohol would make them “unholy” and “unclean”, and would inhibit their ability to teach the Word of God (Leviticus 10:11). It’s amazing to me that today there are so many people who teach the Word of God who think it’s wise to consume alcohol.

Aaron and his other two sons, Ithamar and Eleazar, were not even permitted to mourn for their loved ones as they were at the last day of an eight-day dedication of the Tabernacle. They could not leave the Tabernacle.

Moses is very concerned that there be no further incidents in the Tabernacle so he reminds his brother and nephews about God’s instructions regarding the meat offering and the peace offerings (Leviticus 10:12 – 15). This is when Moses finds out that God’s specific instructions were violated yet again because the sin offering was not eaten by the priests in the Holy place as God commanded:

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy. The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. … All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.” (Leviticus 6:24-26, 29)

Apparently, the sin offering was just burnt outside of the camp, and was not eaten. Moses questions his nephews about this, but Aaron is the one who gives the answer. Reading between the lines, it seems as if Aaron’s answer indicates that after all that had happened, their hearts (and their appetites) were just not up to eating this sacrifice. He claimed that God would not have accepted it anyway if they had hypocritically offered it and eaten it. This time, God does not kill them, and Moses lets it pass without further rebuke.

This chapter depicts a downward spiral in the lives of Aaron and his sons. It seems to begin with a foolish decision to drink alcohol while serving in the Tabernacle. That bad decision leads to a tragic consequence, which then leads to discouragement. Then, in their despair, they cannot serve the Lord as they should. Their hearts are just not in it.

We need to be aware of these downward spirals that happen in our lives as well. Something bad happens, whether our fault or “happenstance” does not really matter. Negative events often produce discouragement, which can then lead to more negative decisions resulting in further tragedy. We have to stop the spiraling before it brings us completely down. David “encouraged himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6), which prevented him from doing something stupid and making his situation worse. We need to recognize this downward spiral and take the necessary steps to pick ourselves back up and keep serving the Lord.