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BIBLE READING: Leviticus 8-11                 Recently, I was scrolling through some social media site and stumbled across this image with the caption below it that read “You had one job!”.   If you haven’t caught it yet, the shirt is supposed to be a picture of the continent Asia; but that isn’t Asia, it’s Africa.   The designers of the shirt had one job, one job, and they messed it up.   That slogan sums up the story of Nadab and Abihu.   These were the two sons of Aaron and their one job was to get the fire to burn on the altar of incense.   Leviticus 10 records that Nadab and Abihu “… each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” (Leviticus 10:1-2 ).   These two men had one job of ensuring that fire was provided to light the Altar of Incense, and they failed…miserably.   Now I am not s

BIBLE READING: Leviticus 5-7                 We have all heard someone say to us, “I am so sorry, I didn’t mean it” or “Forgive me, I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to this or that.” We like to excuse many of our actions as “only mistakes”, “I didn’t know better” and “no big deal”. God sees things differently as He speaks to us in today’s reading about our unintentional sins.             “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven. "If anyone sins, doing any of the things

BIBLE READING: Leviticus 1-4                 To the average Bible student who is attempting to follow a daily Bible reading plan up until this point, it has been somewhat easy.   The story of God’s creation of the world and the introduction to Abraham and Israel becoming God’s chosen people, along with their journey to get out of bondage and the reintroduction to Jehovah, is not only interesting, but rather compelling.    However, the task can be rather difficult when we get to the book of Leviticus.    The reason is that for a moment, Moses must take a break from the narrative of the story to provide the Israelites the details of the Law that they had just accepted.   Readers of the book find it difficult to understand because they lack firsthand knowledge and experience of the practices and rituals that are described.   The term Leviticus gets it origination within the scope of the tribe of Levi, who were to serve as the priesthood of this new covenant God had made with Israel

BIBLE READING: Exodus 38-40                 Upon completion of the tabernacle, Moses records “ a cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40.34) .    Like me, you have probably heard the phrase “Glory of the Lord” all of your life, but I’m not sure many of us understand what exactly that was.   The word “glory” used in the text is the Hebrew word “ kabod” , which means “Honor, great quantity; multitude, wealth; majesty and splendor”.   However, the word “ kabod” also refers to the “great physical weight or quantity of a thing” as in the treasures of the House of David being weighty in Isaiah 22.24.   Having a clearer picture of the word that Moses used to describe this “glory”, what was it that he saw?   We know that whatever he saw had something to do with the cloud that settled on the tent of meeting,   yet as to what he saw that could be described as a “heavy splendor of honor that consisted of a large quantity of majesty”;

BIBLE READING: Exodus 35-37             Today we read again about Bezalel and Oholiab. They are two of the most famous names in the whole Bible. Right? Of course not. Were they priests? Or prophets? Or Apostles? No, they were two guys who worked with their hands. Yet Bezalel is the first person in Scripture to be described as  “filled with the Spirit of God.”  God says in Exodus 31:3 ,  “See I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” The Bible says he had all kinds of skills; to make artistic designs in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and engage in all kinds of crafts. “The Lord has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge, and with all kinds of skills.” Seeing all our gifts, abilities and skills, as being from God, is the solution for pride because

BIBLE READING: Exodus 28-30                 As Moses gives instructions from God as to all the details of the priestly garments for Aaron, I have always been fantasticated by the ephod.  The ephod was the breastplate the high priest was to wear that was constructed of material that was gold, blue, purple and scarlet.   The construction of the ephod is described in Exodus 28.15-ff.   What was always so fascinating to me was that embedded into the ephod, was to be twelve specific gems that were to be aligned in a specific way, “ You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for th

BIBLE READING: Exodus 24-27                 As you continue to read through the book of Exodus, you can’t help but notice the specific detail that God gives to the Israelites as to how they were to construct the tabernacle and its contents.   It is almost as if God has given them a blueprint of everything, all the way down to the tiniest of details.    Have you ever wondered why God was so specific?   Couldn’t God have gotten by with just some general instructions for them to manage?   To answer these questions, I want to ask you a question, “how do you like your hamburger?   I know that may sound like a crazy segway that has nothing to do with God’s dwelling place with man, but seriously…how do you like your hamburger?   Do you like it with pickles and onions? Do you like it with a regular bun or a sesame seed bun?   What about lettuce and tomato, or bacon and onion rings?   If you are asking me, I like my burger with lettuce, tomato, extra pickles, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, m

BIBLE READING: Exodus 21-23             Have you ever sung a song in worship and wondered what does that song even mean? For instance, what is a “night with ebon pinion” or how can I “raise my Ebenezer”?   If you have ever asked that question, you’re not alone.   I once had a teenager in my youth group try to convince his parents that it was okay for him to have his ears pierced because of the song “Pierce My Ear”.   Isn’t that one of those songs that after you sing it you think, what does that even mean?   Well, you are in luck, because the Bible passage that the song “Pierce My Ear” was based on is found in our daily reading.   As Moses is relaying the Law to the children of Israel, there is a section that had to do with slavery.   Now I know slavery is one of those hot words that we know and understand to not be a positive thing.   Yet in the Old Testament, there was such a thing as slavery in the positive sense.   To be a slave, as it’s mentioned in Exodus 21, is more of a “

BIBLE READING: Exodus 17-20                       In James 3, the writer is expressing a severe concern for those that are jealous and envious.   He says, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” (James 3.16).   In fact, James isn’t the only writer that warns us of the danger that jealousy presents to Godly people.   Paul warns the church at Corinth against it in I Corinthians 3.3.   It is even included in Paul’s list of the “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5, in which we are warned that if we continue in these works of the flesh, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.   Even Jesus warns us of the dangers of jealousy in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.   Doesn’t it seem strange that with all of the warnings against jealousy we find this in our daily reading “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God…”(Exodus 20.5)?   Do we see in this text that God is taking on a tra

BIBLE READING: Exodus 14-16                 “… "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35).   Those were the words that Jesus spoke to the crowd that had followed Him across the sea after the feeding of the five thousand.   They were following Jesus, not because He was the Son of God but because they were hungry and wanted another free meal.   Jesus’ statement was in response to their misunderstanding of manna in Exodus 16.   They were under the impression that Moses had given them the “bread from Heaven” and were seeking to see what Jesus was going to do for them.   Jesus was quick to correct them saying, “… it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.” (John 6:32).   In fact, He is still giving them bread, yet this time it is in the form of Jesus.   We must realize the importance of what Jesus meant.   In the days of Mose

BIBLE READING: Exodus 11-13             Have you ever gone to the mailbox and noticed a small postcard from the Power Company with the large print letters that say, “Final Notice”?   Maybe you received a scolding from a parent that said, “You better stop hitting your brother, this is your FINAL WARNING!”   The point of a final warning is to let you know, “This is your last chance, if you do not do what needs to be done there will be consequences.”   In Exodus 11, God tells Moses that Pharaoh is going to get one final notice to release the children of Israel from bondage.   Up until this point God has sent nine plagues that have devastated the land of Egypt, yet Pharaoh has been reluctant to free the Hebrews.   God says to Pharaoh, “This is your final notice; one more plague and you will release the Jews”.   I don’t want to even try to imagine the horror that the death of the firstborn brought upon the Egyptians because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness.   There is a huge lesson in this

BIBLE READING: Exodus 5-7             I imagine as Moses enters the throne room of the Pharaoh, he is just oozing with confidence.  After all, just days before he had been specifically called by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.   He had been reunited with his brother Aaron, he had the weight of the Israelite elders behind him and he had the signs from God to support him.  Deep down, he probably knew that Pharaoh wasn’t just going to lay down and say “   by all means Moses, go and do whatever you want to do.”  Yet, it didn’t go quite as he had planned either.  After making his plea to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt not only forbids them to go, he doubles their work!  Now imagine what it must have been like back in Goshen as they all waited to hear the news from Moses and Aaron’s visit to Pharaoh.  Maybe they were discussing the possible outcomes; would he or won’t he?  As they wait for Moses and Aaron to reveal his response, they are met by one of the taskmasters who says &q

BIBLE READING: Exodus 1-4                                            After the initial shock of the whole burning bush incident, I am sure Moses felt pretty special to have been selected by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.   I am sure he knew that facing those same people he had fled from all those years ago was not going to be easy.   I am also confident he knew it was going to be difficult to convince the elders of Israel to follow him, not to mention the amount of pressure he must have been under. Yet even with all those difficulties, he had the reassurance that God had picked him.   Did you know that our story isn’t that much different?   Now, God may not have selected us to be the leader of a million Israelites, but nonetheless He has selected us.   Not only has He selected us, but just like Moses, He has equipped us with the tools and resources we need to be able to accomplish that task.   Just as Moses’ years in Midian as a shepherd trained him to lead the Israelite

BIBLE READING: Genesis 48-50                                                    As we close out the book of Genesis, we see the beginnings of God’s amazing story of how He planned to redeem His people.   Within this story, we are introduced to the Jewish nation, a nation that would later be called the Children of Israel.   We are also informed of God’s Promise that he had made with Abraham and his family that continues to impact us today.   We learn how God passes His Promise along to Isaac, and how Isaac passed it down to Jacob, and how Jacob passed it down to Judah.   Up until our recent readings the focal point of the story has always been the one who would inherit the Promise, yet with Judah, we only have one very unflattering chapter (Genesis 38).   Why does God change His pattern from focusing on those that had received the Promise of the family to the unique story of Joseph?   It just might be that God is revealing for us how He continues to work in the world to bring about

BIBLE READING: Genesis 46-47                                                                                                                                                     Before Jacob heads into Egypt to see the son that for so many years he thought was dead, he makes a stop at Beersheba to offer sacrifices to the Lord (Genesis 46.1-4).   On the surface this would seem like a small hiccup on his long journey to Egypt, but don’t be fooled, this trip was plotted.   You see Jacob was no stranger to Beersheba; this place had been a solace for his family for decades.   Years before when Abraham sent Hagar away, she found her way to the wilderness of Beersheba (Genesis 21.14).   Then later, after a covenant with Abimelech, Abraham went back to Beersheba and planted a tamarisk tree as a sign of his commitment (Genesis 21.31-33).   This place must have made some type of effect on Abraham because after his trip to offer up Isaac, he went to live in Beersheba (Genesis 22.19).   Afte

BIBLE READING: Genesis 43-45                            The pain is indescribable.   It doesn’t feel like the pain you may experience if you were physically hurt, in fact it is much worse.   It drains you like a sickness, yet it isn’t like any virus you have ever contracted.   It begins in your stomach, but over time swells to every cell of your body.   Before you know it, your entire being is consumed with that painful, gnawing feeling that just won’t go away.   As your mind attempts to dull the pain, you know the only way to relieve the hurt is to simply just let go.   Guilt is a heavy burden that we have all had to bear. What may be the most difficult aspect of guilt is that every bit of it is self-inflicted. We often discuss all the pain and suffering that Joseph must have endured, but we must be careful not to overlook the guilt that the brothers had to have endured.   As the nine brothers depart from Egypt, each step in the sand served as a reminder of how maybe all this tro

BIBLE READING: Genesis 40-42                                                                                                                                                  This morning I came across one of those quick motivational posts that really has stuck with me.   It read “Don’t worry! God is preparing you for what he has prepared for you”.   That post sums up the life of Joseph doesn’t it?   Hated by your brothers, sold into slavery, wrongfully accused and imprisoned, forgotten by those you depended on; these events describe the last fifteen years or so of Joseph’s life.   However, his entire tumultuous journey was all endured for the purpose of God accomplishing His will.   How else was a Hebrew slave turned prisoner ever going to be able to have an audience with the Pharaoh?   Life can deliver us some pretty difficult and even unfair blows, but all the while we must never overlook the fact that God is still in control.   In Joseph’s situation, we see that even though i

BIBLE READING: Genesis 34-36                                                                                                                                   After the reunion of Jacob and Esau, God sends Jacob to Bethel in Genesis 35.1-15.   Bethel was the same place that he had fled to in Genesis 28.10-19.   It was also the place that God sent Abraham to when He revealed to Abraham His promise in Genesis 12.8.   The term “Bethel” simply means “House of God”. However, it has significance in meaning because it seems to be the one place that God sends a servant to so He can re-affirm His promise and commitment to His people.   While at Bethel, God reveals something about His character to Jacob.   In Genesis 35.11 God says to Jacob, “El Shaddai”, which means “God Almighty”.   Why is that so significant?   First, it allowed Jacob to know that this was the same God that had appeared to Abraham in Genesis 17.11.   It also allows us to have a deeper understanding of God.   What does

BIBLE READING: Genesis 31-33                                                                                                                                       If there was one thing Jacob was good at, it was holding on. At birth, he held onto his brother's heel. Then he'd grabbed a hold of Esau's birthright and blessing. He continued to hang on for fourteen years to get his wife Rachel.   Now in Genesis 32, Jacob is once again holding on and he is not going to let go until he gets what he wants: a blessing.    As Jacob is returning home to have his reunion with his brother Esau, he sends his family on ahead while he stays behind. I guess he thought that Esau would have compassion on him when he saw all his family coming ahead, not to mention the gifts he was offering him. As Jacob slept, an angel grabbed him, and wrestled with him all night.   As the night continues neither wrestler could prevail. Finally, as day broke, the angel demanded "Release me."