Watching Daily At Wisdom's Gates

  For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it. Deuteronomy 16:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.16.8.ESV Being a naturally lazy person (to be honest), I tend to assume that these kind of commands would be easy for Israel to keep. A week off work? Yes please! Some people have the opposite problem to me: they're workaholics, and don't know when to take a day off. God knows we're not machines, and commands us to take time off to rest. We should be happy to oblige. This verse is about the Passover celebration. Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt, and God called them to celebrate this. The Christian equivalent is the Lord's Supper, or communion. Christians have been delivered from slavery to sin, through the broken body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus. So we take bread and wine to symbolise His body and blood. We take them in remembrance of Him, and in o

  "You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. Deuteronomy 14:22 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.14.22.ESV Do Christians have to tithe, to give 10% of their income to a wolf in sheep's clothing to pay for his private jet? Of course the wolf says yes, but we need to contextualise the Bible's teaching on tithing. In the old testament, Israel wasn't a church. It was a nation state. Tithes were like taxes. The new testament doesn't reiterate tithing commands. What the new testament does do is to say that we should collect money weekly in our churches to provide for the needy in our midst. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, not a begrudging taxpayer. What's 10, 20, 50% to give for Someone who's given everything for us? The early Church was amazing in that there were no needy people in it. The rich looked after the poor within their midst. So it should be today, not as a tax, but as a freewill offering. 'God our

  For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, Deuteronomy 11:22 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.11.22.ESV As with all Scripture, this has to be read in context. Maybe especially so with this verse, we need to know what follows the comma. Basically, the next verses say that if we obey the Lord, all will go well with us. Of course, we mustn't be so naive as to assume that if we obey the Lord we'll have a problem free life. Not only do we have ordinary problems, but we also have persecution from people who hate the Lord and His people. Yet it is a blessed life to love God wholeheartedly and to love others as God has loved us. What is God's way? Jesus said to make every effort to enter through the narrow gate, because wide is the gate and the road that leads to destruction. Most people are tragically heading for hell. Only through Christ, and Him crucified, ca

  Disclaimer: Almost everything I know about Alexander Dugin I got from Wikipedia! From what I've read of Dugin, he's a hypocrite. He rails against American imperialism (with some justification), yet his alternative is Russian imperialism. Personally, and, I believe Biblically, I'm against the concept of Empire. Whether it's British, Roman, American or Russian, empire is wrong. As a Christian, my preoccupation is with the subversive Kingdom of God, which arguably lead to the Roman Empire's demise (without picking up a sword) and will outlast every empire ever. Jesus is King!

  And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Deuteronomy 8:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.8.19.ESV We're given a reason to have no other gods before God in this verse. If we do go after other gods, and serve and worship them, we will surely perish. It doesn't have to be an obvious false god either. If we idolise money, it is a 'god' to us. If we put sex in the place of God- it is like a 'god' in our eyes. Even something else good like work can be put in God's place to our destruction. Thankfully, although that's the bad news, there is good news. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only beloved Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Only we mustn't forget! If we forget that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way we can have eternal life, we might run after other gods, to our destruction. We

  "'You shall have no other gods before me. Deuteronomy 5:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.5.7.ESV If the most important commandments is to love God wholeheartedly, then the first of the ten commandments is pretty important too. We can't reserve any space in our hearts for any false god. Of course, no one tends to admit worshipping a false god. Yet anything we put in the place of the One True God is a false god. No wonder the next commandment is about idolatry, making something that might be good into a 'god' thing that we worship. Take money for example. There's nothing wrong with it as such. Yet Jesus said we can't serve both God and Mammon/money/stuff/material things. Money makes a good servant, but a terrible master. The only One who should be Master of our souls is the Lord God Almighty of the Bible. He is our Maker, so it's only natural that He should be our Master too. Amazingly, Jesus reveals God not just as a Master, but as a loving h

  For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.31.ESV Jesus Christ is Lord. That's why they crucified Him, for claiming to be God and King: blasphemy to the Jews and treason to the Romans. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So the same Jesus of yesterday is the Jesus of today. He was merciful yesterday, and He'll be merciful today and forever. He doesn't just turn around and decide to destroy people He's lavished His mercy upon. If we've received God's mercy, or if we receive it now, or before Christ returns, nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we want God's presence in our lives, and we cry out to Him for it, He's not going to abandon us in the wilderness of our sin. If we claim God's Bible promises for ourselves in faith, we are safe in Him. God promises never t

 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.' Deuteronomy 1:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.1.8.ESV What does Israel's conquest of Canaan have to do with us today? Well Jesus says that the meek will inherit the earth. Does this mean we have to take it over? The meek won't inherit the earth until Jesus returns to establish His rule and reign on earth as it is in heaven. Meekness isn't weakness. It's humbly not insisting on our own rights. We might not insist on our right if we're God's people to inherit the earth. Yet we can be quietly confident that we will, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He defeated death and is returning, we can look forward to reigning with Him. Unbelief of God's promises led the Israelites to forty years wandering in the wilderness. If we persist in unbelief,

  These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there. Numbers 35:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.35.15.ESV The law of Moses made allowances for manslaughter. There was a distinction made between premeditated murder and accidental killing. Murderers were executed; manslaughterers were exiled to 'cities of refuge' so that no one could get revenge on them. Just because the punishment for murder in the law is death, doesn't mean to say that murder is unforgivable. King David of Israel was guilty of both murder and adultery, and yet God forgave him because he was genuinely sorry for what he had done. The only sin that won't be forgiven is unrepentant unbelief in the means of our forgiveness, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus's Kingdom of heaven is like an epic city of refuge. There are all sorts of people in it. There's religious peo

  Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. Numbers 33:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.33.2.ESV At first glance, this chapter might seem boring and superfluous. Yet by recording Israel's wanderings in the wilderness, Moses was recording the Lord's faithfulness in leading them every step of the way. They were inevitably going to make it from slavery in Egypt to the promised land of Canaan, because God was with them. What does this ancient story have to do with us? Just as God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, so He can deliver us from slavery to sin. Just as God gave Israel the promised land, so God can give us the promised new creation. There's a famous verse in the new testament that says that 'love doesn't keep a record of wrongs'. This verse here in context teaches that love does keep a record of rights. If we're wronged, we shouldn't h

 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, "What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. Numbers 32:31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.32.31.ESV For the people of Gad and Reuben, God said He wanted them to help their brethren take the rest of the promised land of Canaan for themselves. For us, what God says to us might be to serve Him in the first place. We don't naturally serve God. By default, we're self-serving. As Harry and Meghan said, 'service is universal'. The Bible agrees, but said we're either serving God or the devil. If we humbly do well, we're serving God; if we proudly do wrong, we're serving the devil. So how do we become God's servants? We need to humble ourselves and ask Him to forgive our rebellion against Him because of Jesus's blood shed on our behalf. Then we need to do what He wants. What does God want of us? It's simple really. We need to love Him wholeheartedly, and to love others as He has l

  So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Numbers 29:40 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.29.40.ESV If the Lord commands you to tell people something, be like Moses. The main way God speaks now is through His word the Bible. So what is God telling me there to tell you? The Lord Jesus Christ said that all authority in the universe has been given to Him. He defeated death, so it's only right that we should defer to His authority. He is calling each of us to submit to His Lordship over our lives. Going back to Moses, what was the summary of what He told the people from God? Love God wholeheartedly, and love others as you love yourself. Jesus went one step further and said to love others as He loved us, giving His life for us. Jesus calls us to follow Him. He calls us to call others to learn from Him. He calls us to obey His commands, to love God with everything we have, and to love others as He loved us and gave Himself for us. '

  For the Lord had said of them, "They shall die in the wilderness." Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Numbers 26:65 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.26.65.ESV Lack of faith isn't just a lifestyle choice; it's a terrible thing with disastrous consequences. God had promised the Israelites to take them from slavery in Egypt to the Canaan. Sadly, they almost all disbelieved they could take over such a place. Only Caleb and Joshua, two of the men who spied out the land, were promised and able to enter the land. Everyone else perished in forty years of wilderness wanderings. This was God's punishment for their unbelief. Israel was brought out of slavery to Egypt to the promised land of Canaan. Similarly, Christians are brought out of slavery to sin to the promised new creation. Do we believe God can do it?   'O Lord, may we have faith in You to bring us safe into the new creation. Forgive us if we ever di

  God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.23.19.ESV This verse has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It was spoken by a man paid to curse God's people. Thankfully, an undeserved curse doesn't stick, and God only allowed him to bless instead. God might not be a man, but He became a Man so that we can be reconciled to God. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we can have peace with God. The Bible is full of God's fulfilled promises to save His people. Thankfully, God isn't like men. We lie, and are deceitful. Every word of God is true. God promises that all who come to Him in faith will be made righteous by the blood of Jesus. Christ crucified is the means by which we can be saved. Our sins deserve punishment, but Jesus took them upon Himself on the cross. 'Almighty Lord God, thank You

  The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. Proverbs 25:23 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.25.23.ESV In Israel apparently, the north wind brings forth rain. In the UK in winter, it brings snow. The point of the illustrations is the same, a backbiting tongue is going to provoke angry looks. It's horrible to have someone who's nice to your face, but when you turn away, stabs you in the back. That happened between two of the contenders to be the next prime minister of the UK a few years ago. I can't imagine the one guilty of the backstabbing will get very far in his bid, any more than he did a few years ago. If someone's guilty of stabbing someone in the back, it's not just the victim who's going to give them an angry look. A backstabber is untrustworthy. No one really likes them, they just provoke anger and disdain. If you don't want people to be angry with you, don't be a backstabber! It's not rocket science re

  If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV One might assume that Proverbs, like most religion, is all about karma- reaping what you sow- getting what you deserve. But this verse is about the scandal of grace- God’s undeserved love to sinners. In fact, it’s about His grace empowering us to show grace even to our enemies. Your gut reaction with an enemy might be to stick a knife in their guts. It sounds really harsh, but imagine they’ve abused your family or destroyed relationships you’ve had. But the Bible says not to seek revenge. “Where’s the justice in that?” you may wonder. But “‘vengeance is mine’ says the Lord, ‘I will repay'”. It’s not our job to go all vigilante with whatever vendettas we may have. An eye for an eye would leave the world blind, but God is just, and will mete out correct punishments. We’re given a reason

  Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda. Proverbs 25:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.25.20.ESV If you're feeling depressed, you're not going to want to hear the latest popular music. If you're severely depressed or grieving, even funeral music and songs of lament aren't going to make you feel any better. Music tends to be an expression of joy rather than grief. People grieve in d ifferent ways. Some appreciate lots of visitors to comfort them. Others prefer to be alone. But I doubt many people would want a song sung to them. The best thing is probably to sit in silence and to listen. We're to rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn. Solomon compares singing to the sad with taking off a coat on a cold day- not a pleasant experience. As for vinegar on soda, that doesn't sound very appetising. In the West, death is taboo. I don't think we deal with the

  Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. Proverbs 25:19 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.25.19.ESV A few months ago, whilst eating some peanuts, a shard of one of my teeth chipped off. So I can relate to the bad tooth analogy. Thankfully, I only needed a filling rather than a crown, but it was still troublesome until I had the work done. Even now, slightly paranoid about losing my filling, I mostly chew on the other side of my mouth. I trust that tooth about as much as a treacherous man in time of trouble. There's not much worse than a fair weather friend, who treacherously abandons you in time of trouble. As Solomon said elsewhere, the rich have lots of friends. But the poor tend to get abandoned even by their family. As we get older our bodies start to fail. Our feet are more liable to slip. Just as we can't trust our bodies to hold out forever, so we can't rely on untrustworthy people when we're in trouble.

  Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you. Proverbs 25:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.25.17.ESV To be totally honest, I once searched in vain for this proverb to quote to an acquaintance at university who habitually frequented my flat. I'm sure it was for the best that I couldn't find it. Thankfully I didn't remember it well enough to quote because it wouldn't have gone down well! So I can sadly attest to the truth of this proverb. But there's probably another proverb about being tactful and not brutally honest in our rude impoliteness! Thankfully my experience of the truth of this proverb is currently in the past. To be honest, we tend to have the opposite problem to this proverb in my culture, where "an Englishman's home is his castle" and neighbours tend to "batten down the hatches"! If it's hard to love someone you see too much of, it's also hard to love someone y

  If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. Proverbs 25:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.25.16.ESV I don't have any personal anecdotes of eating enough sweet stuff to make me sick. There was however one 25th December when I was greedy and was then (for some unknown reason!) given a cod liver oil tablet! It was the straw that broke the camel's back as it were! Having said that, I must confess to having a sweet tooth, which is kind of a polite way of saying that I am sometimes guilty of greed. We never had biscuits at home, because (mainly due to me) they would be devoured. So I used to devour cream crackers instead: an admittedly poor substitute for sugary foods. A lot of celebrations we have as humans revolve around food. It's often at these times that we need to be careful not to overindulge in such things as chocolates off the tree, chocolate eggs, and birthday cakes. "Everything in moderation"! If w

  With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone. Proverbs 25:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/pro.25.15.ESV I love the imagery of the second half of this proverb! Of course, a soft tongue cannot literally break a bone. But Solomon's point is that if we have patience, perseverance and persuasiveness, there's real power in that. The politics of protest might seem pointless. Those in power might not seem to be listening. But politics is swings and roundabouts, and often the politics of protest become the politics of power. A saying we have in English that has pretty much the opposite meaning to this proverb is "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". The truth is however that at the word of a powerful thug for example, one of his henchmen would break your bones. Words do have power, especially when used by powerful people in accordance with God's will. But if I told someone to break your bones, they

 And the Lord said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. Numbers 18:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.18.20.ESV The Israelite Levitical priests didn't have an inheritance or portion in the land. All the other tribes of Israel had their own geographical areas. Not so the Levites- they were scattered throughout Israel to serve the Lord and His people. The Lord God Himself was to be the portion and inheritance of the Levites. That might have seemed disappointing to them, too transcient. Yet it is this world that is passing away; the Lord will endure eternally. Jesus promises His followers that in His Father's house there are many rooms. He has returned to heaven to prepare places for His people in His heavenly Kingdom. Like the Levites, the Lord is the portion and inheritance of Christians. We're also told by Jesus not to store up treasur

  And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." Numbers 21:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.21.5.ESV Moaning/grumbling sadly comes naturally to us. We don't tend to think of it as a big deal, but God hates it. God doesn't mind when we complain directly to Him, but He doesn't take kindly to us speaking against Him. If we think about it, to moan is to rail against the providence of God. God is in control, so if we aren't happy about our circumstances, it's God we have a problem with. Yet we shouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Him. When things are going tough, when we're hungry and thirsty, it's understandable that we would question God's goodness. Yet He owes us nothing. Any good provision we enjoy is a bonus, and more than we deserve. Because of moaning, God's judgement comes. Ye

  And they fell on their faces and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?" Numbers 16:22 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.16.22.ESV  Korah and his cronies were literally revolting. They wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt. Having delivered them, understandably, God was angry.  Thankfully, Moses and Aaron interceded for the people. They seem to have used exaggeration. Korah may have been the ringleader, but he had accomplices.  Thankfully, God listened to their prayer. Korah's lot were destroyed, but everyone else survived. It seems a very distant and far removed story from us.  Most people when they backslide quietly slink off into the shadows. Hopefully they'll come back like prodigals. Korah on the other hand is like those who loudly proclaim their apostasy, who in all likelihood were never saved in the first place (unless they repent).  'Almighty Lord God, please forgive our way

  Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Numbers 11:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.11.10.ESV To be fair to the people of God, they didn't have it easy. They'd been slaves in Egypt. Even now, they were wandering through the wilderness, life wasn't easy. We might identify with the Israelites, even on a surface level. We've been through covid, and now we have a cost of living crisis. Before we break down in tears though, where is our faith in God. The God who provided bread in the wilderness will provide the daily needs of us who cry out to Him. Sadly, the Israelites got sick of manna. Instead of praying about it, they moaned to God. No wonder God got angry, and Moses got displeased. The Israelites were hankering after Egyptian vegetables and despising God's good provision. God forbid that we should do similar! 'Lord our God, forbid that

  They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties." Numbers 8:26 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.8.26.ESV We sometimes say there's no retirement in the Kingdom of God, but that isn't quite true. It's not enough to cite Jesus's parable of the rich fool. The big picture is more nuanced than that. This verse is about people over the age of fifty. Old Levites retired from active duty. This didn't mean they were inactive. They still helped out. If we were to apply this old testament principle to the new covenant, perhaps we would allow and even encourage church officers to retire. Elders and deacons shouldn't be expected to serve indefinitely. One generation isn't indispensable. The idea of this verse is about one generation of God's people passing the baton on to the next generation. For the church to thrive beyond our lifespans, we

 the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers' houses, who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached Numbers 7:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.7.2.ESV They approached to give to the Lord. How different godly leadership is to worldly leadership! Godly leadership is generous. Godly leaders don't say 'do as I say but not as I do'. They lead by example. So if they want their people to be generous, they make sure that they themselves are too. Worldly leaders lord it over their subjects. They oppress and extort. It is not to be so with us- God calls us to a better way. If we want to become leaders, we would do well to make sure we're generous. There's no value in failing to practice what we preach. God is more interested in where the rubber hits the road than in a load of hot air. 'Lord our God, help us we pray to become generous leaders of others to give of themselves to You who has given everything for us. In the name of

he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. Numbers 5:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.5.7.ESV In the new covenant, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In the old covenant here, restitution had to be made. If someone was wronged, amends had to be made. I know we're no longer bound to keep the old covenant under the new one, but I think there's a principle here that can be applied. I know when I wronged someone, my wife encouraged me to message them to apologise. I felt so much freer having done so. Just imagine if every time we wronged someone we had to pay back with interest. We would think twice about wronging people in the first place. Sometimes a simple sorry doesn't cut it. Often, we need to evidence that we're sorry for our evildoing by our actions. It's not enough to apologise,

  Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; Psalm 146:3‭-‬6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.146.3-6.ESV One of the potential successors as Prime Minister of the UK has a slogan 'In Liz We Truss'- a play on her name, but also blasphemous. If people don't trust in God, they'll trust in anyone, even though people let us down all the time. If mere mortals are unfaithful, why would we expect the powers that be to be any different? Instead of investing hope in people who will inevitably disappoint, however well meaning, we should trust in God. He will never let us down. He's the God of Jacob, a fallible person like us. God isn't full of empty promises like politicians. He'

  "Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, Numbers 3:12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.3.12.ESV There was an ancient tradition in Israel that the firstborn should serve the Lord. God provided the Levite tribe to stand as substitutes instead. Just like Levites stood in the place of the firstborn, Jesus stands in our place. God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. The Lion of the tribe of Judah didn't have a Levite to stand in for Him. He is the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. Because Jesus gave Himself for us, we are now His. Just as the Levites were the Lord's, so are all who trust in Jesus. Just as the Levites served the Lord, so are we. We don't have to serve God by sacrificing animals any more. Instead we are firstly to pray to God for people. Secondly, we are to represent God to people. 'Dear Go

  Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, Numbers 2:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/num.2.3.ESV Why was Judah on the east side of the tabernacle within the people of God? Firstly, he was the strongest tribe and the Israelites were heading east, so if any opposition was met, Judah would be first to meet it. We need strong leadership. Secondly, Judah was the tribe of promise. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who leads His people to the promised new creation. We need to follow Him. Thirdly, and similarly, they travelled towards the sunrise- they were eagerly waiting the revelation of their leonine champion. If we're eagerly and expectantly awaiting the return of Christ, we're at the forefront of the people of God. He should be foremost in our minds. Finally, if Christ is central to our tribe within the tribal/denominational

  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect. Leviticus 26:13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.26.13.ESV I naturally slouch, in an attempt to make up for being so tall. My grandma always used to tell me to 'walk tall'. Spiritually, if we belong to Jesus, we can, and should, walk tall. We haven't literally been brought out of slavery in Egypt. Our slavery was to sin. This might have manifested itself as pride, lust, greed or any number of other permutations. Jesus died the death of a common criminal so that we can be set free. Having been set free from the yoke of slavery to sin, we don't have to walk in it any more. We can cast off the yoke of sinfulness and struggle under its weight no more. We don't need to walk around like we're avoiding sniper fire. We don't need to pretend to be looking for loose change. We're safe with

  Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Leviticus 24:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.24.3.ESV Lamps were lit in the ancient tabernacle from evening to morning. I'm reminded of Jesus's statement that He's the Light of the world. He brightens up this dark world. That Jesus is the Light of the world isn't too extraordinary when we get to know Him as the eternal Son of God. Of course He illuminates our lives. Yet He made an even more surprising statement. Jesus also said that His followers are the light of the world. Now He has returned to the highest heaven, He expects us His people to reflect His glory to those around us. His light isn't so much doing signs and wonders as His character, who He is. We shine the light of Jesus by bearing the fruit of the Spirit. We are to love other people, be joyful, displa

  And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. Leviticus 22:21 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.22.21.ESV God doesn't want our dregs. He wants the firstfruits. We're not to give Him our second best, but the most excellent of all we have to offer. It's different now to old testament days. We don't need to offer animals to God. The Lamb of God has been sacrificed for us. We're not an agrarian society any more. What we have to offer to God is probably going to be more like the first of our salaries. We're not just to give whatever's left over at the end of the month. How can we give God money? The cattle on a thousand hills are His. What's He going to do with cash? We can invest in the Kingdom of heaven on earth, to glorify King Jesus. 'Sovereign God Almighty, may we give the very b

  "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.19.17.ESV Loving our neighbour doesn't mean allowing them to trample all over you. Neither however does it mean hating them. Instead we're to communicate well with them. The cultural temptation in England is to 'draw up the drawbridge'- 'an Englishman's home is his castle'. There is another cultural extreme of being too much in your neighbour's face. The Bible encourages a third way, a middle ground. We're to positively dialogue with our neighbours. If we have a problem, we're not to go behind their backs. Instead, we're to talk it out. It would be a sin to allow hatred of our neighbour to fester in our hearts. We mustn't refuse to speak with them and then harbour resentment. Let's be good neighbours, even if we're not good friends with t

  but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. Leviticus 16:10 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.16.10.ESV The ESV reflects some of the ambiguity around 'Azazel', but I simply take the word according to the traditional understanding of scapegoat. Even today people moan about being made into scapegoats. The ultimate scapegoat wasn't some ancient literal goat though! Jesus is the ultimate Scapegoat, who came from the Father God's side to the wilderness of this world. This is so that we might be restored to a right relationship with God. He endured satanic temptations in the wilderness of Judea, and defeated the devil on our behalf. Jesus went to the ultimate wilderness of estrangement from Father God from whom all blessings flow. He endured God's wrath at our sin upon the cross so that we might be brought back into a good standing with the

  And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. Leviticus 14:7 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.14.7.ESV When someone in ancient Israel had leprosy, they were to go to the priest, who would kill a bird and sprinkle its blood on the leper. Another bird would be set free. It seems a strange ritual to our modern sensibilities. We can apply such an event to our lives spiritually. Spiritually we're like lepers, unclean and unwell, unfeeling and hurting without often even realising it. We need healing. Jesus is the only non-spiritually leprous person to ever have lived. He is like the bird that is sacrificed for the healing of spiritual lepers. By His wounds we are healed- doesn't mean to say that we'll never get ill- just that we're made whole spiritually. The bird that goes free is like us. Jesus died in our place so that we can live fo

  For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. Leviticus 11:44 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.11.44.ESV Ancient Israel's obsession with clean and unclean foods might seem alien to us. Yet the unclean foods are either unhealthy for us to this day, or else associated with pagan practices of Moses' day. The fact Israel had it's own diet literally set them apart as holy compared to the world around. Jesus calls for far more than just some external holiness. He knew that what we eat isn't what makes us defiled. What comes out of our hearts makes us defiled, not what goes into our stomachs. Of course, we should eat healthily. Yet Jesus made clear that it's our evil thoughts like greed, hatred and lust that make us unclean, not bacon butties (thankfully!)! We need God to work on our hearts to make us holy as He is Holy. How do we become h

  And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses. Leviticus 8:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.8.9.ESV Aaron was, meant respectfully, glammed up as the high priest of the old covenant. What a contrast to the Great High Priest of the new covenant! Jesus didn't wear a golden crown, but a crown of thorns. Elsewhere, we're told that Aaron's golden crown had inscribed upon it 'holy to the Lord'. The amazing truth is that the resurrected Christ isn't wearing a crown of thorns. Instead, He is metaphorically crowned with His new covenant people, who are made holy to Him. How is it that woeful sinners like us can gloriously crown the eternal Son of God? The crown of thorns gives a clue. Jesus took God's thorny curse that we deserve upon Himself, so that together, we can be gloriously exalted and beautified. We might struggle to believe that Jesus would 'wear' us li

  or if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean wild animal or a carcass of unclean livestock or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him and he has become unclean, and he realizes his guilt; Leviticus 5:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.5.2.ESV Different cultures have different emphases. Many Eastern cultures lend weight to concepts of honour and shame. In the West, people often think in terms of right and wrong (even if they are often woefully inverted). Ancient Israel thought in terms of cleanliness and dirtiness. To get dirty was as easy as touching something. To get clean was as drastic as blood sacrifice. Thankfully, Jesus is the ultimate blood sacrifice, who washes away our spiritual uncleanness. By default, we easily get dirty. When we trust in Jesus, we're made clean. By humbly washing His disciples' feet, Jesus demonstrated that full cleansing is a one off act, but that we never progress beyond the blood of His

 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. Leviticus 3:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.3.2.ESV If we have a blasé view of sin, this verse will seem pretty extreme. If we understand the seriousness of our offences against the Holy One, we will appreciate this verse. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. How is it that we can meet with God? Only by a sin offering, not of an animal, but of the Lamb of God. That's how we can enter into the presence of the Righteous One. Jesus had brutal Roman soldiers twist a crown of thorns to dig into His skull. They laid hands on Him to torture and to execute Him. Little did they know that He was dying for the sins of the world. Christ's Roman executioners flogged Him to within an inch of His life. His blood will have been thrown around the area as though those pagans

  They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, "Holy to the Lord." Exodus 39:30 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.39.30.ESV The clothing for the Levitical priesthood was glorious. The high priest would even where a crown inscribed 'Holy to the Lord'. Jesus is God's great high priest, set apart for the glory of God the Father. Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of this verse, crowned with glory and honour, might and power at the right hand of Father God in the highest heaven. He ever lives to make intercession for us. He makes our feeble prayers acceptable to God the Father. I think we can apply this verse to ourselves as well. After all, we are described as a Kingdom of priests. We are to represent God to the world, and intercede for the world to God. We are to be holy, set apart for God. We once were sinners, estranged from God. Now we're strangers in the world and on pilgrimage to t

  And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. Exodus 36:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.36.2.ESV God doesn't force people to do things. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. He allows people to motivate themselves to do His work. Elsewhere, we're told that God's Spirit was upon Bezalel to do His work. So it's a partnership. God's Spirit works upon our hearts to be motivated to serve Him. God gives us skills to be used for His glory. To bury our talent would be a grievous sin, worthy of hell. Instead we are to invest our talents for the Kingdom of God. The Lord is a creative God. He's made us in His likeness. So we too are creative, crafting things from what He has made. May we glorify Him in our work! 'Lord God Almighty, thank You for Your creativity in giving us skills. May we use them for Your honour and glory, in the name of Christ we pray

  The Lord said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it.' Exodus 33:1 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.33.1.ESV We often talk about mountaintops positively. We long for 'mountaintop' experiences with God- moments of clarity and beauty. Mount Sinai was similarly majestic, where God revealed His simple demands that we love Him and love one another. Yet life isn't one epic mountaintop experience. There are times, as this verse, where God tells us to move on. As Billy Graham said, 'mountaintops are good for views, but valleys are best for growing fruit'. Fueled by an understanding of God's call to love Him and one another, the Israelites were to move on. They were to see God's ancient promises to His people fulfilled. The promised land was to be claimed for Israel. God's ti

 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. Exodus 28:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.28.3.ESV Who or what is the source of any creative skill anyone may have? This verse makes clear that it is God who fills people with spirits of skill. It's only right that we should glorify Him for any skills we may have. We don't often think of fashion as a divinely ordained skill. Yet this is pretty much what this verse is about! What the old testament showed on the outside, the new testament calls us to display on the inside. Where the old testament would have priests dressed sumptuously, the new testament calls for us to be clothed in the likeness of Christ. We are to put off the filthy rags of our own self righteousness. Instead, we are to wear Christ's perfection by faith. We become priests of the new covenant not by ethnic lineage or by wearing fancy clothes. We become

And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. Exodus 32:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.32.14.ESV Why did the Lord want to bring disaster upon His people in the first place? Because they had rebelled against Him. Having delivered them from slavery in Egypt, they decided to now follow false gods. God's people certainly deserved disaster. So why did He not visit it upon them? Because of the intercession of Moses. Firstly, Moses used a negative exhortation. He asked God to consider how it would look to the world if He delivered Israel from Egypt only to destroy them in the wilderness. Clearly, that wouldn't reflect well on the Lord. Secondly, and more positively, Moses appealed to God's promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make a great nation of them. He reminded God that He had sworn by Himself to do it. If God went back on His word, He'd be a liar! 'God our Lord, thank You that You don't desire that any should peri

  You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. Exodus 25:11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.25.11.ESV The tabernacle (tent) of God looked humble on the outside, covered as it was by goats' hair. Yet at its heart was the priceless treasure of the ark of the covenant. The tabernacle is a picture of Jesus. Jesus is the eternal Word of God who tabernacled (pitched up tent) among us. There was nothing particularly impressive looking about Him. He almost certainly wasn't the tall, white, blond haired, L'Oreal shampooed, blue eyed, white toga wearing stereotype we often see portrayed. Like the old testament tabernacle, Jesus has a heart of gold. If we we're to judge by appearances, we'd miss the priceless treasure He is. The resurrected Jesus who will return is more akin to Solomon's glorious temple than the relatively humble tabernacle. Just as the tabernacle was the heart

  "Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Exodus 23:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.23.20.ESV In the context it seems that God is talking about His eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, 'angel' simply means 'messenger'. Jesus is the ultimate Messenger of God. Just as Christ led His old covenant people from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan, so He leads His new covenant people from slavery to sin to the promised new creation. As He's leading us, we do well to follow. We mustn't go astray. The Lord guards us on our earthly pilgrimage. There are perils and pitfalls along the way. Yet He will deliver us from them all. As Jesus said, 'in my Father's house there are many rooms... I go to prepare a place for you'. Not only so but He also gives us His Holy Spirit to help us along the path to glory. He who began a good work in us will carry it through to compl

  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." Exodus 19:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.19.6.ESV Why did God say this, knowing that Israel would fail at this noble calling? Even as God's new covenant people, we don't intercede for the world and live distinctive lives as well as we ought. The Kingdom is Christ's, not ours! Jesus is the King of His Kingdom, the Great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for His people. Our intercession for the world might be imperfect. Yet Christ makes our prayers acceptable to God. This verse is true of spiritual Israel, not ethnic Israel. This verse is true of Jews and Gentiles alike who live for the Jewish Messiah and Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're made holy through faith in Him. We cannot in our own strength live up to this lofty calling. Yet with the help of the Holy Spirit and Christ's interce

  And the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? Exodus 16:28 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.16.28.ESV The Israelites were revolting. This time, God was gracious to them and gave them heavenly bread. Even so, they broke His law to rest on the Sabbath. You'd have thought the Sabbath principle would be the most beloved of God's laws. After all, who doesn't enjoy a good rest? Yet we prefer to work even when we should be resting because we don't trust God to provide. Israelites celebrated on the seventh day, to recover from the working week. Since Jesus defeated death on the first day, His people meet on that day to fuel us for the working week. Even in this new covenant age we need to take time to rest. By sinful default, we might think we have to work at all times to validate our existences. Yet God calls us to take time to rest, and simply give Him one day in seven. It's not too much for Him to ask. Spiritua

  Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Exodus 13:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.13.3.ESV Jewish festivals were instituted to encourage God's people to remember His goodness to them. God had delivered them from Egypt with Moses' help, but Moses didn't rest on his laurels. He wanted to make sure God's people remembered His deliverance. I know we can't all remember the we were born again. Thankfully, I can look back on the 24th of September 1996 with eternal gratitude, for that is the day I came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This verse makes me think I should mark my 'spiritual birthday' in some more festive way than I do! For God's new testament people, we tend to come out of slavery to sin and into His Kingdom in dribs and drabs. There's sometimes thousands of

  Now therefore, forgive my sin, please, only this once, and plead with the Lord your God only to remove this death from me." Exodus 10:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.10.17.ESV Asking for forgiveness isn't the same as repentance. Repentance is a genuine change of mind and 180 degree turn from one way to another. Asking for forgiveness could potentially be just lip service, as with Pharoah here. It's not enough for us to say the right things. It's not even enough to admit our guilt. Just as Pharoah should have let God's people go willingly, so we should happily renounce all our misery inducing sin. When bad things happen, it sometimes prompts even bad people to say the right things, and to ask for God to stay His hand of judgement. Yet Pharoah was only bothered about the consequences of his sin. He didn't really care that he was sinning, only that God punished him. Fear of God sending us to hell is a good motivator to repentance and faith in the Lor

  But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Exodus 7:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.7.3.ESV Signs and wonders aren't a sure fire way of getting people to believe in the Lord. Pharoah is proof of that. It took ten sights and wonders for him to agree to let the Hebrews leave Egypt, and even then he changed his mind. Pharoah hardened his own heart, we're told elsewhere in Exodus. Yet it is also true that God hardened his heart too. God hardens those whom He will, and softens those whom He will. To be honest, even the word of the Lord is not enough to get people to believe in God. As Abraham told the rich man in hell, his brothers wouldn't believe in God even if someone came back from the dead, even the Scriptures were not enough for them. As Jesus said to the religious Pharisees, 'you search the Scriptures because you think you have life in them, but it's in me that you have life, and you refuse

  The Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." Exodus 4:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.4.2.ESV Moses was full of excuses not to serve God. It wasn't necessarily that he didn't have any regard for Him. It was more a massive case of insecurity. Having fled Egypt as a murderer forty years before, it seems Moses hadn't healed in all that time. He wasn't prepared to go back to lead God's people out of Egypt. Yet God didn't give up on Him. So God urged Moses to work with what he had, a no doubt nondescript staff, that with God could work miracles. What about us? What do we have in our hands? In all likelihood nowadays, we have our phones in our hands. Are we using them for the glory of God, to seek His deliverance of people from sin to the promised new creation? To fulfil Christ's great commission of us is our raison d'etre, our life's purpose, to proclaim Him to the world, and call people to follow

  and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey."' Exodus 3:17 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/exo.3.17.ESV When God promises to do something, He does it. God's promises are either fulfilled, or soon to be fulfilled. Even if it feels like He delays, He won't be a minute too late. The bringing of Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan is one of the most striking promises of God fulfilled. Even more amazing is that He used the humble shepherd Moses who'd been guilty of murder to help achieve His purposes. God can use anyone to help fulfil His promises. The bringing of Israel out of Egypt was a wonderful miracle in its own right. Yet it is a picture of something even greater. When we're saved from sin and set on the path to the promised new creation, it's a similar deliveranc