Good afternoon faithful readers, The last day of 2020.  I think most of us have been surprised by the events of 2020.  But God has not been caught off guard.  He who keeps Israel neither slumber nor sleeps.  May we grow in trust in the coming year. Blessings  Jeff A question arises about how clean laws affect Passover observance.  These laws had not been given while they were in Egypt. Moses does not issue his opinion, but waits to hear from the Lord.  God says that not only do clean laws not apply, whoever fails to keep the Passover will be cut off.  He also extends observance to sojourner within the camp. Why does this make sense?  The Passover lamb is not a sacrifice at the tabernacle.  It is a family by family remembrance of deliverance from Egypt.  If any firstborn son went outside on that night, they would have died.  Being covered by the blood of the lamb was what saved them regardless of ceremonial status. The annual re...

Good afternoon fellow servants, As the year draws to a close, we are completing 4th month of the reading plan.  Hang in there if you have not been able to read everyday.  Mental assent that every word of scripture is God breathed is just the beginning.  When you start to read and the Spirit teaches is when the authority of scripture becomes real in your life. Blessings, Jeff First third of this psalm ending in v 8 is praise..  Last two thirds are "Why have you deserted us?"  What is going on with the writer?   By recalling the past (distant and recent), psalmist is stating that God does not change.  The God who did all these wonderful things in the past is still with His people.  Psalmist isn't "longing for the good old days".   He is giving us an example of "pour out your heart to Him".  God knows our frame, that we are dust.  He does not expect us to "put on a happy face" when we are in difficult times.  We do well ...

Good afternoon friends, Quite frankly, I wasn't really comfortable with this passage when I started this morning.  As I mentioned last time, Song of Solomon tends to be either "proper expression of human sexuality" or "allegory to Christ and the Church"  As I worked through this today, I think I am beginning to see it is "both ... and".  God is so gracious to give us examples and illustrations of what His design for life really is.  Removes all excuses for not understanding or misapplying. Blessings, Jeff  One of the things this episode highlights is the reality that husband and wife belong to each other.  Here the bride has gone to bed and is reluctant to respond to her lover.  As a single person, she was generally independent.  And that independent streak does not go away overnight.  She seems to justify her decision because it is inconvenient.  She says she is concerned about her feet getting dirty and the bother of having to get dr...

Good afternoon friends, Not everything in Numbers is related to numbers.  Spent some time this afternoon pondering this somewhat obtuse passage.  Not sure I have any great insight, but confident that the practices God appoints in His word are to be respected. Blessings, Jeff These verses give the  process for a man or woman to separate themselves to the Lord for some period of time.  Only Samuel and Samson are specifically identified as being Nazirite but this was initiated by their mothers before they were born.  Both of them have a birth narrative similar to John Baptist and Jesus with angelic appearance and direction.   Since the priests were already consecrated and separated, this process applies to non-Levites who choose to make a similar commitment but for a limited time.   Unlike priesthood, women could take this vow. Calvin believed that God was the initiator of this vow.  People didn't' take it upon themselves, but were called b...

Back on track from the weekend. As we start the Song of Solomon or Song of Songs, we see another facet of wisdom literature.  Some want to make it entirely allegorical to the love of Christ for the Church.  As Paul says, marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church.  But you can't read this and have any doubts about "one man, one woman, one flesh for life" as God's plan for marriage. Blessings, Jeff The mystery of Solomon's absolute devotion to the Shulammite ("the perfect" or "the peaceful") in Song and his polygamy with foreign wives.  Intro to Song says "God established marriage, including the physical union of a husband and wife (Gen. 2:18-25), and Israelite wisdom literature treasures this aspect of marriage as the appropriate expression of human sexuality (Prov. 5:15-20)."  How can a polygamous king be held up as the great example of appropriate expression of human sexuality? But of course this is the "warts and all"...

Good morning fellow pilgrims, I trust you had a blessed Sabbath.  I fell a little behind on the posts over the weekend.  This one is rather short, but opens the door to the wonder of the incarnation.   Blessings, Jeff In this season of gift giving, this passage brings us back to the reality of "such a great salvation".  There is no greater gift than this great salvation.   What is it that makes this salvation so great. Ultimately, the person who gives it.  Chapter 1 is an explanation of why Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God is superior to the prophets and the angels.  "Therefore" points us back to the chapter 1.  Unless we understand the person giving the gift, we cannot truly appreciate the gift.  I recommend listening to Sinclair Ferguson message on "Why the God-man?"   Christology really matters.  Remember Phil 3.  We glory in Christ.  We cannot glory in Him if we don't understand Hi...

Good evening fellow saints, Hope you had a joyous Christmas.  While it was a rather gloomy day outside, it was bright with the Light of the world in our hearts. Blessings, Jeff Keep = šāmar: A verb meaning to watch, to keep, to preserve,to be careful, to watch over, to watch carefully over, to be on one’s guard. The verb means to watch, to guard, to care for. Adam and Eve were to watch over and care for the Garden of Eden where the Lord had placed them guard over = mišmereṯ: A feminine noun meaning guard, charge, duty. This word comes from the verb šāmar (H8104), The idea of obedience (i.e., keeping the commandments) is often depicted, which leads to a translation of charge (Gen. 26:5; Deut. 11:1; Zech. 3:7) or duty (Num . 3:7; 9:23; 2 Chr. 8:14). So the Levites are to do (verb) the noun form of the verb.  They are to watch over the things that need to be watched over.  Guard the things that are guarded. They have one job and only one job.  Imagine the conversa...

Happy Christmas Eve, Well we are at end of Ecclesiastes already.  End of life issues as we call them now were just as real in Solomon's day if not more so.  In the season of hope and peace, may we all be sober-minded about the future. Blessings, Jeff  The vivid portrayal of the decline of physical ability. Don't know if Solomon is speaking from personal experience or just observations of older people he knows.  He reigned 40 years but was fairly young when he came to the throne.   Seems like his message is that long life is not necessarily a blessing.  Longevity is nice if you are healthy enough to enjoy it.  I can't help but think of "workaholics I have known"  which is a rather modern ailment.  Farmers have never really known what a 40 hour work week is.  And that is the world that Solomon lived in.  "Retiring to Florida" was just not an option. What does Solomon's warning mean to us?  The reality of aging and death were...

Good afternoon friends, Did you have a happy Twosday? Twelve/twenty two/twenty twenty.  Get it?   Welcome to the 4th book of Moses.  Ready to leave Sinai and head to the Promised Land a little over 2 years after leaving Egypt.  They have the 10 commandments.  God wants them to know what lies ahead, so He directs Moses to count the able body men who are able to go to war. Blessings, Jeff The twelve actual sons of Israel are adjusted when considering those able to go to war..  Joseph is replaced by his two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) and Levi is omitted as they are the priest and tabernacle guardians.  So there are still 12 tribes able to fight and have specific allotments in the Promised Land. The process of translating numbers seems to be a bit of a mystery to me.  You may not know it, but the use of 0 as a place holder didn't start until around 300 BC, long after Moses.  So we see these numbers and might think that Moses used Arabic num...

Hello to all ye Merry Gentlemen (and women) Did I mention that I enjoy classical music?  If you have never listened to Handel's Messiah, you really need to do so.  I was listening to Christmas portion on WMNR earlier today as I was writing the devotion.  I have a CD if you want to borrow it. Blessings, Jeff Many are the afflictions of the righteous BUT the LORD delivers him out of them all.  He is with us in our afflictions. On the other hand, Afflictions will slay the wicked. Afflictions come to the righteous and the wicked.  The difference is in the outcome.  The LORD delivers the righteous.  The wicked who hate the righteous are condemned. Surely David was thinking of himself as the righteous and Saul as the wicked in this passage.  God had delivered David out of many trials and he was confident that ultimately he would replace Saul as king.   Yet the greater Son of David is the one who is truly righteous.  His affliction on the ...

Good evening friends, Some thoughts about the futility of the thoughts of those who try to live without God.  One of the reasons the Law was given was to show us our need for a Savior.  One of the reasons we have the Wisdom literature is to show us what happens when we don't learn what the Law is trying to teach us.  We run into people everyday who have convinced themselves that they are perfectly happy without God.  I would just say "They have never read Ecclesiastes." Blessings, Jeff  Thinking about the scale that led Solomon to this conclusion.  If the scale is physical death, then he is absolutely correct that the same event happens to all.  He doesn't seem to care about the circumstances of death or what comes after death but just the simple fact that all people die and have no more share in all that is done under the sun.  But this implies that having a share in the things done under the sun for the longest time is the most important thing....

Dearest saints, Just some thoughts about the relationship between trust and the Sabbath.   Blessings, Jeff Resting from labor takes trust.  Every 7 days was a day to trust the LORD to provide.  During the journey to promised land, this shouldn't have been too difficult as God was supplying manna on a daily basis with twice as much on the sixth day.  God seems to be asking "Will you trust me for one day a week since I supply your food every day?"  Maybe the goal was to develop the habit and then just carry over into the Promised Land.  But then God adds another trust challenge.  Every 7 years for a whole year.  Interesting that He tells them about this before they leave Sinai. The thread of the fourth command reappears with additional implications.   Spent some time thinking about trust.  Does it build a relationship or is it a result of relationship?  Do I trust someone because they have shown themselves to be trustworthy?...

Good morning fellow pilgrims, Well here it is Sunday evening and I realized that I didn't finish posting this yesterday.  This passage got my interest because of the "overly righteous" and "overly wicked" statements. Hope you are encouraged by the process of working through similar passages. Blessings Jeff This is one of those "what does he mean" passages.  Well it is pretty clear what Solomon is saying, but it does not seem to fit in with other scripture very well.  In the Law, God tells Israel to be holy because He is holy.  Doesn't seem that is possible to be "overly righteous" if the standard is God's righteousness.  Likewise, since Adam was judged after one transgression, what is "overly wicked"?  So we need discernment. One commentator draws a parallel with 1Cor 15:32-33 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do n...

Good afternoon saints Now that we have finished the first time through Proverbs, we will be changing the pattern back to 3 days of Moses or Solomon and 1 day of either Psalms or NT. Today, we have another example of "remember things you should never forget".  Paul is telling Timothy to remember to remind the church about things they should never forget.   Blessings Jeff Who are the 'them" that Timothy is to remind?  Go back to previous verses where the subject is "the elect".  Paul endures everything for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. What are "these things" that Timothy is to remind them of?  Again, go back to the previous verses.  The foundational truths of the gospel. How does "quarreling about words" differ from discussing the foundational truths?   logomacheō; from a compound of logos and machomai; middle voice of an apparently primary verb; to war, i.e. (figuratively) to quar...

Hello again, Hope everyone was safe in the snowstorm last night.  And in digging out today. Sometimes wisdom literature is a little hard to understand.  Then there are days like today when there is not doubt. As you will see, I found this passage to be very convicting. Blessings, Jeff God has no pleasure in fools.  Let not your mouth lead you into sin.   Two stark warnings.   As a Christian, I know that God is omnipresent and omniscient.  He hears every word I say and in fact before a word is on my tongue he knows it altogether (Ps 139:4) Isn't it interesting that I ask God to "hear my prayer" or "listen to my plea" as if that is the only time he pays attention to what I say.  Would I  ask Him to not listen to what I am about to say against a brother?  It would appear that what I "know about God" does not impact how I live and in particular what I say. How would my speech be different if I said these thing to myself before every con...

Good morning brothers and sisters, Getting ready for the snow storm tonight. Shovels and snowblower at the ready!!! Some thoughts about the priesthood and how Christ is perfect prophet, priest and king. Blessings Jeff The offerings were to be without physical blemish.  Therefore, the priest also must be without physical blemish.   Sons of Aaron are supposed to be a perpetual priesthood.   What is behind perpetual physical perfection?  Certainly it is spiritual perfection which is fulfilled in Jesus.  We are familiar with the recorded lineage of both Mary and Joseph from Judah via David.  And the promise of a "king on throne of David" forever.  Yet the perpetual priesthood doesn't get recorded.  As the law was given to show Israel their inability to keep it, the Aaronic priesthood also points to inability. Makes me think of covenant with Adam for perpetual perfect personal obedience as condition for life.  Once he fell, all subsequen...

Good afternoon Friends, I may be repeating myself but, have I mentioned that repetition is Jewish technique for emphasis.  Jesus of often said "Truly, truly I say to you..."  Why does the Second Person of the Trinity, God made flesh have to repeat himself?  When He who is the way, the truth and the life says something is true, it really is true.  So the repetition of commandments in various settings tells us they are really really important.  Don't miss this!!! Blessings Jeff Another "thread in tapestry".  The fifth commandment reappears with a penalty rather than a promise.  Surrounded by punishment for child sacrifice, use of mediums, and sexual immorality.  All connected by "be holy, for I am the LORD your God" The promise in Exodus 20 was honoring father and mother would result in prolonging of days in the land that the Lord was giving to Israel.  Here the other side of the coin is seen.  Cursing father or mother is a capital offense...

Finally caught up for now. Meditation is the part of Luther's Simple Way to Pray that still challenges me.  Sometimes, like today, asking questions and waiting for the Spirit's response is the result.  I like to have answers, but wisdom literature doesn't always give simple answers.  I hope these short devotions encourage you to wait for the Lord. Blessings, Jeff Questions in wisdom literature can be hard to figure out.  Let's interrogate the text. To whom is David addressing these two questions?  Are they merely rhetorical so that he can provide his answers?  Or is he speaking to God and waiting for His answer? Why is David asking these questions?  Surely he has watched all sorts of people walk up Mt Moriah where the tabernacle was located. So this isn't a physical ability question. And everybody knows that it is just the Levites who can actually enter the tabernacle.  So this isn't a ritual practice question. I think we can conclude that he isn'...

Dear Friends, Some times we forget that Moses wrote Genesis.  Obviously, he did not have first hand knowledge of the events of creation.  But God did and revealed them to Moses.  The "story arc" is clear to Moses despite the millenia of history between Genesis and Leviticus.  The plan for ultimate restoration is hazy, but God is at work repairing some of the damage. Blessings, Jeff What is the prohibition on child sacrifice doing in the list of prohibited sexual relations? Be fruitful and multiply - First commandment in Genesis.  God made the world to be inhabited.   Having children is how this  was to happen.  So child sacrifice was a direct violation of this first command to Adam and Eve. Marriage is one man and one woman is the creation order. Seems simple enough.  I can imagine men thinking, Yeah but God didn't say which woman.  I will do the one woman thing if she is my sister, or aunt or …..  So God gives all these exampl...

Good morning fellow soldiers, Still working on catching up.  I hope that the frequent Leviticus passages encourage you to keep going in your reading.  God was teaching Israel how to live as a nation.  The principles show us God's zeal for his own worship. Blessings, Jeff Thoughts about "acceptable sacrifice".  Since the sacrificing to goat demons was a common practice by ancient Israel, God has to put an end to it.  Animal sacrifice was not unique to Judaism.  Some cultures also practice human sacrifice.  What made Israel's sacrifices acceptable to God were that they were done in the God's approved location in God's approved way.   Well that's all very nice, but we don't do animal sacrifice any more.  However, the principle remains valid.  Since God was so particular with his own people, all the pagan worship was beyond the pale.  An Israelite sacrificing to a goat demon was unacceptable to God.  Therefore, no matter how s...

Dear Friends, What a blessed Sabbath day.  Hearing about the angel's song from Luke in the sermon.  Basking in the light of peace with God, the only peace that really matters.  The only source of peace with fellow creatures (horizontal relationships) is peace with God (the vertical relationship). Blessings, Jeff The top issue that Paul wants Timothy to remember is purity of doctrine.  Paul was aware the "different doctrines" (heterodox) that were being pedaled in the churches.  The key is to know what the "same doctrine" (orthodox) in great detail.  The counterfeit is exposed when compared in every detail to the original.  Timothy is to focus on the original, not all the "different doctrines".  When anything new comes along, just compare it what Paul taught.  If it matches exactly then it is the same.  If it doesn't match, it is a "different doctrine".   Instruction - What God expects of me - Purity of doctrine.  I once he...

Last catch up for today. The same process for ordaining the high priest is used in the cleansing of a leper.  Applying blood of sacrifice to right ear, thumb and big toe.   In addition, oil was applied at the same places.  The purpose was restoration to the public worship of God. Other types of being unclean were dealt with by washing and were limited duration. However, lepers were excluded from the camp and therefore participation in worship at the tabernacle.  What is difference between moral and ceremonial uncleaness?  The leper was not guilty of a particular sin. The diseases described here are not signs of moral failure or punishment for sin.   Although by New Testament times, the perception that physical disability was a result of sin (the man born blind) seems to have crept in.   When moral failure is involved, sacrifice is applied in a certain way.  When disease or disfigurement is involved sacrifice is applied in a differen...

Another catch up comment.  I think I got this one out of order. You probably won't be surprised to find out that I enjoy classical music.  I often say to Glenda, "They don't right music like that anymore." when I hear a particularly magnificent work. Here are two proverbs that Solomon didn't write.  Or if he did they didn't make it into scripture.  Proper prior planning prevents poor performance. Fail to plan, plan to fail.  Working in the nuclear power industry for 35 years made planning an integral part of life.  Millstone has groups of people who do nothing but plan. (refueling outages and day to day maintenance for example).  But I think there is a difference between good planning and boasting about tomorrow. Blessings, Jeff Listening to Bach harpsicord concerto #1 in D minor on WMNR.  Occasionally I wonder how such things came to be written.  Did Bach wake up one morning and say "I think I'll write a piece of music that people will still...

Good afternoon friends, Still trying to catch up.  This is for the yesterday's reading (12/10). Just a short comment on the "Why" of the ceremonial clean laws. Blessings, Jeff  The details of how various bodily functions make someone unclean are a mystery to me.  But God clearly states the why.  Lest they die by defiling the tabernacle that is in their midst.   God is the author of life.   He is the potter, we are the clay.   Israel didn't get to argue about such things or come up with their own own rules.  Everything God appoints in His Word is to be obeyed.  James makes this argument that failing at one point of the law makes one accountable for the whole law.  As Paul says in Romans 5:20-21 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our...

Good afternoon Friends, Another catch up passage.  This was for 12/7. Want to mention another benefit to electronic study helps.  Did you know John Calvin wrote a 22 volume commentary on the Bible.  Most of us would not really care to have 22 volumes sitting on a bookshelf.  But the Resource Guide function in Olive Tree links the passage I am reading to the section of Calvin's commentary.  So when I really have a hard time with a passage, I can see what Calvin thought.  I have shared some of his thoughts today. Blessings Jeff  Just thinking about the camel as unclean.  The proverbial ship of the desert.  Calvin makes distinction that it is not the animal itself that is to be considered unclean but the uses of it (eating touching dead carcass).  So it seems that using a camel for transportation which would require physical contact is not prohibited.  He makes this point in regard to conflict some propose in the Genesis account where ...

Dear Friends, Well I am back in the catch up mode.  This is for the reading from 12/6.  In the Christmas season, we like to think of hope, peace and joy.  Yet we are always reminded that God is holy in his love for the world. Blessings,] Jeff This has to be one of the saddest events in Israel's history. At the very beginning of tabernacle worship, divine retribution apparently during the week of ordination.  Nadab (generous) and Abihu (he is my father) were not alone when they cooked up this idea of "strange/profane/unauthorized  fire".  They were with their father and brothers.  Aaron and his surviving sons are unable to remove the bodies because of the requirement to stay in the tabernacle.   So their Levite cousins are called upon.  They are forbidden from mourning for Nadab and Abihu.  Every time Aaron and his sons and their descendants go into the tabernacle to offer incense, they will remember what happened.  When I say "...

Good evening fellow sojourners, Hope you had a blessed Sabbath.  I am a day behind on devotional, but I think the Spirit was working on my thoughts for the last day. May God give you his peace in the week ahead. Blessings  Jeff  The concept of justice has been the subject of much debate in the last 6 months since the homicide of George Floyd.  Yesterday at Men's D, we read the following from the McArthur study guide on Proverbs. " Justice is the ability to conform to the will and standard of God - a practical righteousness that matches one's positional righteousness"  I took exception to this statement because it sounded like sinless perfection in this life.  But as a I started thinking about this passage from Psalms, I began to question my questioning. The psalmist is establishing a link between injustice (hotly pursuing the poor, devising schemes, greedy for gain) and atheism (denounces the Lord, does not seek him, says "there is no God").  Since the...

Good morning friends, Just a short reflection on Aaron's ordination.  Moses had been instructed on how to ordain Aaron and his sons into the priesthood back in Exodus.  This passage is the completion of the command.  What got my attention was that little phrase that we often think of in other contexts. Blessings Jeff What was Aaron's response to "so you do no die"?  The man who could not or would not restrain the people while Moses was up on Sinai for the first time and made the golden calf. Now he is told that disobedience in what seems to be a rather minor item (staying in the tent of meeting with his sons for a week) is a capital offense. The position of high priest came with great authority but also great responsibility.   When God called Moses to go back to Egypt, Moses tried to convince God that he was not the man for the job.  Now Aaron and his sons are called to a position where disobedience is lethal.  It would make me suggest that somebo...

Good morning beloved, I know, excuses excuses.  I worked yesterday and before I knew it was time for bed.  Read the passages, but didn't have time to write anything.  So in my "waking hours" in the middle of the night, I caught up. I am constantly at the amount of thought that other people have put into things like study bibles notes and commentaries.  Matthew Henry's Commentary is physically impressive.  About 4 inches thick, large pages, small type and thin paper.  He wrote all of it by hand long before typewriters were thought of.  So I am blessed by having much of these things just "a click away". Blessings Jeff I wondered why Israel was prohibited from eating the fat and the blood of an animal.  Here are some of the ESV Study Bible comments: The procedure of this ritual involving a bull is the same as that of the burnt offering, up until the shedding of blood. Only the fatty parts of the animal, instead of all of it, are to be burned up. The ...

Greetings friends, Just a short reflection about "a servant of Christ"  Hope that it encourages you Jeff What a gem Epaphras must have been!  He learns the gospel message from Paul in Rome.  Goes to Colossae and establishes a church made up of people Paul will never see.  Then he goes back to  Rome is imprisoned with Paul and tells him  about the Colossians prompting him to write this letter.  At the end Paul speaks of Epaphras' prayers on behalf of the Colossians.  What is keeping me from being like Epaphras?  

Good afternoon friends, Hope you enjoyed the sunny afternoon on this Dec 1.  May you be encouraged as much by Leviticus as by Proverbs, Psalms and Colossians.  The value of reading through the Bible is to gain perspective. Just reading bits and pieces that you happen to like leaves out the nuances that show up as you become familiar with the whole. Feel free to leave a comment or question.  It is encouraging to me to know that you are keeping up with the plan. Blessings, Jeff The actions that bring guilt and the offering to make atonement are woven together.  This particular action is a thread of the 9th commandment.  Bearing false witness is prohibited, but here if a person has knowledge of a matter, he is required to give accurate testimony when called on to do so.  In other words, saying nothing is not compliance with the 9th.  Do not give false witness, but must give true witness.   Isn't interesting how God weaves the law through these p...