Daily Bible Reading: June 9th-15th
Date Added: 6/9/2008 12:28:48 AM As we celebrate Father's Day this coming week, it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on God's Father Heart towards His children and thank Him for His care for us.
Daily Bible Reading: June 9th-15th
Date: June 9
Reading: Leviticus 23:22-44
Three more feasts are mentioned in the remainder of Leviticus 23 which you read today. These feasts are: Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. Again we will focus on the first of these three feasts for our discussion today.
We are told in verse 24 that on the first day of the seventh month the children of Israel are to celebrate a Sabbath called a holy convocation. This was a special Sabbath separate from the weekly Sabbath day of rest. This too was a day of rest and no work was to be done on this day other than an offering unto the Lord.
A unique part of this day was the blowing of the trumpets which are said to be done for a memorial. That means the blowing of the trumpets was to be a reminder to the people. We are not told exactly what the reminder was, but so many of the feast pointed back to the Exodus from Egypt and events connected with it. So, it is likely that this also was to bring an aspect of that back to their memory.
The blowing of the trumpets in Scripture is often connected to the voice of God or a great act of judgment by God. Because of this, and other reasons, it is believed by some that the memorial was to the act of God in giving the law on Mount Sinai.
Israel was encouraged through this and other feasts to remember the great acts of God that were a part of their physical redemption from Egypt. In prayer, meditation, and the reading of God’s Word, we too should be reminded of the work of God in our lives and in the lives of our families and our nation.
Date: June 10
Reading: Leviticus 24:1-23
Leviticus chapter 24 has three very definite divisions. The first division (verses 1-9) address some priestly functions in the tabernacle. The next division, beginning with verse 10, addresses the punishment of a public blasphemer in Israel. The final division (verses 17-22) deal with is sometimes called the lex talionis. That is, this last division addresses the principle that the punishment needs to fit the crime. Today, let’s look at what we can learn from the first section of this chapter.
Verses 1-9 speak of two aspects of the tabernacle. One is the oil for the lamps and the other is the bread for the table. The congregation of Israel was to supply what was needed for both of these articles in the tabernacle. The lamps were to be burning before the Lord continually and the “showbread”, as it was called, was to be prepared for every Sabbath. The bread for the table was to be made in 12 loaves, obviously to represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
Each of the things found in the tabernacle are symbolic and represent something in the spiritual aspect of our relationship with God. In Scripture, oil quite frequently represents the Holy Spirit. The lamps, continually being lit, represent the light of truth that the Lord provides through the presence of the Holy Spirit. The 12 loaves represent the “Bread of Life” the Lord provides through His Word.
Today, as we worship the Lord, we should seek His presence in our lives through meditation and prayer. Our desire should be that the Holy Spirit would indwell us and provide us with the “Light of Truth” for us to follow each and every day. We are to realize, however, that God’s Spirit works in conjunction with His Word. So, we are to actively seek to “feed upon the Scriptures.” That is, we should read and meditate upon them regularly that the Holy Spirit can then bring to our mind an understanding of God’s Word. In this way, He guides us day by day.
Date: June 11
Reading: Leviticus 25:1-24
The Lord established a very special law for Israel that they were to follow when they entered the Promised Land. In verse 2 we are told that the Lord instructed Moses to tell the children of Israel that “when ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord.” Unlike the weekly Sabbath that was given for people to follow, the Sabbath of the land was to occur every 7 years, instead of every seven days. And it was to last a whole year. The land was to be given rest.
This law has both spiritual and practical aspects to it. On the spiritual side, the people of Israel were to show their faith in God by following His statute. Also, they would need ot trust that the Lord would take care of them during that year in which the land would lie uncultivated. In verse 21, the Lord promised that in the sixth year the land would bring forth an abundant harvest that would equal three years.
On that practical side, this law made the Israelites actually provide a rest for the land that would rejuvenate it. When land is repeatedly cultivated, planted and harvested, it becomes depleted of nutrients. However, if the land is allowed to lay fallow (that is the word for leaving land uncultivated) it replenishes itself during that time period.
Modern farming methods with their extensive use of fertilizers have tried to counteract this depletion process. However, those practices often result in less productive land and a less nutritious harvest. Prior to modern farming methods, farmers would often divide their land into plots – usually, seven. In this way they could not only rotate crops, which helped slow down the nutrient depleting process, and they could leave one plat fallow each year. In a seven year period, then, they would have rested their whole farm. This was the practice of George Washington at his Mt.Vernon estate.
God’s Word provides wisdom even for the day-to-day tasks of life, like the farming of His earth.
Date: June 12
Reading: Leviticus 25:25-55
God has a special place in his hear for the person who is poor and has fallen on hard times. He desires for those who follow Him to make special efforts to take care of those who are poor among them. In fact, the Lord says, even if he is a stranger (foreigner) or someone just passing through, you are still to treat him with an extra measure of kindness.
If he needs money, you are not to charge him usury. The word usury means interest. In other words, God says that you should make an “interest free loan” to a poor person. In fact, if they are not able to pay back what they borrowed, then you should just consider it a gift to them.
For the Israelite, they were to remember that they were a stranger in Egypt and God brought them out. Because of this, they were to treat the strangers among them, and the poor among them, with kindness. Today, we should remember that we were once strangers to God and the servants of sin. God, however, came and rescued us and redeemed us from that bondage. So, we too, should treat those that are in poverty and have fallen on hard times with kindness. Just as God showed kindness to us.
Date: June 13
Reading: Leviticus 26:1-20
Chapter 26 of Leviticus is a very interesting chapter because in it God details the blessings Israel will receive for walking in obedience to His statutes and the cursing they will receive if they refuse to obey. In your reading today, you read only 20 verses. Of those twenty verses, 11 addressed the blessings for obedience and 7 addressed the cursing for disobedience. One of the interesting things about this chapter is that so many of the remaining verses will speak to the cursing for disobedience. God’s displeasure for unfaithfulness is made abundantly clear.
Another interesting thing about this chapter is that it begins with an emphasis on two commandments. In these two commandments, so much of what God requires of us is summarized.
First, is the commandment against idolatrous worship. In this command to not make a graven image and bow down to it, God instructs Israel, and us, that we are to worship Him according to His instructions and not by any means we may fabricate of our own.
In the second commandment, God tells Israel to keep His Sabbaths. This word is plural and includes more than just the weekly Sabbath. It includes the seven year and the jubilee Sabbaths we were told about in the previous chapter. Israel of the Old Testament was a special nation brought forth by God for the special purpose of showing forth in the natural His redemptive nature that is also a spiritual reality. The Sabbaths were a continual testimony of God’s gracious deliverance from the bondage of sin. It was a grievous thing to not keep the Lord’s Sabbaths.
We, too, should take note of our relationship to God in these areas. Do we worship God as He desires, or do we worship God only when it is pleasing to us? Do we honor His Sabbath and rest from our earthly labors and find our true rest in Him? These are important questions we will learn more about as we continue our study through God’s Word. Pray for God’s enlightenment on what He instructs us in His Word.
Date: June 14
Reading: Leviticus 26:21-46
Today we continue the reading of the curses God declares He will bring on Israel if they do not heed his commandments and statutes and follow them. As I mentioned yesterday, there are an abundance of verses that speak of the curses God will bring for disobedience. Now that you have finished this chapter you will see that 11 verses spoke of blessings for obedience and 26 verses spoke of the curses. I mentioned yesterday that this should bring to our minds the great displeasure God has for sin in our lives. However, we should not mistakenly believe that God punishes more than He blesses. When God blesses for obedience, and even just out of His good pleasure, His blessings far exceed the curses and punishments He has meted out.
Though God at times uses natural disasters, situations, angry nations, and other means to punish those people who have been taught of His ways and at one time walked in agreement with His Word and now have turned away, He will bless those same people far beyond their punishment should they repent of their sins.
In our individual lives, God operates much the same way. His “wake-up” calls, though painful, never exceed the blessing in our lives as we turn back to Him.
Date: June 15
Reading: Leviticus 27:1-34
This last chapter of Leviticus addresses acts of devotions and commitment on the part of the Israelites. At different times in people’s lives they may feel the desire to commit themselves or part of their possessions for full-time service to the Lord. In Old Testament Israel, this was shown be committing yourself to the service of the priests and the tabernacle. It could also be shown by giving a portion of your field or an animal to the priest as well.
For some people, this commitment was only for a short time. So, at whatever point the person determined to end his commitment, there was a fee or redemption that was required to be paid. This helped make the commitment of a more serious nature because a person could not simpley walk away from his vow to serve the Lord.
Today, you and I can consider the extent of our commitment to the Lord’s service. Not everyone is called to give all of their time to a work of the church, but all of us are called to give some of our time. You should pray for God to show you how He desires you to use your time for His Kingdom both now and when you are older.
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