Milo – Page 21

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

PERILS FOR PILGRIMS
Numbers 10–14

“How long will they refuse to believe in Me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?” (Num. 14:11)

Every defeat believers experience is ultimately rooted in unbelief. In these pivotal chapters of Numbers, we learn that a lack of trust in God may be expressed in different ways.

Definition of Key Terms
Unbelief. Unbelief here is not at all a failure to believe that God exists. As James reminds us, “Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19). Rather unbelief is a failure to trust God, and is expressed in some failure to obey God’s Word.

Overview
Signs of unbelief marred the journey to Canaan. Despite careful preparations (10:1–36), the Israelites complained of hardships (11:1–3), and displayed ingratitude (vv. 4–35). Even Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses’ leadership (12:1–16). Israel camped on the border of Canaan, as a dozen men were sent to learn about conditions there (13:1–26). Most of the spies were terrified by the strength of Canaan’s people (vv. 27–33). The people rebelled, flatly refusing to attack Canaan, and were sentenced to wander in the desert for 40 years, until all but two of the unbelieving Exodus generation were dead.

Understanding the Text
“You will be remembered by the LORD your God” Num. 10:1–10. Josephus says that the two silver trumpets that God instructed Moses to make were about 15 inches long. Two such trumpets were taken from the temple when Jerusalem was razed inA.D 70, and are pictured on Titus’ Arch of Triumph in Rome.
The trumpets were used to direct the tribes when on the march. The trumpets were also to be blown when Israel went into battle. God would “remember” His people then. Here “remember” does not mean think of, but to act on behalf of.
God remembers us on our pilgrimage too. As we will see, the real question is, Will we remember to act on His Word?

“You can be our eyes” Num. 10:11–36. Moses’ request that his brother-in-law, Hobab, accompany Israel did not, as some have thought, show a lack of faith. The Midianites of that era were a nomadic people familiar with lands south of Canaan. Moses followed wherever the cloud God sent led him. Hobab provided information about the area toward which they were headed.
It’s wise for Christians today to seek advice from other believers. It only becomes wrong if we permit human advice to take the place of divine guidance.

“The people complained about their hardships” Num. 11:1–3. The plains of Sinai are verdant compared to the desert of Et-Tih. The people felt oppressed by the desolation, and began to complain. God’s cloud had led Israel into this desert. Yet after only three days, the people focused on their “hardships” rather than fixing their hopes on the good land toward which they were journeying.
God’s fire burned only “some of the outskirts” of the camp. This fire was only a warning. Moses prayed, and the fire died down.
Unbelief is discouraged by every hardship. Faith focuses expectantly on the future.

“If only we had meat to eat” Num. 11:4–35. The people found a new cause of complaint: a monotonous diet! Numbers says “every family” was “wailing” at the door of its tent.
For a year now God had provided manna, a miraculous, perfectly balanced food that provided all the body requires for good health. Rather than be grateful, the people shouted their dissatisfaction.
God gave them what they wanted—meat to eat—but with it came a plague that killed thousands.
In 1 Timothy 6:8, the Apostle Paul portrays the attitude we believers are to adopt on our pilgrimage. “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” The person who truly trusts God is content with what He provides. A preoccupation with material things, whether diet or riches, is a subtle but real expression of unbelief.
What about the quail? Even in the early years of this century, great flocks of quail migrated across the Sinai peninsula. About 2 million of the low-flying birds were caught in the nets of Arabs living there. So the biblical story of low-flying quail has a modern corollary. Most important in Numbers, however, is the outcome. With the meat that Israel craved came a plague that killed thousands. For most of us, the abundance we sometimes crave would be spiritually disastrous. How much wiser to thank God for what we have than express unbelief by craving what we lack.
Moses too cried out. He felt crushed by the weight of leading an unresponsive people. God answered Moses by sharing His Spirit with 70 elders in Israel.
Not all discontent is ungodly. When our concerns are spiritual, or our needs are real, we should never hesitate to bring them to the Lord.

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses” Num. 12:1–16. Miriam, Moses’ sister, was the leader of Israel’s spirit-filled women and a prophetess (cf. Ex. 15:20). Aaron, Moses’ brother, was high priest, Israel’s supreme religious leader. Yet these two became jealous of Moses and challenged his prophetic role as the primary person through whom God spoke to His people.
God called the three to the entrance of the tabernacle. He affirmed Moses’ primacy and struck Miriam with an infectious skin disease. Aaron was spared because the disease would have disqualified him from the high priesthood, and Israel needed him to make sacrifices of atonement.
The key to applying the passage lies in the description of Moses as “very humble” (v. 3). The Hebrew word, ’anaw, describes Moses’ attitude. It indicates an absence of pride or self-confidence, allowing complete dependence on God.
The story pinpoints a common peril for leaders through whom God has spoken. Such leaders are susceptible to those subtle expressions of unbelief, pride, and jealousy. In contrast, humility in leaders is a sign of continuing trust in God.

“Moses sent them to explore Canaan” Num. 13:1–25. Representatives of each tribe were sent to explore Canaan. Note that the Lord told Moses to send out the spies (vv. 1–24). Trying to learn as much as possible about where we’re going is not an indication of unbelief.

“They reported to them and to the whole assembly” Num. 13:26–33. The spies agreed on their description of the land. It was rich and fertile. But it was populated by warlike peoples, living in walled cities. But the spies disagreed about what this meant to Israel. Ten were frightened, claiming, “We can’t attack these people; they are stronger than we are.” Two, Caleb and Joshua, disagreed. “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
Faith and unbelief are still displayed in how we interpret life’s challenges. The problem is seldom in our assembly of the facts. It is in our interpretation of them. It is spiritual disaster to forget the most important fact of all; that God can lead us to triumph.

“We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt” Num. 14:1–45. The Israelites accepted the 10 spies’ view and rebelled (vv. 1–4). Moses and Aaron “fell facedown” as an expression of horror at Israel’s awful sin (v. 5). When they begged the people not to rebel against God, the “whole assembly talked about stoning them.”
Moses and Aaron were saved only by an appearance of the visible glory of the Lord at the tabernacle.
In judgment God announced that every adult over 20, except for Caleb and Joshua, would die in the desert. For some 40 years the doomed generation would wander in circles near Kadesh Barnea until everyone had died.
As for the 10 spies who spread the bad report, they were struck down immediately by a plague (v. 37).
Direct disobedience is always rooted in unbelief and leads to the most severe judgments of all.

“Disobeying the LORD’s command” Num. 14:39–45. After God’s judgment was announced, the people decided they would attack Canaan after all. Moses rightly identified this as further disobedience.
Timing is important in a relationship with God. Acting too late is as much evidence of unbelief as original hesitation. Both lead to disaster and defeat.

DEVOTIONAL
Afraid to Obey?
(Num. 14)
“Don’t you think four years of God making me suffer is enough?”
The question came from a young woman in a Florida Sunday School class. Over several weeks her story had gradually been shared with the other women in the class. She had been engaged to a young man who made her pregnant, then broke the engagement to marry her best friend. Within a year that marriage broke up, and he returned to marry her. Now they were divorced too . . . but still living together.
Gently the teacher tried to explain. “Don’t blame God for making you suffer. Most often suffering is a consequence of our own choices. If you want to avoid suffering, you have to make better choices.”
This is a lesson that Israel failed to learn. Israel, like the 22-year-old in that Sunday School class, assumed that a person can believe in God and do whatever he or she chooses. Each heard God’s voice of instruction, but each had decided not to obey. In making that decision, each displayed what Scripture calls “unbelief.”
In Numbers 14 we sense the anger rebellious sins arouse, and also the grace still available to the sinner. God was angry enough with Israel to put the people “to death all at one time” (v. 15). Yet Moses reminded the Lord of His earlier revelation of Himself to Moses (cf. Ex. 34:6–7; Num. 14:17–18). God is “slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.” Yet God will “not leave the guilty unpunished.”
In this passage, as in the life of the young woman in Sunday School, forgiveness and consequences are both displayed.
God did not strike Israel with death “all at one time.” They lived long enough to see their children mature, and those children did gain the Promised Land. Yet as a consequence of their unbelief and rebellion they themselves could not enter the land. They suffered the very fate they feared, and died in the wilderness.
Unbelief still holds us back, blocking our obedience to the Lord. Sometimes our motive is fear. We want to obey God, but we are afraid to. Sometimes our motive is selfishness. We feel that if we obey God we won’t get something we badly want. Whatever our motive, a failure to trust God enough to obey Him has consequences. Israel wandered in the wilderness. The young Florida divorcee suffers her uncertainties and pain.
How much wiser to simply put ourselves completely in God’s hands, and to obey Him without holding back.

Personal Application
Be alert against the many forms that unbelief can take in your life.

Quotable
“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. . . . As has just been said, ’Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.’ “—Hebrews 3:12–15

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

Numbers

INTRODUCTION
This fourth book of the Old Testament picks up the story of Israel’s origins. The descendants of Abraham, God’s man of faith, have been freed from slavery in Egypt. They have been guided to Sinai, where they were given a complex Law to live by and a tabernacle at which to worship. Now the Israelites are about to set out from Sinai on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Because of disobedience, that journey, which could have ended in rest for God’s people within a few short months, was extended to some 38 years. On it, the generation that began Israel’s pilgrimage died, to be replaced by a generation willing and eager to follow the Lord.
Numbers takes its name from the censuses which it records. The book is half narrative and half legislation. Its focus is the Promised Land toward which Israel journeys. Its stories and its laws are filled with lessons that we can apply on our own earthly pilgrimages toward heaven.

READY FOR PILGRIMAGE
Numbers 1–9

“At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out” (Num. 9:18).

Pilgrimage demands each believer prepare for warfare and for worship. When God’s people are on the march, they need to be ready for both.

Overview
After a year at Mount Sinai, the people spent 50 days preparing to journey on to Canaan. Moses took a census of fighting men (1:1–54), assigned campsites (2:1–34) and the travel tasks of the Levites (3:1–4:49). Three issues of ritual purity were decided (5:1–6:27), the tabernacle and Levites were purified (7:1–8:26), and the people celebrated Passover (9:1–23).

Understanding the Text
“Take a census” Num. 1:1–54. This first census reported in Numbers was to count men “able to serve in the army.” The count included every able-bodied male over 20.
Each was “listed by name, one by one.” The census found 603,550 able to serve.
It is fascinating to note the emphasis on individuals among the hundreds of thousands. When God’s people are on pilgrimage, every person counts.
It’s the same in the church today. No matter how many millions of believers there are, you and I are “listed by name” as members of God’s army. The issue isn’t whether or not we count. It’s whether God can count on us.
Years later, after a new generation replaced the men and women now camped at Sinai, another army census was taken. The overall number was about the same, 601,730. But the number contributed by several of the tribes differed greatly.

What does the decline of Simeon by some 37,000, and the increase of Manasseh by over 20,000, suggest? Simply that if we do not do our share, God’s work will still be done. But someone else will win the blessing that might have been ours.

“Camp around the tent of meeting” Num. 2:1–34. In the 13th century G.p. Egyptian armies used the same square formation that the Lord introduced here. The royal tent was placed in the middle of the camp, surrounded by different army corps. The symbolism does not suggest that God is protected by His people; He is the protector. The organization of the camp proclaims to all that the Lord is Israel’s Commander and King, the heart and center of the nation’s life.

“I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites” Num. 3:12. The Levites were not counted among the fighting men. They were set aside to guard the tabernacle and to do the “heavy work” (’abad, ’abodah) of taking it down, transporting, and erecting it.
These Hebrew words come from a root that means servant, or even slave. In Old Testament times the status of a servant depended on two things: how close he was to his master, and how significant his service was. The structure of the camp put the Levites closer to the Lord’s tabernacle than any other tribe. And their work was to guard and transport the holiest objects in Israel’s faith.
Doing God’s “heavy work” is a privilege. It places us close to Him, and in serving Him we build for eternity.
The 22,000 Levites between 30 and 50 took the place of 23,273 “firstborn” that belonged to the Lord. God had claimed Israel’s firstborn as His own when He slew the firstborn of Egypt.
How could there be only 22,273 firstborn in a community with over 600,000 men of military age? Some suggest that the 22,273 were born after the Exodus began, some 13 months earlier.
Why were only men between 30 and 50 counted? Possibly because God’s “heavy work” calls for servants who are both mature and at the height of their strength.

“Send them outside . . . so they will not defile their camp” Num. 5:1–4. This is the first of three purity issues God raised in preparing Israel for pilgrimage. The camp was organized to prepare for war. But to journey safely, Israel had to depend on God and remain close to Him. Anyone who was defiled and might interrupt fellowship with God, as those with infectious skin disease, had to be put outside to keep from contaminating the community (see Lev. 11–15).
Application to our personal pilgrimage of faith is obvious. We are to cleanse our lives from impurities, as Israel was called to cleanse her camp.

“Wrongs another in any way” Num. 5:6–31. Ritual contamination by an infectious skin disease was visible. Moral failures were more difficult to ascertain. First, any person who wronged another “in any way” was guilty and “must” confess the wrong and make full restitution. We are each responsible to maintain a right relationship with God and with others in the faith community.
But what if another is unwilling to admit a wrong? The text describes a test to be given a wife whose husband suspects her of unfaithfulness. God promised to act through the rite to clear an innocent wife or to identify a guilty one. The rite reminds us that if we do not deal with sins ourselves, we, like the guilty wife, “will bear the consequences” of our sins.

“A special vow” Num. 6:1–21. The person who took a Nazarite vow took on many of the special obligations of Israel’s priests. Priests could not drink wine before offering
sacrifices (Lev. 10:9); the Nazarite could not use any product of the vine. The high priest could not mourn for his near relatives (21:2ff), nor could the Nazarite. On completing his vow, the Nazarite even offered the same sacrifices that Aaron did when he was ordained (cf. Lev. 8).
The presence of Nazarites reminded Israel that the whole community was holy, layman as well as Levite. Each believer could voluntarily commit himself or herself totally to the Lord.

“To bless the Israelites” Num. 6:22–27. With the community organized and purified, Aaron and his sons were able to pronounce one of the most beautiful of benedictions over Israel. The blessings described are ours too when we journey in purity with Jesus and His friends.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Assured of God’s presence and organized into a more disciplined force, Israel was ready for war. But first Israel had to be ready to worship.

“He . . . consecrated it and all its furnishings” Num. 7:1–8:26. Just before departing, the tabernacle, its furnishings, and the Levites who were to serve in it were all ritually cleansed by sacrificial blood and dedicated to the service of God.
The solemn ceremonies underlined the importance of holiness for anyone ready to set on life’s spiritual pilgrimage.

DEVOTIONAL
The Nature of Our Pilgrimage
(Num. 9)
Israel’s final act before setting out on the journey to Canaan was to celebrate the Passover. This annual festival of freedom recalled God’s mighty acts in winning freedom for His people. It served to remind Israel of redemption from Egypt, for redemption had laid the foundation of Israel’s existence. Redemption was each individual’s charter deed to personal relationship with the Lord.
Even ceremonial uncleanness did not prevent a person from celebrating Passover. In fact, the ceremonially unclean were commanded to keep Passover. Why? Because personal relationship with God depends on the experience of salvation, not on living the good life.
But notice what follows this ceremonial reaffirmation of Israel’s salvation. The writer of Numbers looks ahead and sums up the daily experience of Israel on pilgrimage. “Whenever the cloud [which indicated the visible presence of God with His people] lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped” (v. 17). A redeemed people can to look to the Lord for daily guidance.
It’s the same for us today. Conversion is the beginning of our pilgrimage, not the end.
There may be warfare ahead. But God can and will guide us safely through life’s trials. If we wish to travel safely, we must remember that God is with us, and look to Him daily for direction and guidance.

Personal Application
Organization speaks of discipline, and purity of moral commitment. Without both, our spiritual journey is sure to be marked by breakdowns and delay.

Quotable
Master, speak! Make me ready
When Thy voice is truly heard,
With obedience glad and steady
Still to follow every word.
I am listening, Lord, for Thee;
Master, speak, oh, speak to me!
-Frances Ridley Havergal

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

WORSHIP AS COMMITMENT
Leviticus 23–27

“Follow My decrees and be careful to obey My laws, and you will live safely in the land” (Lev. 25:18).

Believers demonstrate commitment to the Lord by the decisions they make. These last chapters of Leviticus survey a number of decisions the Israelites would face when they entered the Promised Land, and reflect choices you and I face today.

Overview
Commitment to the Lord was to be expressed by setting aside time to worship (23:1–44), by daily and crisis obedience (24:1–23), by demonstrating concern for the land (25:1–7) and compassion for the poor (vv. 8–55). To encourage commitment, God rewarded obedience (26:1–13) and punished disobedience (vv. 14–46). Beyond this, each person could voluntarily dedicate himself and his possessions to the Lord (27:1–34).

Understanding the Text
“The appointed feasts of the LORD” Lev. 23:1–44. Six annual festivals were to be kept by the Israelites. No work was to be done on any of these days. They were to be dedicated to worship and celebration.
The religious holidays were vivid reminders of the nature of Israel’s relationship with the Lord. Several of them reenacted experiences Israel had with the Lord. These were intended to affirm each new generation’s identity as a people redeemed, guided, protected, and provided for by the Lord. No wonder that most of the feasts were occasions for joy and rejoicing.
Israel’s religious calendar set a pattern we Christians follow. At Christmas we remember the incarnation of the Son of God. On Good Friday we meditate on Christ’s death for us. Each Easter we rejoice in His resurrection, which guarantees our own.
We can choose to focus on the spiritual meaning of our holidays, and so make them times of celebration and spiritual renewal.

“The Israelites did as the LORD commanded Moses” Lev. 24:1–23. This chapter describes two situations in which our commitment to God is to be expressed as obedience.
Verses 1–9 emphasize “continually,” a “lasting ordinance,” and “regularly.” They speak of repeated patterns in each believer’s life. We are to make sure that the ordinary things in our daily lives are in harmony with God’s will.
Verses 10–23 describe a crisis. A young man of mixed parentage “blasphemed the name of the LORD with a curse.” The implication is that he used God’s name in a magical incantation intended to harm an enemy (cf. v. 10). Here was a situation very out of the ordinary! So the people wisely sought a ruling from God. When the ruling was given, the people obeyed and stoned the blasphemer to death.
When we face a crisis situation, we too need to wait until the will of the Lord is made clear, and then act on it.
Both habitual obedience to God’s known will and seeking God’s direction in crisis are ways we demonstrate a commitment to obedience that God welcomes as acceptable worship.

“The land itself must observe a Sabbath” Lev. 25:1–7. In Eden God had told Adam to “work it [the Garden] and take care of it.” Now the Israelites are told to rest the land every seventh year, and not plant any crops. The principle is clear. Human beings are still responsible for earth’s ecology. Acid rain isn’t just a political football bounced between Canada and the U.S. It’s a reflection of man’s unwillingness to live responsibly in the world God has committed to his care.

“If you follow My decrees” Lev. 26:1–46. It’s so easy to misunderstand. We often think of punishment as a penalty, when it is really encouragement. This chapter reminds Israel that God uses two means to encourage obedience.
The first means is reward (vv. 1–13). God promises to bless Israel if they follow His decrees “and are careful to obey My commands.” Each blessing should make us thankful, and motivate us to keep walking in God’s ways.
The second means is punishment (vv. 14–46). Punishment would follow “if you will not listen to Me and carry out all these commands.” Yet even punishment is intended to encourage rather than create despair. How? First, punishment serves as a reminder that God remains involved in His people’s lives even when we sin! If we did evil and prospered, we’d have proof that God has deserted us! Second, punishment shows that God is faithful to His word. The Lord promised to discipline Israel when they disobeyed. He would surely keep His word and bless them if they turned back to Him. Third, punishment makes people aware of their need for God. Only people aware of a need for the Lord are likely to turn to Him.
You and I need to see those infrequent times when God punishes us as encouragement. As Proverbs 3:11–12 says, “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

“A special vow” Lev. 27:1–34. The Law set a minimum amount that the Israelites were to contribute to support ministers (vv. 30–33). But each individual had the privilege of making a special vow to the Lord. The person making a vow might give anything he possessed-himself, one of his family, an animal, his house, his family land, or a field he had purchased. In effect, the person making the vow paid the value of the dedicated thing into the tabernacle or temple treasury.
Why then doesn’t the chapter simply speak of giving various amounts of money rather than specify persons, animals, houses, and land? To teach us that everything important to us—every relationship and every possession—is to be held in trust and, when required, made available to the Lord. Money is impersonal. Only when it represents something that is near and dear to us does a gift we give to God have significance to us—or to Him.

DEVOTIONAL
This Year of Jubilee
(Lev. 25:8–55)
It was to be a year for rejoicing, the Year of Jubilee. It was to be a year when every poor family won the lottery, and every rich man rejoiced for him.
When Israel entered Palestine, each family was to be given its own land to cultivate. That land, and the crops it produced, was to support the family and be the source of its wealth. God said that such land must not “be sold permanently.” No family was to be thrust into poverty; each was to have and keep its own capital.
But what would happen if a family did have reverses and became poor? First, others who could were to help out, by lending money without interest or selling food at no profit (vv. 35–37). Second, if desperate, a man might sell the right to harvest crops the family land would produce, but not sell the land itself (vv. 13–29). Third, if destitute, a person might even sell himself, but such a person could not be treated as a slave (vv. 39–53).
But, when the 50th year came, the Year of Jubilee, everything was to be set right. Any debt the poor owed was canceled. Any land the family had sold was reclaimed. And anyone who lived in servitude was freed. No wonder “jubilee” has come to mean “jubilation,” and “rejoicing.”
God truly does care about the poor. Through these unusual provisions of Old Testament Law, God showed His people how they could express concern for the poor too.
Yet the Year of Jubilee that we read of here was never celebrated in Israel. Not once. When each 50th year came, the rich tightened their grip on their wealth. And the poor continued in their poverty. God’s people had the opportunity to fulfill a dream. But again and again they turned away.
Today, when we read the ageless code that so beautifully displays God’s concern for the poor and the oppressed, we too are called to dream of a just and moral society. A community of faith in which people have priority, and concern for those less fortunate is a mark of the godly.

Personal Application
What elements in this chapter’s plan for dealing with poverty can Christians adopt today?

Quotable
“It is not the Christian man’s part to think in this wise: what have I to do with this fellow? . . . Remember only those things which Christ hath done for thee, which should be recompensed, not in Himself, but in thy neighbour. Only see of what things he hath need, and what thou art able to do for him. Think this thing only, he is my brother in our Lord, co-heir in Christ, a member of the same body, redeemed with one blood, a fellow in the common faith, called unto the very same grace and felicity of the life to come.”—Erasmus of Rotterdam

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

A LIFE OF HOLINESS
Leviticus 18–22

“Keep My decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD” (Lev. 18:5).

Worship is honoring God. We honor the Lord by praising Him. But we also honor the Lord by keeping His decrees and laws, and choosing to live holy lives.

Definition of Key Terms
Decree. The Hebrew word translated “decree” in these chapters means “to engrave.” It suggests rules chiseled in stone, and thus unchangeable.

Law, statute. The Hebrew word is mishpat. It indicates a judicial decision, made by a competent authority, which thus serves as a precedent set to guide future judges.
The laws given in this section do not cover every possible violation of the principles found in the Ten Commandments. They serve as examples to guide Israel as future generations face new situations.

Overview
God expects His people to lead moral lives. Now Israel was taught that holiness calls for sexual purity (18:1–30), social responsibility (19:1–18), and rejection of pagan practices (vv. 19–37). Violation of moral laws requires punishment (20:1–27). An even higher standard of moral and ceremonial purity was set for Israel’s priests (21:1–22:33).

Understanding the Text
“Sexual relations” Lev. 18:1–18. All societies studied by anthropologists have rules against incest. Most speculate that the rules are rooted in genetics: close relatives tend to produce a high percentage of defective children. But this passage extends incest beyond blood relationships to, for instance, the wife of one’s father’s brother.
The more likely reason why incest is destructive as well as wrong is that it creates destructive emotions that warp the very structure of the family, which is the basic unit in society. When the family is threatened, the whole nation is in danger.
These laws remind us of an important truth. God’s laws define right and wrong. But they are not arbitrary. Those who obey find that God’s laws lead us to healthy, happy lives. Those who violate God’s laws find that disobedience leads to disaster.

“Do not defile yourselves” Lev. 18:19–30. The passage identifies several practices as “detestable” and defiling. Chief among them are homosexuality and bestiality—having sex with animals. It’s impossible for one who takes Scripture seriously to dismiss contemporary homosexuality as merely an “alternative lifestyle.” Homosexual acts are sin. God’s decrees remain firmly engraved on the moral fabric of our universe.

“Children . . . sacrificed to Molech” Lev. 18:21. The topic is picked up again in 20:1–5, which condemns the practice in the strongest terms. Why? Hebrew scholars believe the root mlk should be translated “sacrificed as a votive offering” rather than as the proper name, Molech. Near the ruins of ancient Carthage a person can go today to a garden where the remains of thousands of children are buried. Most are infants, but their ages range to four years old. Each was burned alive as a votive offering to the goddess Tanat. There was something the parents wanted, and to obtain that favor from the goddess they offered her their child.
It reminds me of a friend, a Christian, who has had two abortions. She can’t see anything wrong with what she did. “It’s like drowning puppies,” she says. But the reason she did not have the children was, simply, that it wasn’t convenient. There was something else she wanted, and so she sacrificed her unborn children.
I suppose there are cases where, if the mother’s life is endangered, abortions are justified. But to have an abortion just because giving birth is inconvenient is an act too similar to that of those parents of long ago, who traded the lives of their children to a pagan god or goddess in hopes of improved health, a better job, or wealth.
In God’s eyes, there is nothing that equals the value of a human life.

“Do not” Lev. 19:1–18. What is implied in the Ten Commandments? They are restated here, some with implications spelled out. Here are verses to compare with each.

“Different kinds” Lev. 19:19–37. Many of the rulings in this passage, such as not to mate different kinds of animals, or wear clothing woven of two kinds of material, reflect the principle of separation. Many practices in Israel were simply intended to remind God’s people of their difference from others.

“Love him as yourself” Lev. 19:33–34. Israel had experienced mistreatment in Egypt. God encourages His people to remember how they felt there, and “when an alien lives with you,” to treat him as one of their own.
Some people respond to mistreatment by becoming bitter and hostile to others. Any mistreatment you and I receive should make us more sensitive. Remembering how we have been hurt, we are to take special care not to hurt others.

“Put him to death” Lev. 20:1–27. Other ancient law codes frequently impose the death penalty for crimes against property. In contrast, Old Testament Law reserves capital punishment for crimes against persons and against public welfare.
In a holy community certain standards must be enforced. Each of the crimes listed here is more serious than it might appear. For instance, to “curse” a mother or father was not simply to swear at them. “Curse” here implies an attempt to harm by the use of magic. In Israel recourse to any supernatural power other than God was forbidden (cf. v. 27). An attempt to use such powers against one’s parents was an especially heinous crime.

“To the priests” Lev. 21:1–22:33. The whole community of Israel was holy and was to live by the moral and ritual standards God had ordained.
But the priests were set apart to the Lord from within this holy community. Thus the standards by which they lived were even higher.
As believer-priests, Christians are called to live by the highest standards of holiness. Only by relying on God’s Holy Spirit can we meet and surpass the righteous requirements of Old Testament Law (Rom. 8:4).

DEVOTIONAL
The Nature of Holiness
(Lev. 19:1–18)
Moses introduced this passage by quoting God: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”
For most Christians, “holiness” is a rather mystical and somewhat puzzling term. We’re willing to be holy, but we don’t quite know what holiness is. We know that God is holy. We realize that we are to be holy, as He is. But how are we to be like Him?
The laws in Leviticus 19 are an expression of God’s holy character. If we want an insight into the nature of holiness, all we need to do is to meditate on some of these verses, and consider what they tell us about God. For instance:

“Do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. . . . Leave them for the poor” (vv. 9–10).
“Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (v. 15).
“Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life” (v. 16).
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 18).

What do we learn? Perhaps the surprising fact that holiness and love are identical twins!
The truest expression of holiness is showing love for others in simple, practical ways. Caring for the poor. Being fair to well-to-do and needy alike. Doing nothing that might harm another. Loving others as ourselves.
It is this kind of life God calls us to live daily. And this, the simple and practical living out of love, is holiness.

Personal Application
Using the criteria established in this passage, who is the “holiest” person you know?

Quotable
“At last I have found my calling! My calling is love.”—Therese de Lisieux

The 365-Day Devotional Commentary

WORSHIP AS ASSURANCE
Leviticus 16–17

“He will make atonement . . . because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been” (Lev. 16:16).

Sin offerings dealt only with unintentional sins. On the Day of Atonement a sacrifice was offered which assured the Israelites that they could be forgiven for all their sins.

Definition of Key Terms
Atonement. The Hebrew word means “to cover or conceal.” In Israel’s sacrifices of atonement, God covered the sins of His people so that He could have fellowship with them.

Blood. Blood played a vital role in Old Testament sacrifices. It represented the biological life of man and of animals. In the Bible God’s forgiveness of sin is consistently linked with the shedding of blood.

Overview
God gave the priests and the Israelites instructions for the Day of Atonement (16:1–34). Rules for the presentation of sacrifices were given (17:1–9), and the eating of meat without draining the blood was forbidden (vv. 10–16).

Understanding the Text
“His own sin offering” Lev. 16:1–6. Israel’s high priest was required to sacrifice a bull for his own sin on the Day of Atonement. Only then could he sacrifice for the sins of his people. Each of us needs to approach God humbly, for we have all sinned.
The fact that Israel’s high priest was to make a public sacrifice to atone for his own failings shows that each of us is also to remain humble before others.

A ram for a scapegoat Lev. 16:7–22. Two goats were selected for the Day of Atonement. One was sacrificed, and its blood was sprinkled on the altar. The other was set apart “to azazel.” The Hebrew word occurs only here, and its meaning is debated. The most likely explanation is that azazel is a technical theological term meaning “complete removal.”
In the Day of Atonement ceremony, after the sacrifices were complete, the high priest laid both hands on the head of the scapegoat, symbolically transferring the sins of Israel to it. It was then driven out into the wilderness, symbolizing “complete removal” of “all their sins” from the covenant community.
This acting out of sin’s removal was intended to convey to Israel a sense of assurance that their sins truly were gone. Israel was forgiven and accepted by the Lord.

“All their sins” Lev. 16:18–22. The Hebrew language distinguishes between the sins of those who try but fall short, and sins committed consciously and willfully. The first are inadvertent expressions of human frailty. The second are purposeful sins, described by Hebrew words that mean “wickedness” and “rebellion.”
The sacrifices described in Leviticus 1–7 made no provision for forgiveness of willful sins. Only unintentional sins could be dealt with by personal sin offerings.
But on the Day of Atonement, God forgave all sins, including sins of wickedness and rebellion.
God wants us to know that, whatever we have done, He is ready to forgive. There is nothing we can do to merit salvation. But on history’s ultimate Day of Atonement Jesus died on Calvary, paying the price for us, whatever we may have done.

“Atonement is to be made once a year” Lev. 16:24–34. The sacrifice of the Day of Atonement was to be repeated yearly. Hebrews 10:3–4 points out that the repetition of this sacrifice served as “an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The sacrifice did cover Israel’s sins. But if it had been truly efficacious, only one sacrifice would have been required.
How good to know that “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (v. 10).
Christ offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, and “by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (v. 14).

Sacrifices outside the camp Lev. 17:1–9. All sacrifices made by the Israelites were to be offered at the tabernacle. This rule set Israel apart from other nations, whose people offered sacrifices to pagan gods at many different shrines. It reminds us of Jesus’ saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). If we are to come to God, we must approach Him in the one way He has ordained.

“The life of the creature is in the blood” Lev. 17:10–16. God reserved the blood of animals, the source and symbol of biological life, for sacrifice. Verse 11 says, “I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”
Because blood represents life itself, and was used in Israel’s religion to make atonement for sin, blood was a sacred fluid. No Jew was to eat blood. The blood of wild game was to be drained on the ground and covered with earth. Eating any animal not drained of blood when it was killed made a person unclean.
The sacred nature of blood is reflected frequently in the New Testament, where the blood of Jesus stands for the life He gave for us. Ephesians 1:7 says that “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph. 1:7).

DEVOTIONAL
He Has Removed Our Sins from Us
(Lev. 16)
I don’t know how she got my phone number. But she called my Phoenix home daily from Toronto, Canada.
She was one of those folks who are tormented by uncertainty. Was she really forgiven? Did she really believe? Had God accepted her? After each conversation she seemed relieved, reassured. But the next day, the phone would ring again, as she shared her inner torment.
The ceremony described in Leviticus 16 reminds us that God doesn’t intend you or me to doubt. He wants us to know that we are forgiven. He wants us to worship Him in the full assurance of faith.
What conveys assurance? The image of the scapegoat. The picture of the high priest, symbolically transferring “all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites-all of their sins”—to the goat. And the picture of that goat being led out into the wilderness, never to be seen in the community of Israel again.
David understood the message, and wrote in one of his psalms, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).
Call up that image next time you feel uncertain about your relationship with God. Imagine all your sins. Close your eyes, and sense your sins being carried away, not by Israel’s scapegoat, but by Jesus Himself. Then let assurance of forgiveness bring you inner peace.
Your sins are gone. As far as the east is from the west. So you truly are free. Free to worship God and to give Him thanks.

Personal Application
How does knowing that you are forgiven affect your feelings about God? About yourself? About your past sins and failures?

Quotable
“What could you want that forgiveness cannot give? Do you want peace? Forgiveness offers it. Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, certainty of purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world? Do you want care and safety, the warmth of sure protection always? Do you want quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that can never be hurt, a deep abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect it can never be upset?
“All this forgiveness offers you, and more. It sparkles in your eyes as you awake, and gives you joy with which to meet the day. It soothes your forehead while you sleep, and rests upon your eyelids so you see no dreams of fear and evil, malice and attack. And when you wake again, it offers you another day of happiness and peace.”—Gerald Jampolsky, M.D.