Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

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Leviticus 22（ESV）

 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. 4 None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen, 5 and whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be— 6 the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water. 7 When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because they are his food. 8 He shall not eat what dies of itself or is torn by beasts, and so make himself unclean by it: I am the Lord.’

 

REFLECTION

1. Rules for sacrifices
2. This chapter is addressed Aaron and his sons through Moses and begins with a warning to treat the sacred offerings with respect. These instructions also operate from the notion that sacrifice should not be a casual thing.  The best is to be given to God.  Sacrifice is not an opportunity to get rid of cast-off animals.  What is given to God is to be without blemish.  With all the demands in life, it is often difficult to keep our relationship with God as the priority.  Moses’ instruction to Aaron and his sons is a reminder to us as well:  giving our best to God is a sacrificial commitment that creates spiritual growth; giving God the leftovers of our life leads to spiritual stagnation.
3. If I take the Holy God seriously and examine my interaction with God, my service at church and cell group, what would I change? What about my donations to church, how would that be affected?  Why?

 

PRAYER

Stay quiet in the presence of the Holy God.  Continue to reflect on the second question above and wait for the revelation from the Holy Spirit.  End this time with an interactive prayer with God: ”You are the holy God, therefore I……”.  Repeat it as the Holy Spirit reveals.  Continue to sit for a little longer, enjoy this time with Him.

 

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Leviticus 21（ESV）

 

1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). 4 He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. 5 They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. 6 They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord’s food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. 7 They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy. 9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

 

10 “The priest who is chief among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose nor tear his clothes. 11 He shall not go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. 12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, lest he profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him: I am the Lord.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. Ceremonially cleansing of priests
2. The whole community of Israel was holy and was to live by the moral and ritual standards that God had ordained. But the priests were set apart for the Lord from within this holy community.  Thus the standards by which they lived were even higher.
3. 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 (Rm 8:4).

 

PRAYER

Prayerfully read the article in the following page.  Respond to this question: How can I live a holy life?  Note my thoughts and feelings.  Write them down and converse with God.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show areas of my life that is yet holy.  Pray for God’s help to begin the process of becoming holy in my daily life.

 

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Leviticus 20（ESV）

 

9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him…..

 

22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

 

27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”

 

 

REFLECTION

1. Today’s passage is about punishment for the unclean/unholy
2. The disciplines that turn us from dishonoring our parents to honoring them also train us in a way of life that honors God. Home and holiness are closely related not only in this passage but also in the passage from childhood to adulthood.  In Prov 1:7-8, we see a similar relationship between the teaching of God and the teaching at home:

Start with God – the first step in learning is bowing down to God;

only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you;

never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee.(The Message)

3. Holiness begins at home. It begins with honoring our parents.  In honoring our parents, we honor God.  How we speak to our parents will largely determine how we speak to God.  The late Rev. Stephen D. Knights, founder of AFC Canada used to say, “A person who is obedient to his parents is more likely obedient to God.”

 

 

PRAYER

Examine my relationship with my parents, how does it affect my attitude toward God?  Is the Holy Spirit rebuking me, or reminding me areas that I need to improve?  Ask for His help and guidance.

 

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Leviticus 19（ESV）

 

11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

 

13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

 

15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

 

17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. Today’s passage is about Holy Conduct
2. The love of neighbor consists of a commitment to the welfare and best interest of another person, citizen or sojourner. This passage is calling to love one’s neighbor, companion, or friend.  It is part of Jesus’ text in Matt 22:34-39 in speaking the two great commandments.  Many readers of the Gospels are not aware that this text comes from Leviticus.  The concern for holiness relates to much of life and so contains a strong ethical dimension.  The chapters of the Holiness Code are more explicit in combining the ritual and ethical dimensions of life.  In Leviticus, how one worships and lives are tied to one’s relationship with God.
3. The truest expression of holiness is showing love for others in simple, practical ways. Caring for the poor, being fair to the 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.

 

PRAYER

Have I found an integration of holiness and love my neighbor in my life?  Or am I still struggling trying to hit a balance between the two?  Which do I need to cultivate more at present?

 

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Leviticus 18（ESV）

 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.…….

 

21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.…….

 

24 “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25 and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you 27 (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28 lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. Today’s passage is about the sanctity of marriage
2. Verses 1-5 point out that the faith community is to be characterized by allegiance to neither the Egyptian nor Canaanite lifestyle, but by practices formed in its relationship with God. The concluding verses 24-30 reiterate the view of the chapter based on divine revelation: maintain holiness.  This chapter challenges contemporary believers to demonstrate distinctiveness of faith today.  The concern pervades all of life – family life and sexual conduct are certainly included.
3. 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.

There are many people, Christians included, who has had abortions without much hesitation.  They can’t see anything wrong with what they did.  The reason was, simply, that it wasn’t convenient.  There was something else they wanted, and so they 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.

(Larry Richards, The 365 Day Devotional Commentary, p82)

 

PRAYER

Lord, how can I live out my faith authentically?  Can others see my difference?  What’s my view of human life, even the life of an unborn baby?  Do I share Your viewpoint?  Help me, Lord!

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Leviticus 17（ESV）

 

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. 6 And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.

 

8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be cut off from his people.

 

REFLECTION

1. God has instructed the Israelites that all sacrifices 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 gives the Israelites reasons to resist temptations not to follow the pagan customs.  Later on, the Israelites failed because “everyone did as he saw fit.”(Judges 17:6)
2. Following God’s instruction also 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.

 

PRAYER

Have I embraced Jesus was the only way to God?  Or, do I prefer, sometimes, to go my own way?  Tell God about my true situation.  Talk with Him about the difficulties and ask for His help in guiding me back to His way.

 

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Leviticus 16（ESV）

 

6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 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.……

 

15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. ……

 

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. The Day of Atonement is the most important religious date for the Israelites. The high priest had 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.
2. Two goats will be selected for the Day of Atonement. One was sacrificed, and its blood was sprinkled on the altar.  The other was set apart “to azazel” meaning “complete removal”.  The acting out of sin’s removal by the high priest (v22) was intended to convey to Israel a sense of assurance that their sins truly were gone.  Israel was forgiven and accepted by the Lord.
3. Hold a stuffed animal, a figurine, or even a pet, and put my hands on its head. Confess to God my acts of rebellion, my bad attitudes, and my harsh thoughts about others.  Experience the feeling of transferring my sin to this animal.  See myself sending it off as it takes my sin far away from me.

 

PRAYER

What do I wish to say to God about having sent my sins off without me?

Quiet my mind and wait on God to show my situations in which I need to remember what I just did.  Practice resting assured of God’s love in those situations as I am resting assured now.

 

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Leviticus 15（ESV）

 

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean. 3 And this is the law of his uncleanness for a discharge: whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is blocked up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness. 4 Every bed on which the one with the discharge lies shall be unclean, and everything on which he sits shall be unclean. 5 And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. 6 And whoever sits on anything on which the one with the discharge has sat shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. Any sort of bodily discharge made an Israelite ritually unclean and might be contagious. Any thing or person that an unclean person touched also became unclean.  Unclean person had to stay home and couldn’t go to the tabernacle to worship.  These regulations had public health values.  Other than this, is there any other implication for such regulations?
2. Pagan religions typically coupled worship of deities with sexual intercourse, and often involved male and female cult prostitution. Therefore these strict rules prevented these perverted practices to corrupt the Israelite’s worship and preserved their moral purity.
3. We need to keep clean in order to come to God. In Jesus’ teaching, what did He say will make a man “unclean” (Matt 15:16-20)?  How does this help me to set the boundary?

 

PRAYER

God, I know those that make me unclean are things in my heart.  Please cleanse my thoughts and my words with Your word.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Ps 139:23-24)

 

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Leviticus 14（ESV）

 

10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. 11 And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. 13 And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. 17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. 19 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. Cleansing regulations contributed to Israel’s public health. Before a person who had recovered from an infectious skin disease could return to the community, he was to shave off his hair and thoroughly wash his clothes and his body.  In addition the person was to bring sin, burnt, and guilt offerings.
2. The officiating priest was to smear the sacrificial blood on the right ear, thumb, and big toe of the worshiper, just as was done in ordaining priests. The layman as well as the minister is to hear and respond to God’s voice, to commit himself to active service, and to walk in God’s ways.

 

 

PRAYER

Lord, I was outside of Your grace and couldn’t come to You, but am redeemed by Jesus to become a member of Your family.  You have cleansed me, give me grace so that I may live a holy life.

 

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Leviticus 13（ESV）

 

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, 3 and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean. 4 But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. 5 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up for another seven days. 6 And the priest shall examine him again on the seventh day, and if the diseased area has faded and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only an eruption. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean. 7 But if the eruption spreads in the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall appear again before the priest. 8 And the priest shall look, and if the eruption has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a leprous disease.

 

45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

 

 

REFLECTION

1. This chapter deals with diagnosing a variety of skin diseases. It also extends to mold and mildew.  Priests served also as public-health officers.  Faith pervades every dimension of life.
2. How important is good health to me? In what ways does maintaining good health promote my spiritual vitality?
3. How do I react to sickness in others and/or in myself? Do I see ill health as a sign of something wrong “spiritually”?  What can I do to make sure that I make the proper response to illness?
4. What role should Christians take in the care of the sick, especially the “unclean” members of our society, such as AIDS victims?

 

PRAYER

Consider again my reaction to health and sickness.  Talk with God, listen to see if there is any “illness” in my body, thoughts, spirit He wants to point out to me?  Pray for my physical and spiritual health.