A singular vow

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 27: 1-13, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest: And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be. But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.”

Even though every person in Israel had obligation under their ceremonial system, there was an extra system whereby people could make an extra act of devotion to the Lord and make a vow. Whatever they wanted to give to the Lord, say their house or their land, could be redeemed because, even though the Land belonged to the Lord, each family had tenure over the land in perpetuity as long as the people kept to the terms of the contract they had made with the Lord. A person could also dedicate himself as a living sacrifice to the Lord as well. In every case there was a defined sum required for a person to redeem themselves from the vow so that they could continue to acts as productive and contributing members of the nation. The same was true of a animal that was dedicated to the Lord but not for a regular sacrifice. It was a wonderful picture for the nation to see themselves as dedicated to the Lord but continuing to work for His glory till the end of their days.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

If their hearts be humbled

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 26: 40-46, “If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.”

This section takes us to the very core of the Lord’s character. It is impossible to understand the Lord without understanding this part of His character. We saw before that the Lord was always working with Israel, in the Old Testament period, to bring them to their knees so that they could be restored to their position as the centre of His plans for blessing all the families of the earth. In spite of what some people say today, the Lord’s character is based on love, grace and mercy. All His activities are guided by those qualities but He will never lose His consistency or His integrity. The Lord gave Adam, and all his descendants, the ability to choose. This was an act of pure grace for the Lord knows that if we receive something that we have chosen then we will enjoy it even more. If we choose to enjoy all the benefits of the Lord’s love and goodness then our appreciation is far greater than if the Lord forced us to enjoy all the benefits of His love and goodness. However, the Lord has perfect integrity and is absolutely consistent. This means that, ultimately, He will give us what we choose. However, until the day we die there is always the option of confessing that we have rejected the Lord’s love and submitting to that love then we will enjoy that love. But, first we must confess our sin and repent. When people try to tell us that the Lord is responsible for the bad things that are recorded in the Old Testament they are displaying a fundamental misunderstanding of the Lord’s character and they way He acts. When people chooses to reject the Lord the Lord hands those people over to the random and arbitrary consequences of their choice. They become prey to all the evil that lies within their own hearts and this evil flows out into the world around them. God did not force them to reject His ways but He allowed them the consequences of the choice that they made. Even in this, the Lord is still gracious because they are experiences the consequences to give them understanding and their is always the opportunity to repent until they finally die and lose that as well.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

If ye shall despise my statutes

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 26: 14-39, “But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.”

The entire Old Testament, from Joshua on, should be understood in the context of this section. The parallel section is in Deuteronomy 28-30. Israel made a firm contract with the Lord when they went into the Promised Land. This contract had penalty clauses and these penalty clauses were instituted when they didn’t keep the terms of the contract. The Lord always dealt with Israel with perfect integrity according to the terms of the contract that they made with the Lord. If they chose to follow after other gods the Lord gave them into the power of those gods so that they could see what the other gods were like. However, the Lord only had one purpose in everything that He did and that was to bring Israel back to their knees so that they would obey Him again and enjoy the full benefits of their contractual agreement.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

A standing image

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 26: 1-13, “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. 1And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.”

Israel’s God was the God of all creation, they had to be careful not to reduce God in their minds by representing Him as something less than He is. If they assumed that the Lord God was like the sun then they would soon assume that He was restricted to size of the sun. The same is true today; if we believe in the Lord God, Who created the heavens and the earth, then we have to be careful not to reduce Him in our minds. If the Lord God is in complete control of all creation, as He indeed is, then we must come to Him on His terms and not demand that He comes to us on our terms. He wants His people to enjoy the fact that He only does perfect things and celebrate the fact that creation was perfect when He finished it. This is celebrated by resting on the seventh day to celebrate the fact that the Lord rested on the seventh day because everything was perfect and He had nothing left to do. If Israel kept the Lord’s commandments then He would bless them and give them everything they needed. This would be an abundance defined by the Lord’s ability to supply rather than by Israel’s ability to produce. They would be great because they were relying on the great God. The Lord would establish His presence among them and they would never again be slaves. However, all this depended on their appreciation of the fact that the Lord God is God and must be served.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Thou shalt not compel him

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 25: 39-55, “And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God. Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour. And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him. If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight. And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him. For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

Every Israeli was directly descended from someone who had been a slave in Egypt, had been a slave in Egypt or was a stranger who had attached himself to Israel because he believed that the Lord was with Israel. This gave everyone the same status under the Lord. No one was better than anyone else because no one had a superior heritage. However, some people were more successful than other people and the successful people were obliged to remember that their success came from the Lord. If they had an attitude of gratitude to their success then they would treat people who were not so successful with charity and compassion. This was to be the foundation of the conduct of all relationships in Israel throughout the ages.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

May the Levites redeem at any time

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 25: 23-38, “The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile. But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession. And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.”

Even though the Land belonged to the Lord and Israel was given custody of it under His conditions, the Levites had special privileges because they were taken in place of the firstborn who were saved when the angel of death passed over the homes that were protected by the blood. (see Num 3: 12, 13, “And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.”) They were allowed to redeem their homes at any time because they didn’t have an inheritance of Land.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Come not at all times

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 16: 1-4, “And the LORD spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died; And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.”

While it may have been convenient for the priests to come before the Lord at their convenience it was appropriate for them to come before the Lord at His convenience. After all, He is the Lord and they were His creatures, entirely dependent upon His goodness. Even though the priests were acting as the Lord’s agents and they were also representing the people, they were still sinners being descendant of Adam. It was not appropriate for them to come before the Lord without acknowledging their sin and offering a sin offering. they also had to wear proper garments to show that they understood that the Lord is holy. Things are different now because the appropriate sacrifice has been offered for all time (Heb 10: 11-18, “ And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”) Now anyone can at their own convenience if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb 4: 15, 16, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

If thy brother be poor

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

Leviticus 15: 23-33, “The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession. And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.  But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile. Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession. And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.”

Even though Israel had possession of the Land under the contract that they had made with the Lord, ownership still belonged to the Lord. In fact, all the earth belongs to the Lord because He made it even though sin has invaded the whole earth and caused considerable destruction. The whole purpose of the Land, for the Israelis, was like a modern day superannuation scheme. They had something to fall back on when they were old and unable to work any longer. The Land was not be taken away from the original owners in perpetuity. If this happened then there would be some people who would lose access to their old age security. Everyone was to have sufficient but the Lord knew that great riches can only come at the expense of great poverty. His plan was to protect the poor and needy from exploitation but in order for that to happen no one would be able to gain great riches.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1