Keeping up... cues on reading the Old Testament Law

Wow… if the last couple of weeks in Leviticus and Numbers haven’t been a little weary on you, then maybe its just me.  I have been reminded why these books are so difficult to plow through.  They are filled with rules, lists, and detailed descriptions of the Levitical priesthood… it has absolutely boggled my mind!  How difficult it must have been to abide by all of these rules and regulations.  Can you imagine having to offer up the sacrifices to God that were required in Leviticus on an ongoing basis… with little relief in sight?  If you, like me, have struggled over the last several days in our reading and in understanding what the purpose of the Law was… let me suggest another Bible reading cue that might help.

 

Bible Reading Cue #3:  The Old Testament Law should point us to Jesus

Paul wrote to the church in Galatia about the place of the Old Testament law.  This is what he said in 3:24 & 25, “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that   Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”  Do you imagine that keeping the law perfectly must have been a difficult task?  Good, you are supposed to.  It was difficult.  In fact, it was impossible.  Nobody ever did it perfectly… until Jesus, that is.  I think that was part of the point.  God always intended his people to be justified or to be made right by FAITH.  It was the people’s faith in God that led them to offer the sacrifices in the first place.  It was their faith in God that sustained them in the wilderness wanderings.  It was their faith in God that led them to the land of promise.  It was all about faith… from the beginning.  So, why the law?  It was all about pointing the way to Jesus!

 

Did you ever wonder why God allowed the people to suffer in slavery in Egypt before being delivered by Moses?  Could it be that he was trying to teach them that we all are captives (to sin cf. Gal. 3:22) and in need of a deliverer… Jesus?  Ever wonder why God demanded all of those animal blood sacrifices?  It was to point the way to Jesus, whose blood sacrifice on the cross would forever remove the stain of sin and make perfect forever those who are being made holy (cf.  Heb. 10:14)!  Ever wonder why God asked them to build a Tabernacle so he could “dwell” with them?  It was to make the way for the presence of Jesus in their lives through the indwelling of God’s Spirit (cf.  1 Cor. 3:16).  How it all makes sense… seen through the prism of Jesus.

 

I wonder if the Israelites fully comprehended what God was doing?  My sense is that they didn’t.  God was teaching them step by step.  They were learning as they went and didn’t always get it.  God’s desire was simply for them to trust him.  Sometimes they did better with that than at other times.  What about you?  How are you at trusting in God?  Even when he asks you to do something that doesn’t make sense to you?  Its always easier to see God’s hand working in our lives in retrospect than it is to trust in him for the future.  That’s because we can see the past… but what God wants is for us to trust in him when we cannot see what lies ahead.  Isn’t that what faith is all about (cf. Heb. 11:1)… its an exciting journey, isn’t it?

got faith?

Every now and then I get folks who come to me and say something like this.  “Preacher, I wish I had more faith.”  It’s a great desire isn’t it… the desire for more faith?  What if we all had a little more faith?  Couldn’t we do so much more?  Wouldn’t we be so much closer to the Lord?  Who couldn’t use a little more faith?

 

All right, I’ll let you in on a little secret… one that I’m still learning… faith doesn’t just happen.  God doesn’t just swish his magic wand and ‘poof’ we’ve got it.  He doesn’t just FedEx more of it down from Heaven and deliver it to our doorstep.  Faith doesn’t come about by accident and nobody gets it without wanting it.  No.  The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  That’s what Paul tells the Christians at Rome in Romans 10:17.  He tells them that if they want salvation, they must believe.  In other words, they must have faith.  And that faith doesn’t just come from thin air… it comes as one hears the Word of God.

 

So, the next time somebody says to me, “Preacher, I just need a little more faith” I am going to ask them how much time they are spending in God’s Word.  I have been trying to spend more time in the Bible this year as we have been reading it from “Cover to Cover” and so far I can tell you that it works!  I still don’t feel that I am where I ought to be in my spiritual growth and I sure don’t have the faith that I should have… but the daily exercise of spending more time in God’s Word has certainly caused me to grow.  Seeing the narrative of God’s story play out from creation and the fall of man to His seeking reconciliation through the covenant and the law has challenged me.  I’ve seen things in the story that I’ve never seen before and I’ve been challenged by things that have not caught me in the same way before.  My faith has been stretched, challenged and strengthened through it all.

 

What about you?  Have you taken up our challenge to read the Bible thru this year?  If not, are you still spending time each day in God’s Word?  I’ll tell you that there is nothing you can do that will increase your faith more than hearing God in His Word.  Couldn’t we all use a little more of that?

Surviving... and Appreciating Leviticus

Well, you knew it was going to happen.  When we started our “Cover to Cover” Bible reading plan a few weeks ago, we knew it was inevitable.  We embarked with enthusiasm and with all of the excitement of new creation in Genesis one.  Then we moved quickly through the ensuing chapters as God’s marvelous story unfolded in gripping narrative.  We got caught up in the plight of Abraham and Sarah.  We were enthralled in the soap opera that is the love story of Jacob and Rachel… and Leah!  We were on the edge of our seats reading through the story of Joseph with all of its ups and downs.  We brushed away the images of Cecil B. DeMille’s movie as we were once again impressed by the awesome power of a real God rescuing his people in the Exodus.  But then it happened.  We couldn’t avoid it.  We hit Leviticus!  If you’ve been keeping up with your daily Bible reading you know what I mean.  We have come to the book of Leviticus… and it may have seemed like hitting a brick wall after the gripping narratives of Genesis and Exodus.  Leviticus is filled with commands and codes, laws and legalease, principles, precepts and priestly instruction… and perhaps you have wondered, “Where is God in all of this?”  or “What am I supposed to get from all of these Old Testament laws?”  Let me suggest a few thoughts that may help you get the most out of Leviticus… not only to get through it, but also to appreciate it as a wonderful reflection of a most Holy God.

• Leviticus is full of covenant language— Beneath all of the codes and ‘legalese’ of Leviticus is the one unmistakable truth… God loves his people and wants a relationship with them.  The Levitical code is a reflection of that desire.  God has agreed to be there God… to never leave them nor forsake them and in return he expects them to abide by certain principles which are embodied in his very nature and laid out in Leviticus.


• Jesus fulfills all of the Old Testament law--  Jesus told his followers that he came not to abolish this law but to fulfill it.  That means that he lived it out fully and in doing so he showed the world what it meant.  Thus while Christians are no longer “under the jurisdiction” of the Old Testament law, the moral principles which it conveyed and which Jesus lived out still apply. 


• In the Old Testament law we see the Holiness of God in full display!  God wanted the Hebrews to know ONE thing above everything else… He was their God and he was Holy (i.e. ‘set apart’).  Thus he called them to “be Holy as I am Holy.”  In almost every word of the Levitical code, God is reminding his people of that truth.  The instructions for the priests, for the worship and for the practices of purity were all intended to emphasize the very special nature that God wanted the Hebrews to maintain… “separateness” from the world.  They were to be different… a “peculiar people.”  In a world where “everything goes”, we too need to remember that we are “set apart”… different from the world.

 Don’t get lost in the details of the law and miss the Holy God that is embodied on every page!  God bless your reading this week…