Leviticus 1:1-3:17, Mark 1:29-2:12, Psalms 35:17-28, Proverbs 9:13-18
Commentary:
So, today in the Old Testament we will begin the book of Leviticus. And Leviticus is the third book of the Bible. The third book of the Pentateuch. And, of course, it was written for the children of Israel. We’re in the middle of the desert at this point in the story, and God is establishing the terms of the covenant between himself and the nation of Israel and He’s shaping the culture that will govern those people. It’s been about a year now since they’ve left Egypt and the law is being given. And as we pay close attention, we’ll see this sort of sub-theme or a theme that emerges out of the laws and statues. And that is that fellowship, intimacy, collaboration, relationship with God will come through holiness. Holiness is a huge thing. God tells them, I am holy, therefore you will be holy. And, of course, holy means being set apart. Being set apart to God. God is saying, if we’re going commune together and enjoy fellowship with one another, it will be through holiness. So, if you just read Leviticus at face value, you find a lot of blood in this book because there’s a lot of animal sacrifice in it. If you approach the Old Testament, a work inspired thousands of years ago, from the perspective of the culture you live in right now. Right? If you back read your culture into it, it’s going seem somewhat barbaric, maybe hopelessly antiquated, possibly irrelevant. It’s not, though. You may wonder why they would just start sacrificing animals and why God would want such a thing and to find the answer, we’ll have to go back to the beginning. Six weeks ago, we read the account of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve’s fall. And from that moment, all of mankind was separated from God and worthy of death, spiritually and physically. And when God came into the garden in the cool of the evening looking for Adam and Eve, they hid. And they eventually told God they were afraid because they were naked. What God does in that moment is telling. He covers them with the skins of animals. So, it was God who set this precedent of atonement and covering. It cost something to cover man and woman. It cost the life of an animal. And we live in a culture after Christ where atoning sacrifice is no longer required. However, we just read the account of the crucifixion in Matthew. Right? And this all goes along with what we were talking about just a couple of days ago as we moved into the season of Lent. These things represent something, to tie us and keep us focused on the story. So, we read in Matthew the account of Jesus death. It’s barbaric. It’s ugly. It’s bloody. And it’s terribly sad. The more that we fall in love with Christ, the more that we see Jesus at work in our lives, we realize that this didn’t happen to someone we don’t know. This happened to our closest friend and ally. Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all. But the children of Israel do not have that luxury. God is showing the children of Israel that to cover their sin comes at a great cost, and requires the shedding of blood. It comes at a great price. So, we’ll see God sowing this into the fabric of the culture he’s establishing. We’ll see the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, and how they’re to be given. We’ll see the way things are to be consecrated and the consecration of priests and priests’ families. We’ll learn what is considered clean and unclean in this culture. And we’ll discover the different festivals or feasts that must be observed, and blessings and cursing’s, all against the backdrop of the absolute and utter holiness and sovereignty of the Lord. And maybe you’ve been on this path before. You’ve started to read your Bible at the beginning of the year and you get about to this point and this is kind of where you taper off because you’re thinking, I don’t really relate to this. Embrace it. You’re witnessing the establishment of a culture by a sovereign, holy, God revealing to a fallen man the great price of sin and its consequences juxtaposed against God’s holiness. And this is all happening in the harshness of desert wastelands, where there is no, you know, there is no fast food down the street that you can just drive through and get a meal. There is no shopping mall that you can just go get whatever supplies that you want or need. They didn’t have any way to re-supply. This is where we find ourselves, in the desert, as we begin the book of Leviticus. And today we’ll read the first three chapters of the book of Leviticus, beginning with chapter 1.
Prayer:
Thank You, Father, for Your Word. And thank You as we keep taking steps forward we encounter new books, new contexts, new things to learn about, new things to plant in the soil of our hearts. And, so, we’ve just gotten into the book of Mark. We’ve just begun the book of Leviticus. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to speak to us, to plant the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We want a hundred-fold crop of the fruit of the Spirit. That’s what we’re asking for, but we know this will require our participation. You will provide the sun, You will provide the rain, You will provide the nourishment in the soil of our lives, but You also expect us to collaborate, to weed, to tend, to nurture. So, come Holy Spirit as we continue to move forward and deeper into Your word. Come Jesus, we pray. In Your name we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s home base, it’s where you find what’s going on around here.
And what’s really immediate on the radar is that we will be heading toward Israel. I actually made a mistake. Part of the team is heading tomorrow, so we certainly do have to pray. I don’t have to leave until Sunday morning. But definitely prayers over this. There’s just a lot of moving parts, as I mentioned before. There’s jet lag that’s involved, there’s logistics that are involved, a lot of them. And there’s going be a lot of us involved. So, the prayers are for all of that - the transportation, technology, stamina, energy, health, all of this. And as I have mentioned, if you want to stay connected to this, then just get familiar with the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page, which is facebook.com/dailyaudiobible or the Daily Audio Bible Instagram page because we’ll be posting. Like, when we visit somewhere, we’ll be posting pictures of it. If we have strong enough Internet, then we’ll even be posting videos. And then about halfway through the trip, we’ll be doing a Facebook Live from the Sea of Galilee area. So, I’ll be talking about all of this, but you’re going one way or the other. You’re going. I’m taking you in my suitcase. Whether this is virtual or you’re going in person, we’re going do this together, and it’s incredible to just watch the whole Bible begin to take shape as it’s rooted in its geography. So, it’s exciting that we can do this as a community and I’m looking forward to it very much.
The other thing that’s coming up on the radar is the More Gathering for women. And that will take place in early April. And we do this each year for the sisters in our community, and what a sisterhood it has become over the years. So, if you’re in a place in your life where you’re feeling there has got to be more than this, there’s got to be. I know there is, I can feel it, I just don’t know how to name it. I just don’t know what it looks like, what it’s shaped like, then the More gathering is for you. And you may think, well, I want to go but I don’t want to go alone, trust me. You will not feel alone. You will be among sisters from the Daily Audio Bible community. We all have this in common. It’s an immediate recognition. Immediate. And lifelong friendships have been formed at the More Gatherings. Friends who have stayed together, who are continuing to be friends for years and years and years. It’s a beautiful thing. So, if that raises something in you, if that brings something up in you that you want to explore, then you can find out more about it at moregathering.com. And April will be here before you know it. Right? It was just New Year’s Day. Right? Just a couple of days ago? But, here we are, several books into the Bible and six weeks later. It just moves fast. April will be here before you know it. So, check it out. Make plans to come if you can. You won’t regret it - moregathering.com.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible and be a part of keeping the global campfire that is our community burning strong and bright, then thank you humbly and truly from our hearts for your partnership. We can’t do this if we don’t do it together. And what we’ve done, we’ve done together. Thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Dive button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.
And as always if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.
And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hi family. It’s Shannon from Texas and I’m calling because I’ve had Aliah __ on my mind and I just want to say, Aliah, we love you remiss you and hopefully you’ll call in soon and let us know what’s going on with you and hopefully everyone will say a prayer for Aliah. Also pastor Gene. I love you so much. You are my pastor. You are my friend. You mean the world to us. I’m praying for you. No one has…I know you know this…but no one has great victory without first having a trial. And also no one has joy without first having a trial. So, we’re going to see the victory. I’m not sure was going on but I can’t wait to hear your voice again. I love you very much and we miss you and we’re praying for you. I love you guys. Bye-bye.
Hi DAB family. This is __ calling from Sydney. I called for my first time last month for a prayer request about my health and my boyfriend. I have an update on that. My boyfriend and I broke up do to various reasons but I believe it was God’s plan for us, for it to able to happen because at the time I was able to meet, well actually, Mark S. from Sydney reached out to me, which was such a prayer, answered a prayer. And I was also able to connect with a few other DABbers in Sydney. And what’s amazing is that I was able to connect with a guy called Chris who has been listening for years and he turned out to be a husband to my favorite art teacher in high school. So, praise God for that and for the connections that God is showing me through this community. But I just want to continue to ask for prayer as I deal with this breakup. It ended very badly and I was very much hurt, what was spoke to me. And I know that God has a better plan for my life and I trust Him. And I also just want to thank you for Christie who also reached out to me in New York as I’ve been able to read some of her recommended books. That is helping me to get over this breakup as well. So, I just want to thank you all so much for your prayers. And I’m also praying for you all and I’m __ you to praise God and thank God as well for His faithfulness and continuing to pray and uplift each other. So, thank you so much. I will call in again. I __ and I hope you are well. And I’m praying for you. Thank you.
This is Lara B. from Southern Illinois and I’m requesting prayer. I’m going in next week for a heart catheterization. I’ve been having heart problems. And I’m a single parent. I have a 16-year-old I worry about every day and I just ask that you pray for me and my family. I called in about three years ago when my youngest son in Austin was hit by an Amtrak train. And God performed a miracle. He survived. And when he was on the tracks he heard a voice saying you will be okay. As I was waiting in his hospital room, broken and crying, I was listening to the Daily Audio Bible and I heard Sinner praying for my son and Drew from the Bay Area. Sinner, I have missed your voice. I look forward to your calls. I love to hear them. I haven’t heard from you for a while. There’s someone name David from Kansas. It kind of sounds like you. But I would love to hear from you Sinner. I also called in for my very best friend Cindy, who is fighting cancer. And God is working a miracle on her to. Her tumors have all gotten smaller with her treatments. Her and her devoted husband John are now regular listeners of the Daily Audio Bible and I am so blessed to have them as my friends. And I just requested that you pray for Cindy as she continues to do her treatments. I pray for all of you every time I listen, especially for Blind Tony. Thank you and have a good day.
Hi family this is Viola from Maryland. It’s been so long. How are you all doing? Brian and Jill God bless you. Brian, I’m behind, you know, because I’m still in school. And I just finished listening to January 27th. But it’s all good. It means I can pray for people as I listen after the fact and I’m praying for you journeys Brian. I’m not sure who is traveling with you but I pray for journey mercies for both of you. I pray the blood of Jesus Christ on you and that every family you go to preach would touch their life and change their life. China, China, God bless you for what you do you know what that is. And I want to pray for those who are praying for my job loss. God bless you. I found a job. A good one. And Pelham, I am praying for you. I use myself as a point of contact for you and for those who are underemployed in the DAB community. Father Lord, I pray that you will open up doors for them and that You will cause them oh God even to find jobs oh Lord that will adequately provide for them and their families in the name of Jesus. Pelham I’m praying for your marriage. I pray Lord that You would strengthen that marriage. Whatever the devil is trying to do between you and Molly I cancel in the name of Jesus. And I’m also praying for you Jordan. __. And I just want to pray for you. I pray that God will strengthen and encourage you and come against any kind of depression and come against any kind of discontentment and I pray for calm and peace for you even if this is an on your life until God takes you out of it. And I want to give a shout out to everyone that I really miss you all. Blind Tony, God bless you. I’m praying for strength for you in the name of Jesus. Asia, God bless you. Join me family and praying for pastor Gene who has had some health challenges. And as I’m speaking right now she’s in the hospital and today is the 10th of February. Father Lord I just pray for your daughter Gene. I pray that you would touch her body from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. I pray that you would heal her in the name of Jesus, that you would __ …
I’m calling about your travel Brian. I felt we should all be praying as a group for you. And, so, you’re probably going to be on the plane by the time this one is getting aired, but I’d just like to say, dear Lord please watch over Brian, his family, and his extended family through the community of the Daily Audio Bible, that the travel will be safe and prosperous, not for anything but Your glory in the end Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Yeah, this is Blind Tony with a message for those who
feel their back is up against the wall, they can’t see their way out. You’ve
got to walk on by faith. God is faithful and He will show up. He will bring you
out. You got a hold on. Walk on by faith.
There were men in the Bible who were clearly God’s own
they were considered his friend and were intimately known
but still they had troubles, fears and great doubts
but they walked on by faith and God brought them out
Abraham believed and left his own land
He went all the way to Canaan led by God’s hand
And as soon as he got there, there was famine and drought
So he surged on through Egypt until God brought about
Then he returned and was surrounded by war
His nephew Lot got captured when five kings fought four
And right after that he got tested again
And even though God was still with him his problems didn’t end
He had problems with Hagar and Ishmael and Sarah too
God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac just to prove his love was true
But though he had troubles fears and great doubt
He walked on by faith until God brought him out
Gideon was another one __ week in fear
Afraid of the Midianites but God still called him dear
You get a walk on by faith God will bring you out. blindtony1016@gmail.com. Alright.
Thank you for your prayers, your love and your support. And, once again, I’d
like to thank Brian and his family. Haven’t heard from Jill lately. I guess
I’ll hear from her soon, when Brian goes to the holy land. Anyway. Thank you
for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit the flow. Keep it flown’ ya’ll.
Alright. Bye-bye.