Numbers 4

The holy things in the tabernacle had to be covered by the priests before they could even be moved.

Holy means holy. Period..

The Old Testament

like i said, the Old Testament is just the history of ancient Israel.

Genesis spends 11 chapters on world history and39 chapters on the first four members of the Israelites nation. Exodus tells how they left Egypt and givs instructions for building the tabernacle, their place of worship. Leviticus and Numbers give the Israelite law and tell of their 40 years of wandering, while Deuteronomy is a restatement of the law for a new generation about to enter the land God had promised back in Genesis.

Joshua tells about the conquest and distribution of that land and Judges tells the sad story of what they did once they had it. Ruth is a short book that takes place near the end of Judges. The two books of Samuel are about the beginning of the monarchy and the first two kings of  Israel, Saul and David, and the two books of Kings dead with David's soon Solomn, the bsplit of the kingdom, and the kings of both kingdoms, while Chronicles -- both books -- covers the same ground, but with an emphasis on the southern kingdom of Jydah and the priesthood.

Job is a book about the of God. Psalms was the songbook of ancient Israel. Proverbs is attributed to Solomon (mostly), as are Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, also called the Song of Solomon. They are a collection of wise sayings, a meditation on life, and a love poem, respectively.

 Ther rest of the Old Testament is the prophets, who both foretold the future and called Israel to repent and follow the law. Isaiah_Danielare known as theMajor Prophets, more because their books are longer than because their prophecies were more important. The rest are called Minor Proophets.

And it's all true.

Numbers 3

The number of Levites was just about equal to the number of people to be redeemed.

God knows. I don't know how many different ways I can say it. God knows..

Numbers2

There isn't much to say about this chapter. It's about arranging the camp, and it's one of the dullest chapters in the entire Bible.

However, it's in there for a reason. Maybe not for you, and maybe not for right now, but somebody somewhere needed. Needs. Or will need to see it.

Numbers 1

the chapter contains  a census,  the first in this book: they're the reason the book is called Numbers.

600,000 warriors means at least a millions people, who increased from only 70 in 400 years. That's a lot of increase.

Birmingham

I'm talking about Birmingham,Alabama, USA, not Birmingham, England, of course.

If all you know of now Birmingham is Bull Connor shooting  black people with fire hoses, understand that things have changed a little since then. It's now a medical city . Only Minnapolis, home of f the Mayo Clinic. Spends more per year on research. The University of Alabama at  Birmingham has its hospital there. That's one reason the B'ham VA is one the best in the country; it uses so many UAB doctors.

I also grew up mostly in Alabama, so the people in B'ham don't talk funny to me. That may be purely subjective, but it's also the way it is.

I don't recommend having a stroke, but if you're in the South when it happens, I recommend having it in Birmingham, Alabama.

Review: BAD IDEA by Todd and Jedd Hafer

This book should be required reading for every youth pastor, if only to show that what they see in church may not be the truth.

Come to think of it, maybe everyone should read it.

The titular "bad idea" is a road trip to take the main character to college, involving him, his father, his best friend, and his future stepmother. Because this is a coming-of-age novel,  the reader learns a lot about themandabout his mother's new family, but especially about the main character and his bad habits.

Needless to say, I liked and recommend this book, with a couple of caveats. The first has to do with cussing. There is none in this book, which is partially explained in-story by the presence of the father and Amanda Mac. I personally hate when it's thrown in gratuitously, but teenagers have always loved to cuss. Its complete absence lends a slightly unreal quality to the book.

The second is about characterization, particularly of the main character. He seems wise beyond his years. This is common when older authors write young protagonists, but I remember being remarkably stupid at that age. Making him too wise pulls the reader out of the story.

Despite these quibbles, I really liked this novel. I recommend it.

A note about Numbers

Numbers willst Monday. I'm taking the rest of the week off. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First, I'm just tired. Second, it's easier to keep track if I start a book on a Monday.

I'll have a book review this Friday.

Which Bible should I read?

Simply put, I don't care.

I'm not under the illusion that this blog has led anyone to give themselves to Christ. Most people her are already professing Christians. On the off-chance that I'm wrong, though, and some new Christian is bewildered by the choices out there, here'smy opinion.

We have an embarrassment of riches in the English language. People far smarter than I have said most of them are very good. Pick one you like to read.

The important thing is that you read and obey it.

Leviticus 27

You couldn't devote something to God that was already his.

That makes no sense. How van you give something you're already giving? Yet people tried then, and they try now, 

R

Leviticus 26

A lot has been made of the fact that there are a lot more curses in this chapter than blessings.

Read the chapter, though. The curses are progressive, building on Israel's continued disobedience.

The list of curses is evidence of God's mercy, not his his vindictiveness.

The Gospel redux

Everybody has sinned, and deserves to be punished. 

But who is God to judge me? He gets to judge because he made the rules. Well, why does he get to make the rules? He made them when he made everything else.

Sin is just disobeying God, we've all done that. The punishment for that disobedience is eternity in Hell. You may not like it, but that's how it is.

But the good news is God didn't leave us like that. He lived a perfect life and died to take our punishment, and make no mistake, the Son is as much God as the Father. We can't save ourselves; God already did everything.

All you have to do is stop fighting. Stop thinking you know better than God. Surrender to him. Do what he says. He's not out to get you. He loves you.

He gave his son for you. What else does he have to do?

Leviticus 25

This chapter includes the laws about the Year of Sabbath and the Year of Jubilee. Both were meant to decrease greed and increase trust in God, and to give the land a rest.

Unfortunately, there's no proof that the Israelites ever did it.

Review; THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIM YOU by Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy is best known for his novels, especially War and Peace, but he was also an outspoken professing Christian. This book was said to have inspired both Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and I was interested to read it.

I didn't care for it. The beginning, with its comparison between the teachings of Jesus and the religion of the times, was good, but the middle, which disparages the Old Testament, and the end, which seems to see Christianity as merely a means to making the poor happy, are antithetical to Jesus' teaching.

There were a lot of schemes to help the poor in the 1800s, and this one used Christ. For that reason alone, I don't recommend it.

Leviticus 24

This chapter, like all the others, is concerned with one thing: making people holy.

The people they were going to replace were not holy, and the Israelites needed to be different. Thus all the rules.

Leviticus 23

Several times in this chapter, reference is made to "when you come into the land"

This speaks against those who say that the Pentateuch was only for nomadic tribesmen.

For those who don't know

The Bible is a scary book, primarily because it's so big. It can be intimidating to get into the first time. Hopefully. This will make it a little easier.

The first two-thirds of the Bible is the Old Testament. This basically the history of Israel down to about 400BC. It consists of the Law, or the first five books, the Histories. Which told how well Israel kept the Law, the Prophets, who called people back to the Law, and the Wisdom literature, which generally extolled the Law.

The New Testament takes up the last third of the Bible. It starts with the Gospels, four biographies of Jesus. It continues with the Acts of the Apostles, which is a history of the first 30 years or so of the Church. Then there are the Epistles, a series of letters that tell the new Christians how to live, and Revelation, a future history in symbolic language.

I may have it wrong, but I think that's a pretty good breakdown of Scripture.

Leviticus 22

It seems like God is nitpicky.

Unfortunately, he had to be. People have a bad habit of technically obeying while exploiting loopholes. God just closed the loopholes.

Leviticus 21

Let me tell you how serious God was about perfection: even a priest's wife and kids had to be perfect.

He's no less demanding now.

the schedule

This is what I try to stick to. Regular readers know how often I fail.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are for longer posts. I do book reviews on Friday, and medical posts and housekeeping things like this on Mondays.

Monday through Friday I try to read and and write about a chapter of the Bible each day. The weekends are for resting and catching up.

That's the schedule I've set for myself, anyway. Stay tuned to see if I can keep it.

Leviticus 20

the Israelites were a complex group.

For example, in this chapter they're given a very severe penalty for sleeping with any relation, by blood or marriage. Yet they traced themselves to a man who married his half-sister. Weird.W

Review: WHY YOU SHULD CARE AbOUT THE PERSON WHO MADE YOUR CELL PHONE

by Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis is a polarizing figure among evangelicals. Some think he and his Sojourners organization support liberal causes no matter their background. Personally, I find his books sometimes theologically irresponsible, but a badly-needed balance in a Church that too often has been an arm of the Republican Party.

This short book is more about African civil wars than cell phones. I liked it a lot regardless. It was very well-written and timely. We as Americans tend not to care where our luxuries come from, and this book was an eye-opener. I highly recommend it.

I know the title's misspelled, but dang if I'm going to redo all that typing.

Leviticus 19

Once again people kept rules and entirely missed the point.

Make no mistake: there are plenty of rules in this chapter. But they aren't the point. You don't keep rules just to keep rules. You keep them to get closer to God.

Leviticus 18

This is one with the famous verse abut homosexuality.

Let's be clear: the Bible is completely against homosexual relations. You cannot make a case from Scriptrure for that behavior. At the same time, it's not the sum of all sin either. Disobedience here was like disobedience to anywhere to the law. It was an affront to God's holiness.

don't give me any crap

this was going to be a long, involved post, but it all came down to one thing: if you're going to ignore what Christ said, don't give me any crap about being his follower.

Leviticus 17

this chapter focused on dietary laws, largely on blood,

The Hebrews weren't allowed to eat blood. This was one of the few restrictions that carried over to Chriistianity, ad well; actually, it was forbidden to all humanity.

Leviticus 16

The high priest was never told to put the sins of the people on the goat's head and let him go. He was told to put the sins on the goat and give him to someone who would take him out of the camp and let him go.

It's a small difference, but an important one. I've heard a lot of sermons either about this chapter or mentioning it's, and I've never heard about the second man. Let's stick to what's actually in theBible.

Things for which I'm thankful #001

It's easy to look at what I've lost and get upset. I'd rather look at what I still have and be profoundly thankful.

1. My sense -- My mind's as good as it ever was, which maybe isn't that good, since I'm reading Leviticus. Again.

2. My senses -- I can still  see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. That may not seem like much to you, but it's a big deal to me.

3. My family -- I have two beautiful daughters and a truly amazing wife. And that's not even counting the family I was raised up in or the one I married into.

4. Technology-- I was a computer guy before  the stroke. Afterwards, they connect me to my family and the rest of the world.

5. My health-- I'm in the best shape I've been in since I left boot camp in 1996. Other than the stroke.

Leviticus 15

this chapter is concerned with laws about bodily discharges. It contains passages which are supposed to show the sexism inherent in the Bible. Interestingly, the same uncleanness merits the same penalty for both men and women.

The law was concerned with ritual purity, not keeping women down. Stop looking for sexism where it's not.

Review: 10 PEOPLE EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW by Warren W. Wiersbe

Wiersbe gives a short biography,  a summary of his thought, and several reasons he was avid remains important to Christians for 10 people. In other words, it's exactly what it says on the cover.

This was a free Kindle book; I think it was a sample from a much longer work. Wiersbe is an experienced writer, and this book is very well-written and documented. I really liked this book; as my pastor once told me, "the beginning was good, and the end was good, and most importantly they were close together."

Leviticus 14

Congratulations. If you read this far, you've made it halfway through  Leviticus.

This is also a hard chapter. Specifically, this one's about cleansing from leprosy. The fact that "leprosy" refers to many different skin diseases doesn't make it any easier.

Leviticus 13

here's one of the hardest chapters in Leviticus. This one has to do with leprosy.

To make matters worse, it's a long, repetititive chapter. It's probably contribubuted a lot to Leviticus' bad reputation.

I don't have anything good to say

It all boils down to obeying what the Bible says. To do that, you have to read your Bible.

I try to post things related to my condition on Mondays. Even then, I try to come from a biblical point of view. If you want to understand how I think, read your Bible.

Nothing I have to say would be nearly as good as if you would just read your Bible.

You can literally get a Bible free from the Gideon's. Throughout most of history it was impossible or illegal or both to own one. How dare you not read your Bible.

You don't have an excuse. Read your Bible.

I used to say that if I could only speak to a congregation once, I'd tell them to be holy. I realize I was wrong. I'd tell each and every person to "Read your Bible."

I don't have anything to say but read your Bible.

Leviticus 12

A lot of people see this chapter as evidence of of sexism in the Bible. I see it as evidence of God's provisos ion.

The end of the chapter God provides for the poor, giviving them a way to make offerings for a newborn. Since sacrificrifices were so important to ancient Israel, this was a big deal.

E