He had gone too far this time. As if all the lies, deceit, and swindling of money from family and friends were not enough, this time Bill had burglarized our parents’ house. My brother had brazenly stolen anything of pawnshop value, leaving behind a trail of fingerprints and one key piece of evidence: unforced entry […]
Distinctive Image-Bearers
Scripture: And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the […]
Offering Our Best
Scripture: Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Leviticus 10:1-2 ESV […]
Drawing on Our Senses
Scripture: And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24 ESV Observation: Yahweh, having instructed Moses regarding the observance of the five primary offerings, further elaborates on the priests’ […]
Guilty As Charged
Scripture: “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the LORD’S commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering, and […]
Unintentional Sin Offerings
Scripture: And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’S commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them…” Leviticus 4:1-2 ESV Observation: The last two offerings are similar in ritual and purpose (addressing sin) but distinguished by scope. […]
Fellowship Begets Peace
Scripture: “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.” Leviticus 3:1 ESV Observation: Unlike the burnt offering (where the priest chars the entire body of the animal on the altar as Yahweh’s portion) or the grain […]
