Scripture Reading and Thoughts - July 12, 2008

Posted by David Jesse

TODAY'S READING: Leviticus 9:1-11:47; 2 Samuel 6:1-19; Mark 7:1-23; Acts 5:1-11; 10:1-35; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Galatians 2:11-16; 1 Peter 1:14-16This is a little bit unrelated to the passages for today, but I was thinking about Aaron. He submitted to the people and built the Golden Calf in substitution for YHWH, yet YHWH still chose to use him as the first high priest and his sons as the future of the temple. What an amazing testimony of God's forgiveness and grace.Leviticus 10:1Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu chose to worship in a manner not prescribed by YHWH, and YHWH consumed them with fire.Leviticus 10:6-7We see Moses instruct Aaron and his other sons not to mourn in their usual custom, but to continue in the office that YHWH had put them, functioning fully.Leviticus 10:18-20This is a strange exchange between Moses and Aaron. Aaron's remaining sons didn't follow YHWH's instructions, and Moses reprimanded them in front of Aaron. Aaron comments that they offered the sin offerings and burnt offerings today, yet these things still happened to him, would it have been different if they had eaten the sin offering? And it says that Moses was satisfied when he heard Aaron say this. What does this mean?1 Samuel 6:15-16This passage has been talked about many times before, but it's important to remember that when we are overcome with joy before the LORD because of something He is doing, we will most likely be criticized by the skeptic. Mikhal was the daughter of Sha'ul - the first king of Israel. Her father's line was cut off from the throne because of disobedience, and it is possible that Mikhal was experiencing jealousy. It was under Sha'ul's reign that the Ark of the Covenant was lost in the first place. Pure worship can often be met with criticism. That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't a great deal of inauthentic worship out there. The point is to make sure that your own personal worship is authentic, and not to focus on what others are doing or what they think about you.1 Samuel 6:1-19What was it like for Israel to see the Ark of the Covenant - the resting place of God's presence - returning to Israel? There was death for those who treated it lightly. There was unabashed celebration as it entered the City of David. There was sacrifice and worship. There was provision for the needs of the people. It sounds to me like we could use the presence of YHWH again.Mark 7:1-23Yeshua is not abolishing the Torah in this passage. He is abolishing the Tradition of the Elders, also known as the Oral Torah. One thing that is consistently seen throughout the Gospel accounts is Yeshua showing that the Torah is not just about the outward expression, but the heart's attitude, as well as destroying the yoke of bondage that the rabbis put in place through the false doctrine of the Oral Torah. In Judaism of Yeshua's day, it was common to refer to the teachings and Torah rules of a rabbi as being his "yoke", which would be the restrictions of his followers. That adds a new meaning to the verse, "Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30Acts 10:1-35Cornelius was an Italian soldier. He was also a "God-fearer." (vs 2) God-fearer's were Gentiles who worshipped the God of Israel, and may have even followed the guidelines of the Torah, but had not yet become full proselytes by undergoing the act of circumcision.Vs 9-16This is often the passage used to say that the Torah commandments regarding clean and unclean foods no longer apply. It is interesting to note a couple of things: First, Peter was hungry when this took place. All of us have fallen asleep when thinking about something and had dreams that involved what we were thinking about. Second, when Peter is told to take and eat the unclean items, he states that he has never touched anything unclean. Peter walked with Yeshua for 3 years. Not once during this time, did Yeshua tell his talmidim that they could eat unclean animals (contrary to the parenthetical statement found in Mark 7). Third, Peter puzzled about this and had this vision 3 times. Now, I know that Peter had a tendency to be a little hard-headed, but if we consider not only his reluctance to accept that the dream was directly related to food, and the context of the passage being Cornelius being a Gentile and YHWH's acceptance of him, we see that this passage has nothing to do with food. It is about the Jewish believers not calling unclean, that which the LORD has called clean. The Gentiles of the world would be welcomed into the covenant.Note verses 34-35 (I'll make you take out your own Bible to read those)

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