Women in the Word

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5/01/2015 10:29 am  #31


Re: Leviticus

Leviticus 10
 
Scripture 10:3
Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'”
 
Application
People tend to worship God however they want and give God what they want to give, not what He has asked of us.
 
We bring God the offerings that are pleasing to us and not to Him, the sacrifices we want to bring and not what he requires of us. For example, Cain would not give God an acceptable offering. Then he was mad because God would not accept his offering
 
God tells us to bring Him a broken spirit and a contrite heart. We say no, I don’t want to be that humble before You. But, I will bring You good works; I will be a “nice” person.
 
God says to bring Him obedience. We say, no there are some things I want to do. But, I will bring You partial obedience – obedience with those things I want to do or those things that don’t cost me my desires and goals.
 
God says to worship Him in spirit and in truth. We say, well I will worship outwardly, but I won’t have a pure heart, I will hold onto wrong attitudes and thoughts in my heart.
 
God has not changed; we cannot come before Him with things that are profane, with uncleanness in our hearts. He cannot look on sin. It is only by His grace that He has not consumed us in our wickedness.
 
Lamentations 3:22-23 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. (NKJV)
 
Since we are under grace and Jesus is paying our penalty, we tend to forget to fear God. But, God is still God; He does not change. This is still God’s character. It is still an abomination to Him to come before Him with unrighteousness. It is just that Jesus reaped the penalty for this so we don’t experience God’s wrath because Jesus took it for us.
 
So why do we keep taking God’s grace lightly? Why do we disrespect the precious sacrifice of Christ? Why are not we as believers living in righteousness and purity of heart before God?
 
We should not take sin lightly.
 
Courtney, at Good Morning Girls, had an amazing post on this today: Exalt God as Holy in a Culture that Considers Him Casually
 
Very convicting. I know I need to get serious about sanctifying the Lord God in my heart (1 Peter 3:15).

 

5/01/2015 10:29 am  #32


Re: Leviticus

I used to love that song (Take Me In). We used to sing it in church many years ago.

Theresnoplacelike Home wrote:

As I hear the chorus this is what I want:
To be close not distant.
To be embraced not forgotten.
To be part of something beautiful.

Oh what a lovely thought. How I long for that as well. It makes me think of the verse:

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you hyprocrite.

I also like how The Message says it:
Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field.
(Thanks to itsjenniferrose for the intro to MSG translation)

The song that has been on my heart through this study is

Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness, is what I need
Holiness is what You want from me.

Take my heart, and form it
Take my mind, transform it
Take my will, conform it
To Yours, to yours, Oh Lord

I guess you could say this song has really been my prayer lately.
 

Last edited by TBG (5/01/2015 10:30 am)

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5/01/2015 10:49 pm  #33


Re: Leviticus

TBG wrote:

The song that has been on my heart through this study is

Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness, is what I need
Holiness is what You want from me.

Take my heart, and form it
Take my mind, transform it
Take my will, conform it
To Yours, to yours, Oh Lord

I guess you could say this song has really been my prayer lately.
 

I love this song too. We use to sing it at my church as well.
 

 

5/03/2015 3:54 pm  #34


Re: Leviticus

Weekly Reading Plan: May 4 - May 8

Don't forget to read Courtney's introductory post for this week's reading on Good Morning Girls.

Monday
Reading: Leviticus 11
Key Verse: 11:44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.

Optional Group Thoughts and Discussion Question:
Consecrate means to be sacred, or set apart. How do we consecrate ourselves in this culture?

Optional Good Morning Girls Discussion Question:
God had a set of laws for the types of food that the Israelites were allowed to eat. He wanted them to be cautious about what they were putting into their bodies. This means God cares about us not only being healthy spiritually, but physically as well. Are there some ways that you need to work on your physical health that we can pray together over?

Tuesday
Reading: Leviticus 12
Optional Group Thoughts and Discussion Question:
Looking at the laws we have been reading, Israel may not have understood why God was requiring this of them, yet they obeyed. Do we find it hard to obey things we don’t understand? Why? What is the root of this attitude? What can we do to change it?

Wednesday
Reading: Leviticus 13
Optional Group Thoughts and Discussion Question:
Like an infectious disease, sin will infect your life and the church as a whole if it is not rooted out. Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
 
Privately reflect on what sin you need to root out of your life. Share with the group how this idea of sin being an infectious disease plays out in our culture, in the church, and how we should respond.

Thursday
Reading: Leviticus 14
Optional Group Thoughts and Discussion Question:
Israel needed to separate itself from the defiling idolatry worship of the people around it. We in some ways need to separate ourselves from a godless world. We are not to live like the world and take part in godless things. We are to cleans ourselves of every defilement. Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.  
 
How can we separate ourselves from the defilement of the world while still being salt and light and doing God’s work in the world?

Friday
Reading: Leviticus 15
Optional Good Morning Girls Discussion Question:
We have seen over and over again that God is commanding the Israelites to separate themselves from those who are unclean. This was a precautionary measure to keep them healthy physically and mentally. Do you have some relationships that are causing you spiritual harm?

Last edited by TBG (5/03/2015 8:32 pm)

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5/03/2015 3:56 pm  #35


Re: Leviticus

Overview Leviticus 11-15

Chapter 11
Are these laws pertinent to the church? No, in Acts and again in the epistles it makes clear that gentiles need not observe these things. These laws are ceremonial laws to help Israel be distinct from her neighbors. They also make a separation between Israel and the idolatrous nations.
 
It was important to be separate so that Israel would not become ensnared in their lifestyles and become drawn into idol worship and immorality. This would preserve a line of holy people to give birth to the Messiah and to fulfill God’s covenant with Abraham.
 
Also, some of these animals were revered religiously in idolatrous worship of the surrounding cultures. So Israel was to loath what the idolatrous people venerated as gods. Some commentators believe they may also have been for hygienic and heath purposes as well.
 
Clean/unclean emphasize theme of holy/unholy, acceptable to God/unacceptable. Leviticus 10:10 says, “you are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.”
 
Chapter 12
This is not because the act of getting pregnant and having the child was sinful. The offering was for purification, not atonement. Some commentators feel that the offering was symbolic of the fact that all are born in sin. It was symbolic of the fact of original corruption.
 
Chapters 13-15
In some translations the word “leprous” or “leprosy” is used. However, this is not referring to what is called leprosy today. In today’s time leprosy is a disease of the nerves, not the skin and I don’t believe it is contagious. These passages are referring to skin diseases, some of which may be infections. Because of this, many of your translations will read “infectious skin disease.” Those passages dealing with homes and walls, etc. would be referring to things like mold, or fungus.
 
We should always read in the Bible in context. This context is an historical narrative of instructions given to Israel as a state. It is likely related to protecting people from any contagious diseases spreading.
 
However, my Bible notes point out some how we can use this passage as an analogy that illustrates for us spiritual truths taught elsewhere in scripture. It is good imagery to make us think of how sin spreads. Sin’s growth is insidious and difficult to remove. It is associated with decay. We must be careful to not let sin take root in our lives.
 
Sin is pleasant for a season, but ultimately leads to destruction. We should not think that we can just dabble a little in sin. It will spread and take over. I hears a pastor once say that sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
 
Meaning, you think you are going to only do one thing, but that thing will lead you into further and further things, worse than you ever thought you would get in to. You think that you can stop doing it or that you will only do it a few times, but it will hold your heart and will be difficult for you to break free from. You think the consequences won’t be too bad, but the consequences will be worse than you can imagine. So, I repeat:
 
Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.

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5/03/2015 8:18 pm  #36


Re: Leviticus

 
Leviticus 11:44
" I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”


The purpose of any law given to the Israelites long ago, or any commandment given to us now is all about Holiness. In other words being set apart.

He wants us to be different not to blend in with others, but be a light a beacon of hope to others Then, they may see our good works and glorify or father in heaven. And that they too will repent, acknowledge God and be saved.

Leviticus 11: 43
“Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them”


The laws pertaining to what the Israelites can eat seemed somewhat oppressive to me when I first read them. However, when I began to think about the why and not the what it became clearer. God was not enforcing these laws on his chosen people to make them have rules, limitations, and less choice. He was giving them the guidance they needed to keep them a holy nation undefiled, so his blessings could continue to fall on them. You see, if His people ate differently than it would be hard for them to be entwined with other clans, nations, or groups of people that did not love the Lord our God. Because God knows how easy temptation is…to look and then involve ourselves in other cultures that are not Godly. So, he made boundaries that would make it difficult for other nations to intertwine with the Israelites. Thus, these laws and regulations wad God’s protecting hand.
 
I wonder how many laws today that we find in the New Testament that we might feel are oppressive? Yet, have we ever stop to ask about the why instead of the what. Sometimes being a Christian is about trusting God. Sometimes being a Christian is knowing that if God gave me a commandment it has nothing to do with oppression and everything to do with God’s love and protection.

Blessings,

Theresnoplacelike Home
 

Last edited by Theresnoplacelike Home (5/03/2015 8:22 pm)

 

5/03/2015 8:49 pm  #37


Re: Leviticus

TBG wrote:

Overview Leviticus 11-15

Sin is pleasant for a season, but ultimately leads to destruction. We should not think that we can just dabble a little in sin. It will spread and take over. I hears a pastor once say that sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
 
Meaning, you think you are going to only do one thing, but that thing will lead you into further and further things, worse than you ever thought you would get in to. You think that you can stop doing it or that you will only do it a few times, but it will hold your heart and will be difficult for you to break free from. You think the consequences won’t be too bad, but the consequences will be worse than you can imagine. So, I repeat:
 
Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.

Well said, it is hard to see the future consequences whenever we behave in a way that is aganist God's will. Often, when we find ourselves far from God we forget about all the small decisions we made that eventually made our current situation. Thank goodness that God is always welling to take us back-- just the wy we are. 
A great post!
 

 

5/04/2015 8:06 pm  #38


Re: Leviticus

Leviticus 12:8
“But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.”

 
I think that sometimes we feel that we may need something extra to come to God. Maybe we feel we don’t have nice clothes to dress up in to go to church on Sunday or we lack the goodness we see in others and just don’t feel worthy of Christ’s love.

I once heard a story from a friend about a college boy who was not saved but attended a retreat. Once he heard the worship and the entire room was filled with the glory of the Lord he left. It was not that he didn’t believe but it was because he did. And immediately upon this realization he knew he was unclean or felt unworthy of God’s forgiveness and love. …

I admire his response because we should all realize how truly unworthy we are and how kind God is to save us from our true nature of sin. But there comes a point where we all need to accept his love and forgiveness. And it has no price it is absolutely free.

This verse allows for the poor to bring a dove or pigeon as an offering to receive God’s forgiveness because God’s love is not just for the rich or those that are of high class. It is for everyone.

Sometimes we can feel shame and it may be hard to enter into the holy of holies—God’s church. But if we remember this--that God died for us even when we were still sinners-- it can help us receive forgiveness from God, one another, and from ourselves.

God came to set the captives free so that we would no longer have commendation.

And who the Son sets free is free is free indeed.

Blessings,

Theresnoplacelike Home
 

Last edited by Theresnoplacelike Home (5/04/2015 8:08 pm)

 

5/05/2015 2:00 am  #39


Re: Leviticus

This is so on point. I truly believe this. I see it every time I choose my own way. You then always realize why certain things are put in place....it's almost always to protect us and keep us from suffering.

Theresnoplacelike Home wrote:

 
 
I wonder how many laws today that we find in the New Testament that we might feel are oppressive? Yet, have we ever stop to ask about the why instead of the what. Sometimes being a Christian is about trusting God. Sometimes being a Christian is knowing that if God gave me a commandment it has nothing to do with oppression and everything to do with God’s love and protection.

Blessings,

Theresnoplacelike Home
 

 

 

5/05/2015 7:12 am  #40


Re: Leviticus

Leviticus 11

What stood out to me was how God said Israel was to detest unclean animals. I thought, do I detest sin?

Detest is a pretty strong word. No usually I want to do the sin and only don't because I know I should not. I think the more time we spend in the Word, in prayer and focusing on things of God and the more care I take in what I allow in my mind from the world then I will more and more love the things of God and detest things He says are detestable (speaking of sin, not unlcean animals).

Also, I like what someone posted in the comments section of the GMG post: God's holiness makes us appreciate His grace, His grace makes us desire His holiness. I think the more we are confronted with just how holy God is, then we will be overwhelmed with just how precious His grace is and this will lead me to detest anything that keeps me from His holiness.

Last edited by TBG (5/05/2015 7:12 am)

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