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Leviticus 9, Proverbs 24, Psalm 96

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Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Leviticus 9, Proverbs 24, Psalm 96.

This devotional is from Proverbs 24.

It is tempting to choose the most comfortable option. Today’s reading gives us two Proverbs that caution us against this easy choice.

The first proverb is 24:27: “Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” I visualize this piece of wisdom going from Solomon to his newlywed son. As the young couple begins to embark on life together, they dream of having a home of their own. Using the property subdivided by his father, the young couple faces a choice: spend their time and whatever money they have building a comfortable starter home on their new land or live with ma and pa for a while as they work the soil, plant the crops, and tend to the weeds. After the process of starting their farm has begun and the growth of the crops looks promising for their first harvest, then they can start to build a home of their own.

No one really wants to live with their parents and it’s more fun to build a house than to plant a field. But the field will produce income. It will get you started in life financially. It will provide for you in the future. If you build the home first it will give you your independence and a comfortable start to your life as an adult, but it will also drain your finances and delay that first harvest. It is far wiser to put productivity over comfort in the short term so that you can be more comfortable in the future but that takes a disciplined approach to life that probably does not come naturally to most people.

In a similar way, verses 30-34 describe the ease of laziness. If a farmer skips one day of planting, is the crop ruined? No, but it is easy to let one day off become one week off; our legitimate need for rest can snowball (v. 33). We feel as if we’ll be able to work better tomorrow if we rest up today. That may be true; it may also be a way of rationalizing our procrastination.

I lived most of my childhood as a procrastinator. I came home from school and told myself I would do homework or study for my test after I ate a snack. Oh, but Scooby Doo is on, so I’ll watch that just to relax for a few minutes. It’s going to be dinner time soon so I’ll get busy after that. You get the idea. I created habits of laziness in my life. By the time I was in seminary, I was turning in papers at the last minute after an all-nighter. I got decent grades but in my heart I knew I wasn’t doing my best work or getting the most out of the opportunities God had given to me. Eventually I learned to build some disciplined habits, but even today if I deviate from those habits, the old sin of procrastination is ready to slither back into my life.

But what does any of this have to do with God? These are wise bits of knowledge and helpful for productivity but couldn’t we have learned them from somewhere else? Why did God encode them into his holy word?

One answer is that these productivity problems—seeking the easy and comfortable way and allowing laziness and procrastination to take over—are spiritual problems. They are manifestation of a heart that wants to disobey God. God created the world to respond to the diligent work of humanity. He gave us everything we need to provide for ourselves but we have to obey his laws of sowing and reaping, of prioritizing investment over consumption.

Our faith in Christ should lead us toward a productive life because we have faith in his commands and know that when we obey his commands and work with diligence, God will provide and bless us.

Exodus 40, Proverbs 16, Psalm 88

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Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Exodus 40, Proverbs 16, and Psalm 88.

This devotional is about Exodus 40.

At long last the tabernacle was completed as well as all the items that were needed to make it useful for worshipping God. The Lord ordered Moses to set it all up (vv. 1-8), set it apart with anointing oil (vv. 9-11), and anoint Aaron and his sons for their ministry in it (vv. 12-15). The rest of the chapter details how Moses obeyed these commands (vv. 16-33) and how the Lord blessed this tent with his presence and communicated his will through that presence (vv. 34-38).

God had promised his presence would go before Israel and give them rest in the promised land (Ex 33:14). That promise was now visually fulfilled through the cloud that inhabited the tabernacle. So, on one hand, the tabernacle demonstrated God’s presence with his people.

On the other hand, there is an emphasis in this chapter on the importance of keeping the people separate from the presence of God in the tabernacle. The word “holy” means to set apart, to make special by separating something for a particular use. Each anointing of the tabernacle and its furnishings and instruments was done to set it apart as holy for the Lord’s service (vv. 9-10). The strongest indication of God’s separation was the “shielding curtain” (v. 21a) that “shielded the ark of the covenant law” (v. 21b). What was it shielded from? Everyone. Nobody was allowed near the ark which represented God’s presence. It was kept in the most holy place and only the high priest could enter and then only once a year. So, while God was truly present among his people, his holiness still kept them from direct contact and fellowship with him.

This is why the gospel writers took note of how the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross. The curtain that was torn was the one between the most holy place and the rest of the temple. When it was torn at the death of Christ, it was a direct, visual symbol that the separation between God and man was now over. God did not lower his standards and allow people into his presence. Instead, in Christ, we are declared to be holy–the theological word is “justified”–because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.

Through Christ we have access to God that people before Christ never had. God invites us to know and love him, to contemplate his greatness and worship him in holiness because our Lord Jesus Christ gave us access by his death.

We must always keep in mind what God has done for us in Christ. That is the main reason why Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper. Through him we have direct access to God and can approach him at any time in prayer without fear.

Have you approached him yet today?

Exodus 35, Proverbs 11, Psalm 83

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Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Exodus 35, Proverbs 11, and Psalm 83.

This devotional is about Exodus 35 with a cross-reference to Proverbs 11:24-25.

God’s law was given and God’s promise to lead Israel to victory was secured in the preceding chapters. Those who were unbelieving and worshiped the golden calf had been punished for their sins. Now, here in Exodus 35, it was time for God’s people to do what God had commanded them to do for worship.

The passage began with a reminder of the importance of rest and worship on the Sabbath in verses 1-3. Then, in verses 4-9, God commanded his people to “take an offering for the LORD” (v. 5a). The people were invited to give God the resources that would be needed to create the tabernacle and all its furnishings and equipment. This is how they would have the materials they needed to build a place for worship.

In verses 10-19, a different kind of offering was commanded; it the offering of one’s time and talent. God’s people were commanded to “make everything the LORD has commanded” (v. 10). “Everything” was detailed in verses 11-19. Those who had skills were to help Bezalel do the work (vv. 30-33). They were to learn what they needed to know from Bezalal and Oholiab, both of whom had “the ability to teach others” (v. 34b).

In verses 20-29, the people responded to God’s commands through Moses. They dug around in their luggage and belongings and found all the stuff that was needed to make the tabernacle and the tools of worship. Notice, however, that nobody forced them to give. Although the Lord had commanded them to give, nobody forced them to do so. In fact, the words of the passage communicate directly that their gifts were voluntary. Verse 22 says, “All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought” these items to give to the Lord. Verse 29 repeated the point twice by saying again, “All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord…” and by calling their gifts “freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.”

This is how God’s work is provided for–by the willing gifts of his people. Although the things they gave (both their treasures and their time/talents) were used by the priests, what they gave was given to the Lord for his work (v. 29: “for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do”).

Proverbs 11:24-25 discussed the blessings that come through generosity. In verse 24, Solomon observed that generous people give stuff away, but gain more while the stingy get poor: “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” Verse 25 repeats the prediction when it says, “A generous person will prosper” but then it adds a blessing, “whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” These verses commend generosity in every aspect of life, not just for the Lord’s work but the principles taught here in Proverbs 11:24 -25 and modeled for us by Israel in Exodus 35 still apply. God provides for his work through the generous giving of his people. Are you giving generously to the Lord or are you withholding from supporting God’s work?

Some withholding is motivated by materialism; some is motivated by fear. In both cases, faith is needed. Do you believe that God will provide for you and even prosper you if you give generously out of love for him?

Exodus 20, Job 38, Psalm 68

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Rumble | YouTube | SermonAudio | Calvary Bible Church

Read Exodus 20, Job 38, and Psalm 68.

This devotional is about Exodus 20.

Here it is: the original Big 10. Although God later gave these commands to Moses on a tablet, the commands given in this chapter were spoken by the voice of God and all the people of Israel heard his voice. We see that in verse 1 which says, “And God spoke all these words” and in verse 19 where the people “said to Moses, “‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’”

This is really what separates the Ten Commandments from the rest of God’s laws given in by Moses. The Ten Commandments were not more inspired or more important to Israel than the rest of God’s commands. They were simply the ones that God gave audibly, directly to his people while the rest of his commands were mediated through Moses.

Still, the Ten Commandments are important because they apply to everyone and teach general principles that can be applied in many ways. Many of God’s other laws are more specific either in audience or in application.

Of all the Ten Commandments, there is only one in particular that does not apply to us, according to many Christians. The one I’m talking about is the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…” (vv. 8-11). The way Israel was to “keep it holy” was for everyone to rest, just as God did on the first Sabbath day. Everyone was to rest–man and animal alike; no exceptions.

This command was a gift to God’s people. In the days of Moses and beyond, the vast majority of people lived in near poverty. They were able to produce enough to stay alive, but that’s about it. Imagine how fearful you would be in those conditions. The idea of taking a day off could mean starvation for you and everyone else in your family. Fear would keep you working non-stop, every day, every week, every year, for as long as there was daylight outside. A family in these conditions may stay alive, but how much can you enjoy a life where the work never ends? By observing the Sabbath, God’s people put their trust in him fully to provide for them. They could trust God by sleeping in, lazing about, talking with family and friends, and recharging their proverbial batteries.

By the time of Jesus, the Sabbath was transformed from a day of rest into a day of religious performance. Instead of being a blessing to God’s people, it became a burden to them by making them objects of judgment by judgmental people. I agree that Jesus liberated us from this law; we are not commanded as Christians to observe the Sabbath.

But how much better off would we be physically and spiritually if we did rest one day, every week? Think about how harried and anxious we are much of the time. We may not fear starving, but we do seem to fear missing out on some activity or making our kids’s coaches mad, or losing a job that requires you to be available at all times. You don’t have to treat Sunday like the Pharisees treated the Sabbath. But wouldn’t your life be better if you protected Sunday for rest and worship?

And, isn’t it an act of faith to draw some boundaries around Sunday to enjoy the rest and relationship renewal that God wants you to have?

Deuteronomy 16, Jeremiah 8, 1 Corinthians 12

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Read Deuteronomy 16, Jeremiah 8, and 1 Corinthians 12.

This devotional is about Deuteronomy 16.

Here in Deuteronomy 16, Moses explained three annual festivals that Israel was required to observe. The first was the Passover feast which Israel was required to “celebrate” (v. 1). First they were required to eat unleavened bread (“the bread of affliction,” v. 3) for seven days. That was to remind them of their affliction in Egypt. On the evening that began the seventh day of the feast, they were to sacrifice to the Lord in his designated place (vv. 5-6), then worship the Lord and refrain from work on the seventh day, eating the meat that was roasted the night before as part of their passover sacrifice (vv. 7-8).

The second festival described in this chapter happened seven weeks after they began to harvest their crops (vv. 9-12). This feast consisted of giving a “freewill offering” (v. 10) and that offering was to be in proportion to how much God had blessed them. They were to take the offering to the tabernacle/temple (v. 11) and “rejoice before the Lord” there. Like the Passover, this feast was to “remember that you were slaves in Egypt.” They were to celebrate this festival because, now as freed people, they could profit from their work instead of working hard as slaves and watching their masters prosper instead.

Finally, the third feast they were commanded to observe was the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival reminded them of their wanderings in the desert so that they would be grateful for a land of their own. This festival happened “for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.” In other words, it marked the end of harvest time.

Being required to do something sometimes causes people to lose their desire to do that thing. But God did not require these festivals in order to impose a burden on people; he did it so that they could enjoy themselves. Look at the words of joy in these passages: “celebrate” (v. 1, 10, 13, 15), “rejoice” (v. 11), “be joyful” (v. 14), and “your joy will be complete” (v. 15). Instead of filling up everyday with back-breaking work, fearing that they were on the edge of starvation, God commanded his people to work hard for six days and enjoy a day off to worship him. Instead of working from daylight to dusk from spring through fall with only one day off a week, God mandated these festivals so that his people could rest, rejoice, and reflect on all that God had done for them.

The New Testament does not command believers to observe any kind of Sabbath nor does it require us to celebrate any festivals. But the weekly Sabbath and annual festivals like these teach us the importance of rest and rejoicing. If we do nothing but work all the time, we’ll look up someday and find ourselves old, our lives having passed us by, and our children having grown and gone out on their own.

Choosing to worship and rest on Sunday gives us time to worship the Lord, learn from his word, fellowship with other believers, enjoy time with our families, rest for the work week ahead, and rejoice in all that God has given us in Christ and through the faithful work of our hands. Nothing in the New Testament requires us to do this, but doesn’t show the compassion of God for tired, beleaguered people? Wouldn’t we be wise to pause for rest and reflection regularly?

Genesis 17, Nehemiah 6, Matthew 12

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Read Genesis 17, Nehemiah 6, and Matthew 12 today. This devotional is about Matthew 12.

God’s intention for the Sabbath was that man would take a day off from the way that he normally makes his living. It was to be a day of rest and a day to reflect on God, our Creator. So farmers would not plant, weed, water, reap, or do any of the normal activities that farmers do Sunday through Friday. The same was commanded for their wives and children and servants; everybody was supposed to get a break from their normal daily schedule.

This law was clear enough that it could be applied easily to most situations. Don’t farm your land, or fix your equipment, or type up those invoices, or make a fancy meal, or clean the house, or do the laundry. It was a day to rest, not to catch up on chores–work or personal. Do what needs to be done but keep it simple so you get a break and feel rested for a change. That’s the idea.

The problem with broadly-applicable commands is that it is not always clear how they should be applied. Obeying the command, “Do not work on the Sabbath” depends on how you define “work.” Is it work to make your bed? Tie your shoes? If you were a milkman who delivered milk by walking from house to house, that would clearly be forbidden on the Sabbath. But what if the milkman’s wife wanted to go for a long walk for recreation? Is that forbidden? The Pharisees hated ambiguity so they wanted every possible application of every law spelled out clearly. They specified how far someone could walk on the Sabbath to keep the milkman or his wife from doing “work” accidentally. This is one aspect of legalism.

Speaking of legalism, what exactly is it? It is a term that can be applied to at least two kinds of situations: First, anyone who thinks they can do good works to merit favor with God is a legalist. Second, anyone who thinks that his or her application of the Bible has the authority of the Bible itself is a legalist.

The Pharisees were legalists in both senses. They believed that their obedience to the law gave them favor with God. They also believed that they ways in which they applied God’s laws were as authoritative and binding as the law itself. That’s what’s going on here in Matthew 12:1-2. The disciples were not farmers. They were not working to earn a living by reaping. Instead they were getting a snack from someone else’s farmland. Taking small amounts of food from someone’s farm was allowed in God’s Law, so the Pharisees did not accuse the disciples of stealing. Instead, they accused them of working on the Sabbath. Because they applied the Sabbath law to any kind of reaping at all, they concluded that the disciples were doing what was “unlawful on the Sabbath” (v. 2b).

Elsewhere in the gospels we learn that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for distorting God’s intentions. The Sabbath law was supposed to be a blessing from God, not a burden. It was God imposed a day off on everyone so that everyone could enjoy life for at least one day a week. By denying the right to snack on the Sabbath, the Pharisees were making the Sabbath something unpleasant instead of enjoyable. Their legalism was not an obedience that pleased God, it was a burden that robbed people of the joy he wanted them to have.

Here in Matthew 12, however, Matthew records a different emphasis of Jesus regarding Sabbath violations. Jesus pointed out ways in which people broke the law technically but they did so in a way that upheld the law’s intention. The first example Jesus cited was from David (vv. 3-4). He and his warrior-companions ate the temple show bread which was against the law, yet they were not condemned. The reason was that they were servants of God doing God’s work, just like the priests were. So, technically they broke the law but by taking and eating the bread, they were being served by the law’s intention–to provide for God’s servants. Likewise, the priests on the Sabbath were technically in a no-win situation. The temple duties allowed no Sabbath breaks for the priests but the priests made their living being priests. So, they were not allowed to let the temple activities lapse even for a day, but that required them to do the normal work of priests–a technical violation of the law. Yet Jesus said that “they are innocent” (v. 5b). Then Christ took things further; not only were the disciples not guilty of breaking the Sabbath by picking up a snack, Christ himself asserted the right to rule or overrule anything regarding the Sabbath because he was “Lord of the Sabbath.” He then pressed the issue further by healing a man deliberately on the Sabbath day to show his lordship over it (vv. 9-14).

The Pharisees’ zeal about the Sabbath wasn’t really about obedience to God; it was about control. They wanted to define everything so that there was complete uniformity; no ambiguity or exceptions were allowed. They could, then, define who was right with God and who wasn’t based on how well or how poorly everyone kept the rules.

Unfortunately, we sometimes do the same things. The “good guys” never wear denim on Sunday, or use the right translation of the Bible, or only buy American, or never listen to music that has a beat to it. But these (and other) rules are at best only applications of Biblical principles, not Biblical truths themselves. The Bible teaches us to accept each other in areas where there are genuine disagreements about application (Rom 15:7). You should never use someone else’s actions to justify doing something that your conscience bothers you about. And, if you are truly concerned for someone else’s spiritual life, I think it is good to humbly approach them to talk about how they are or are not applying a scriptural command. But let’s be careful not to judge and condemn each other based on our own man-made rules. Instead, each of us should submit ourselves and our actions to the Lord of everything–including the Sabbath–and do what we think is right in his sight based on the clear teachings of scripture.