Summary Leviticus and Numbers (unit 4 #6)
The redeemed Israelites exodus from Egypt, has brought them to Mont Siani, where they struggle with obedience. Jehovah teaches the chosen children of Israel His character of holiness, sovereignty, healer and provider, the who blesses and makes His children fruitful, as He is the keeper of the covenant and everything is brought under Him. God sets up His earthly throne with his people reveal Himself as holy, as in Leviticus 20:26, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own,” God also builds his people to be holy.
The setting of Leviticus mainly appears to take place at Mt. Sinai, and begins with instructions, for Aaron and his priests,
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It is the heart that knows the love of God that can really love the law. The law is for those who are walking in faith with God. Those who do not know God cannot understand the beauty of God’s mercy and grace in the law. Like a mirror, looking at the ways in which we can see ourselves as not living up to the law, possibly, then, we can open up to know that we need a savior.
The book of Numbers shows that God is always with us and will never leave his people, we therefore can trust Him. Numbers has many stories of the Israelites learning to trust God, they complained about the food and Mariam opposes God’s chosen leader, Moses. Korah, Dathan and Abiram rise against Moses. The Israelites become greedy and take too much quail and oppose and grumble against Moses, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!”. The rebellious people see that God gives them grace and punishes them as a parent who loves their
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How does the story given in Numbers show the failures of the Israelites in obeying God? The book of Numbers shows that God is always with us and will never leave his people, we therefore can trust Him, but we do not. Numbers has many stories of the Israelites learning to trust God, they complained about the food in the desert and opposed God’s chosen leader, Moses. The land of Milk and honey was given to them, and they became afraid and believed the fear over God. When we fear something other than God, we make that our idol. In our life we struggle in the same way as the Israelites.
d. What surprised you about the Book of Numbers? What surprised me about the book of The budding of Aarons staff was a surprise that it is an example of rebellion, when budding is a sign of life. This reminds me of Jesus, where our rebellion is a sign that we need new life, and God gave it and we need only to receive it. The book of Numbers has stories nestled in the census of numbers. Like donkey’s who are smarter then their owners and battles that belong to the Lord and budding sticks with fruit. God has
In the first chapter of God Behaving Badly, David Lamb argues that God is unfairly given a bad reputation. He claims these negative perceptions are fueled by pop culture and lead many to believe the lie that the God of the Old Testament is angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant. These negative perceptions, in turn, affect our faith. Ultimately, Lamb seeks to demonstrate that historical context disproves the presumptuous aforementioned. In addition, he defends his position by citing patterns of descriptions that characterize God throughout the Old Testament. “Our image of God will directly affect how we either pursue or avoid God. If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is really harsh, unfair and cruel, we won’t want anything to do with him” (Lamb 22). Clearly, they way Christians choose to see God will shape their relationship with Him.
How can we be expected to trust a God who Himself has gone against the morals that He teaches? In Elizabeth Anderson’s article “If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted” Anderson brings up many arguments as to why the moral understanding of the bible and religious scripture brings up multiple examples of unreliability. Both in the writings and of God Himself. Throughout the article Anderson mentions the inconsistencies and inaccuracies within the bible and other religious writings, and how their moral teachings which were considered right are now considered wrong in the present day. The religious stories from all sorts of different religions have been shown to cause countless events that have made a number of people suffer, and these were seen
God’s people found themselves in captivity in Egypt after the death of Joseph and the Pharaoh that had knowledge of the good done by children of Israel (Ex. 1:8-14). God saw the oppression of His people and sent Moses and Aaron to deliver His people from slavery (Ex. 3:10, 4:14-16).
In an evil world sprinkled with undeserved blessings, humans seem to strive to make sense of why it happens. As a result, it could seem logical that our “real God,” who is powerful and loves us unconditionally, shows grace to those who are obedient to Him. When reading the Old Testament in this context, there are several stories that could help reaffirm the idea of a god who shows his grace to those who seek Him.
Throughout the Bible God can be represented in a number of different ways. In some chapters of the Bible God can be found to be a compassionate, loving God, who would do anything for his people. To contradict this, in other chapters of the Bible God can be found trying to instill fear into people so that they believe in him, or do what he wants of them. In both instances it shows how different God can be seen and why believers can have doubts about how God really is.
Following the creation story of the book of Genesis is the book of Exodus. In Genesis, God promised Abraham a “great nation from which all nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3)” and in Exodus God completes this promise through the creation of the holy nation, Israel. Exodus tells the story of the God who rescued his people out of Egypt because of the promise he had made to Abraham. God calls to Moses to complete his promise. God’s call to Moses is not only important because he liberates the Israelites but also because God reveals His name(s) along with His true Nature. God calls upon Moses and tells him that He’s back to help the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and that Moses is to lead them. God then gives him full instructions on what to tell the Pharaoh and, more importantly, the Israelites, who are promised, land “flowing with milk and honey”.
"And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak,, few or many; And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad" (Numbers, Ch. 13, Lines 17-19)
Much like the laws in the Old Testament, the law is God solving a problem before it occurs (Maxwell, 2010). As Reggie Joiner reminds us: “Relationship comes before rules” (Maxwell, 2010, 176). If a relationship forms, rules are easier to embrace. Rules are a tool to keep the ship and everyone on it going in the same direction. Shared systems of values strengthen partnerships minimizing the possibility of comprise. Values determine our actions. Our conscience can be a fickle thing if not tended to. A good study of 1 Timothy 1:5 will sharpen the cause for keeping the conscience in order and know that a good conscience is the product of a pure heart. Finally, we trust fully in God’s promises to comfort us, but need to share that same comfort through an empowerment to do so from God himself. Kept promises are the glue that holds all the guidelines together and shuttles them into the heart and soul of mankind by building
Leviticus is even more prominent in the debate against homosexuality in Christianity. At its core, Leviticus is a handbook on how to live righteously as a citizen of Israel. These laws apply only to followers of the Jewish tradition, but are still used to disenfranchise homosexuals who choose to identify as Christian. The two verses mentioning homosexuality in this book are Leviticus 18:22 stating, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” and Leviticus 20:13 which states, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” These are both found in the King James Version of the Bible.
And again, “Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus. . . since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.” Gal. 2:16.
God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of the temptation of Jesus and how other sects defined the Messiah.
To begin with, God’s faithfulness is displayed in the Pentateuch. One example is found in the opening chapters of Genesis. Even though Adam and Eve disobeyed his command, God does not let sin prevent him from being faithful. Instead, God enters the garden and asks the couple, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) This example displays the theme that God remains involved in the lives of his followers even when they disobey him. Another example of God’s faithfulness is found in his interactions with Abraham. When God and Abraham establish a covenant that promises the man land, descendants, and blessings for all people, God completes the ratification ceremony for both parties. This act signifies that God is entirely responsible for upholding the covenant. From this passage, the faithfulness of God is highlighted. God makes a deal that only he can uphold; therefore, his faithfulness to Abraham and his descendents is crucial. In addition to Genesis, God’s faithfulness is displayed in the events of the Exodus and subsequent wanderings of Israel. God rescues Israel from slavery in Egypt, just as he promised Abraham, then establishes a covenant with the people at Sinai. This agreement, known as the Mosaic covenant, was conditional in nature because it required the faithfulness of Israel to God. While this stipulation seems to detract from God’s f...
Even though God saw people as evil, he wanted to show his grace. He wanted to separate certain people in the world as His chosen people. “He wanted a chosen people: 1. To whom He might entrust the Holy Scriptures. 2. To be His witness to the other nations. 3. Through whom the promised Messiah could come” (Mears 47). This covenant is made between God and Abram. This covenant marks the beginning history of Israel, God’s chosen people.
Tarwater explains that even through the small snippet of information how “the God we serve in the New Testament is the same God who worked on behalf of the people of Israel in Exodus.” Through the last chapters, I began to appreciate Jesus’ teachings and the correlation to the commandments of the Old Testament. Before this book, reading through the Old Testament did not bring about the importance within the books of Leviticus or Numbers. However, the author’s strong statement “the laws were meant to demonstrate how obedience and holiness were to permeate every aspect of the people’s lives” highlights the nature of the Bible to be a continual work highlighting God’s mercy and forgiveness. Digging deeper into the context of the stories through the author’s visual narrative that I could see how the theme of each book extended into another. Ultimately, the book of Leviticus is clarified with the realities of how sinful the people are and why God had to ultimately bring to earth His son to take away our
The first five books of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy contain the beginnings of the story of God and humanity. At a first glance each book seems not fully connect with all the others; yet with a closer look, the Pentateuch is one complete story to be read in unison. In fact, Gary Schnittjer would say that Genesis 1-12 stets the pattern for the rest of the Pentateuch’s story and form. Furthermore, the continuity between the five books raises the question of authorship. Was the Pentateuch the work of a sole-author—Moses, or is the Pentateuch a compilation of several writings put together in order to tell one story? Therefore, current scholarship on the authorship of the Pentateuch helps to answer that