Leviticus 22:17-23:44 ~ Mark 9:30-10:12 ~ Psalm 44:1-8 ~ Proverbs 10:19
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Old Testament - Today in Leviticus chapter 23 we read about the Appointed Festivals! The NIV Study Bible has a great chart summarizing the Old Testament Feasts and Other Sacred Days, which is significantly paraphrased below with just Name & Purpose:
1. Sabbath - Rest for people and animals
2. Sabbath Year - Rest for land.
3. Year of Jubilee - Help for poor; stabilize society.
4. Passover - Remember Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
5. Unleavened Bread - Remember how the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt in haste.
6. Firstfruits - Recognize the Lord's bounty in the land.
7. Weeks (Pentecost or Harvest) - Show joy and thankfulness for the Lord's blessing of harvest.
8. Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah-New Year's Day) - Present Israel before the Lord for his favor.
9. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - Atone for the sins of priests and people and purify the Holy Place.
10. Tabernacles (Booths or Ingathering) - Memorialize the journey from Egypt to Canaan; give thanks for the productivity of Canaan.
11. Sacred Assembly - Commemorate the closing of the cycle of feasts.
12. Purim - Remind the Israelites of their national deliverance in the time of Esther.
13. Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication or Festival of Lights) - Commemorated the purification of the temple and altar in the Maccabean period.
14. New moons were also often special feast days.
(Above is from Zondervan's "NIV Study Bible” pp. 176-177) Below is a Jewish calendar, which includes many of the feasts and sacred days listed above:
Bible.org's commentary on Leviticus chapter 23 titled "The Lord's Appointed Times" is at this link.
New Testament - Mark chapter 9 verses 33-35 always stand out to me and I personally always need to be reminded of Jesus' teaching here in the last sentence: "Jesus asked them, "What were you discussing out on the road?" But they didn't answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down and called the twelve disciples over to him. Then he said, "Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." How are you doing on this last sentence? Are you taking last place? Are you the servant of everyone else? Do you think this last sentence applies to Jesus' life? Do you think we should model how Jesus lived his life?
I came across an artistic image I liked a lot, below, which applies to verses 36 & 37... except of course that the child is wearing very modern day clothes - keep in mind it is art! :) - "Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me."
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Mark chapter 9 &10 titled "A Follower's Perspective" is at this link.
Psalms - Psalm 44 verse 3 is a wise statement about where the Israelites and our true strength and victory in life comes from! "They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strength that gave them victory. It was by your mighty power that they succeeded; it was because you favored them and smiled on them."
Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 10 verse 19 today teaches us: "Don't talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!" This is a wonderful reminder that we should listen at least twice as much as we talk! That's why we have 2 ears and one mouth... :)
Worship God: Psalm 44:3 reminded me of Third Day's fantastic song "Show Me Your Glory." Here's a live version.
Do you know God's Glory? Click here for Glory!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4 NIV
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: Based on Psalm 44:3 above - as you look back on your life and at the good things that have happened to you, do you think that these things occurred because of your own power or work alone? Or, do you think it is possible that God's hand was blessing your life through all of those good things - even if maybe you did not notice God was there at the time? Can you think of some instances in your life that when you look back on them you realize that God was absolutely there and blessing what was taking place? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
Hello,
I followed the link over to the article on Jewish feasts this morning (Curtis's "the Lord's Appointed Times) Interesting reading. He makes a case that the OT celebrations line up thematically with the message of the NT and suggests that we consider incorporating them (not under the law, but as a way of recalling to mind the tenants of our faith and teaching our children these).
I don't know if I'm rushing out to celebrate the Jewish holidays this year, but I will mull this over some more. Especially since Passover is close to Easter this year... It may be nice to celebrate this feast with our children--to connect it to the Last Supper & our deliverance through Christ from slavery to sin. All in all, the article was good food for thought.
I particularly liked his point that many aspects of these holidays are sensory and object lessons that communicate spiritual truths in tangible ways---especially to children.
Curtis also helped me to understand the Jewish calendar a little better:
"The Jewish Calendar, however, is based on the relative motion of both the moon and the sun. It is, therefore, called a luni-solar calendar. Since it is based on the moon, the first of every month coincides with a new moon and the fifteenth of every month coincides with a full moon. In other words, each month is defined by the phases of the moon. The Jewish Calendar keeps the months and their respective seasons together by the insertion of leap months. This means that most years have twelve months, but some have thirteen. The whole system has a nineteen-year cycle. It is more accurate than our solar calendar, but it’s more difficult to follow. The Jewish calendar does not mark the first day of spring, summer, fall, or winter. The primary markers in the Jewish Calendar are the holidays." -Donald Curtis
Posted by: Elizabeth | February 28, 2009 at 09:26 AM
Looking back on my life I see clearly that the Lord has blessed me in spite of the decisions and courses of action that I have chosen.
Before I accepted the Lord I lived a very foolish life, utterly lost, reveling in ignorance and self-destruction. Not mean-spirited or even necessarily selfish, sometimes I think decidedly selfless, but just utterly ignorant and unbound. Almost as if I were convulsing in the throes of death and urging it on, yet completely deceived at that present time of the death that I was welcoming, encouraging and proliferating. Why would the Lord reach in at His peril and pull me out of this? Why me and not others?
After accepting the Lord and since then slowly but increasingly seeking His will for my life, I still make many mistakes in judgment but He is ever faithful and lovingly corrects me and prospers me in spite of my continued ignorance and lack of faith; mostly with good intent and yet still sometimes not.
Posted by: Briggs | February 28, 2009 at 09:57 AM