February 21st One Year Bible Readings

Leviticus 11:1-12:8 ~ Mark 5:21-43 ~ Psalm 38:1-22 ~ Proverbs 10:8-9
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Old Testament - Today in Leviticus chapter 11 we read about ceremonially clean and unclean animals for the Israelites.  The One Year Bible Companion commentary on this chapter today states that "there were several reasons for this restricted diet - 1. to ensure the health of the nation.  The forbidden foods were usually scavenging animals that fed on dead animals; thus disease could be transmitted through them.  2. to visibly distinguish Israel from other nations. The pig, for example, was a common sacrifice of pagan religions. 3. To avoid objectionable associations.  The creatures that move about on the ground, for example, were reminiscent of serpents, which often symbolized sin."

Verses 20-22 mention of eating locusts reminded me of John the Baptist: "You are to consider detestable all swarming insects that walk along the ground. However, there are some exceptions that you may eat. These include insects that jump with their hind legs: locusts of all varieties, crickets, bald locusts, and grasshoppers. All these may be eaten."  Commentary at bible.org on "The Clean & the Unclean" from Leviticus chapter 11 is at this link, and from chapter 12 is at this link.  And yes, in theory, this is a grasshopper in the image below.  It's clean! :)

Today in chapter 11 verse 44 we read: “After all, I, the LORD, am your God. You must be holy because I am holy.” How does this verse speak to you? Do you think about being holy? Do you want to be holy? Zondervan shares the following commentary on this verse – “Holiness is the key theme of Leviticus, ringing like a refrain in various forms throughout the book. The word “holy” appears more often in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. Israel was to be totally consecrated to God. Her holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality. Because of who God is and what he has done, his people must dedicate themselves fully to him.” Check out Peter quoting from this Leviticus verse in 1 Peter 1 verses 13-16 – “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” How do these verses speak to you? Do you think about being holy? Do you want to be holy?

New Testament - The structure of today's readings in Mark chapter 5 are amazing!  The narrative starts with Jairus asking Jesus to heal his daughter who is about to die - but, then, in the middle of the narrative Jesus' journey is stopped by a woman who simply wants to touch Jesus' robe so that she will be healed from a 12-year suffering.  And verse 34 in this portion is just so beautiful as Jesus says to the now healed woman: ""Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed."" 

Then, the narrative cuts back to Jairus, but it sounds like it's too late for Jesus to come to the house.  Messengers report that the little girl has died.   Jesus simply tells Jairus in verse 36 - "Just trust me."  (which is something so powerful that I believe Jesus says to you and me today too - "Just trust me."  Don't worry about anything else in this passing life.  "Just trust me.")  And then in verses 40 & 41 we read: "Then he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, "Get up, little girl!" 

Commentary from Bob Deffinbaugh at bible.org on today's readings in Mark chapter 5 entitled "Where there is Death there is Hope" is at this link.

Psalms - Psalm 38 is powerful.  Verses 4 & 5 speak so much to our human condition - "My guilt overwhelms me--it is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins."  Does this verse speak to you in any way, shape or form?   If so, please consider then verse 18 - "But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done." Will you confess your sins to God today?  Will you admit that you are truly sorry for your sins?  Will you pray for healing from your sins?  Will you make confession of your sins to God a regular practice?

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 10 verse 8 is a good reminder to consider how much and how often and how meaningful our words are when we speak: "The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces."

Worship God: Based on our Leviticus readings today about holiness, here's an amazing live worship performance by Chris Tomlin of the song "Holy is the Lord."  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jbSNwvMDz8

Do you often cry "Holy?" Click here for Holiness!

Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "For I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy." Leviticus 11:45 NIV

Prayer Point: Pray for holiness in your life.

Comments from you & Question of the Day: Related to this Proverb above, I read an article recently about how "small talk" is getting more prevalent in our world today.  And as a society we are speaking less often about sincere or meaningful matters.  Instead we prefer to talk a lot about the weather or sports or celebrities.  It does make me wonder - is some of this small talk just babbling?  I don't know. I guess I just pray that when we speak we will speak sincerely in truth and love.  And not just talk to hear ourselves talk.  Do you think that some of our small talk is simply babbling?  Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

Love, Trust, and Obey Jesus,
Mike

p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our One Year Bible readings at this link.

p.p.s. Download a schedule of our One Year Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.

p.p.p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this One Year Bible Blog ministry today. Thanks!

Comments

[Ramona]

Leviticus 11-12:8 (Mark 5:21-43)

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. … And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. …. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:1-31 KJV)

O.K. So what happened that now there are clean and unclean animals? (Rhetorical question). As we search for why the laws, the setting apart of clean and unclean, holy and secular/profane some of the explanations do not satisfy me. I’m not saying they are wrong, I’m just saying I’m still “thirsty” for understanding. I want to know the why and wherefores. If everything was created “good” and “very good” what has sin done to corrupt God’s creation? Or has each created things purpose just been thrown out of wack because of sin? (Again Rhetorical) Man sinned, not the plants, not the animals, not the bugs, what did our sin set into motion that we now read about this separation and division? (Rhetorical).

I stated this previously but it bears repeating, everything we read about in the Old Testament points to the New, everything that God inspired man to write in the Old points to Jesus Christ. Life is all about choices and God gave the church in the wilderness something to choose, life or death, blessing or curses, holiness or the profane. It is all about choice. He commands Israel, to “be perfect because I am perfect.” Israel was given 600 plus laws, and the deal was, You break one you break them all. The only way you could do this was definitely not in your own strength because no one could keep the law. That is why the altar in the Tabernacle has to be busy from sun up to sun down. This could only be done by faith under the Old Covenant (Habakkuk2:4), as well as under the New (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38). So to be Perfect like God, back then and now, one must walk with God and your perfection comes by way of identification with God/Christ.

One of the things I think that point toward Christ are the consumption of the animals that have split hooves and chew the cud. (Yes, I know I am probably going off on the deep end but here goes). Split hooves, at least to me, points to separation, choosing one thing over the other, not melding the sacred with the profane. They are close enough to be seen but with enough distance to be separated. Along with the split hooves, there must be constant chewing, digesting what was eaten and bringing it back up again to be chewed on some more, this speaks to me of “meditating” on God’s Word. The nutrients in the “grass” are not exhausted in the first swallow, but must be “chewed” over and over again. I believe it is akin to mediating on every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and we know that Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1)

This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. (Joshua 1:8 AMP)

Also we can take note that Jesus “appears” to have broken or subverted Levitical Laws in today’s New Testament readings. He has been touched by a woman with an issue of blood, thus by the Law is unclean (We will read this in the days to come), he has not only been in the same room with the dead but touched the body making Him unclean. Could the statement He made to the “mourners,” “…She is sleeping” been said to not “offend” the people who knew she was dead? (Yes, again Rhetorical) Whatever the reason, death, sickness could not stay when Jesus showed up.

And another thing: In this passage there are a lot of twelve’s. Jesus is walking with his twelve disciples and is stopped by a man with a sick daughter who is twelve years old. He is then touched with an intentional touch by a woman who has been bleeding for twelve years. Is twelve the number for “God’s Purpose? (There are 12 sons of Jacob; 12 tribes of Israel, Hmmm). I am reading a secular book written by the famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, Realm of Numbers. It is non-fiction and it gives the history of our number system and mathematics in general. On page 45 he discusses that there was a challenger to our base 10 numbering system, it was the number 12.

Grace and peace,
Ramona