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Calling me to task…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 10:13 Eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the food offerings presented to the Lord; for so I have been commanded.

I was reminded this morning that Jeremiah 29:14 reads, “I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” So not only does God want us to earnestly seek Him instead of snarkily judging others, but also, if we do earnestly seek Him, not only will we find Him, but He will rescue us from our judgy ways.

Leviticus 10:14 But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites’ fellowship offerings.

I honestly didn’t expect for God to use these verses in Leviticus to call me to task for my terrible tendency to judge, but here we are. And here’s the rub: Judging others is incredibly easy. I know I’m not the only one who makes a snarky comment when something isn’t done the way I would do it or the way I think it ought to be done. It’s so easy and such a dangerous slippery slope.

Leviticus 10:15 The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the food offerings, to be waved before the Lord as a wave offering. This will be the perpetual share for you and your children, as the Lord has commanded.”

Precious Savior, Thank You for calling me to task about my tendency to judge others. Thank You for the reminder that that tendency is my pride talking and my pride will separate me from You every single time. Help me draw closer to You always. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 10:16 When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked,

Have a blessed day.

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With all our hearts…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 10:8-9 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, 

Commentary on today’s verses is very judgy towards churches who use wine in their communion, which instantly gives me “the ick.” God’s purpose is to draw His people closer, not to have Bible scholars cast judgement. I honestly don’t think He would approve of the jab.

Leviticus 10:10 so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, 

Jeremiah 29:13 comes to mind again as I ponder my reading today: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” God wants us to earnestly seek Him–not get snarky and judge others. He wants us to draw closer to Him. That will only happen when we seek Him with all our hearts, which we can’t do when we are making snide comments about others. 

Leviticus 10:11 and so you can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.”

Precious Savior, It can be so easy to devolve into judging and snideness, especially when we are busy talking about how others are missing the “Good Christian” mark. Help us to focus on You with our whole hearts, to try to draw closer to You so that we can worship You well, to love others and not judge, assuming that they are doing their best to draw closer, too. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 10:12 Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering left over from the food offerings prepared without yeast and presented to the Lord and eat it beside the altar, for it is most holy.

Have a blessed day. 

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Redirecting my heart…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 10:5 So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.

Today’s scripture has me thinking about the fact that my job is to shine God’s light, not my own. I am incredibly aware that any good that comes from me and my words is all due to Him and for His glory, but sometimes the desire to hear praise for my words is stronger than my spiritual sense. 

Leviticus 10:6a Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. 

That desire for acknowledgement and praise is something I try to actively fight against, and God often keeps me humble with a glaring grammar error discovered after posting or an insight that suddenly seems crystal clear where no enlightenment could be found previously or by simply not illuminating a verse with any profound insight for me until I say, “Lord, I just don’t get it. Please help me understand.” 

Leviticus 10:6b But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for redirecting my heart when it wants praise for my own actions instead of for Your glory. Help me to shine Your light always, to point others to You. Help me to understand Your word better and share Your encouragement with everyone I encounter. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 10:7 Do not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.

Have a blessed day. 

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Earnestly seeking…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 10:1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. 

My first thought, reading today’s scripture, is: “Why would God punish someone earnestly seeking Him, even if it is in an unauthorized way?” Commentary posits that Aaron’s sons might not be earnestly seeking, that their pride might be prompting them to try to reach God in an unauthorized way to brag about their ability. 

Leviticus 10:2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 

These thoughts lead me back to yesterday’s idea that God knows our hearts and reminds me that I need to be careful. I can be really judgy when I let myself, ascribing motives based on why I think others are doing or not doing something. Today’s scripture reminds me that I am not God, and, therefore, I need to quit judging. God knows my heart. He knows theirs, too. 

Leviticus 10:3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “ ‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ ” Aaron remained silent.

Precious Savior, You call me to love and not to judge (Matt 7:1). Thank You that You know my heart and the hearts of others (Ps 44:21). Help me to leave the judging to You and to love others as You love–completely, fiercely, abundantly. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 10:4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.”

Have a blessed day. 

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He is still with us…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 9:22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.

The fire in verse 24 was a physical sign that God was with them. How amazing must that have been. For those of us consumed with doubt and fear, anxiety and worry, to have that physical reminder that He is with us is a beautiful gift.  

Leviticus 9:23 Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 

What I have to remind myself is that, even without that physical reminder, HE IS STILL WITH US. And if I can calm my anxiety and really pay attention to my surroundings, I can see evidence of His presence everywhere, in every situation.

Leviticus 9:24a Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You are Emmanuel, “God with us” (Matt 1:23). You are not a distant, uncaring God. You collect all our tears in a bottle (Ps 56:8). You understand our pain (Ps 34:18) and know our hearts (Ps 44:21). Blanket us with Your peace so that we are neither troubled nor afraid (John 14:27). Draw us nearer. Amen.

Leviticus 9:24b And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Have a blessed day. 

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On blood and fat…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 9:18 He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it against the sides of the altar. 

Today I’m pondering “The fat belongs to the Lord” again. You may remember I wrote about that verse a week or so ago. While I’m still chuckling about the images related to the verse (though I haven’t ordered myself a t-shirt yet), I can’t help but ponder why the fat is reserved for God.  

Leviticus 9:19 But the fat portions of the ox and the ram—the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver— 

Most folks don’t like the idea of collecting fat on our bodies. Many will trim fat from cuts of meat before cooking, but a quick search tells me that “In ancient Israelite culture, the visceral fat surrounding the internal organs…was viewed as the finest, richest, and most luxurious part of the animal.”

Leviticus 9:20 these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar. 

Lord, Once again I find myself struggling to reconcile my understanding (blood = horror, fat = bad) with the lens of the ancient Israelites (blood = cleansing, fat = best portions). Thank You for the reminder that I can’t automatically view Your word through my “everyday” lens. Help me, when I am confused, to first examine my lens and see if I need to switch it to understand You better. Draw me closer. Amen.

Leviticus 9:21 Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the Lord as a wave offering, as Moses commanded.

Have a blessed day. 

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Cultivating compassion…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 9:14 He washed the internal organs and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

I started this morning by realizing that I forgot to send out the devo reflection for my church last night. Honestly, it’s  not a huge deal, but it’s something that I have taken care of for years, and my immediate reaction was to castigate myself for my failure.  

Leviticus 9:15 Aaron then brought the offering that was for the people. He took the goat for the people’s sin offering and slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he did with the first one.

It was an oversight, not a failure. I’m human. I make mistakes. It’s ok. … I am thankful that I am now at a place in my life where, even though my first reaction is critical anger, my second reaction is to give myself the compassion and grace that I try to lavish on others.

Leviticus 9:16 He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the prescribed way. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for these days when I can see growth within myself. Life is hard enough on us. Thank You for the ability to be compassionate to myself and others. Help me to cultivate compassion today. Amen.

Leviticus 9:17 He also brought the grain offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning’s burnt offering.

Have a blessed day. 

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Faith in action…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 9:9 His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. 

A google search on the point of Leviticus 9 says that one of the key purposes is a transition to action, moving the Israelites from learning about tabernacle rules to practicing them. Ironically, this week’s theme in my church devotionals has been “Faith in Action.” 

Leviticus 9:10-11 On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering, as the Lord commanded Moses; the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp.

Friday’s church devo writer included this gem: “I’ve also heard in the baptist church ‘It’s not a faith by works but rather a faith that works.’ Works are not the means of salvation. They are the result of it.” Ultimately, what I took from both of these reflections is that faith cannot be abstract. You can’t just learn the rules. You have to go out into the world and put them into practice. 

Leviticus 9:12 Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he splashed it against the sides of the altar. 

Precious Savior, Leviticus continues to be a struggle for me. Thank You for allowing me new insights as I continue to dig and discover. Thank You for meeting me here, for whispering to my heart, for drawing me closer. Help me to be Your hands and feet and heart in this world. Amen.

Leviticus 9:13 They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece, including the head, and he burned them on the altar.

Have a blessed day. 

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The cost of sin…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 9:5 They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord. 

Today’s scripture has me thinking about why there is so much blood in Leviticus. It’s truly hard to stomach. I came across a video that talked about intentional and unintentional sin and the fact that both required a sin offering, and all the thoughts that that video inspired put me in mind of Matthew 5:21-22. 

Leviticus 9:6 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.”

The verses in Matthew talk about the fact that both murder and anger are sins, and sins on the same level, which has always baffled me. However, in light of the video, I see that both sins required the same sacrifice–the death of a blameless, sinless animal, so even though, in my mind, there is a vast difference between murder and anger, the cost, the sin offering, would have been the same–death of an innocent creature. 

Leviticus 9:7 Moses said to Aaron, “Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded.”

Precious Savior, Leviticus has been difficult for me, yet I feel like You are using it to help me understand more of Your word, more of Your essence. Thank You for giving me eyes that see and ears that hear (Matthew 13:16). Help me, always, to seek to understand You better. Amen.

Leviticus 9:8 So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself.

Have a blessed day.

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A better way…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 9:1 On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 

Again today I am marveling at how far Moses has come from the rash fellow who killed an Egyptian and ran, to the unsure fellow who told God that he was not eloquent enough to do what God had called him to, to this very confident Moses who is walking Aaron and his sons through the priestly rites. 

Leviticus 9:2 He said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the Lord. 

I know sometimes I get stuck in my head, thinking who I am is who I’ve always been and I won’t ever be anyone different. When it comes to things like encouraging others, that’s not a bad thing, but when it comes to things like my anxiety spirals and my self-doubt, God’s whispering today that I am His deeply loved child and He has a better way planned.

Leviticus 9:3 Then say to the Israelites: ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb—both a year old and without defect—for a burnt offering, 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You did not leave me as I am. Thank You that You see the areas that separate me from You–areas like my anxiety and worry–and You keep after me to surrender those areas to You. Thank You that You do not give up on me nor love me any less, even if it is hard for me to let go of these things that aren’t serving me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 9:4 and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the Lord, together with a grain offering mixed with olive oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.’ ”

Have a blessed day.