Numbers 3-4

Dear RTB’ers,

Ideally you’ve got a Study Bible or a commentary or an online source that explains things. If not, it’s a bit difficult to follow the Levitical assignments by just reading through the text. So, for the sake of clarity…

Levi had three sons – Kohath, Gershon, and Merari. (v. 3:17) Kohath had four sons (v. 3:19), one of whom was Amram, who was the father of Aaron and Moses (I Chronicles 6:3). There is a generational challenge in linking Aaron and Moses all the way back to Levi, who was one of the twelve sons of Jacob at the start of the 430 years that the Israelites were in Egypt. People seemed to have lived longer back then – Joseph lived to be 110 (Genesis 50:22, 26) and Moses was 120 when he died (Deuteronomy 34:7).

But solving that generational problem is not our issue. What we need to know is that the Kohathites became the more prominent of the three sons of Levi and that Aaron had descended from Kohath and Amram. It was Aaron and his sons who had charge of the disassembly of the most holy things (vv. 4:5-14) and the rest of the Kohathites were charged to carry these items. The families of Gershon and Merari had other disassembly and carrying chores.

Blessings!

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See also: February 8 (2023) / Numbers 3-4

Numbers 1-2

Dear RTB’ers,

Numbers. My favorite book of the Bible?? Not really, but people joke with me about that, having to do with my love for numbers and number “families”! And no doubt, I’d rather be reading Numbers than going back to Leviticus!!

After those many days of a small number of verses to read in Hebrews, today and twice more in the next three days we have some long readings, the smallest of those three being 88 verses in today’s reading, but many of those verses are repetitive, so not so difficult to follow.

If you have Study Bibles and you read the introductory material, you will see that there is substantial controversy about the tribal and total numbers of Israelites that are setting out from Mt. Sinai. And it is mind-blowing to me – with 603,550 men …from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel… (v. 45b), there would likely be a similar number of women and another similar or larger number of children, so there would be a total number of people on the order of two million. But just staying with the 603,550 men – let’s go back to Leviticus and imagine all these men, maybe in groups of two to ten (or even hundreds) by family, coming to the tabernacle (tent) to offer sacrifices according to the requirements laid out in Leviticus. That would be a lot of animal slaughter and a lot of Levitical labor. I truly wonder whether those numbers have been inflated in various translations or transcriptions over time. But let’s not fuss over the numbers. It’s the larger content (and context) that’s important.

One item worth noting – you probably noticed that both of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh are included in the numbering of the Israelites. That would make for thirteen tribes! However, the tribe of Levi is not included in today’s count. We’ll see why tomorrow when they are numbered.

Blessings!

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See also: February 7 (2023) / Numbers 1-2

Dear RTB’ers,

The STS authors list “Revision” instead of a Scripture reading for today’s assignment, but “Review” is probably a better word. And that’s mostly what we did at yesterday’s RTB gathering, looking at the whole of the book of Hebrews. Mostly the group lauded our STS authors for putting Leviticus and Hebrews back-to-back. We compared Jesus’ sacrifice to the animal sacrifices set forth in Leviticus – which were still ongoing in Jesus’ time. We looked at Jesus as our High Priest compared to the Aaronic high priests. And we spent a good bit of time analyzing Jesus as a priest “according to the order of Melchizedek.” All in all, a really good session. Looking ahead, we’ve tentatively got March 9 as our next RTB gathering. I’ll have to clear that with Sharon, but for now, let’s get it on our calendars!

As to the STS questions, I would seriously encourage all of us to look at their second question, asking us to look at the positive exhortations in those specific verses that they list, included here for your benefit –

• Hebrews 2:1
• Hebrews 4:1,11,14,16
• Hebrews 6:1
• Hebrews 10:22-24
• Hebrews 12:1,28
• Hebrews 13:17,22

A good exercise…!

Now on to Numbers for the rest of the month!

Blessings!

Hebrews 13:9-25

Dear RTB’ers,

We will gather as an RTB group in a few hours, so I will make this short. Verse 10 was confusing to me: We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. Yes, confusing, so I went to an online commentary: “We who are Christians by our trust in Jesus, share what he did when he died on the cross … Those who depend on what they do at their altars do not share what Jesus has done.” The Hebrews author is equating his word “altar” in verse 10 to Jesus’ death on the cross. Presumably the Temple was still around when the author was writing this letter and sacrifices were still being offered. So the writer is saying that priests who serve at the Temple altar and offer animal sacrifices have no share in Jesus’ sacrificial death. No longer confusing! See you soon!!

Blessings!

Hebrews 13:1-8

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s reading offers a bunch of one-sentence instructions, encouragements, and admonishments: hospitality to strangers; remembering prisoners; undefiled marriage beds; love of money; overcoming fear; spiritual ancestors; and Jesus Christ eternally! I pondered each of those items that the author mentioned, looking for instances in my own life where those topics were relevant. I found that thinking of my spiritual ancestors was a delightful task, Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (v. 7) Carol and I have been blessed with a number of powerful spiritual leaders – not only pastors and teachers, but also lay leaders and friends who have impacted our lives. I can name more than a dozen, right off the top of my head. But then I asked myself further if there are people out there for whom I (or Carol and I together) have had a spiritual impact on their lives. Sadly, my first thought was that that number is much lower. Then I recalled one of my favorite sayings, “You never know the impact that you are having on other people.” And we don’t know those impacts from years gone by, but we know that they are there. Maybe we need to adjust our behavior going forward so that strangers will say, “I met the nicest person today.” Come to our RTB gathering on Sunday after coffee hour and I’ll share a little incident from our overseas trip this past fall. “You never know…”!!

Blessings!

Hebrews 12:18-29

Dear RTB’ers,

For a better understanding, we need to read Hebrews as if we are 1^st-century Jewish Christians, especially those 1^st-century Jewish Christians who might be considering going back to their old ways. That seems to be the group to whom the author is writing. Consider: For you have not come to …[Mount Sinai]…, But you have come to Mount Zion …, the heavenly Jerusalem, and … to Jesus, … and to [His shed] blood… (vv. 18-24, slightly edited). The author is asking his audience not to consider returning to temple worship and synagogue gatherings, but to look forward and upward to their new life in Jesus. He even offers them a warning, See that you do not refuse Him Who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth (God at Mount Sinai), much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns from heaven. (v. 25) Instead, …be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. (v. 28a)

I doubt that any of us are thinking of going back to our “old ways”. But are we moving forward, daily even, to new ways? New prayer and praise, new Bible study, new evangelization, new service, new thankfulness? Therefore let us be grateful … and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship… (v. 28a)

Blessings!

Hebrews 12:1-17

Dear RTB’ers,

Discipline. Worldly discipline, spiritual discipline. We’ve all been disciplined, somehow, somewhere. Where did you learn discipline? What is your own discipline like today? Your worldly discipline, your spiritual discipline?

I was looking back at my own discipline history. First, my worldly discipline – growing up at home; three years in the Army (especially Basic Training); a dozen years of academic studies; then 30+ years of the structured life of going to work every day. A lot of discipline training in each of those times in my life…

And spiritual discipline… I went to a (spiritual) conference when I was in my mid-30s where the speaker suggested that we commit ourselves to reading the Bible at least five minutes a day. I began doing that and realized that if I read more than five minutes – typically 15 to 20 minutes – that I could read through the entire Bible in one year’s time. So sometime in my late 30s was my first time in reading completely through the Bible. That conference and the discipline that I learned eventually led to our current RTB groups at St. Andrew’s.

John and I can attest to the discipline that is necessary for us to post RTB comments every morning (or occasionally later in the day). No doubt, there is personal spiritual gain for us in doing that, but our other hope in posting daily is that we can encourage the rest of you in your own spiritual discipline. Our hope is that you read the assigned passage every day (morning?) and consider the STS questions (and our posts), ideally even before you begin your daily chores. If you get behind, no problem, just catch up! And come join us this Sunday morning after coffee hour and tell us how RTB is working out for you.

Blessings!

Hebrews 11:23-40

Dear RTB’ers,

Hebrews 11 is universally known as the “Faith Chapter” or “Heroes of the Faith”. The New Testament (NT) author is writing about Old Testament (OT) “heroes”, people who sought the Lord and served Him, in spite of opposition from people around them. I am humbled when I think about our lives today and compare ourselves to what these folks went through. Just a couple of observations…

First, they had prophets and priests; we have Jesus and the gospel records. Those OT people had faithful prophets and priests who spoke what they had heard from the Lord, in spite of the opposition they faced. Conversely, the people were also led astray by false prophets and unfaithful priests who spoke words that they claimed came from God, but in fact did not. So, whom to follow? How would they know to which group God was speaking? My primary example here is Jeremiah and the unfaithful prophets and priests around him. I’m looking forward to reading of his life. The OT people stand in direct contrast to what we have today – Jesus’ life as recorded in the four gospels, plus 23 more books and letters witnessing to His death and resurrection; canonized saints whose examples we can follow; and the unfailing Holy Spirit who is there to guide us every step of the way. We have so much more!

Second, the Hebrews author tells us of the suffering that these OT people endured (vv. 33-38). Yes, we have incidents of people who suffer for their faith today, especially in the Arab world and in the Southern Hemisphere. We read about them and pray for them, but I doubt that we really feel their suffering. Maybe we need to be more challenged about our own faith!

Finally, the promise of a better life… These OT heroes looked forward to God honoring His promises, an expectation of a Messiah deliver – but they never saw those promises fulfilled: All these died in faith, without receiving the promises… And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised… (vv. 13a, 39) But we know how the story ends. We know the Messiah deliverer, Jesus. We know of His promise of eternal life. We know the Holy Spirit, come to live in our hearts and minds. We have that “better life” right now, in the here and now!

Reading and meditating on the whole of chapter 11 is humbling, to say the least. Paul’s letter to the Romans includes a simple little phrase directed to unbelievers, that …they are without excuse… (Romans 1:20b) What would Paul say if he were writing to us today?

Blessings!

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See also: December 27 (2023) / Hebrews 11-13

Hebrews 11:1-22

Dear RTB’ers,

The Hebrews writer uses fifteen of the forty verses in this chapter to talk about Abraham. No doubt, Abraham’s person/story is, in fact, a worthy statement of faith. Consider that:

1. he left his home as God directed, not knowing where he was going;
2. together with his wife, Sarah, he fathered a son, Isaac, in his old age; and
3. (to me the most powerful) he was willing to offer his son as a sacrifice simply because God told him to.

Beyond the simple mention of these three faith-statements, our writer adds two interesting “editorial” sentences. First, If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. (v. 15) This verse reflects back to a statement five verses earlier: For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (v. 10) Abraham and his family and servants were living in tents (v. 9), no doubt wondering when and where they would settle down, but continuously moving forward, never looking back to return to Ur or Haran, from where he had come.

The second “editorial” comment is related to Abraham’s willing sacrifice of Isaac, He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead… (v. 19a) The author is delving into Abraham’s mind with this statement. I personally can’t imagine that Abraham had considered a “resurrection” of Isaac’s dead body. Sorry, I don’t have any other explanation for how Abraham believed that he would be the father of nations through Isaac if he sacrificed him. But it does seem like Abraham must have been silently praying one of our favorite phrases today, “God is God and I am not.” Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac – that’s faith!

Blessings!

Hebrews 10:19-39

Dear RTB’ers,

The writer of Hebrews spends a lot of words, and they are really good words, but the essence of what he is saying is captured in just a few verses:

…since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus… (v. 19b) And

…since we have a great priest over the house of God… (v. 21) Then

…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith… (v. 22)

These three partial verses bring us to the heart of our confession of faith, offering us strength for our earthly life and confidence in our heavenly hereafter. However,

…if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment… (v. 26-27b) Scary!! So, instead,

…let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together… (vv. 24-25b)

We, together with the Holy Spirit, are one another’s best defense against that horrible falling away!

Don’t get me wrong – the “in-between” words are good, they provide more substance to the main ideas presented in those partial verses. But I think it’s helpful to pull out the important material, then to re-read the entire reading with the material from those partial verses in mind. I hope that’s helpful

Blessings!

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See also: December 26 (2023) / Hebrews 7-10