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Bible Study Numbers

Numbers | Chapter 9

Chapter 9 starts with a reminder that people of Israel are to continue the celebration of Passover, an annual reminder that YHWH had delivered them out from the Egyptians. This is an important reminder as they are just about to set out, once again, under God’s personal escort, to a land that will fulfill what He promised them as well as what He promised Abraham. In reaction to God’s instruction, Moses reminds the people and they do it. All is well. 

But a problem arises. The Passover is to be kept on the 14th day of the first month (remember the calendar got re-oriented around when YHWH delivered them from Egypt so, in effect, every new year is on the anniversary of that event). Anyway, it so happens there are some fellas who are unclean on the 14th (the text tells us they had become unclean through touching a dead body). They are in a quandary. YHWH has asked everyone to celebrate Passover yet the people recognize that to do so in an unclean manner brings risk. So, they ask Moses to check with the Lord on what they should do. Off the bat, this gives us a pretty clear sense on the nature of the laws that YHWH has passed down. They are not rigid or unreasonable, they are principled. Where nuance is required, the people will petition God for clarification. As the people start to misbehave and push the boundaries, YHWH will provide additional clarification to keep them on the correct path.

YHWH makes an accommodation for this situation by saying that anyone who is unclean from touching a dead body, or who is away on a long journey, during the  time of Passover shall still do it, just on the 14th of the next month. They have to follow all the same procedures (already covered in Exodus 12), just a month later. All is well. In light of this addendum, however, God reiterates that everyone is to participate in the Passover and that, if anyone who is clean and able to do so does not, they shall be cut off from their people. Most commentators comprehend the phrase “cut off” to mean immediate death and potentially even separation from their people in the life to come (although that bit seems a stretch given that the concept of an eternal life is not explicitly found in the Torah).

YHWH also invites any stranger or traveler who is around to take part in the Passover festivities. They’re not required, but if they’re interested and want to do it, they need to do it in the same way as the Israelites (meaning there are no alternative celebration instructions for sojourners in the land, everyone does it the same way).

The chapter ends with a bit of poetry as the new journey begins. The people, in fits and starts, followed YHWH as He lead them through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai. Here they camped for a year to receive words and laws from God on what it looks like to live as His people with His presence among them. Now, they are about to set out again and they will be lead in the same way. When the presence of YHWH hovers over the tabernacle, they stay. When it goes, they go. Cloud by day, fire by night. And we’re told over and over again that they obeyed, following God’s command. Unfortunately, this obedience will not last long. 

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Bible Study Leviticus

Leviticus | Chapter 9

Where chapter 8 prepares Aaron to be able to be able to start the priestly duties, chapter 9 kicks off Aaron’s first duties in office. After a full week of continual sacrifice to prepare Aaron and the tabernacle/altars for full time service (these are the purification (sin offerings) and burnt offerings), the eighth day arrives. The work that is to be done points to the whole reason any of this is going on, worship of God and the desire for His glory (think presence) to be revealed to them.

Different sacrifices/animals are represented for different parties. Moses tells Aaron to a bull calf for a purification offering for the altar/tabernacle and a ram for a burnt offering (for his personal atonement). There is no shortage of irony here that Aaron’s first duty as the official high priest is to sacrifice a young calf, the same animal that he made a golden image of and declared to be Yahweh in Moses’ absence. The people of Israel (again, likely represented by the elders) are instructed to bring a male goat for there purification (sin) offering and a calf and a lamb for their burnt offerings. Also, they are to bring an ox and a lamb for the peace offering as well as the grain and oil.

Everyone agrees and does what they are supposed to. Moses twice tells them that the result of all of this will be the glory of the Lord will appear to them. Again, these sacrifices help to bring the tabernacle to purity (defiled by the people and their sin but cleansed so that they can approach for atonement for their sin) as well as to allow for that atonement that restores right relationship between man and God. What was the glory of God that would appear? It’s likely the pillars of cloud/fire that had been present many times in the past. Sacrifices at the tabernacle were of no use if Yahweh was not there, His presence made the entire thing work. What is happening on this day is the initiation what will need to be in place for all of this to keep working.

The wide variety of animals is likely intentional, Aaron gets a chance to do all but one of the sacrifices (the reparation offering from chapter 5, that’s a specific situation that isn’t occurring here). Broadly, we should see these atonement for the general sinfulness of the nation, to dedicate the whole people to the worship of God according to his means, and to pray for God’s blessing on them. Then Moses and Aaron go into the tent of meeting and come out and bless the people. The Lord validates this blessing by appearing and then consuming the already burning offerings with fire. The people, as you would expect, give a shout and fall on their faces.

What can we take away from this? It puts all of the ceremony into context. All of this is pointing to something, ultimately the proper worship of God. The elaborate dress of the priests, the procedures around the sacrifices, etc. all helped simple human minds appreciate the holiness of God. None of it ensures God’s presence, He gives that graciously, but it provides a window into how to understand the presence that they are asking for. There are also aspects of spontaneous praise as well as fear in reaction to the God’s presence. This is difficult for us as often our worship is manufactured. Perhaps a pillar of fire would straighten that right out.

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Bible Study Genesis

Genesis | Chapter 9

As we leave the ark, it’s as if Creation as begun again. And like Eden, God’s blessing’s have returned in the form of multiplying and filling the earth. However, things aren’t quite the same. No longer is there a seemingly harmonious relationship between man and beast, who have now become part of the food chain (where previously everyone appeared to be a vegetarian). As such, their relationship now contains fear and dread. (If folk started eating me I suppose it would change my perspective of them.) 

Further, God deals with the consequence of taking the life of a human, whether by man or beast. God is the giver of life and it is His exclusive domain. Further, humans are created exclusively in His image and likeness so are in a category all their own; to kill a human is to require the murderer’s life in return. I’ll note two things here. One, this is a stricter punishment than what existed before, we’ll note that Cain escapes with his life after the murder of Abel. Also, this seems to also apply to humans that aren’t walking with God (as the distinction is their creation in His image and likeness, not their current faithfulness.) 

The gut reaction here may be to jump to applicability of this section to things like the death penalty or war. This isn’t the right text to debate the veracity of a”just war” theory, however I’ll note that what God says here is, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed…” God isn’t exacting direct justice upon the murderer, it sounds like man is responsible for regulating the justice on God’s behalf. If and how Jesus impacts this is a reasonable discussion, but at stake is correct understanding the principles of the value of human life (in one hand) and God’s justice when that life is taken unnecessarily (on the other hand). 

Note that God’s covenant for the rainbow is not just with Noah, it’s with the creatures as well. Consider the next time you meet a rabbit that it’s not outside the realm of possibility that God is doing business with that rabbit in some way or another. The sign is a rainbow, which doesn’t imply that there was never a rainbow before that point, it’s just something that happens when it rains that God is using as a reminder to humanity (and the rabbit, I suppose) that He’s not going to flood the place again in judgment. 

Here’s as good a place to note as any, there’s a bit of a Moses vibe going on with Noah. We think of those two folks being a long way apart, and they are, if you’re digesting the first 5+ books of the Bible as a group, and recognize they were likely written around the same time, the parallels add some depth to the story. For similarities, note that both “found favor in God’s sight”, both are saved by an ark (Moses’ tiny boat thing he sent down the Nile in is described with the same word as Noah’s boat, a rare word in general), both are prophets, have a priestly role (sacrifice) and both lead building projects with really specific guidelines given by God (ark and tabernacle). Both also are given laws in the context of the covenants God is establishing either with them or, in Moses’ case, the people he is leading. 

On the back half of chapter 9, the prime point seems to be to tag Ham with the curse of Canaan. This is an interesting curse in that it comes from a human, not from God. Still, it will come true eventually when the God’s people are freed from Egypt (where they were slaves, I might add) and take the “promised land” from the Canaanites in the process. It’s worth noting here that the curse is exclusive to the Canaanites (not all of Ham’s descendants), which makes any foolishness related to the subjugation of the offspring of Ham as a whole (who settled in Africa/Arabia) even more untenable. 

The story that brings the curse on is kind of an odd one. Noah is man of the land (this is good) but then he grows grapes and passes out drunk in his tent (the text isn’t clear that Noah has sinned here). Ham’s sin is also not clear besides potentially the fact that he ignored his father’s shame and neglected to do anything about it. (If we think that’s a reasonable extrapolation, and I think it is, it should certainly inform how we look at the world and those who need help. The fact that you didn’t strip a man nude and laugh at him doesn’t mean you’re not on the hook for leaving him that way once it came to your attention.) 

In either case, the two other brothers take extensive measures to protect their father’s honor and cover him. Note here also the similarities to Eden in Noah’s story as well. We get the combo of blessing, nakedness and cursing. Just like in Eden, the nakedness is covered by a 3rd party (God for Adam and Eve, his sons do the job for Noah)  Again, ours is not a work of convenience but of labored necessity to protect the honor of those created in the image and likeness of God, even if they got in their shamed position by passing out drunk in the nude. Consider that next time you spend your time in judgment of someone’s shameful circumstances instead of finding ways to reduce that shame. We’ve got a lot of work to do, boys. 

For follow up: there’s pretty strong and reasonable evidence to believe that Ham’s sin here is related to having sex with his mom, which here is referred to as Noah’s nakedness, see Leviticus 18. This also makes the curse of Canaan make much more sense, because Canaan is the product of Ham’s relationship with his mother, and possibly an attempt to usurp Noah’s lineage and to having the family line be elevated through Canaan.

[The Naked Bible Podcast] Naked Bible 159: Noah’s Nakedness, the Sin of Ham, and the Curse of Canaan #theNakedBiblePodcast
https://podcastaddict.com/episode/131004895 via @PodcastAddict

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Bible Study Hebrews

Hebrews | Chapter 9

Chapter 9 continues the conversation about the expectation of the new covenant, why it was necessary, and how Jesus is involved.

The first section focuses on the setup of the sacrificial system itself, how it worked, what instruments and furniture were involved and how they were all used. Also, the distinctions between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place) Notably, the writer mentions the contents of the ark of the covenant, a box of sorts kept within the Holy of Holies that contained items reminding the people of the agreement they have with God (manna, because God provides for them; Aaron’s staff, a reminder that God will keep order, see Numbers 17; and the Ten Commandments, a reminder that God provides them identity and a clear understanding of how to live).

The point of bringing all of this up, though, is to show a connection, or an inference: the Holy Place connects and points ultimately to the Holy of Holies like the sacrificial system connects and ultimately points to Jesus. Jesus enters the greater and more perfect “tent” (dwelling place of God – in Jesus’ case, heaven) having made the sacrifice on behalf of the people. Because it was the perfect sacrifice, it need not be continually made.

A distinction that the writer makes a couple of times is the marked differences between sacrifice for purification of the flesh (which the sacrificial system could do, remember that most of the restrictions around uncleanliness were around worship) and Jesus’ sacrifice for the purification of our conscience and spirit. Ultimately, the work of Jesus not only brings us into right standing with God but calls us away from dead works and into sacrificial service of God.

Following, he posits the transition from the old covenant to the new one as something triggered as if coming from a will, happening upon the death of the one who made it. So, upon the death of Jesus, the covenant begins, which means the old covenant must be gone, it cannot remain (and you wouldn’t want it to, of course, when you have Jesus as an option.)

Ultimately, the things used in the old covenant were foreshadowing what was to come, copies of heavenly realities that Jesus would ultimately enact. The assurance at the end of this chapter is that we can be assured that what Jesus has done is sufficient for everyone and forever. It is not necessary for Jesus to return to deal with sin anymore, it has been dealt with. No, when he returns again it will be to return for those who await him. (I don’t know how many times the Bible can say it or how detailed of an argument you may need – but sin is taken care of, completely, lovingly, forever. It’s a reality we need to live in.)

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Bible Study Amos Study Amos

Amos – Chapter 9

Ok, so I know I’ve said this before, but the proclamation in chapter 9 is mega-super-fierce. It’s a vision, so we can’t take the imagery literally (it wouldn’t make sense with the end of the chapter if we did). However, that doesn’t mean it’s not intended to communicate something tangible and impactful to the people Amos is talking to.
The Lord is giving instructions here and will use two ends of a spectrum (top of the column and bottom of column, Sheol to heaven, mountain top to bottom of the sea) to communicate the complete judgment upon Israel and the warning that none shall be able to hide or flee from the coming wrath. Their efforts to escape are fruitless.
God says, “I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good”. Hmm, does this impact your perception of God? It should be part of it. It’s not new, either. God says a very similar thing in Deuteronomy 28. It does bring into question, though, how we are to understand “evil” and “good” in these contexts, for the purpose of all this seems to be Israel’s restoration (as we will see yet still in this chapter and as was listed later on in the previous use in Deuteronomy 30). In general, his attention is upon his people and he will cause and allow evil to come upon them and persist in light of their rebellion as it seems to be the way to call them back to restoration. How many modern parenting books does that jack with? This is followed, again, by a reminder of who exactly they are dealing with.
He continues back with the Cushites, Philistines and Syrians to provide context that he is sovereign over those nations as well and that the very things His people may have been praying for against those nations will ironically fall upon Israel itself. Israel will be destroyed from the surface of the ground…except it won’t (again, it’s a vision, you have to let it breathe a little). Basically, there’s still hope it can be rebuilt.
In fact, the next part talks of God commanding that although Israel shall be tested and tried and put through the ringer for their rebellion, they will not be utterly destroyed. The distinction of those that will be destroyed seems to be those who believe they are immune from it.
And then the hope comes. There will be a day when the ruined, torn, fallen house of David shall be rebuilt once again. However, they will bear the responsibility for bringing light to Edom and to all the nations (this is how Acts interprets this section, see Acts 15:16-17.) And those days will be bountiful (the guy plowing will overtake the guy harvesting because the ground produces so well, similar to the wine-maker). All will be restored, made new and provide graciously for the people. The tricky part in all of this is the notion of Israel as a “land” vs. a kingdom (as this promise is understood to be fulfilled by Jesus).

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a parish house

Revelation Chapter 8 – 10

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a parish house

Acts 9:1-19

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