Hebrews 10:12-14 tells us that "when Christ had offered of all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are …
Continue reading The Purification Offering | Leviticus 4:1-5:13
I frequently need John Sailhamer’s reminder that Scripture really is Scripture. Let me explain. Sailhamer points out how easily we can use Scripture, especially in historical narrative, as just a means to learn what really happened. We can look through the Bible in attempt to find out what actually happened in the Bible. This approach …
After being exiled from Eden, Genesis 4 tells us that Adam and Eve had two sons, whom they named Cain and Abel. "Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and …
What would you do if you survived the apocalypse and were one of only a handful of people left on the planet? Plenty of fiction has been produced exploring that premise, but we don’t need to turn to fiction, for Noah found himself in that very circumstance. Having found grace in God’s sight for being …
Continue reading The Whole Burnt Offering | Leviticus 1:2-17
The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, Leviticus 1:1 ESV Leviticus is a manual for proper worship. “Worship is addressed in every single chapter in Leviticus. It is Israel’s orienting center” (Palmer, 823). And center is a very fitting word. The Torah, the first five books of the …
Exodus is the narrative heart of the Old Testament. Genesis, of course, is a book of roots. Chapters 1-11 show us the roots of humanity and all of creation, while chapters 12-50 give us the roots of God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham. Exodus, however, gives us the central story of God rescuing and …
Continue reading And the Glory of the Lord Filled the Tabernacle | Exodus 40
When reading through the book of Exodus, most find the second half much less exciting than the first half because of laws and because of these chapters and the previous chapters that they mirror, 25-31. Yet the structure of Exodus wants us to see that this what all the marvelous works that God did to …
Our previous text, as we noted, is one of the most important passages in all of Scripture, which is evidenced by the frequency with which it is cited elsewhere in the Bible. After asking to see God’s glory, Moses beheld a marvelous revelation of Yahweh. Specifically, the LORD exposited His name, proclaiming the glorious attributes …
“Please show me your glory.” That was Moses’ audacious supplication before the LORD at the end of chapter 33. Yahweh responded by telling the prophet that He would make all of His goodness pass by Him and proclaim to him His name. As we said, God answered this way because His glory, His goodness, and …
C. S. Lewis once wrote: If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, …
B. C. Newton 