Provisions are made in Scripture for the avenger of blood. The avenger of blood was the next of kin of the person who had been killed and was allowed to punish the offender, even to the point of killing the accused without being himself guilty of murder.

Reminds me of the revenge attitude of so many people today. "I don't get back, I get even." Not a very godly attitude.

Cities of refuge were to be established where a person who has accidentally killed someone could flee to and be safe. Think about all the times in Scripture that God is described as being our refuge, our safety, our shield and protector.

Jesus was very clear how He felt about a revenge kind of attitude.
Matt 5:38-39
You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Striking on the right cheek was an insult.  Since most people are right-handed, a hit would be on the left cheek of the person being hit.  Striking on the right cheek would be a back-handed kind of hit and considered an insult.  Jesus says if someone insults you, let it go.

If we have an attitude of revenge in our hearts, we are following the crowd in doing wrong like we have been warned about before. It's so much easier to follow the crowd than to stand out in a crowd. But as Believers in Jesus, we are called to be different and to stand out!

We thought you might like to view this short 8 minute summary (by a nine year old) of the Bible. Thanks to Vicki for sending this to us quite a while ago. There are a couple of things the little boy missed. He said that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Life. They ate from the Tree of the  Knowledge of Good and Evil. He mentions the 400 years of silence. The only "silence" is that things were not printed on our modern Bible. There are many books written, and canonized, but do not appear in our Bible. They are the apocryphal books. Other than those things, he is right on! We especially like his insight at the end concerning the importance of reading the entire Bible!!! Have you heard that from us before???

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu0NVSXM9cY

There were many restrictions concerning kings in today's reading.

Deu 17:14-17  
You will enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You will take possession of it and live there. You will say, "Let's have our own king like all the other nations around us." Be sure to appoint the king the LORD your God will choose. He must be one of your own people. Never let a foreigner be king, because he's not one of your own people. The king must never own a large number of horses   or make the people return to Egypt to get more horses. The LORD has told you, "You will never go back there again." The king must never have a large number of wives, or he will turn away from God. And he must never own a lot of gold and silver.

Yet two of the greatest kings, David and Solomon had great numbers of horses, multiple wives, and great wealth.

What kind of country would we have now if our leaders obeyed the following guidelines of a king?
Deut 17:18-20
When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
It seems as if each king is to hand write these laws for himself.

There are provisions for respect for rulers. Do not "curse the ruler of your people." No matter how we may feel about a ruler, leader, or boss, we must honor the office.  A good practice would be to pray for them daily.

The two witness rule is listed in today's reading. Any sin must be testified to by at least two witnesses.
Deu 19:15
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be made sure.
Interestingly, a Jesus' "trials" there were no two witnesses who agreed on the charges brought against Jesus.

What a packed verse this is, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” Exo 23:2a

What are the ways that we as Believers in Jesus might follow the crowd in doing wrong? Sometimes following the crowd may be just to speak a careless word, just as the rest of the crowd does.

Matt 12:36
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
Ouch!

Numbers 6 lists the requirements for the Nazarite vow. From Scripture we know that there were at least three important Biblical figures that have taken the Nazarite vow. They were Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Others, such as Paul may have taken a temporary Nazarite vow.

Acts 18:18
Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.

Lev 27:10a
Don't exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one.
Jesus was quick to demonstrate how dishonest it was to substitute sacrificial animals in the temple area for profit.
John 2:14-15
And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting. And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, also the sheep and the oxen. And He poured out the money-changers' money and overthrew the tables.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy list rules pertaining to vows of dedication.
Deut 23:21-23
If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
Some have stiff punishment for not fulfilling a vow that has been made. Just ask Jephthah.
Judg 11:30-35
And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."

Lessons to be learned here???

Certain mixtures are listed in the laws of separation as forbidden.  While we may not understand why these mixtures are forbidden, it gives us an indication of how God feels about Believers.  He says. "Be holy because I, the Lord your God am holy."  That's telling us that we need to keep ourselves away from unholy living, acting, speaking, thinking, hearing, etc.

The purpose for many of the purification laws are for purely sanitary reasons and much like the dietary laws, they just make good sense.

Moses spent 40 years practicing and maintaining all the laws.  The priests would have had access all this time to Moses and Aaron if they needed clarification on any of the laws.  Praise God, we not only have the written Word of God, we have the Holy Spirit if we need clarification on anything!

The following verses show us another connection between the Old and New Testaments.

Lev 12:7-8
"'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"

Luke 2:22-24
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
The atonement offering was given by Mary for her purification after the birth of Jesus. Since they gave either two doves or two pigeons, it meant that Mary and Joseph most likely couldn’t afford a lamb.

When we read the regulations concerning uncleanness when touching a dead body during Passover, we couldn't help but think about Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Because they would have been considered unclean after touching Jesus' body, they would not be allowed to celebrate Passover at the regular time.

After reading about all the rules and regulations for leprosy cleansing in Lev 14, it adds a whole new dimension to the story in Luke about the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus. All Jesus said to them was “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” It sure involved a whole lot more than just making an appearance.

Luke 17:12-14
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

An even greater message for us is found in the last part of verse 14... "And as they went, they were cleansed." The lepers were cleansed, as they went. It truly was an ACT of faith on their part. When Jesus cleanses us from our sins, it is up to us to ACT and remove ourselves from our life of sin. Remember the Hebrew word picture for repent is "to burn the house".

God gave specifications that the blemished are not to serve or go near the curtain in the tabernacle. God is a perfectionist! At Jesus’ crucifixion the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Jesus made a new way for us through Him. Now we have confidence to enter even the Most Holy Place, no matter how "blemished" we may seem.

Mark 15:37-38
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Heb 10:19-20
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

The high priest was to keep himself "clean" in order to serve in the holy place of the tabernacle. Since we as Believers are "tabernacles" for the Holy Spirit, shouldn't that make us want to remove ourselves from anything "unclean" or sinful in order to serve HIM?

Lev 22:1
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings..." 
How would we do that today?  How is the money spent coming into our churches today?  Is it spent for sinful purposes? Ex. salaries for lesbian pastors???  Would this be treating with respect the sacred offerings?

The commentary under Year of Jubilee - Lev. 25, we find these words, "One of the most remarkable features of the Jubilee is the concept of redemption...." The commentator mentions it is a "foretaste of even greater spiritual redemption in the era of the Messiah." Wonder if the year of Jesus' crucifixion was a year of Jubilee and/or will His return be in a Jubilee year?
Lev 25:10
It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.
There will be a gathering of the nations into the millennium.

In addition to the weekly Sabbath for rest and worship, God also commanded that there was to be a rest for the land on each seventh year. But...not to worry. He made sure that they would have enough in the sixth year to more than make up for the fallow seventh year.

Lev 25:21
I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.

Isn't that just like God? When we obey Him completely, he blesses us abundantly!

Again in today's reading, sins of omission or unintentional sins are mentioned. A sin is a sin whether intentional or unintentional.

Two passages of Scripture, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament, seem to have a connection. The one in Leviticus lists one of the many regulations concerning another person's property.

Lev 6:2-4
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do--when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,

Matt 13:44
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
The passage in Matthew is a parable that Jesus told. At initial reading it appears to be a good thing that the man found a treasure hidden in a field and was so overjoyed that he sold all he had and bought the field. But if we read this passage in light of the previous one in the Old Testament, it appears as if the man who found the treasure is actually doing a bad thing. First of all the treasure wasn't his to begin with and secondly, he hid it again to keep someone else from finding it. Most of the parables go much deeper if we really dig.

Lev 24 mentions that the lamps must be burning continually.  A light is constantly burning.  Also, there is always to be bread.  Hmm...what spiritual connections can we make here?

God makes provisions for bringing the imperfect as offerings when it is a freewill offering. Freewill offerings are just that over and above the required offerings.

God gives Moses this beautiful blessing for the Israelites. What a great way to start the day or end the day!

Num 6:24-26

"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

When instructions are given for the sin offerings, there are provisions for unintentional sins. Many times when we think of sin, we automatically think of the intentional sins, the sins of commission. However, there are consequences for sins of omission and unintentional sins. James addresses this very issue.
James 4:17
Whoever knows what is right but doesn't do it is sinning.

Many times the instructions for sacrifices were to burn such things as kidneys and parts of the liver. These two organs are there for filtering out impurities. Figuratively speaking, the sinful things in our lives at repentance are "burned away". This would be like the "aroma pleasing to the Lord". When we repent, we die to sin.

Interestingly the first animal sacrifice was done by God as a covering for Adam and Eve. Lots of connections with the animal sacrifices "covering" the sin temporarily. Praise God, Jesus covers our sins completely! But He is very clear what He expects from us. Once we repent, we turn our back on what we were before.

1 Cor 6:11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

To repent means to turn around completely and go the other way....God's way!
The word, repent, in Hebrew word pictures means, "to burn the house". In other words, burn away the sin and things connected with the sin. We are reminded of the voodoo doctor in Haiti who burned his house and  all his voodoo equipment, his livelihood, once he became a believer in Jesus. He truly understood the word repent in the simplest form.

How is it for all of us as Believers in Jesus? When we repent, do we "burn the house" on all our sin?