Looking for Exodus

[JLG]

Leviticus 21


- A priest must not defile himself

- If a priest’s daughter commits prostitution, she profane her father and must be burnt in the fire

- A priest must marry a virgin

- A man can’t be a priest if he has a defect


Leviticus 22


- Aaron and his sons are told to be careful in their service for God.

- If they are unclean they can’t do their service otherwise they will be killed.

- They can’t have leprosy or a discharge and eat of the holy things if they are unclean.

- And they can’t eat any animal found dead.

- Only priests can eat anything holy except their slaves.

- If someone eats a holy thing by mistake, he must pay for it and make an offering to the priest.

- All offerings mustn’t present a defect.


Leviticus 23


The israelites must respect different seasonal festivals :

- The Sabbath

- The Passover

- The Festival of Unleavened Bread

- The Offering of firstfruits

- The Festival of weeks

- The Proper harvesting

- The Festival of trumpet blast

- The Day of Atonement

- The Festival of Booths


Leviticus 24


- The Israelites must bring pure beaten olive oil for the tabernacle lamps to keep the lamps lit constantly.

- 12 Loaves of showbread which are to be eaten by Aaron and his sons.

- An abuser of God’s name must be stoned.

- Someone who kills someone mudt be killed.

- Someone who kills a domestic animal must make a compensation.

- Someone who injures someone must get the same injury.


Leviticus 25


- The Sabbath year (each seventh year = a year of complete rest for the land)

- The Jubilee year (each 49 years = freedom for everybody and restoration of property).

- How to treat the poor.

- Laws on slavery.

 

[JLG]

Leviticus 26

- The Israelites mustn’t worship false Gods.

- If they follow God he will bless them.


- If they don’t follow him, they will pay a high price and his response will be progressive and if they go into exile he will finally remember them because of their ancestors.


Leviticus 27


Redemption of vowed things :

- People

- Animals

- Houses

- Fields

- Firstborn

- Things unconditionally devoted to God.

- Redemption of the tenth part.

 

[JLG]

Numbers 1


- Registration of men for the army.

-The Levites are exempted from the army.

- Orderly arrangement of the camp.

God is a God of order and everything is well organized. It is so different from human societies which are a pale imitation of his order. And every time it appears to be worse. We have completely forgotten what order means. What a shame ! It is ridiculous !

 

[JLG]

Numbers 2

- Camp organized into three-tribe divisions

- Judah’s division toward the east

- Reuben’s division toward the south

- Levi’s camp in the middle

- Ephraim’s division toward the west

- Dan’s division toward the north

- Total number of registered males for the army : 603,550

- The Levites did not get registered

 

[JLG]

Numbers 3


Aaron’s sons serve as priests. And the Levites are going to help them in the service of the tabernacle. They are going to replace all the firstborn among the Israelites.


Numbers 4


Among the Levites, the Kohathites and the Gershonites and the Merarites who are between 30 and 50 are going to work in the tent of meeting to help Aaron and his sons. They are all registered.

When we read Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and… we can see the superiority of God compared to human society: on the one hand we find ORDER, on the other hand, we find DISORDER. And the more we go the more disorder we get, I would say TOTAL ANARCHY. But we must be happy with what we have today because tomorrow will be worse! So let’s make our mind stronger!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 5


When we open this chapter, I can’t avoid thinking about the pandemic connected to the coronavirus and the incredible difference between God’s actions and human actions. And it happens all the time! Once again it seems to be that human beings are childish and their actions seem so ridiculous! I am ashamed of being a human being! How is it possible to be so stupid! Man never learns from history, they repeat the same mistakes all the time and they think they are important, it’s a joke: let’s have a look at what they did with this earth, it is contaminated and they want to go to Mars: unbelievable and they think they are serious! RIDICULOUS! We have everything on the Earth, they keep contaminating it and they want to go to a desert planet and contaminate it again and repeat it again and again! I have no words to express the disgust I feel when I see that!


- So any contaminated Israelite must go out of the camp so he won’t contaminate others.

- If an Israelite commits a sin he must confess it and make a compensation for it.

- If a husband thinks his wife is unfaithful he must bring her to the priest and she must stand before God and the woman must swear and she will drink a bitter water that brings a curse and if she lies she will swell.

 

[JLG]

Numbers 6


Vow of Naziriteship:


- A Nazirite must not drink wine or alcoholic beverages


- He must not cut his hair


- He must not approach a dead person

Numbers 7


Moses anoints and sanctifies the tabernacle and the chieftains of Israel and the heads of their paternal houses make an offering. The offerings will be used for the Levites. During twelve days, each chieftain makes an offering during a day. So twelve days, twelve chieftains. Whenever Moses goes into the tent of meeting to speak with God, a voice comes from above the cover of the ark of the testimony and God speaks to him.


- So Moses speaks directly and regularly with God!


- But he has to go to a special place that is the tent of meeting!


- It appears official!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 8

Aaron lights the seven lamps. Moses must also cleanse the Levites with sin-cleansing water and they must shave their whole body with a razor and have sin offerings. The Levites belong to God. They must be 25 and up and retire after the age of 50 years.


- As usual everything is precise, well organized, nothing is left to chance!


- God’s action, indeed!


- Completely different from man’s action!


- Two different worlds!

- And it’s not possible to belong to both!

- A choice is necessary!

- There is no double passport!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 9


According to God, Moses tells the Israelites to prepare the Passover sacrifice. Even those who are unclean because they have touched a dead body must prepare it. And even those who are off on a distant journey. But if a man is clean or is not off on a journey and neglects to prepare the Passover sacrifice, he must be killed. A foreign resident residing among the Jews must also prepare it. Moreover, when the cloud stays over the tabernacle, the Israelites must not depart. When it lifts, they must depart. And it isn’t a matter of time , it can be days, months or longer.


- God gives orders to the Israelites and they must obey!


- There is no other option!


- Or DEATH!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 10


God tells Moses to make two silver trumpets:


- When the two trumpets are blown, the whole assembly must be summoned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting.


- If one is blown, only the chieftains and the heads of the thousands of Israel will be summoned to him.


- When there is a fluctuating trumpet blast, the camps of those to the east must depart.


- When a fluctuating trumpet blasts a second time, the camps of those to the south must depart. And so on.


- A war call on the trumpets and the Israelites must go to war.


- The trumpets also indicate joyous occasions and festivals.


- When the cloud lifts from over the tabernacle, the Israelites move from the wilderness of Sinai to the wilderness of Paran


- We can easily see that God is the God of order!


- Everything is organized so the Israelites know exactly what to do!


- Once again nothing is left to chance!


- It is completely in opposition with our modern society and human society in general!


- It is like living in another world!


- There is nothing compared to such order on earth!


- It is unbelievable and remarkable!

 

[JLG]

Numbers11


The people begin to complain and God gets angry and begins to blaze them. Then the people begin to cry out to Moses who makes supplication to God and the fire stops. They are fed up with manna and they want meat. And Moses is fed up with the Israelites who complain all the time. So God tells Moses to gather 70 men from the elders of Israel and he will take some of the spirit he gave to Moses to give it to these men so they can help Moses. And God will give them meat till they can’t bear it anymore. And God brings quail from the sea and they fall around the camp. And the people gather them. And God gets angry and he strikes many because of their selfish craving.


- The Israelites became God’s people because of one man, Abraham!


- But they opposed God and behaved badly so many times!


- We may wonder why God didn’t annihilate them many times!


- He could have done it but Moses prevented him from doing so!


- But even Moses was fed up with them!


- They were good to nothing!


- And God struck them so many times!


- And they never understood anything!

- What a shame!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 12

Miriam and Aaron begin to speak against Moses because he has married a Cushite wife. They are jealous of Moses. “Now the man Moses is by far the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth.


- Does it remind you of something?


- Job: there was no one like him on earth!


- Moses is by far the meekest of the men on the face of the earth!


- God hates man’s pride!


- Once again we have a clue about what God wants from us!


- Same for Daniel!


- Same for Samuel!


- And others too!


- And God knows exactly who we are!


- We can’t hide from him!


- No way!


- And Miriam and Aaron show who they are by opposing Moses!


- They will get God’s answer!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 13-14

God tells Moses to send out men to spy out the land of Canaan, twelve men, a chieftain from each tribe. After 40 days they come back. It is a land flowing with milk and honey but the people are stronger than the Israelites. So the Israelites begin to murmur against Moses and Aaron because they think they are going to die and they want to return to Egypt. Only Joshua and Caleb say it is a good land and they must not rebel against God and fear the people of the land because God is with them. So the Israelites want to stone them. But God’s glory appears in the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And once again God wants to annihilate the Israelites and make Moses a great nation. But Moses tells him that the nations around will say that God is not able to bring the Israelites to the promised land. So because of Moses he forgives the Israelites but no men will ever see the promised land because of their unfaithfulness except Caleb and Joshua as they showed respect to God and trusted him. Only the children of those who have murmured will get into the promised land. So the Israelites will stay in the wilderness for 40 years till all the adults are dead. But the Israelites decide to fight the Amalekites and the Canaanites but they are defeated and many are killed.


- Not only the Israelites oppose God when they refuse to get into the promised land but then they decide, against God’s will to fight the Amalekites and the Canaanites!


- They are completely stubborn!


- It’s worse than being stupid!


- And as usual they pay the price through violent death!


- But their children won’t listen and will keep opposing God!


- And they too will pay the price!


- Think only Joshua and Caleb would survive and get into the promised land, the rest died in the wilderness!


- Think about what will happen when God cleanses the earth!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 15

The Israelites are given laws about offerings when they enter the promised land. A man who gathers wood during the sabbath is put to death. They are also told to wear fringed edges on the skirts of their garments and a blue string above the fringed edge of the skirt to remember the commandments of God and observe them.


- Symbols are important for God!


- But it is also important for men!


- Because they are short-minded and they often forget their own promises!


- They usually say one thing and do another one!


- Definitely a big difference between God and men!

 

[JLG]

Numbers 16

A group of men, chieftains of the assembly, chosen ones of the congregation, prominent men, gather together against Moses and Aaron and say to them: “We have had enough of you! The whole assembly is holy, all of them, And God is in their midst. Why, then, should you exalt yourselves above the congregation of God?” When Moses hears this, he at once falls facedown. Then he says to all these men: “In the morning God will make known who belongs to him and who is holy and who should approach him, and whomever he may choose will approach him. Do this: Take fire holders, …, and put fire in them and place incense on them before God tomorrow, and the man whom God will choose, he is the holy one. You have gone far enough.

Moses then says to them: “Listen, please… Does it seem to you such a little thing that the God of Israel has separated you from the assembly of Israel and allowed you to approach him in order to perform the service of God’s tabernacle and to stand before the assembly to minister to them, and that he brought you near to him along with all your brothers…? Must you also try to secure the priesthood? For this reason, you and all your supporters who are gathering together are against God; As for Aaron, who is he that you should murmur against him?”

Moses later sends for Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they say: “We are not going to come! Is it so little a thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to put us to death in the wilderness? Now do you also want to make yourself an absolute ruler over us? As it is, you have not brought us into any land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of field and vineyard. Would you bore out the eyes of those men? We are not going to come!”

So Moses becomes very angry and says to God: “Do not turn to look at their grain offering. Not one donkey have I taken away from them, nor have I harmed one of them.”…

God now tells Moses and Aaron:

“Separate yourselves from among this group, so that I may exterminate them in an instant.” At this, they they fall with their faces to the ground and say:

“O God, the God of the spirit of all people, will one man’s sin cause you to become indignant against the entire assembly?”

God then says to Moses: “Speak to the assembly and tell them, “Get away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!””

Then Moses gets up and goes to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel go with him.

He tells the assembly: “Move away, please, from the tents of these wicked men and do not touch anything that belongs to them, so that you may not be swept away in all their sin.” They immediately move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram come out, taking their stand at the entrance of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little children.

Then Moses says: “By this you will know that God has sent me to do all these things, that it is not of my own heart: If these people die a natural death as all men do and if their punishment is the same as that of all mankind, then God has not sent me. But if God does something extraordinary with them and the ground opens and swallows them and everything that belongs to them and they go down alive into the grave, you will certainly know that these men have treated God disrespectfully.

As soon as he finishes speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split apart. And the earth opens and swallows them up, along with their households and everyone who belongs to Korah and all their goods. So they and all who belong to them go down alive into the grave, and the earth covers them over, so that they perish from the midst of the congregation.

All the Israelites who are around them flee at their screaming, for they say: “We are afraid that the earth may swallow us up!” Then a fire comes out from God and consumes the 250 men offering the incense…




On the very next day, the whole assembly of the Israelites begin to murmur against Moses and Aaron, saying: “You two have put God’s people to death.” When the assembly has gathered together against Moses and Aaron, they then turn toward the tent of meeting, and look! The cloud covers it, and God’s glory begins to appear.

Moses and Aaron go before the tent of meeting, and God says to Moses: “You men, remove yourselves from among this assembly, so that I may exterminate them in an instant.” At this they fall with their faces to the ground.

Moses then says to Aaron: “Take the fire holder and put fire from the altar in it and put incense on it and go quickly to the assembly and make atonement for them, because indignation has gone out from God. The plague has started!” Aaron at once takes it, just as Moses has said, and runs into the midst of the congregation, and look! The plague has started among the people. So he puts the incense on the fire holder and begins making atonement for the people. He keeps standing between the dead and the living, and the scourge eventually stops.

Those who die from the scourge amount to 14,700, besides those dead on account of Korah. When at last Aaron returns to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the scourge has been stopped.

 

[JLG]

- Shut your eyes and watch!


- How do you call them a chosen people?


- Are you serious?


- There is no word to describe that!


- Or better said they are, but it is not possible to write them down here!

 

[JLG]

- Unbelievable!


- How is it possible to be so blind?


- They are crazy!


- Man opposes God and again!


- They never understand!


- They oppose Moses and Aaron and God!


- POWER!


- When man gets POWER, it is never enough!


- That’s why God must put it right!

 

[JLG]

- Rebellious men!


- Shut your eyes and watch!


- THE GROUND SWALLOWS THEM ALL!

 

[JLG]

- Shut your eyes and watch!


- They go down alive into the grave, and the earth covers them over!


- Then a fire comes out from God and consumes the 250 men offering the incense!


- It’s not finished!


- On the very next day, the whole assembly of the Israelites begin to murmur against Moses and Aaron because of the people who died the day before!

 

[JLG]

- Shut your eyes and watch!


- Moses and Aaron go before the tent of meeting, and God says to Moses: “You men, remove yourselves from among this assembly, so that I may exterminate them in an instant.”


- Thus God wants to kill them all!