EMMAUS SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

God rescued a people for himself out of slavery, revealed himself to them, made a way for relationship with him.  Sounds like something he did with my life when he blessed me with faith in Christ.  But, I am writing about the pentateuch book of Numbers.  The parallels of the redemption story in Israel’s history was meant by God to be strikingly similar to how he revealed Christ to people in the first century and beyond.

He pulled them out of slavery to the most powerful nation in the world at the time, Egypt.
He as delivered me from my post powerful enemy – Sin!

He gave them a means of relating to him through the law, the tabernacle, the Levitical system!
He gave us a new law, one written on our hearts, and a means of relating with him through the everlasting atoning work of Jesus and the indwelling Spirit of God.

They did not regard all the Lord had done for them as worth placing faith in him, and desired to go back to Egypt & slavery.
So often in my foolishness, I go back to slavery by choosing sin, rather than walking forward in faith.

He gave them a promise via Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob of a promised land, which was God’s means of blessing them with his rest.  But as in Numbers, this rest was only available to them if they trusted God to deliver them from the enemies in this land.
He has given to me an eternal rest (see Hebrews 3.14-4.3), which is available through trusting Christ for my salvation.  Its a belief or unbelief issue – with them and for us!

It is interesting how God parallels physical history with spiritual history in how he brought Jesus into the world and communicated him to the first century and to us!

This book could be written off as another list of rule and regulations but a closer inspections shows that actually God’s heart to have relationship with the Israelites come through strongly.

Obviously it is an understatement to say that God is not like us but his holiness is a key part of this book.  In his goodness and desire for relationship God is making a way for sinful people to have a relationship with a holy God.  He is also making sure that his people are nothing like the nations around them.

The Canaanites were the people living in the land which God promised to Israel and their lifestyle was perverted and distorted.  Their religious practices included weird stuff like drinking menstrual blood and killing their children in a fire to a god.  It is pretty clear why God didn’t want his people and worshiping him to look anything like them.

Some of the more random rules also have a great meaning and show that God cares about how we live our lives whether in how we worship him, how we treat our neighbors and how we protect those who are most vulnerable in society.

Through it all I also saw how the system God put in place for Israel point to and are fulfilled in Jesus.   Jesus is the final sacrifice for all sins!

I have to say I was surprised by how much I liked this book!

After studying the book of Leviticus (especially chapter 16), Hebrews makes so much more sense. I think my question or misunderstand is much like many Western Christians. I simply did not understand why Jesus had to die on the cross to save us. I would sing the songs (i.e. ‘what can wash away our sins, nothing but blood of Jesus’) but in reality I had never scratched the surface of understanding that concept. After hours of delving into Leviticus, I can say that the surface has been scratched but there is still much to learn. What I can say is that Leviticus is blatantly points to Jesus. Just like it says in Hebrews 8, the worship done during the old covenant was but a shadow of the new covenant…Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and…he is the mediator of a better covenant.

I can rest assured in my faith, that Jesus(the perfect Mediator and sacrifice), once and for all, shed his own blood as an atoning sacrifice for my sins so that I may obtain eternal redemption. Hallelujah and Amen.

Leviticus. I’d heard some about. Never read it. It was much more interesting to me than I expected it to be! Where to begin….

Obviously, if you’ve ever read Leviticus, you know that it is a book full of detailed and specific laws that can be overwhelming enough to make a person flip the pages until they come to the next book. I am glad, however, how Eileen helped it come alive to me, and introduced it as a book that could potentially become one of my favorites. It came alive and brought much more meaning when I looked for the character of God throughout the book. Instead of looking at the laws as just laws, we looked at what they showed about God’s character. This made it so much more exciting and interesting!

Another thing that helped make this book come alive was looking at the things that were symbolic for the New Testament; a shadow of things to come. Especially interesting was tying in verses about Jesus. One of my favorite things that I saw was the requirement for sacrifices to be perfect, and without blemish. I realized that this was the same requirement Jesus had to fulfill. Someone who was perfect, sinless, and without blemish was needed for sacrifice to make atonement for the sins of the world. A sacrifice that wasn’t perfect wouldn’t be acceptable to God. It is SO cool that Jesus was the only one who could EVER fulfill this, and he chose to do it. 1 Peter 1:19 says that Jesus’ blood was ‘like that of a lamb without defect or blemish’. God knew that he would be the only one able to be that acceptable sacrifice; he knew this, and out of his GREAT love and mercy, chose to send him, to save the world, a stubborn, sinful world, who deserved his wrath (John 3:16).

I think this message is one that I will need to keep hearing over and over again. Leviticus helps make this message come alive. It has proved to be a valuable, interesting, and even exciting book!

Reading through all the repetitive laws and gory sacrifices- I would never have expected to like the book so much- but Leviticus showed me a lot about the character of God! Going through the book showed how holy God really is, how much He deserves respect, how worthy He is of our praise, and how much He loves us! Seeing the old covenant- I am that much more thankful for Christ- the new covenant. He fulfilled every single thing in the old covenant- which was also really fun to trace through Leviticus- just how perfectly God set up the system that He knew only Jesus could ultimately fill and finally cleanse us from our sins- completely and perfectly. God is SO good- and that truth is renewed and strengthened with each book we go through.

Last semester we studied the story of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years continuously in Luke 34-48. We are studying Leviticus now and it has struck me in a new and fresh way.

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her haemorrhage stopped. Then Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’ When all denied it, Peter said, ‘Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you.’ But Jesus said, ‘Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me.’ When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’

According to the law in Leviticus 15:25-30, this woman would be considered unclean until her blood stopped discharging. The law showed the woman what rituals would show that she was cleansed and clean, but the law is surprisingly silent about how this woman was to be healed. It just says, “If she is cleansed of her discharge…” and gives the recipe for ritual cleansing. The account in Luke tells us that this woman tried everything for 12 long years to stop her bleeding. She wanted to stop her bleeding because it was slowly killing her and keeping her from being a part of worship to God and relationship with him in the Temple. This continuous bleeding is symbolic of our sin, it is killing us – and most importantly keeping us from relationship with God. The law told this woman to wait. The law did not tell the woman how to be healed, but showed her what needed to happen in order for her to be healed. Wait… wait… wait for God to provide the sacrifice.

Jesus has the power to cleanse us – restoring us to relationship with God that was shattered in the Fall of humankind. The law could not purify us, it merely told us to wait for Jesus.

Waiting is important for believers – Abraham waited for the promised heir in Isaac, the slave nation of Israel waited for deliverance from Egypt, the Jews under the Romans waited for the Messiah, and the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit. So we should wait for the Spirit of God to set us free from sin and its bondage – wait and pray for the sanctification in our lifes that doesn’t come through programs and strategies (laws) but through the working of the Holy Spirit.

Pray for sanctification – wait for its fruit that only comes from Christ. Jesus is the purification.

With the book of Leviticus what I would love for people to see as they study through this book is what a beautiful and wondrous thing it was for God to make a way for His presence to dwell among his people. Because that is the heart behind the book, we saw in Exodus that God has redeemed his people for relationship and now in Leviticus we begin to get a more full and beautiful picture of the Covenant-keeping God’s ambition to pursue humanity and make a way for his presence to dwell among them!
At first glance this book can seem very monotonous and hard to get through with all the details concerning offerings and such, but don’t miss the beauty and wonder that a Holy God is making a way for his children to approach him! He is not distant and unconcerned, He is a God of mercy and love and longs to be with his children, and though sin has separated His children from being able to freely enter his presence he is making a way for them to do so. And hopefully as you study the book you will begin to see how all of this is pointing to a much bigger purpose God had in mind in sending his Son so that all might approach freely,(as seen in the book of Hebrews, which incidentally I would highly recommend reading alongside any serious study of Leviticus) don’t miss how this fits into God’s universal Plan of Redemption. Think about it, even from just a cursory glance one can see the themes of Holiness, Atonement, Blood, Sin, Guilt, Offerings, God’s Character…can you see how all this fits into the context of the whole Bible? Leviticus gives us a foundation for our theology, many of us may have general understandings of concepts like atonement, sacrifice, the Perfect Spotless lamb, man’s sinfulness, but an in depth study of Leviticus will bring depth and fullness and beauty to your understanding of these theological concepts!

This morning I was up early grading a students work on Genesis. So far I haven’t gotten any farther than chapter two. I have been so floored by what I’m seeing in God’s character through Genesis 1 and 2. The trip wire for my thinking this morning is this “God let Adam name the animals.” I started thinking about that, and it began to occur to me that this one fact reveals the character of God in unimaginably awesome ways. It goes beyond this one fact though. The story continues and we see that God created this fine world, this good world, and then put mankind in the middle of it and told them to “subdue” it.

Here’s whats jumping out at me today. God creates this AWESOME world, a world that he’s thrilled with. A world full of all sorts of crazy plants ad animals, and then he lets man, a young man, a new man, begin assigning lasting names to them all. Here’s what hes saying essentially… “heres my awesome world, now have at it, make it your own.” I think this is what God means when he says, “subdue and have dominion” over the Earth.

God does not say “heres my perfect world, ITS PERFECT! so try not to wreck anything.”..which is probably what I would have said. No, God knew that there would be some wreckage involved, but he still handed us the keys…and not reluctantly either! He handed us the keys to His world with joy, knowing that one day Michael Angelo would turn a cold block of marble into a masterpiece the world would marvel at forever…and the coolest thing is that God saw that coming…he saw it coming and was excited about it…and is still excited about it…the creative potential of mankind is miraculous, because it comes from a miraculous God in whos image we are made…and praise Him that he lets us learn to paint with beauty on the canvas of his wonderful creation, even when it means we’re going to make a mess sometimes

A God who rescues those in slavery

(You may not realize that naming my blog is one of the most exciting parts of any book.  I can’t bring myself to call any book Sarah on ….   so now I have drawn Michele into my naming creativity.   Feel free to comment – is there anyone out there?)

Sorry – Exodus!  Awesome!

I loved this book because it reminds me of what God has done for me!  I haven’t always been a crazy bible studying Christian.  I felt like I was stuck in a sad, unhappy life and God came and found me and pretty much lifted me out of it!  I wasn’t looking for God but he redeemed me and in fact I ended up moving to the other side of the world.   God has used these experiences away from family and friends to mold and shape me and show me who he is.  But most of all he did it so that I could have a relationship with him.

This is what God did for the Israelites.  He took them out of Egypt and into the desert so that they could learn how much God loves them and how much he desires relationship with them.  They don’t always get it right in fact sometimes they get it really wrong.  But thats the thing God has already rescued them by taking them out of Egypt now it is the process of making them more like him that they are taking one step forward and ten back.

But that is what is encouraging to me.  God never gives up on them, he continues to pursue them and continues to show them that he is good, that he loves them, that he wants them to have a relationship with them.

So God moves into a tent in the middle of their tents and shows himself in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire at night.  That is what God does for us only he actual sent the Holy Spirit to come and live in us.   Next time I am wondering where God is I need to remember actually he is right here and he wants me to know it.

Everything he does is about restoring relationship!

I am really enjoying studying these old testament books. There is so much to say about Exodus – so much going on… where to begin.

I always thought that the most important part of the book was the first half up until the chapter 15 when Pharaoh’s army goes into the sea. Then it gets into laws, covenants, the tabernacle, mount Sinai and the golden calf. Why is the rest of it in there (besides being historical information)?

The point of the book is to show that God desires relationship with his people. He is willing to go to great lengths to achieve it. The first half with all the plagues and a mean pharaoh shows the extent to which God would go to save his people. It also shows that he did not forget the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Genesis. God used the Egypt detour to make his name famous in the world by defeating the Egyptian empire from the inside out. Back to the point: God saved his people, but just to bring them to the Promised Land? No, much more.

God provides for them in the wilderness. God protects them in the wilderness. God guides them in the wilderness… he is teaching them about himself throughout their journey. He is patient with their complaining continually. He is forgiving of their sin and unbelief. God makes to main covenants with the Israelites in the wilderness. The first is the covenant of the Principle and Case Laws (Ch 20-24). This is a Suzerainty Covenant requiring that Israel obey their end of the deal, basically it is conditional. The second major covenant is the covenant of the Tabernacle (29:42-46). This is a Promissory Covenant requiring nothing of Israel, it’s a gift.

The Israelites take no time in breaking three different laws of the first covenant. God forgives them and renews this covenant again with them in chapter 34, but this covenant still stands as a conditional covenant to their obedience. The promises of the first covenant are land, blessings of food and other things like that. But the cool thing is that the other covenant of the Tabernacle, promises relationship between God and his people. God did not want their ability to have relationship with him to be based on their own works. God could still have relationship with his people despite their sin. This is a shadow of what we were given through Jesus – an way to relationship not based on our own righteousness, but his.

Ohh my gosh!!! Exodus is my favorite book in the OT so far!!! I REALLY enjoyed studying this book!

You have all probably heard the stories since you were children. Moses writes how the Israelites are enslaved in Egypt, and how God chooses him to deliver them from Egypt, and bring them into the land God has promised. Moses goes through the story of how he was rescued from Pharaoh TWICE, and then how God brings the Israelites out of Egypt through amazing signs and wonders.

I had heard these stories since childhood as well, but THIS time I got a lot of new perspective on the story. Moses presents these stories to show the Israelites the reason why God does all these things for them. The answer is found in Exodus 29:45-46.  God did all these things so that people would come to know him. He wanted to show himself to them, so they would come to know him, and have a relationship with him. It is so clear after studying the book in this light how much God wants a good relationship with people. He wants people to know him, and he wants to be with them.

I also LOVED learning about the building of the tabernacle, and finding out its purpose and symbolic meaning. It is also so cool to look at this book in light of the New Testament. It brings out the AWESOMENESS of the cross, why it is so amazing, and significant.

These are a few things I loved learning from Exodus. One of the biggest things, however, that was so cool was learning more about God. His character and ways are all throughout the book, and I really REALLY enjoyed learning more about who he is, and what he is like. I have come to love him a little more, appreciate my relationship with him a little more, and I feel like the more I learn about him, the more secure I am in my relationship with him. I know I can trust him. I am safe with him. He is good, loving, gracious, and merciful. Man…I am SO blessed. So so blessed to have a God like him. THANK you God. 

This book answers that question somewhat for me, but it definitely answers the question for the Original Reader!

The Original Reader is urgently needing both an identity and faith as they are waiting to enter the Promised Land (Palestine). It was really great to see how Moses chose stories from their ancestors specifically to show…

• the faithfulness of God
• that they were chosen by God
• that they were blessed by the grace of God and not because their ancestors were all that good
• that they should trust God like their ancestors
• that it wasn’t a mistake that they were slaves in Egypt
• that God never forgot his promise
• that God can and will provide for their needs
• that God is mighty in battle
• that God has steadfast love

I think that God’s “steadfast love” (24:12) was the most important and exciting theme that I saw in the book. God gives steadfast love to all kinds of people in this book. It was so refreshing to read about it all.

Perfection gone wrong!  This book is a revelation of how our whole world ended up in the mess we have now.   It could be called Revelation.

This book answers many of the questions we have about why there is suffering in the world and has something to say about why God allows it.   God created a perfect world and humans to live in it and everything he made is good.   As we all know it all went wrong when Adam and Eve decided they needed to know the difference between good and evil and the serpent convinced them that God was holding out on them.    Death and sin came into the perfect world and it has been a battle ever since.

Yet in Genesis we see a series of stories of people messing up big time and God still working out his plan in their lives.   God promises Abraham a child yet he tells a king his wife is sister and the king takes her as his own wife, he sleeps with his wifes servant in the hope of getting a child and then he gives another king his wife to try and cover his own butt.  Seriously….  but still at a ridiculously old age God gives him a child but his wife Sarah and the history of a nation starts.  The history of redemption is a step closer.

This book is full of messed up people and still God finds ways to make sure that his plans still work out.  God uses messy, messed up people to work out his plan of redemption.

It becomes more and more clear as I read through this book that God knows the beginning from the end, he knows the plans he has for peoples lives and will work them out regardless of their mistakes, sin or the injustices that happen to them.

So it is safe to say the people God uses are not chosen because they are so amazing and wonderful but because they show through God’s interactions in their lives that GOD IS AMAZING AND GRACIOUS and that he can redeem anyone and anything.

This world is full of suffering but God is and does bring redemption and life.

Okay, so…longest book we’ve done so far. I really enjoyed Genesis, more than I thought I would! The lectures (by Eileen) were REALLY good and opened up my eyes a little and prepared me to dive into studying it myself. I love how it was mostly stories. These are stories I’ve grown up hearing, but studying it this way has brought tons of meaning into them. Moses wrote to the Israelites who had just come out of 400 years of slavery in Egypt. He wrote this history for them because they had none before it. They possibly knew some of this stuff through stories handed down through the years orally, but probably most of this stuff they were hearing was new to them. These stories also open up, MOSTLY I should say, the involvement of God in Israel’s history. These stories reveal SO clearly God’s sovereignty, faithfulness, grace, love, and mercy towards the Israelites. Genesis shows how the nation as a whole even got started.

I am so thankful for the book of Genesis and that I got to study it. I cannot even put into words how much I learned from it this past week (especially because my fingers are very tired from typing Haha! ) But seriously, I learned so much about God, his sovereignty, his faithfulness, patience, and grace through this book. The characters are not really the perfect heroes children’s books sometimes make them out to be. These were normal people who made MANY mistakes, and yet God showed them SO much grace and mercy. He used them, regardless of their faults, to accomplish his plans. He turned their ugliness into beauty. He used their mistakes and turned situations into something good. This book showed me so much of the goodness of God. He really is good and worthy of my trust. I’m thankful I can say I serve a God like this.

Is our life here on earth meaningless? Is it pointless? We all do live for such a short time, will not be remembered past a few generations, and our material possessions will not come with us. Is all of life vanity? These are the struggles that Solomon discusses in Ecclesiastes. He has observed the world “under the sun” and has found no meaning in life. He has a cynical, negative, and pointless view of the world and everything in it.
At the end of the book, there is a nugget of gold- Solomon (if he is the true author) hits the nail on the head. He tells us the meaning of life- to fear God and follow His commandments. It sounds too simple to be true! And it is that simple. God asks us to fear Him- not necessarily be terrified and run for our lives fear- but to be in awe, to hold Him in reverence, to hate sin, and it says in Proverbs that to fear God is the beginning of wisdom. God created us to have a relationship with Him, but we screwed that up from the beginning- though that is still what He desires. He wants us to know Him intimately and be made like Him. That’s it. And that will manifest itself also by making Him known to others, living a full life, and enjoying the fruit of the Spirit, among other things. God wants us to be sanctified, to be made like Christ. God is the meaning of life, the purpose of life, the fulfillment of life. Is He for you? Or on the flip side, imagine life without God. Seriously think about it. Does life seem even worth living? I don’t think it does- life is all vanity or pointless without God! He is EVERYTHING. We need to live life “under God”- not just “under the sun” or we’ll miss out on the most important aspect of why we are here on earth—to know and become more like God.