Chance photo from State of Union

Konia Baptism featured on webshots.com

This picture in Dennis Aggrey's account on webshots.com was the featured picture of the day on January 23, 2008. It is a shot of a baptism at the Christian Revival Fellowship Church in 2005 in Konia, Lofa County, Liberia. Congratulations, Dennis!

Ain't no party

Presidential primary analysis

Those of you who enjoy politics and thoughtful analysis of the Presidential primaries (as opposed to the regurgitant pundits on TV and radio) might enjoy the fresh perspective of my long-time close friend whom a number of my readers know, Christian Bass of Colorado. He does most of his probing on the Republican side.

Deuteronomy: Key Themes

Key Themes / Verse: Deuteronomy 12:1;

Key chapter: Deuteronomy 29

SECOND LAW: Deuteronomy means “second law,” but this book is not simply a repetition of the Law given at Mount Sinai. Deuteronomy adapts and expands the original law given at Mount Sinai. It is the Law interpreted in light of forty years of experience in the wilderness. It includes application of the Law to issues that arose during the sojourn in the desert, e.g., the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27). Here laws that need emphasis are repeated and enlarged upon, e.g., the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5). Here we see an example of Hebrew spiral thinking and story-telling. Deuteronomy is a commentary on the Mosaic Law. It is a fascinating look at the Law through the mind of Moses who has meditated on it for 38 years. Deuteronomy gives the divine rather than the human view. Compare Deuteronomy 1 with Numbers 13-14.

BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE – Remember is found 18 times. Deuteronomy 5:15; 15:15; 24:18, 22, etc.) Moses recounts God’s Law and care to this new generation, unfamiliar with the events of the Passover, Mount Sinai, and the miracles in the desert. This new generation, unlike their fathers and mothers, “held fast to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 4:4). Moses focuses on preparing them to “cross over” to the Promised Land. No wonder Jesus found this to be his most quoted and apparently favorite book. He was Himself preparing a new generation of disciples to “cross over” to the New Covenant Promises which they would inherit at Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. Deuteronomy is quoted about 80 times in the New Testament.

TRUST & OBEY - This book teaches us to love and obey God. “Observe to do,” says Moses, to be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). The motivation for obedience is love (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). God’s love for man is His motivation for His government and giving of laws.

Covenant: 24 times; Deuteronomy 4:2; 5:29; 6:2; 7:9, 11-12

Love - 22 times; Deuteronomy 4:37; 7:7-8, 13; 10:18-19; 23:5

Love For God - 11 times; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 7:9; 10:12; 13:3; 30:6, 16, 20

Obey - 18 times; Deuteronomy 4:30, 40; 5:1; 9:1; 11:26-28; 20:3; 30:8-20

Obedience (Fear) & Love: 20 times; Deuteronomy 4:10; 10:12; 13:4; 17:19

Spiritual Warfare: Condemnation of spiritism (Deuteronomy 18:9-14); overthrow of Satan’s power (Deuteronomy 34:2; Matthew 17:3; Hebrews 2:14; Jude 9)

PROPHECY: Scattering of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:15-26); God’s faithfulness to His promise (Deuteronomy 32:26-27); threatened with obliteration (Deuteronomy 32:28-35); God to reveal Himself as Deliverer, heal His people, destroy their enemies (Deuteronomy 32:36-43). Psalms related to Deuteronomy: Psalm 78; 105, 106, 135.

CHRIST IN DEUTERONOMY: A Prophet like Moses whom God will raise (Deuteronomy 18:15; Act 7:37).

HENRIETTA MEARS ON DEUTERONOMY: “Nothing in literature matches the majesty of [Deuteronomy’s] eloquence; nothing in the Old Testament has any more powerful appeal for the spiritual life. No book in all the Word of God pictures better the life which is lived according to God’s will, and the blessings showered upon the soul who comes into the richness and fullness of spiritual living along the rugged pathway of simple obedience. Jesus often quoted from Deuteronomy. In fact, it is almost invariably from this book that He quotes. He took Deuteronomy as His code of conduct (Luke 4:4, 8, 12). He answered the devil in the hour of temptation from its writings.”– H. Mears, pp. 74-75.

Deuteronomy: Location and Date

Location & Date: February 1-March 5, 1423 BC

Deuteronomy is the Law for a new generation. It is a series of eight sermons and songs Moses preached on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River1423 BC. Like Leviticus, Deuteronomy begins and ends at one place and time. There is no historical progression. In an incredible photo-op backdrop to Moses’ messages, the Holy Land’s wide open spaces loomed before them within full view. One can view almost the entire Holy Land from the summit of Mount Nebo. (Deuteronomy 1:1-3) from February 1-March 5,

Moses may have spoken the entire book in seven days. There are eight orations, one of them a song (Deuteronomy 32). The generation which left Egypt has died in the desert, and a new generation receives now proper training to prepare for the invasion of Canaan. Moses reviews past victories and defeats, highlights features of the Law, reveals their future (Deuteronomy 29-30), gives them a new song, blesses the twelve tribes, and prepares to die. In Deuteronomy God sets before Israel His conditions for entering and holding the Land. After Moses’ death on March 6, 1423 BC, the nation of Israel mourned thirty days (March 6, 1423 – April 5, 1422 BC). By April 6, Joshua had taken the reins and already had intelligence operations going on inside the Promised Land, especially Jericho (Joshua 2:1).

BOOK TITLE: The title Deuteronomy comes from the Greek Old Testament-Septuagint title Deuteronomion, meaning “second law,” a mistranslation of Deuteronomy 17:18, “a copy of this law.” The Hebrew title for Deuteronomy comes from Deuteronomy 1:1: (1) Debarim – “These be the Words” or “The Words” .

GENESIS tells the beginnings of the nation Israel. EXODUS relates the birth of the nation and the giving of the Torah (Law). LEVITICUS shows the way Israel should worship God. NUMBERS gives the story of Israel’s wanderings. DEUTERONOMY relates the final preparation for entering the Promised Land. (Mears, p. 74)

ELWA Hospital

Here's a shot of ELWA Hospital on November 15, 2007, one of Liberia's better hospitals, founded by SIM missionaries. That rock enclosure in the front used to be a fountain before the war.

I had been by to say hello to Dr. Rick Sacra, and was standing there in the sun. I had finished drinking, then eating the coconut which I had bought from the wheelbarrow boy and decided to snap this one. Click it for a larger version.

Here's a picture from another source from a year or more ago.

Deuteronomy: Author

Author: Moses (1543 – 1423 BC)

Moses spoke with God face to face (Exo 33:11; Num 12:8; Deut 34:10). Deuteronomy is the result of this intimacy and the experience of forty years in the wilderness. Moses codifies and highlights what to him is most important in a well-known format that this new generation of Israelites would understand – a Hittite suzerainty treaty. This type of treaty was not used after 1200BC, a fact which supports Mosaic authorship. Moses writes Deuteronomy as a national constitution, a binding agreement between God and His people. Moses knows that his death is imminent.

Deuteronomy is Moses’ Farewell Address and the last book of the Torah or Pentateuch. The day after he finishes his swan song (literally – Deut 32!), one translation has it, according to J. Vernon McGee, that Moses “died by the kiss of God” (Deut 34:5-8) on his 120^th birthday on Mount Nebo. God kissed Moses to sleep. What a lovely thought! Joshua, by this time around 80 years of age, probably authored Deut 34:5-12. Moses does not appear again until with Jesus on a different mountain – the Mount of Transfiguration in the Promised Land (Matthew 17:7).

The Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy has been strongly attacked by critics who claim that Moses only originated the traditions which were later codified into Deuteronomy. These critics usually hold that this book was written by anonymous priests just before 621 BC and used by King Josiah for religious reform. However, Deuteronomy contains about forty internal claims to Mosaic authorship including direct statements by the book itself that Moses wrote it (Deut 1:1; 4:44; 29:1). Joshua also credits Moses as the author (Joshua 1:7).

The writing, geographical, and historical details all indicate a firsthand knowledge of the period between the Exodus and the Conquest of Canaan, not the time of Josiah over 800 years later. The rest of the OT attributes Deuteronomy and the rest of the Torah to Moses (Judges 1:20; 3:4; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chronicles 25:4; Ezra 3:2; Nehemiah 1:7; Psalm 103:7; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4). Deuteronomy is quoted in the NT over 80 times, the most of any book of the Pentateuch (Acts 3:22; Romans 10:19; 1 Corinthians 9:9).

Jesus Christ Himself credited Moses with Deuteronomy (Matthew 4:7, 10; 19:7-9; Mark 7:10; 12:19; Luke 20:28; John 5:45-47). George Mendenhall and Meredith Kline demonstrated that based on Late Bronze Age treaty documents found at Hattusas, the Hittite Empire capital, that Deuteronomy follows the standard international legal format used primarily in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries BC – the Hittite suzerainty treaty. That is the time period of Moses.

72% say church "full of hypocrites"

According to a new survey by LifeWay Research, many people are turned off by the church yet remain open to the idea of God. Among more than 1,400 non-churchgoing adults polled, 72 percent said God exists. Tragically, the same percent believe the church “is full of hypocrites,” while 44 percent agree with the statement, “Christians get on my nerves.” Perhaps even more interesting for Christians are the study’s findings regarding openness to the message of Christianity. Seven out of 10 non-churchgoers believe Jesus “makes a positive difference in a person’s life,” and 78 percent say they are “willing to listen” to someone share their beliefs about Christianity. [Baptist Press, 1/9/2008; usatoday.com, 1/9/08]

Mount Wolongizi

This is the view of Mount Wolongizi from the front of the Konia Christian Revival Fellowship Church in Lofa County, Liberia, at 6:00am, just before morning prayer begins. It is just becoming light.

Review posted on ESV blog

I was surprised to find my short review of the ESV Literary Study Bible posted on the official ESV blog. (ESV stands for English Standard Version.)

An acquaintance of ours, Henry Neufeld, in Pensacola, FL, is also quoted. I spoke in a pastors conference for him several years ago right after Amanda and I got married.

Jesus Christ in Numbers

Jesus our Holy, Set apart One: Nazirite Vow (Numbers 6:1-21).

No strong drink (v. 3), His joy is to be in the Lord.

Not to shave head (v. 5), He is to bear shame (1 Corinthians 11:4)

Not to touch a dead body (v. 7), He is to forsake father and mother.

Triune Blessing on such a person (v. 22-27)

Jesus our Great High Priest/Intercessor: Aaron the High Priest stood between the living and the dead waving the censer (symbol of intercession) to stop the plague (Numbers 16:48).

NUMBERS HAS Two generations (Numbers 1-14; 21-36) Two numberings (Numbers 1, 26) Two journeys (Numbers 10-14; 21-27) Two arrivals at Kadesh-barnea Two sets of instructions (Numbers 5-9; 28-36)

Jesus our Bread of Life: The daily manna is Christ our Bread of Life who came down from heaven (John 6:32)

Jesus our Guide: The Cloud by day and Pillar of Fire by night, the Presence of Christ.

Jesus our Resurrection: Budding of Aaron’s Staff (Numbers 17:8).

Jesus our Rock: The Rock from which the thirsting multitude drank. He is to be only struck once to provide living water for us (Numbers 20:8-13; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Jesus our Lifted Up One: Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21:6-9), who became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and was lifted up (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32) on a pole (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13; Genesis 3:17). All of us have felt the serpent’s sting of sin (Genesis 3:17), but if we will only look up to the one who took on sin for our sake, we will live (John 3:14-15).

Jesus our Coming King: Like a song helps interpret a musical, so also poetry interprets passages of Biblical narrative in the Torah (see Genesis 49; Numbers 23-24; Deuteronomy 32-33). Numbers 23-24 is important in understanding the Torah as a whole because of its links with important prophetic passages. Here a pagan prophet named Balaam, hired to curse Israel, instead prophesies a blessing and a King to come.

Balaam’s prophecy links Genesis 49:9-10 with a King to come like the Lion of Judah (Numbers 24:9)

Balaam links the Abrahamic Covenant to this King to Come (Numbers 24:9; Genesis 12:3; 27:29). Further, the blessing on Abraham’s seed (Genesis 22:18; 26:24; 28:14 is directly connected to Numbers 24:9. Genesis 17:6 tells us that Abraham’s descendants would be royal since Sarah (“princess”) is to be the mother of kings.

Samuel’s speech to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:29 is a direct allusion to Balaam’s prophecy of a King to come in Numbers 23:19. Notice that immediately after Samuel’s speech, the Lord directs Samuel to anoint a new king – David (1 Samuel 16:1-2, 13).

Numbers 24:7 prophesies a king to come who is greater than Agag. Agag? Who is that? He is found in 1 Samuel 13 as the defeated king of the Amalekites (Numbers 24:20) whom King Saul did not execute. As a result, Saul lost the monarchy. We find Agag’s apparent descendant, Haman the Agagite, in the book of Esther prepared to liquidate the Jewish people. Esther and Mordecai, from the same tribe as Saul (Benjamin) must deal with this national threat.

Psalm 2 links Balaam’s prophecy with the Coming King who will hold a scepter-rod (Numbers 24:17).

Jacob’s prayer for Judah (Genesis 49:10) is directly referenced by Moses’ prayer for One to come from Judah (Deuteronomy 33:7) It in turn is linked with Balaam’s prophecy who sees him coming like a star (Numbers 24:17), as a ruler (Numbers 24:19). Micah sees also a ruler coming from Judah (Micah 5:2). The Magi recognized the star that Balaam, a sorcerer of the East, had prophesied (Matthew 2:1-2).

Lofa Road mud hole

Here is another mud hole on Lofa Road headed north. On the left the hole is deep enough that the top of the vehicle goes out of sight briefly. Dennis is on the far right, out of the truck trying to decide which side is more likely passable. In the center is a roadside worker. Some NGO got a grant to put ex-combatants to work on the roadsides clearing brush by hand. They are thrilled to get $3 a day. The bush in the road is a Liberian pylon. It means, "Danger, be careful!"
Picture taken early November 2007.

Bread Oven

A bread oven in Konia, Lofa County, Liberia. The thatch protects it from rainy season and workers from the sun in dry season. Click on the image for a bigger version

King James Bible Only!

Todd Rhoades over at MMI pointed me to this, well, interesting doctrinal statement. Here's the King James statement, or is it a rant?

"King James Bible Only! We are as "King James Only" as one can be. Don't even consider for a moment quoting any Greek or Hebrew definitions and/or those infamous 'better words,' etc. that seem to go with today's so-called modern Biblical scholarship. We want God's words, not principles. We believe the KJB is the inspired and preserved word and words of God. We believe that which is perfect to be the King James Bible and that it has all come spiritually. I Corinthians 13:10 I won't even take up my time with anyone arguing with them about the originals, etc. All those new modern perverted and corrupted Bibles bring to folks 'another spirit' and 'another Jesus.' As you can see, we truly as King James Only as one can be!"

Well, howboutcha then. This group also dislikes the Great Commission and gives primacy to what they (or the pastor) see(s) as Paul's gospel, not Jesus', and they only see part of the Bible written "TO" them.

Leviticus 9:22-10:11 - Strange Fire

Contextual Notes:

At the foot of Mount Sinai, it has been a glorious few weeks for Israel. The Tabernacle has been completed. The Cloud of God’s Presence has moved into the Tent of Meeting. God had come to dwell with His people. That’s how the book of Exodus ends. Now God speaks not from the Mount, but from the Tent.

Leviticus 1-7 is what the Lord had to say about the proper and holy way to approach Him. In Leviticus 8, Aaron and his four sons were ordained as priests to carry out the work of the Tabernacle, and chapter 9 is their first day on the job.

Aaron took the lead, first sacrificing a sin offering for himself, then one for the people. Notice from the text that he did everything the way it was commanded. The Lord then honors the sacrifice with fire, bringing great joy to the people. God has set Israel apart for Himself once again.

Then in an instant, horror strikes. Aaron’s sons make a fatal error, and Nadab and Abihu don’t finish their first day on the job.

Read and Pray: Leviticus 9:22-10:11

Key Truth: Moses wrote Leviticus 9:22-10:11 to exhort the Israelites that all who approach God must honor Him with obedience.

Key Application: Today I want to share with you a sobering story that reminds us that God is not to be taken or treated lightly.

Sermon Points:

1. The Fire of Consecration (Leviticus 9:22-24)

2. The Fire of Judgment (Leviticus 10:1-11)

Exposition: Note well,

1. THE FIRE OF CONSECRATION (LEVITICUS 9:22-24).

a. This is not the last time fire came out and burned up an offering. It happened with Gideon in Judges 6:21, with Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:38); with David when he offered a sin offering to end the plague for having a census without obeying the Word (1 Chronicles 21:26; Exodus 30:11ff), with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:1), and at the birth of the church at Pentecost when tongues of fire came to rest on every person, a living sacrifice (Acts 2).

b. What this passage really teaches us is about the priesthood of the believer. What is the priesthood of the believer? It is the Biblical doctrine that every Christian has direct access to God through the agency of Jesus Christ without needing any other person (1 Tim 2:5). Each person is his own priest and is responsible to God through Jesus Christ for the holiness in his or her life. Because of the priesthood of the believer, we believe in justification by faith, believer’s baptism, regenerate church membership, congregational church government, private interpretation of the Scriptures, freedom of thought, religious liberty, separation of church and state, divine calling for every Christian’s career, and the responsibility of every Christian to work toward the extension of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The priesthood of the believer causes Baptists to oppose infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, forms of church government which violate people’s rights (like Presbyterian and Episcopal), distinctions between laity and clergy, an established or state church, persecution of Christians, and totalitarianism of any form.[1]

c. ILLUSTRATION: We sing a hymn called “Take my Life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee.” Like the Israelites, we must first offer our lives, and then he consecrates it with fire from the altar.

d. APPLICATION: I want to encourage you to offer yourself to Him every day as a living sacrifice as Romans 12:1-2 urges us. Then the fire and power of God will go with you into the board meeting, the conference call, the doctor’s appointment, with the salesman, the misbehaving child. You will walk in the power of God in a new way when you offer yourself to Him, not passively, but actively. Then Fire will fall on the altar and the Lord will get the glory for your dedication to Him.

2. THE FIRE OF JUDGMENT (LEVITICUS 10:1-11).

a. The incense symbolized prayer offered on the ground of the accepted sacrifice. The Lord Himself gave His reasoning for the punishment: “(1) I will sanctify Myself in those who stand near to Me, (2) and before all people I will glorify Myself.”

b. ILLUSTRATION: The fire that just brought divine approval now brings judgment (9:24). We might think God’s way of dealing with them was strange itself, but think of the sun for a moment. You plant a tree in the ground, and the sun will nourish and grow that tree strong and tall. But if you pull up that tree and expose the roots to the sun, and the sun will kill it. It is similar to God, whom Hebrews calls a consuming fire. Planted in the word of God, the fire of God consecrates and brings us joy. When we are not planted in the nourishing soul and obedience to the Word, the fire of God becomes a frightening thing.

c. Nadab and Abihu were the two elder brothers of Aaron (Exodus 6:23; 28:1). They have no print apart from their father Aaron. This is their one scene in the Bible apart from going onto the mountain with Aaron in Exodus 24.

d. The bodies were carried outside the camp like the carcasses of the sin offerings (same expression as 4:12). Note the strange detail that they were carried out in their priestly robes. Did the tunics not burn?

e. Their story parallels the one of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11. Compare v. 3 with Acts 5:11 and v. 4 with Acts 5:6, 9f. There are similarities with Korah’s rebellion as well (Numbers 16). Like Eli later (1 Samuel 3:18), Aaron could do nothing but keep his mouth shut about God’s sentence against his sons. There was another pair of brothers several centuries later when Israel and Judah split, named Nadab and Abijah, who die young because of their sinful lives. Their father King Jeroboam I, just like Aaron, had set up golden calves for the people to worship (1 Kings 13-15). In fact, Jeroboam I himself offered incense at the altar of the calf in Bethel, the same kind that brought death in our passage.

f. Were they drunk? Verses 8-11 seem to suggest that they had been hitting the bottle while ministering before the Lord. The intoxicating drinks of the day included dates, honey wine, and barley beer. While wine was forbidden while serving in the Tent because it impaired their judgment, the Bible does not completely condemn drinking of wine. However, it warns of its excess and condemns drunkenness often. This has implications for us as Christians. We need our faculties clear at all times so that we can distinguish right from wrong. If we are to influence others, it is best not to drink at all.

g. What was it that made it strange fire? It’s unclear. The words, ‘esh zarah literally mean, “fire strange, foreign, even akin to adulterous. The description “unauthorized,” or “profane” in some translations are more interpretations than translations. And the translator’s interpretation is up for debate. It could have been wrongly compounded incense, i.e, not made as is commanded in Exodus 30:34-38. The similar expression in Exodus 30:9 “other incense” may help. It could have been burned at the wrong time or perhaps the fire was taken from a common fire and not from the bronze altar as it was supposed to be (16:12) or perhaps they did not wash their hands and feet with water before entering the Tent (see Exodus 30:19-21), or some other breach, perhaps they came to work drunk (10:9).

h. In Exodus 30, the Lord graciously gave instructions about how to handle the incense and the holy altar and how to respect it. The instructions are clear; they are concise; they are firm. Some of them, include the incentive to “do it this way so that you will not die.” For the priests, God’s character is involved, and that means high responsibility, so high that you could get killed if you don’t do it right.

i. ILLUSTRATION: In a greatly inferior example, it is like working with electricity. You have to respect that current, or that current will kill you. If you follow the rules of how electricity works, you will be able to do great work and make a good living at it. If you don’t respect that current, they’ll be carrying you out in less than a heartbeat, fried.

j. So what is strange fire? Strange fire is knowing what the Scripture says, knowing what the Lord wants and requires, and going on and doing it the way you want to do anyway. Strange fire is doing what you want to do because nobody, Nobody at all is going to tell you what to do.

k. APPLICATION: You know what the Bible says about stealing, but you take home those tools from work anyway because you want to. You know how the Lord feels about cheating, but you go ahead and get the answers from someone else’s test anyway. You know what the game limit is, but you go ahead and kill as many as you jolly well please. You know what’s right about taking illegal drugs, but you go ahead and take them anyway. You know that the Lord has lovingly set a boundary on sex outside of marriage, but you don’t really care. You’re going to go ahead and do what you want to anyway because nobody is going to tell you what to do. That is strange fire. The Lord calls that rebellion. And 1 Samuel 15:22 says “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

l. The point is that Nadab and Abihu did not pay attention to the Word of God. They knew the way it was supposed to be done. They were fully educated on what to do and how to do it. They simply had no intention of doing it God’s way. They wanted to do it their own way. They were standing and ministering their first day in the Tabernacle, a great honor. They looked great. They looked holy. But their hearts were far from him. They were rebels in the House of the Lord. They wanted to do it their way and they did not care what anyone thought about it. They were interested in looking good, doing their religious duties. They cared about image but not about reality.

m. APPLICATION: Is that you? Are you one of those Christians who has learned to play the game, learned to “be a Christian,” uses the religious jargon, has on the right church clothes, can pray those beautiful prayers, looks so holy, but your heart is black with envy, with jealousy, with a desire for power, a desire to be first, to be in charge, to put somebody in their place, to run things? There are too many people like that in our churches, men and women who stand against God’s work no matter what comes up. They are miserable, and they make everyone else miserable, too. My friend, if that is you, you are in a most dangerous position. Oh, you look like the most wonderful Christian, but you are determined to do what you want to do no matter what it costs anyone else including the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom. Dear friend, your highest priority today is to get on your knees and repent of your sin and get right with God.

n. These kinds of people are the reasons people walk away from church and never come back. If being a Christian, they say, is playing politics, defending territory, hiding sin, and holding power, and hoarding money, then they want no part of it, and I don’t blame them.

o. The Hebrew word for Holy means to be set apart or dedicated. It can apply to persons, places, or things, meaning they are set apart for the service of God. Each of us as believers, when we ask the Lord Jesus to save us and be Lord of our lives, we give up ourselves and dedicate or set apart ourselves for Christ and His work and will in our lives. That’s what salvation is all about. Since everything associated with worship of God in the OT is set apart this way, it is sacred and no longer ordinary. Therefore, it must be treated with the utmost respect and care. Nadab and Abihu showed contempt for God by failing to follow His instructions on how to burn incense. God could not overlook such contempt.

p. RAY STEDMAN was a great pastor of the mid-20^th Century. He mentored Charles Swindoll. About this passage he offers a word of encouragement for those who wonder if God hates them: “God had precisely said, "Be careful; do not offer the wrong kind of incense." So when these priests did so it was a violation of the direct command of God. They were doing something against which God himself had forewarned them. God never visits with judgment anybody who is struggling in ignorance to try to find him, even though they do it the wrong way. The New Testament, in speaking about the Lord Jesus, quotes from Isaiah 42 a beautiful verse which says, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench," {Isa 42:3 RSV}. That is, God understands the heart of someone who is trying to find him, who is trying to do what is right, but doesn't know much about it. And he never, never, in any way, discourages him. He encourages him. He is patient, longsuffering, tender, compassionate, and understanding. I don't think there is any more graphic picture in the whole Bible of what it means to offer strange fire before the Lord than that prayer which Jesus recorded for us in the New Testament -- the prayer of the proud Pharisee. Remember how he stood and prayed: "Lord, I thank you that I'm not like other people, like all these unwashed publicans. I tithe every day, and I fast twice a week..." {cf, Luke 18:9-14}. His prayer is a recital of all that he has done for God and suggests how lucky God ought to feel to have him on his side. That is what is meant by offering strange fire before the Lord -- anything which reckons upon our own self-righteousness and forgets that life is given to us as a gift.

q. APPLICATION: Do you pay no attention to the Word of God, doing whatever you jolly well please, or are you planted in the Word of God, desiring to live in obedience to it? Do you order your life by God’s Word? Do you take its principles and precepts to heart and put them into practice? Are you walking closely with the Lord? What’s your prayer time like? Is it filled with intimacy with Him? What’s your daily time in the Bible like? Non-existent? Or are you feeding daily on His Word for the benefit of your own soul, of your spouse, of your children and grandchildren? Nadab and Abihu paid a heavy price for neglecting the Word.

Invitation:

God has opened a door for us to have eternal life in Jesus Christ. If we decide to take that lightly, then we must endure the fire ourselves for eternity. The reality is that horrifying. If you decide to offer strange fire out of rebellion or simply because you take this thing lightly, the punishment will be severe – not because the Lord is a mean Person, but because He has a character and standard that can never change. That is why the good news of Jesus Christ is so good. His sin offering of Himself draws the fire of consecration, the approving fire, the fire of eternal life, the transformation that John the Baptizer promoted as a baptism of “the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Let me urge you today to give yourself over to the One who sends the fire. Do not stand rebelliously in His way. Your eternal end will be worse than Nadab and Abihu’s. After they died, the fire was over for them. For you, the fire will go on forever. I set before you today death and life. I plead with you, choose Life, life everlasting. Life to the full.

Sources:

F.F. Bruce, International Bible Commentary, 198.

David Damrosch, “Leviticus,” in Alter, Kermode, The Literary Guide to the Bible, 70-2.

Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: OT, 225-6.

W. Barry Garrett, Priesthood of Believers,” Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, 2:1113-4.

Larry Richards, Bible Readers Companion, 81.

A.B. Simpson, Christ in the Bible Commentary, 1:180-1.

John Walton, et. al, eds., The IVP Bible Background Commentary: OT, 127.

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[1] W. Barry Garrett, Priesthood of Believers,” Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, 2:1113-4.

Shock your Mom

Shock your Mom. Go to church.

Numbers Outline

Outline of the Book of Numbers:

A Short Outline:

Numbers 1-10 God’s Legislation

Numbers 11-20 Israel Failure

Numbers 21-36 Israel’s Return & Victory

A Geographic Outline

Preparing to leave Sinai (Numbers 1:1-10:10)

From Sinai to Paran (Kadesh-barnea) (Numbers 10:11 - 12:16)

From Kadesh wandering back to Kadesh (Numbers 13-20)

From Kadesh to the border of Promised Land (Numbers 20-36)

1. NUMBERS 1-10: PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY

a. Numbering and Positioning the People (Numbers 1-2): “Let everything be done ... in order”

b. Numbering and Organizing the Levites (Numbers 3-4): “Everyone must know and operate in his/her God-appointed place and service”

c. Assigning Duties (Numbers 5-10): “Our God is a consuming fire”

i. Restitution/Jealousy Offering: (Numbers 5)

ii. Nazirite Vow: (Numbers 6)

iii. Gifts of Tribal leaders: (Numbers 7)

iv. Levites installed: (Numbers 8) (Light and Cleansing of the Word)

v. First Passover observance (Numbers 9:1-14)

vi. Following the Cloud: (Numbers 9:15-10:10)

vii. Forward March: (Numbers 10:11-36)

2. NUMBERS 11-25: FAILING CRITICALLY THROUGH UNBELIEF

a. Complaining against God (Numbers 11)

b. Grumbling against Moses (Numbers 12): Grumbling is the easiest thing in the world to learn. “No talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character is required to set up the grumbling business.”

c. Rebelling at Kadesh (Numbers 13-14): Great Breach of the Covenant, Place of Rebellious Decision. “Rebellion is an infection which delays progress” – e.g., Miriam. “So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:17-19). Principle: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way.

d. Wandering in the Wilderness (Numbers 15-21): Silent years (Numbers 33:19-37); did not circumcise children (Joshua 5:5-6); did not offer sacrifices to God (Jeremiah 7:22; Amos 5:25-26); worshiped idols (Acts 7:42-43)

i. Holiness Reminder (Numbers 15)

ii. Korah’s Rebellion (Numbers 16)

iii. Vindication of Aaron: Rod Buds (Numbers 17)

iv. Confirmation of Aaron (Numbers 18)

v. Red Heifer & the Water of Cleansing (Numbers 19)

vi. Water from the Rock, Edom Refuses, Aaron dies (Numbers 20)

vii. Bronze Serpent, Sihon & Og defeated (Numbers 21)

e. Hiring of Balaam (Numbers 22-25)

i. Way of Balaam – Covetousness: Numbers 22 (2 Peter 2:15-16)

ii. Error of Balaam – Ignorance: Numbers 23 (Romans 8:31-34)

iii. Prophecy of Balaam – A King is Coming: Numbers 24

iv. Doctrine of Balaam – Fornication/ Idolatry Numbers 25

3. NUMBERS 26-36: PREPARING A NEW GENERATION (Return to Favor and Final Victory)

1. Numbering a New Generation (Numbers 26). less than first census (cf. Numbers 1:46 with 26:7) It is not the size of the army but the size of their faith.
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3. Organizing & Training a New Generation (Numbers 27-31)

i. Woman’s Rights under the Law: Numbers 27:1-11 (This right of redemption comes to bear with Ruth and her Kinsman Redeemer Boaz.)

ii. Leader for a new generation-Joshua: Numbers 27:12-23

iii. Laws of Offerings: Numbers 28-29

iv. Law of Vows: Numbers 30

v. Vengeance on Midian: Numbers 31 (Midian is a type of the world from which Christians are called to be separated; Balaam killed; Galatians 6:14; 1 John 2:15-17)

c. d. Assigning the Land to a New Generation (Numbers 32-36)

i. Reuben and Gad ask for land East of Jordan: Numbers 32. Jordan is a type of death and resurrection of Jesus.

ii. Log of Journeys: Numbers 33

iii. Borders of Promised Land: Numbers 34

iv. Cities of Refuge given to Levites: Numbers 35

v. Law of Land Inheritance: Numbers 36. Land to remain in tribe and family.

A Liberian Mud Hole

On the Lofa Road returning to Monrovia, we came upon this sight somewhere in Lofa County. This is a heavy transport truck stuck in a mud hole. It is likely from Guinea bringing things to sell in Monrovia. When we got there midday, the truck had been stuck since 5pm the day before.

I have great video of this scene and our trucks hitting the mud to show you if I can overcome this slow dial-up connection somehow.