Category: faith

February 20, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 20: Matthew 25, Leviticus 25, Leviticus 26 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 25 begins with the parable of the ten virgins (Give me oil in my lamp, keep it burning). Then comes the parable of the five, two and one talent. the one with five made ten, the one with two doubled his talents, but the one with only one talent buried his. Jesus had his one talent taken away and be given to the one with ten talents. The moral of this parable is: Equal opportunity, not equal outcome. Finally Jesus gives the parable of the sheep and the goats, and the sheep are defined as those who do God’s will “You did it for me.”

Leviticus 25 defines the Sabbath year, a year of rest for the land,  and the year of the jubilee, the year when property is restored, rights redeemed, and slaves are set free. (As far as I know the year of the jubilee was never implemented)

Leviticus 26 tells of blessing for obedience and punishment for disobedience.

February 19, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 19: Matthew 24, Leviticus 23, Leviticus 24 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 24 is knocking at the door is a song popularized by Johnny  Cash and gives a description of what is coming. Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple and the events that will occur just before his return. He even quotes Daniel the prophet. Then he describes his return to gather his people. He assures us that heaven and earth will pass away, but not his words. However, nobody knows the time or the day of his coming. Many have tried to predict it, and so far all have failed. This makes sense since we are supposed to watch and wait, and with this admonition the chapter ends.

Leviticus 23 describes the feasts of the LORD, the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement,  and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Leviticus 24 describes how to care for the Tabernacle Lamps, the Tabernacle Bread. Then it defines the Penalty for Blasphemy, and the Penalty for intentional injuries: “An eye for an eye.”

 

February 18, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 18: Matthew 23, Leviticus 21, Leviticus 22 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In Matthew 23 Jesus tells of seven woes. Read the chapter carefully and draw your own conclusions.

Leviticus 21 has the regulations for priests.

Leviticus 22 completes the regulations for the priests and tells of acceptable and unacceptable offerings.

 

February 17, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 17: Matthew 22, Leviticus 19, Leviticus 20 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In Matthew 22 Jesus continues to talk in parables. He is in Jerusalem teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven and tells of the wedding banquet, from which we have the expression “many are called but few are chosen.” Then the Pharisees tries to entrap him with the question “is it legal to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus answers by the famous quote: “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s,” an early call to separation of Church and state. Jesus did not say “let the Romans do it”. The Sadducees also tried to entrap him with the riddle “if there is no resurrection and seven brothers have had a woman as his wife on after another, who would marry her in the resurrection?” Another famous saying: “God is not the God of the dead but of the living.” They continue to entrap him by asking which is the greatest commandment. Jesus answers with the first commandment and adds another: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” One more: Whose sun is the Christ? Answer: “The Lord said to my Lord.”

Leviticus 19 is a continuation of moral and ceremonial laws, and

Leviticus 20 outlines the penalties for breaking the law.

February 16, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 16: Matthew 21, Leviticus 17, Leviticus 18 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 21 starts with the triumphal entry, and that begins what is called the “holy week” Jesus rides in on an unbroken colt. In Jerusalem Jesus cleanses the temple and throws out the money changers. The spiritual leaders were offended that people sang “Hosanna in the highest” at the triumphal entry, even little children sang it. Then comes the story of the withering fig tree, the symbol of Israel. The spiritual leaders also questioned Jesus authority. Instead of giving an answer Jesus gave two parables, the one about the two sons and the parable about the wicked tenants. Moving on Jesus quotes scripture by saying :The stone  the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” meaning that the kingdom of God will be inherited by another people.

Leviticus 17 deals with the sanctity of blood and why eating of blood is forbidden.

Leviticus 18 defines the laws of sexual morality, and especially to stay away from Molech,  which involves sexual orgies, pass through the fire and child sacrifices.

February 15, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 15: Matthew 20, Leviticus 15, Leviticus 16 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In Matthew 20 Jesus gives the parable of the workers in the vineyard, that God is always fair even when we don’t think so. Then he predicts his death. Then then tha mother of Zebedee’s sons asks Jesus to have her sons be the seated with Jesus in the kingdom of heaven, but that is only for the Father to decide. The other disciples got angry, but Jesus admonished them all that the kingdom of heaven is to be a servant. After that Jesus heals two blind men.

Leviticus 15 deals with bodily discharges.

Leviticus 16 is the apex of Leviticus and  tells of all the things Aaron must do on the day of atonement to atone for the sins of himself and the people during the past year.

February 14, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are three chapters.

February 14: Matthew 19, Leviticus 13, Leviticus 14 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 19 is relatively short but contains some of the most important aspects of life, such as marriage and divorce. “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” Then the jewel “Let the little children come to me…” After that a rich young ruler asks what good thing he must do to get eternal life. Jesus answer “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God,” in other words impossible. But cheer up, “with God all things are possible.” And God’s pecking order is not economic or based on power. Instead, sometimes “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” There are many idioms in the English language taken from the Bible. Yet the origin is not allowed to be mentioned in public schools. Ponder that.

Leviticus 13 and Leviticus 14 deal with leprosy and mildew and what to do with both. Things like that are complicated.

February 13, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters.

February 13: Matthew 18, Leviticus 10, Leviticus 11, Leviticus 12 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 18. To the question “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus called a little child. Then he expands the question and elaborates on the subject of sin. This chapter also contains the parable of the lost sheep, which leads naturally into the subject of reconciliation and church discipline. Jesus also promises that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”. And then comes the parable of the unmerciful servant.

In Leviticus 10 two of Aaron’s sons are killed by fire for violating God’ command. But Aaron’s uncle has two sons and together with two other sons of Aaron they became the new priests and the rest of the chapter deal with how they should behave.

Leviticus 11 deals with clean (kosher) and unclean food and clean and unclean animals. (Locusts and grasshoppers are o.k.)

Finally Leviticus 12 is a short chapter and it deals with purification after childbirth.

February 12, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters.e

February 12: Matthew 17, Leviticus 7, Leviticus 8, Leviticus 9 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 17 begins with the transfiguration. Then the disciples try to heal a boy with epilepsy but fail. Jesus heals him immediately. The disciples could not do it because they had so little faith. Jesus also predicts his death, and the tax collectors come to Peter to collect the temple tax. Jesus solves this by telling peter to go fishing and from the first fish he catches he will take the four drachma coin  swallowed by the fish. That did take care of the tax for both Peter and Jesus.

Leviticus 7 defines the guilt offering and the peace(fellowship) offering. It furthermore forbids the people to eat fat or blood. In a fellowship offering the priest must get his share, and the share is specified.

Leviticus 8 goes into some length how  the ordination of Aaron and his sons was done.

In Leviticus 9 the priestly ministry begins.

February 10, read through the Bible in a year.

Today there are four chapters.

February 10: Matthew 15, Leviticus 1, Leviticus 2, Leviticus 3 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

In Matthew 15 Jesus defines what defiles a person. It is not what he eats, but what comes out of his mouth. Ceremonial cleansing is just for show. Jesus then went to Caananite territory, the region of Tyre and Sidon where he met a Caananite woman with a sick daughter. She had so great faith that Jesus healed her daughter from afar. Jesus went back to the sea of Galilee and did many other miracles. Large crowds followed him, and there he fed 4000. This time they had seven loaves of bread and a few fishes. This time there were only seven baskets of leftovers, they had been without food for three days.

Leviticus 1 tells of how the burnt offering shall be performed.

Leviticus 2 specifies the grain offering, and

Leviticus 3 deals with the peace or fellowship offering.