God Speaks
God’s Rules for the Priests and Specially Appointed Meeting Times
Verse of the Day: Keep My commands and follow them. I am the LORD. Do not profane My holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 22:31-33 NIV 2011)
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We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Leviticus 22-23:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Leviticus 22
1. It is God through Moses who set up these regulations, not human beings.
2. People, particularly the priests in this case, were to follow God’s instructions carefully or suffer dire consequences.
Leviticus 23
1. God has set special “appointed times” to meet with His people.
2. People who love the LORD look forward to meeting with Him.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Leviticus 22-23?
Dear Sovereign LORD, I do not want to bring shame to Your holy Name, nor do I want to be cut off from Your presence. Holy Spirit, please help me to keep from being defiled by sin. The Good News is that should I inadvertently sin, You, LORD, have provided a means of forgiveness–trust in Jesus Christ’s payment for me on the cross. The animal sacrifices mentioned in these chapters were symbols to point to Him. Thank You for instructing the Israelites to include the foreigners living among them to participate in these appointed times to meet with the LORD. In fact, You required it. You truly are an inclusive God as long as people are willing to follow You. Holy Spirit, help me to take one day a week for total rest and solemn assembly with You and Your people. I declare that Jesus is my Passover Lamb. The unleavened bread points to His sinless perfection. Help me to at least “wave at You” at the beginning of every task such as harvest. May whatever I do be pleasing to You. On Shavuot [Pentecost] I will celebrate Your coming, Holy Spirit, upon Jesus’ body the Church–all true believers. The Feast of Trumpets reminds me to eagerly await the trumpet call of Christ’s return for His faithful ones. Thank You for the Day of Atonement that points to Jesus dying on the cross to take away my sins, not just cover them. Thank You for the Feast of Tabernacles that reminds people that this life is only temporary (we are just passing through) and that You have brought us out of slavery to sin, self, and Satan. May the celebrating of these feasts bring You glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Leviticus 22-23? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will check daily to be sure that I am living out the fact that “I AM [is] the LORD” of my life.
- I will research how Jesus celebrated and/or fulfilled the meaning of each of these appointed times.
- I will investigate how Messianic Jews celebrate these “appointments with the LORD.”
- I will ask the LORD in which of these “appointments with the LORD” He wants me to participate.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.