Podcasts about Nadab

In this message, Pastor Rockhill considers Jesus' cleansing of the temple as a further revelation of His glory and authority as the only begotten Son of God. Drawing on the account of Jesus driving out the merchants and money changers, he sets the scene within the Passover, showing how that feast pointed forward to Christ as the Lamb of God whose blood causes judgment to pass over all who trust in Him. The central burden Pastor Rockhill shares is the holiness of God and the reverence due to Him in worship. What began as a well-intentioned convenience for traveling pilgrims had hardened into corruption, greed, and the displacing of true worship, and Christ in righteous zeal purged His Father's house. Connecting this to Psalm 69 and Malachi 3, Pastor Rockhill shows Jesus as the promised Messiah who comes suddenly to His temple as a refiner's fire, and he warns that man's innovations always crowd out the simple worship God commands. He presses the doctrine that God must be regarded as holy, recalling Nadab and Abihu, and that Christ has authority to cleanse His own house. The application turns inward: Pastor Rockhill reminds us that believers are not called to overturn tables but to cultivate a holy zeal, purging sin from their own hearts and approaching God each Lord's Day to worship Him in spirit and truth.

7 takeaways from this study Guard your heart more than your habits.External practices (like handwashing traditions) matter less than the thoughts, desires, and attitudes that flow from the heart (Mark 7:20–23). Focus on inner transformation, not just outward conformity. Use God's distinctions as training, not as weapons.The categories of kadosh/chol (holy/common) and tahor/tame (clean/unclean) are meant to train discernment, not to create pride or contempt. Let them teach you to ask, “Is this moving me toward God's presence or away from it?” Pay attention to what you allow into your life.Just as Israel learned daily through food choices (Leviticus 11), examine your inputs—media, relationships, habits. Ask whether they help or hinder your ability to draw near to God. Do not call unclean what God is cleansing.Peter's lesson in Acts 10–11 warns against writing people off. Someone who looks far from God may be a “foreigner” He is already drawing. Be slow to label; be quick to watch for the Spirit's work. Let Scripture sit above tradition.Traditions can be helpful, but when they contradict or overshadow God's commands, they must yield (Mark 7:8–13). Regularly test your religious habits and assumptions against the Word. See the mission: you are meant to be a magnet.Like the Temple in 1 Kings 8, your life and community should draw others toward God's presence, not push them away. Ask whether your tone, conduct, and priorities make Him attractive or seem common. Expect God to redeem even deep failure.Solomon's decline and possible later repentance, Saul's transformation, and former enemies turned witnesses all point to hope. Pray for those who oppose you and for your own blind spots, trusting God to bring good out of evil. How Scripture defines “holy” and “common,” “clean” and “unclean,” connects to the calling of Israel and the inclusion of people from all nations into the Kingdom. Torah's purity laws teach spiritual discernment. Yeshua's teaching in Mark 7 and the vision of Acts 10 do not abolish God's standard of that discernment. Instead, they clarify the true source of defilement and the scope of God's invitation. Solomon's dedication prayer and a ‘Declaration of Dependence’ Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple in 1Kings 8 marks a transition from a movable Tabernacle to a permanent House of the LORD. Israel’s dwelling place for the Most High moves from a tent in Shiloh to a private home to a fixed sanctuary in Jerusalem. Solomon's prayer is sort of a “declaration of dependence” on God, parallel to the U.S. Declaration of Independence that set out the reason for the nation’s being. “That He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else. Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.” 1Kings 8:59–61 NASB95 Israel exists so that “all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God.” The people rejoice at the dedication, offering many sacrifices and extending the Feast of Booths (Sukkot) in celebration. Their joy reflects relief after earlier sins, such as the golden calf (Exodus 32) and idolatry at Shiloh that led to its destruction (1Samuel 3:10–18). God has shown mercy. He has chosen again to dwell among them. Solomon's rise and decline Solomon's early and late life are contrasts. Early on, he seeks wisdom (1Kings 3:9–12). God grants him wisdom and honor. His fame spreads. Nations visit him. Later, Solomon multiplies wives and concubines. He builds high places and participates in idolatrous worship (1Kings 11:1–8). The Torah had warned kings not to multiply wives, horses, or gold (Deuteronomy 17:16–17). Solomon breaks all the cautions. His heart grows divided. Some connect this decline with the tone of the book of Qohelet (Ecclesiastes). The book speaks of “vanity” or “futility” (הֶבֶל hevel, vapor). It describes many pursuits as empty. It closes with a simple conclusion: The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB95 This arc illustrates a warning. One can begin with zeal and end in compromise. Solomon's story as a mirror. It urges self-examination regarding distraction, divided affections, and misplaced trust. The Temple as a magnet for the nations Solomon's prayer also reveals God's global purpose. The Temple is not only for Israel. It functions as a magnet for the nations. Solomon prays specifically about foreigners: “Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your name's sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your mighty hand and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.” 1Kings 8:41–43 NASB 1995 Here the Temple becomes a global focal point. Nations hear of God's “great name” and “mighty hand.” They come seeking Him. The prayer asks God to answer them. The result should be that all peoples know His name and fear Him. This aligns with the calling of Abraham. God promises that in Abraham “all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3 NASB 1995). Israel and its Temple exist as instruments of this wider mission. Types of foreigners One common Hebrew word for foreigner is גֵּר ger (resident alien/sojourner). Another word in some contexts is נָכְרִי nokhrí (foreigner/stranger). The root נכר, n-k-r, can mean “to recognize” or “to inspect.” This nuance suggests that some “foreigners” are not random passersby. They are people whom God “takes notice of.” They draw near because they have heard of God's reputation. They seek Him. God inspects them, in a positive sense. Therefore, commands not to oppress “the widow, the orphan, and the ger” carry weight (e.g., Deuteronomy 10:18–19). Israel must not push away those whom God is drawing near (Acts 15:10). If God is calling, His people must not block the path. The spectrum of holy and common Here is a key lesson from the judgment on priests Nadab and Abihu, and a prelude to the food laws in the following chapter: “…and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean” Leviticus 10:10 NASB95 Here we see a pair of axes: קָדוֹשׁ kadosh (holy, set apart) חֹל chol/khol (common, profane) and inside that: טָהוֹר tahor (“clean,” fit to approach) טָמֵא tamé (“unclean,” unfit to approach) Kadosh marks what God sets apart for Himself. Khol is ordinary, not specially dedicated. Tahor refers to a state that permits approach to God's presence. Tamé describes a state that temporarily prevents such approach. Tamé does not always mean “sinful.” Many causes of “uncleanness” arise from normal life events, such as childbirth or certain of men’s and women’s bodily discharges (Leviticus 12; 15). People move between tahor and tame states over time. Sin appears more at the extreme of khol. To move away from God's purposes toward what is merely common or even idolatrous reflects moral failure. The purity system trains people to discern movements along this spectrum which may happen too gradually to be perceived. Offerings and the journey toward God Leviticus 1–7 describes various offerings in the Tabernacle. The generic term is קָרְבָּן, qorbán (offering). It derives from the root קרב, karav (to come near/approach). Each offering type pictures some dimension of drawing near to God. The burnt offering (עֹלָה olah, that which goes up) expresses total surrender (Leviticus 1). The grain offering (מִנְחָה minkha) communicates thankfulness for all Heaven provides. The חַטָּאת chatat (sin offering) and אָשָׁם, asham (guilt offering) address the move away from God’s standards and liability for doing so, intentional or not (Leviticus 4–5). The שְׁלָמִים shelamim (peace/fellowship offerings) celebrates restored relationship after confession and restitution (Leviticus 3; 7:11–21). Priests must follow instructions precisely. The death of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, in Leviticus 10:1–2, shows the seriousness. Their “unauthorized fire” brings judgment. Moses then explains that priests must learn to distinguish and to teach these distinctions (Leviticus 10:8–11). This system as a long-term lesson. It trains Israel to understand approach to God, the cost of sin, and the joy of reconciliation. Leviticus 11: Food for life Leviticus 11 applies this logic to food. It lists animals that Israel may eat and those it must not eat. The categories mark some animals as טָהוֹר tahor (clean/fit), and others as טָמֵא tame (unclean/unfit). People can have limited control over many causes of uncleanness. Yet they do control what they eat. Thus, food becomes a daily training tool. By abstaining from certain creatures, Israel “fasts” from a category associated with death, predation or impurity. The chapter concludes with the purpose for these laws: “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45 NASB95 Here God links food laws to His own holiness and to the exodus. He rescued Israel from bondage. He now calls them to be distinct. Mark 7: What did Yeshua declare clean? Mark 7 records a dispute over handwashing. Some Pharisees and scribes criticize Yeshua's disciples for eating without following the “tradition of the elders” (Mark 7:1–5). The tradition views the marketplace as a source of ritual contamination, defiling food that would be considered “clean” per Leviticus 11. Therefore, one must wash upon returning. Yeshua responds by quoting Isaiah 29:13: “’This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” Mark 7:6–7 NASB95 He accuses them of “neglecting the commandment of God” and holding to human tradition (Mark 7:8–13). He then states: “There is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.” Mark 7:15 NASB95 Later He explains to His disciples: “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mark 7:20–23 NASB95 First, Yeshua addresses ritual handwashing traditions, not the Torah's food distinctions in Leviticus 11. Second, He identifies the heart as the primary source of defilement. Third, He challenges a system that can label what God calls clean as unclean, simply due to contact with others. The statement about food passing into the stomach and out “into the latrine” (Mark 7:19) highlights the temporary nature of external intake. In contrast, corrupt thoughts and desires lodge in the heart and shape behavior. The issue is spiritual hygiene, not mere external contact. Acts 10 and Peter's vision Peter’s vision of a sheet descending from heaven (Acts 10) helps bring together the lesson of the food laws and the prophecies of a bigger tent for Israel. This passage also is pointed to along with Mark 7 by commentators who say the food laws are obsolete post-resurrection. The sheet in the vision contains “all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air” (Acts 10:12 NASB95). A voice says, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” (Acts 10:13 NASB95). Peter objects, saying he has never eaten anything “unholy” (κοινός koinós, literally, “common”) or “unclean” (ἀκάθαρτος akáthartos) (Acts 10:14; cp. Ezekiel 4:14, context Ezekiel 4:9–17). These Greek terms are how the Septuagint (LXX) translates חֹל khol (common, profane) and טָמֵא tamé (“unclean,” unfit to approach). The voice replies: “What God has cleansed (καθαρίζω katharı́zō), no longer consider unholy (koinós).” Acts 10:15 NASB95 In other words, what God has made tahor (fit to approach His presence), no longer consider far off from God. Soon after the vision, men from Cornelius, a Gentile centurion, arrive. The Spirit directs Peter to go with them “without misgivings” (Acts 10:20 NASB95). When Peter enters Cornelius's house, he explains the true meaning of the vision: “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.” Acts 10:28 NASB95 God has cleansed Gentiles who fear Him and seek Him. Put into the lesson of Leviticus 11, Heaven no longer sees a Gentile called-out believer as a tamé pig or bat but as a tahor bovine or chicken, because the Gentile has responded to Heaven’s call to come into the Kingdom. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household confirms this (Acts 10:44–48). Peter’s comment about associating with or visiting foreigners came to a head years later, as recorded by apostle Paul in Galatians 2. What’s behind Peter’s willingness to eat with Gentile believers in one case in Galatia but not when certain Jewish believers visited from Jerusalem is reflected in rabbinical disagreements over both practices in the centuries that followed. But at the Jewish table of the 1st Century, all of the laws (both those well confirmed as well as those emerging within the rabbinic debates) governing purities came into play as well. These involved the separation of clean and unclean animals, the laws of ritual slaughter to assure that the blood had been properly disposed of, and a separation from all things tainted by the common idolatry of the pagan society in which Israel lived. Taken together, these concerns gave plenty of motivation for “building fences,” the most obvious being avoiding the Gentiles all together. In this sense, remaining separate from the Gentiles was more a conscious effort to maintain the purity laws than it was to uphold any prejudiced view against non-Jews. What is more, at a time when national identity was being threatened by Hellenism in general, it is understandable how purity laws and the food laws that went along with them became identity markers for the Jewish community. Tim Hegg, Galatians Commentary, TorahResource, 2002, 2010. p. 62. The vision addresses social and ceremonial barriers between Jews and Gentiles, not the abolition of all food distinctions. The main point is that God now reveals clearly that people from the nations may be brought near on the same basis of faith and obedience. Tradition, discernment, and the Spirit's work The events of Acts 10 lead to debate in Acts 11 and the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. Some argue that Gentile believers must fully convert to the Judaisms of the day, and circumcision was a key marker of that shift. Others observe that God has already given these Gentiles the Holy Spirit. The council concludes that Gentiles should not be “troubled” with an additional yoke of circumcision before acceptance into God’s covenant (Acts 15:19–20). They must, however, abstain from idolatry, sexual immorality, and blood as the new believer learns God’s ways each Shabbat (Sabbath, Acts 15:21). These basic requirements align with core Torah principles (Leviticus 18–19). For established believers, the key issue is discernment. When God moves, His people must recognize it. They must avoid calling His work “unclean” (because it’s outside our traditions or extrabiblical expectations) or attributing those works to the Adversary (Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Acts 5:27-39). They must not let protective traditions — as praiseworthy as they might be — override God's revealed purpose. Internal purity and love for the nations Yeshua's list of defiling things in one’s heart in Mark 7:21–23 mirrors lists of “works of the flesh” in passages like Galatians 5:19–21. These outcomes reveal the state of the heart. In contrast, the “fruit of the Spirit” reflects a heart transformed by God (Galatians 5:22–23). The purity system of Torah, the Temple worship, and Yeshua's teaching together point toward a central goal. God wants a people who are set apart in heart and conduct — inside and outside. He wants them to reflect His character among the nations. He wants them to welcome those He calls, whether from Israel or from the Gentiles. Therefore, Yeshua warns against judging others by outward appearance or current condition only (John 7:24; Leviticus 19:15; Isaiah 11:3; Zechariah 7:9). A persecutor like Saul of Tarsus can become a devoted emissary (Acts 9:1–22). A former enemy can become a powerful witness. Believers should pray for their enemies, as Yeshua commands (Matthew 5:44). They should remain open to God's surprising grace. Heart of the matter Leviticus 9–11 teaches distinctions between holy and common, clean and unclean. 1Kings 8 shows that the Temple stands as a beacon to all nations. Mark 7 reveals that true defilement arises from the heart, not merely from external contact or neglected traditions. Acts 10–15 confirms that God cleanses people from the nations and brings them near through faith and the work of the Spirit. The categories of kadosh (holy) and khol (common), and of tahor (clean) and tamé (unclean), remain essential lesson-practices. They call God's people to continually examine what they bring into their lives. They also call us to recognize whom God is drawing near. The ultimate aim is that “all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else” (1Kings 8:60 NASB95). The post From Torah to table: How ancient food laws speak to modern faith (Leviticus 11; 1Kings 8; Mark 7; Acts 10) appeared first on Hallel Fellowship.

(Leviticus 10:1-7) Have you ever been convinced that you knew better than the instructions you were given? In this message, we explore the sobering story of Nadab and Abihu, who offered "unauthorized fire" before the Lord and faced immediate judgment. This challenging passage from our Desert Pain series reminds us that God is not a peer or a magic solution, but a Holy King who is set apart. Join us as we discuss the importance of reflecting God's holiness to the world and the call to submit our desire for control to His sovereign ways.

Exodul 24 9. Moise s-a suit împreună cu Aaron, Nadab şi Abihu, şi cu şaptezeci de bătrâni ai lui Israel.10. Ei au văzut pe Dumnezeul lui Israel; sub picioarele Lui era un fel de lucrare de safir străveziu, întocmai ca cerul în curăţia lui.11. El nu Şi-a întins mâna împotriva aleşilor copiilor lui Israel. Ei […]

Parsha “Acharei Mot” (Leviticus chapters 16 through 18) begins, as it says up front, “After the Death” of the two sons of Aaron. But we see several other parshas, since then. Why is that noted here, and what does it mean? And two of those have had to do with a ‘plague’ that hasn’t been seen for centuries, at least. Most of us have also been told that the things described in THIS one, too, are “old testament,” and “done away with.” Arguably, it’s even MORE wrong here! Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a story that only begins there. And if you find the connections valuable, please forward the message to those who might be blessed by it. The Erev Shabbat reading lays out the story, beginning “after the death,” and tells us, over and over again, in fact, that the “statutes” described are to be “forever,” and even tells us the consequences of the Big Lie that they’re not: https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/SSM-5-2-26-Acharei-Mot-teaching-podcast-xx.mp3 The story tells us “after the death,” of Aarons sons, Nadab and Abihu, that there are things that must be done, in accord with His Instruction, so that those who do so, WHEN He says so, “die not.” And then it follows with the description of the “two goats,” one for YHVH, and the other for “Azazel.” It might seem that the ‘picture’ represented by the ritual is fairly clear, and yet it’s not a ‘perfect fit’ for what Yahushua did – for several reasons. Mark begins the Sabbath Day midrash with those, and the fact that most of what — in this instance, certainly — must be called what it is, now too often ignored. Even though He says it remains a “statute forever.” And says it three times even. Many people with a ‘sunday-school’ background will remember the line from Hebrews that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” But they ignore the context, and the lesson of the distinction between sin committed “in ignorance” (Hebrews 9:7) and knowing and deliberate rebellion to Him. For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Hebrews 10:26-27 This parsha then goes on to directly outline some of those things, which much of the world, and the ‘Whore Church’ which at minimum tacitly accepts, even promotes, YHVH warns about. Some — like things taught in the Publik Cesspools, and mandated by social pressures and tax subsidies — which are called “abomination,” and carry a death penalty. And they “defile the land,” which is why, He concludes, they were, and are, “vomited out” of it. We ‘cannot serve two masters.’ Which will it be? Acharei Mot: “When Does Continued Deliberate Sin In Ignorance Merit Being ‘Vomited Out’?” https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WT-CooH-5-3-26-Acharei-Mot-Do-NOT-defile-statutes-FOREVER-podcast-xxx.mp3 Service information: Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship worship services and teachings are broadcast live every Sabbath, via Paltalk. (www.paltalk.com has both the link, and the app.) The “room name” is “Walking Torah with Shabbat Shalom Mesa,” and can be found via the paltalk search, then bookmarked. Erev Shabbat services begin at 7:00 PM Mountain Time Friday evenings (9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central) Live Sabbath teachings begin shortly after 11 AM Mountain time on Sabbath day (Saturday). email: mark@markniwot.com The combined two-part reading and Sabbath midrash:

This sermon presents the regulative principle of worship as the foundational doctrine governing how God is to be honored, asserting that worship must be conducted only according to the explicit commands of Scripture, not human tradition, preference, or cultural trends. Rooted in passages such as Deuteronomy 12:32 and Leviticus 10, it emphasizes that God alone defines worship, and any addition or innovation not divinely authorized—such as unauthorized rituals or contemporary musical styles—risks becoming rebellion, as seen in the judgment of Nadab and Abihu and the death of Uzzah. The sermon contrasts this with the normative principle, which permits anything not explicitly forbidden, arguing that such an approach undermines divine authority and leads to worldly, entertainment-driven worship. It defends the necessity of biblical authority in all elements of worship—preaching, prayer, singing, and order—while distinguishing between essential elements, which are divinely commanded, and circumstantial details, which may vary by context. Ultimately, the principle safeguards the purity, holiness, and God-centeredness of worship, affirming that obedience to Scripture, not human creativity or cultural relevance, is the only path to true worship in spirit and truth.

What happens when we treat a Holy God as "common"? In Leviticus 10, the joy of the Tabernacle's opening is met with a shocking tragedy. We dive into the story of Nadab and Abihu and ask the tough questions: What was the "strange fire"? Why was the judgment so swift? Join us as we discuss the vital importance of reverence in our relationship with God today.#Leviticus10 #StrangeFire #WayToLife #BibleStudy #Reverence #Holiness #GodsJudgment #BibleTeaching #ChristianPodcast #TamilBibleStudy #Faithfulness #SpiritAndTruth #OldTestamentStudy #HolyLiving #WordOfGod

Leviticus affecting our lives today; Christ's baptism; Fire?; "Euphrates" (fruitful); Flow of sacrifice; Charity alone; Ordering wood?; Information sources; Unhewn stone?; Metaphors; Burnt offerings; Goat?; Codification?; Strong delusion of modern Christianity; Interpretation of the Old Testament without Holy Spirit; Divine fire; Faith of Abraham; Withered tree; Life in the presence of God; Evolution?; Lev 9:16 Untranslated aleph-tav; Spirit-led decisions; Eighth day?; What was Moses teaching?; Lev 9:24 Day of completion?; Not to be that way with YOU!; Covetous practices; Obedience; No exercising authority; Image of the beast?; Making the word of God to effect; Prospering society; Moses' way; Living altars; Making Israel great; Turtledove goddess?; Lev 10:1 Nadab and Abiju; vav-yod?; Serving the Lord in earnest; Mourning?; Excuses; Tabernacle of the congregation?; Declaration of Independence; Where do rights come from?; Woodrow Wilson; Splitting the vote; Lev 10 what did they do wrong?: Opening the box; Towers of modern religion; Not seeing your covetousness; Drunk on mistaken understanding; Righteousness?; Trees without fruit; Strange/Divine fire - what's the difference?; Obeying the Lord; v9: Do not drink wine nor strong drink; Modern religion; Individual inspiration; Sharing light; Religion without snares; Repenting and seeking His kingdom and righteousness; Statutes? Chet-kuf-hey; Revelation; Freewill offerings alone; Obedience?; Red Heifer?; "Leaven"; Conceived in hell; Church welfare; Wilderness of unrighteousness; v16 Moses seeking the goat; Atonement; Practicing Pure Religion to draw near; Moses' disappointment; Taking back responsibility; Goat = strength; Eating in the holy place?; Sin offering - extra for atonement; Efficient social welfare; Lacking oversight; Focus on doing the right way; Right to use; Widows and orphans; Hospice; Altars; Loving our enemy; Laying down your life; Uniting Israel; Red Heifer?; Putting away your idols; Blind eye to covetousness; Social safety net based on love and charity; "Priests"; Burning incense?; Seek the Way of Christ.

Takeaways from this study Own harm even when it wasn't intentional. Leviticus 5 shows that unknown or unintended sin still damages relationships. When you realize harm has occurred, you take responsibility and pursue repair, not excuses. Practice regular, concrete confession. Confession is not just “between me and God.” James 5:16 and Matthew 18 call for honest confession to trusted, mature believers so that healing can begin. Treat hard conversations as a מצוַה mitzvah (command).Confronting sin or hurt in a brother or sister is not optional. Matthew 18 frames it as obedience to God with the goal of restoration, not as a personal preference. Aim for תשוּבָה teshuvah, not punishment. The pattern from Leviticus, Yom Kippur, and 1Corinthians/2Corinthians shows that God's goal is turning and restoration, not simply “winning” a conflict or pushing people away. Repair includes restitution where possible. The אָשָׁם 'asham (guilt offering) reminds us that saying “sorry” is often not enough. When you can, make practical restitution — time, money, reputation, or effort to rebuild trust. Guard your tongue as seriously as any other sin. לָשׁוֹן הָרַע lashon hara‘ (harmful speech, gossip) can quietly destroy reputations and relationships, regardless of our intent. Before you share something about someone with someone else, ask: “Will this heal, or will this wound?” Stay rooted in community and prayer. James 5 and Hebrews 10 assume believers walking together — confessing, praying, and encouraging. Isolation makes sin easier to hide and harder to heal; intentional fellowship makes repentance and restoration more likely. The Torah offerings to the work of the Messiah and to practical congregational life. The goal is to show that God does not ignore hidden failure. Instead, He exposes, forgives, and restores. He also commands His people to imitate that pattern with one another. Hidden and unknown guilt Leviticus 5 addresses sins that are not immediately obvious. They may be hidden, unknown, or unintended, but they still matter. The chapter deals with several situations (Leviticus 5:1–13, 15–19): First, it mentions a person who hears a public adjuration to testify and remains silent (Leviticus 5:1). Silence in the face of known truth incurs guilt. Second, it covers ritual impurity that is not recognized until later (Leviticus 5:2–3). Third, it addresses rash oaths, made without careful thought (Leviticus 5:4). When the person later becomes aware of the sin, “he shall confess that in which he has sinned” (Leviticus 5:5 NASB95). Awareness triggers responsibility. Confession must follow. Ignorance does not cancel harm. Damage to relationships, whether with God or people, remains real. Therefore, repair is not optional. Once a person realizes that a wrong has occurred, he must seek to set it right. Confession and the discipline of return Leviticus 5 is part of a broader biblical call to תְּשׁוּבָה teshuvah (turning, repentance). The root שׁוּב shuv means “to turn” or “return.” Repentance involves turning from a destructive path and returning to God's way. This connects with Apostle Ya’akov’s teaching that knowing the good and refusing to do it is sin (cf. James 4:17). When someone becomes aware of sin, silence or passivity deepens the guilt. Instead, Scripture calls for an active response. Confession in the Bible often uses the Greek verb ὁμολογέω homologeō (to confess, agree). It appears in James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (NASB95). Confession means agreeing with God's verdict about the act. It also means bringing that truth into community, not hiding it in isolation. Congregational repair Matthew 18 is a “bedrock” passage for congregational repair. Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) outlines a path for dealing with sin between believers (Matthew 18:15–17). If a brother sins, one goes to him in private (Matthew 18:15). If he listens, the relationship is restored. If not, one or two spiritually mature believers to join as witnesses (Matthew 18:16). If he still refuses, the matter goes before the wider ἐκκλησία ekklēsia (assembly) (Matthew 18:17). Persistent refusal may lead to distancing the person from the congregation for a time. These confrontations are not optional. They are מִצְוֹת mitzvot (commandments). They are unpleasant, but they form part of faithful obedience. The aim is not punishment. The aim is restoration and תְּשׁוּבָה teshuvah. Restoration, not destruction We see an example of confrontation and restoration in action from Paul’s two surviving letters to the congregation in the cosmopolitan Greek city of Corinth. In 1Corinthians 5, Paul confronts a case of extreme sexual immorality. He insists that such behavior cannot continue among those who represent the holy God. However, the final goal is not permanent exclusion. In 2Corinthians 2:6–8, Paul speaks about restoring a repentant offender. He urges the community to forgive and comfort, so the person is not overwhelmed by sorrow. This is a biblical pattern. Correction must point toward healing, not shaming for its own sake. The Hebrew term used for guilt offering, אָשָׁם 'asham (guilt), has a verbal form that can sound like “ashamed” in English. While this is a memory aid, it’s not a linguistic link. Yet the image helps: guilt that is acknowledged and addressed can move from shame to restoration. God's provision for economic situations in the offerings Leviticus 5 also shows sensitivity to economic status. Different offerings match different financial capacities (Leviticus 5:6–13). A female sheep or goat for those with standard means. Two turtledoves or pigeons for the poor. A measure of fine flour for the very poor. This scaling shows that God does not restrict forgiveness to the wealthy. He provides a path of repair for everyone. We see in Luke 2:22–24, where מִרְיָם Miryam (Mary) and יוֹסֵף Yosef (Joseph) offer birds for the Torah purification offering for a woman after Yeshua's birth. This offering matches the provision for the poor. It indicates their economic status and shows continuity between Torah practice and the life of Yeshua's family. ‘Clean,’ ‘unclean’ and the lesson behind the food laws Leviticus 5 connects with wider purity laws. טָמֵא tamé (ritually unfit, often “unclean”) and טָהוֹר tahor (fit, “clean”). These categories affect whether a person may approach the Sanctuary (Leviticus 5:2–3). We see these two words in Leviticus 11 with the food laws. God sets out a kind of “lifelong fast.” His people may eat some animals, but not others. The purpose goes beyond diet. Leviticus 11:44–45 emphasizes holiness: “Be holy, for I am holy” (NASB 1995). If people treat these commands only as mechanical rules, they miss the point. The rules are signs pointing to a larger lifestyle of holiness (recognizing that God’s ways are largely separate from the degraded behaviors of the world). The food laws remind the people that common influences can contaminate their distinct calling. The heart of fasting In Isaiah 58, we see a correction about the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) fast. Leviticus 16 commands the people to afflict or humble themselves (עִנָּה ‘inah, from עָנָה ‘anah) on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:29–31). This includes fasting from food and water. However, Isaiah 58 confronts a shallow fast. The people complain that God does not notice their fasting (Isaiah 58:3). God responds that their fast lacks justice and mercy. He describes the fast He chooses: to loose bonds of wickedness, to care for the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger (Isaiah 58:6–7). A person can “oppress” himself by fasting and yet still oppress others. In that case, the ritual misses its purpose of transformation. True humbling aims to draw closer to God's heart and to love others. Sin “with a high hand” Numbers 15 provides a parallel and expansion to Leviticus 4–5.It describes unintentional sins and their offerings (Numbers 15:22–29). But it also describes deliberate sins. The key phrase is בְּיָד רָמָה b'yad ramah (with a high hand) (Numbers 15:30). This idiom describes arrogant, defiant sin. It corresponds to the category עָוֹן avon (iniquity). Such sin involves not only missing the mark, but resisting God's authority. Numbers 15:30–31 states that the person who acts with a high hand despises the word of the LORD. He shall be cut off from his people. Yom Kippur and the covering of iniquity This as a severe picture. Yet it also points to the special role of the Day of Atonement in covering iniquity — as well as sin (an error) and transgression (more willful). Leviticus 16 describes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.Two goats stand at the center of the ritual (Leviticus 16:7–10).One goat is “for the LORD.” Its blood covers the sanctuary and the people's sins, transgressions, and iniquities (Leviticus 16:15–19).The other goat bears the iniquities into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:20–22). This is God's answer even to such an affront and breach of relationship as עָוֹן avon (iniquity). A person who had sinned with a high hand and been cut off still has a path back. He must humble himself deeply on Yom Kippur. He must recognize that without this day he would remain excluded. This pattern reveals God's desire for restoration. He takes sin seriously. Yet He provides a way for even the worst rebellion to be forgiven, if there is genuine תְּשׁוּבָה teshuvah. The offerings as patterns and the work of the Messiah The early chapters of Leviticus as a sequence of offerings: עֹלָה ‘olah (burnt/ascending offering) in Leviticus 1.It represents total consecration, fully consumed on the altar. מִנְחָה minchah (grain/tribute offering) in Leviticus 2.It expresses thanksgiving and dedication of daily provision. שְׁלָמִים shelamim (peace or well-being offerings) in Leviticus 3. They celebrate restored fellowship and contentment (שָׁלוֹם shalom). חַטָּאת ḥaṭṭat (sin/purification offering) in Leviticus 4–5.It focuses on purification from sin, especially unintentional sin. אָשָׁם 'asham (guilt/reparation offering) in Leviticus 5.It deals with guilt that requires restitution. These offerings act as patterns or shadows. They point beyond themselves. The Tabernacle and later the Temple follow the pattern shown to Moses on the mountain (Exodus 25:8–9, 40). They are not the ultimate reality. This points to the actual reality: the Messiah. In the Gospels, Yeshua is identified as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 NASB95). This combines themes of Passover (“Lamb of God”) and Yom Kippur (“takes away the sins of the world”). Passover emphasizes protection from wrath. The blood on the doorposts in Exodus 12 causes the destroyer to pass over (Exodus 12:7, 12–13). Yom Kippur emphasizes covering and removal of sins, transgressions, and iniquities (Leviticus 16:21–22). Taken together, these patterns explain Romans 8:1: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (NASB95). In God's sight, the wrath has been turned away, and the guilt has been covered and removed. Access to God's presence through the Messiah Under the Torah, casual access to the Holy of Holies means death. Only the high priest could enter, only once a year, and only with blood (Leviticus 16:2–3, 34). Improper approach resulted in judgment, as in the case of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1–3). The Letter to the Hebrews presents a mystery. Believers now have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Yeshua (Hebrews 10:19–22). The veil is no longer a barrier in the same way. The Messiah acts as a priest forever and opens the Way. This does not make God less holy. Instead, it shows that the Messiah has fully met the holiness standard. Those who trust in Him appear before God clothed in His righteousness, not their own. Confession, prayer and mutual support James 5:16 calls believers to confess sins to one another and to pray for one another. The goal is healing: “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (NASB95). This command assumes a living community. Believers do not walk alone. They speak truth to one another, share burdens, and intercede. Thus we see the importance of gathering together, echoing Hebrews 10:24–25. As trials increase, isolation becomes more dangerous. Community support helps believers continue toward the “finish line,” using the imagery of a race (cf. Hebrews 12:1–2; 1Corinthians 9:24). Speech, gossip and relational damage One practical application involves לָשׁוֹן הָרַע lashon hara‘ (evil tongue, harmful speech). Gossip can cause serious relational damage, even when the speaker did not intend harm. This fits the category of unintentional or unrecognized sin. Once harm becomes evident, the person must acknowledge it. He must seek forgiveness and make restitution where possible. Otherwise, small offenses can snowball into large divisions. This links back to Leviticus 5 and the need to address breaches early. It also aligns with Matthew 5:23–24, where a person must seek reconciliation with a brother before offering a gift at the altar. Community, intercession and global perspective We also have a broader view of community. Believers belong not only to a local assembly but also to a worldwide body. Prayer meetings that include intercession for persecuted believers in various nations reflect this reality. The picture is of a global family that shares one Messiah and one hope. As members suffer or struggle, others pray and support them.This expresses the unity described in passages like 1Corinthians 12:12–27. The hope of restoration To sum up, Scripture presents a coherent pattern: God exposes hidden guilt. He demands confession and repair. He provides offerings and, ultimately, the Messiah as the final answer to sin, transgression, and iniquity. Commands to confront, confess, and restore are not optional ideals. Yet their deepest motive is mercy. God desires teshuvah, a turning back, not destruction. God calls His people to live truthfully, repair relationships, walk in holiness, and trust in His appointed means of atonement. In that way, both individuals and communities move from guilt and brokenness toward healing, peace and restored fellowship with God and with one another. The post ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you’: What the Bible says about unintentional sin and relationship repair (Leviticus 5; Numbers 15; James 5; Matthew 18) appeared first on Hallel Fellowship.

Dr. Avram Shannon continues to unlock the divine logic behind Israel's sacrificial system and the Day of Atonement, dismantling the myth of the angry Old Testament God and revealing why Leviticus was the book Jesus read and why it is the surprising heartbeat of covenant life today.YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/DlwTDLtYPG0FREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookBook of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook WEEKLY NEWSLETTERhttps://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastTIMECODE:00:00 - Part 2 - Dr. Avram Shannon00:07 The sacrificial system03:20 Why does sacrifice create holiness?06:19 What was the Tabernacle made of?17:17 Ritual purity laws: Matter out of place21:22 The Day of Atonement and Five Offerings28:58 Nadab and Abihu–No one is shielded from consequences38:50 Leprosy, skin disease, and purity laws42:17 The Holiness Code: Instructions for becoming like God46:16 Love thy neighbor: The Law Jesus read49:44 The myth of the angry Old Testament God57:29 Covenants and relationships, not transactions57:45 Dr. Shannon's forthcoming book of the Law of Moses in The Book of Mormon1:04:45 End of Part 2 - Dr. Avram ShannonThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika: Portuguese TranscriptsHeather Barlow: Communications DirectorSydney Smith: Social Media, Graphic Design "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

Birth tourism and birthright citizenship have become more than legal debates—they reflect a deeper distortion of constitutional intent, driven by profit, corruption, and compromise. In this episode, we examine how systems meant to protect a nation have been twisted to enrich the powerful, embolden criminal enterprise, and undermine sovereignty. When money and kickbacks flow freely, accountability disappears—and infiltration follows.But the problem doesn't stop at government. The same patterns of deception have quietly entered the Church. False teachers, diluted doctrine, and a casual, carnal version of the Kingdom have reshaped faith into something comfortable rather than holy. Families and congregations feel “liberated,” yet Scripture warns us that not all "freedom" is from God.Through the sobering story of Nadab and Abihu, who offered strange fire before the Lord and paid with their lives, this episode confronts the cost of ignoring God's commands. What happens when deception goes unchecked? When reverence is replaced with convenience?A serious call to discernment, repentance, and a return to truth—before compromise consumes both nation and Church.The Voice in the Wilderness does not endorse any link or other material found at buzzsprout.More at https://www.thevoiceinthewilderness.org/

We live in a day when worship is often treated casuallybut Scripture makes it clear that God does not take worship lightly. And yet, many of us rarely stop to consider what is actually taking place in heaven right now what true worship really looks like before the throne of God. Last week, we were given a glimpse into that throne room, where everything centers on the One who sits upon the thronesurrounded by splendor, power, and unshakable sovereignty. But as Johns vision continues, our attention now shifts from the throne itself to the worship that surrounds it. After the Lord delivered Israel from the clutches of Pharaoh by parting the Red Sea, Moses and the people sang a song of praise. At the center of that song is this question: Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exod. 15:11). It is here that we are reminded why we existnot for ourselves, but for God, whose holiness sets Him apart from all else. Scripture repeatedly shows us what happens when that holiness is not regarded. Nadab and Abihu approached God in worship on their own termsand they were consumed (Lev. 10:12). Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the arkand he was struck down (2 Sam. 6:67). These are not isolated incidents. They are warnings. Worship that disregards the holiness of God is not merely deficientit is dangerous. For as the Lord has said, You shall be holy, for I am holy (Lev. 11:44; cf. 1 Pet. 1:16). And it is precisely this holinessthe holiness that cannot be ignored, redefined, or approached on our termsthat fills the throne room of heaven in Revelation 4, where unceasing worship rises before the One who is holy, holy, holy. The worship we see in Revelation 4 is not casual, and it is not optionalit is the only right response to who God is. So if Revelation 4 shows us what true worship looks like in heaven, then the question we must ask is this:Why is God so worthy of that kind of worship? We Worship the LORD Because There is No One Like Him (v. 6a) Revelation 4 shows us that the experience of Gods presence is not rooted in what we feel, nor is it produced by the latest worship songit is grounded in the truth of who God has revealed Himself to be in His Word. Do you remember what I said about the sea of glass before the throne of God? The sea represents chaos and opposition to Gods purposes, and it is from the sea that the beast comes. Yet here, before the throne, the sea is stilled, reminding us that what threatens creation elsewhere is powerless in His presence. In the presence of the One on the throne is where the redeemed find shalom (peace). What John sees in Revelation 4 is not only a display of powerit is a revelation of who God is. He is the Lord Almighty who rules over all things. He is a covenant-keeping God who keeps His promises. And He is a worship-worthy God before whom all of heaven bows down. And what is heavens response? Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power He is worthynot because of what He gives, but because of who He is. There is only one other place in Revelation where the sea of glass is referenced, and it appears in Revelation 15the fourth of the seven heavenly throne-room scenes in Johns apocalypse. There, John describes the same sea of glass, but with an added detail: And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fireand also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands (v. 2). At the Red Sea, Gods presence stood between His people and their enemiesbringing light to one and judgment to the other (Exod. 14:1920). In Revelation, that same reality is intensified as the sea itself is mingled with fire (Rev. 15:2)symbolically pointing us back to Exodus 14, where God prevented Egypt from pursuing Israel (Exod. 14:2425). After allowing Pharaoh and his army to begin crossing the parted sea, He then consumed the enemies of God by bringing the waters of the Red Sea upon them (Exod. 14:2628). This connection is not incidental. The redeemed stand beside the sea with harps in their hands and sing what John calls the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (v. 3). Just as Israel stood on the far side of the Red Sea and sang of their deliverance, so now the people of God stand victorious and sing once moreonly this time, their deliverance is final. And just as the plagues of Egypt preceded Israels redemption, so here the song is sung on the threshold of judgment, just before the seven bowls of wrath are poured outjudgments that unmistakably echo the plagues that fell upon Egypt. For now, lets focus on a single verse from the song Israel sang after crossing the Red Sea: Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exod. 15:11). In Revelation 15:34, a similar song is taken up and directed to the Lamb: Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. What began as a song of deliverance at the Red Sea becomes, in Revelation, a song of final redemption before the throneand at the center of both songs is the same unchanging truth: there is no one like Him. We Worship the LORD Because He is the Creator of All (vv. 6b-7) We are now introduced to four living creatures whose praise echoes that of the seraphim inIsaiah6, who declare of the One on the throne: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3). Like the seraphim, these creatures have six wings, but unlike them, they are described as being full of eyes in front and behind. These eyes symbolize unceasing awarenessnothing escapes their sight as they live in continual service before their Creator. At the same time, each creature is distinct, representing a different realm of creation and reflecting the goodness of the One who made all things. There are four creatures because they represent the fullness of creation, yet each highlights a distinct category of created life. The creature like a lion represents the wild animalsstrength, majesty, and power. The creature like an ox represents domesticated animalsservice, endurance, and strength under authority. The creature with the face of a man represents humanityintelligence, reason, and the image of God. The creature like an eagle in flight represents the birds of the airswiftness and dominion in the skies. Together, these four living creatures represent the strongest, wisest, most powerful, and most majestic forms of created lifeand all of them are oriented toward the worship of their Creator. Some scholars have also noted a possible connection between these four living creatures and the way Israel was arranged in the wilderness. InNumbers2, the twelve tribes were divided into four groups and positioned around the tabernacle, with the presence of God at the center. Later Jewish tradition suggests that each group bore a distinct imagesuch as a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagleimages that closely resemble the creatures described here. If this connection is valid, it adds another layer of meaning: the living creatures would not only represent the fullness of creation, but also reflect the people of God gathered in ordered worship around His presence. In that sense, they may point to humanity as it was always meant to bea community centered on God and devoted entirely to His glory. Whether these creatures are the cherubim described elsewhere in Scripture or a distinct class of heavenly beings, the point remains clear: they represent all of created life, and they perform the very function that all of creation was designed to fulfillwhich is worship. And like the seraphim, they never cease to say: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (v. 8). We Worship the LORD Because He is Perfectly Holy (v. 8) The declaration of the four living creatures is not that He is lovethough He most certainly is. Nor do they declare that He is just, though everything around the throne testifies to His perfect justice. They do not highlight any of His other attributes. Instead, they declare the one attribute that lies at the very core of all that He isHis holiness. And they declare it to the highest degree. He is not merely holy, nor even holy, holy. Noour God is: Holy, holy, holy! This is the only attribute of God raised to the third degree in all of Scripture. But what does it mean that God is holy? To be holy is to be set apart and separate from all that is sinful, impure, or morally imperfect. As it relates to God, there is nothing like Him in all of creation, and there is nothing in Him that is flawed, corrupt, or deficient. Gods holiness is the beauty of all that He is. Stephen Charnock rightly said, Holiness is the beauty of all Gods attributes. Brothers and sisters, it is Gods holiness that makes Him gloriousit is what makes His justice just, His mercy merciful, and His power pure. This is why the worship of God is both serious and dangerous. As Michael Horton argues in his bookIn the Face of God, the danger is not in drawing near to Godthe danger is in doing so on our own terms. Nadab and Abihu approached God on their own termsand they were consumed (Lev. 10:13). Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the Ark, assuming his hand was cleaner than the dirtand he was struck down (2 Sam. 6:67). Ananias and Sapphira were more concerned with their image than Gods gloryand they too fell dead (Acts 5:111). Why? Because the holiness of God cannot be approached casually, on our own terms, or treated as common. And, just in case you are tempted to think that these examples are extreme and ought not be taken too seriously, consider the way Jesus taught us to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Jesus did not say to recite this prayer (though that is okay), but to pray like this. We are to begin with something like: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. That first petition is not one request among manyit is the foundation of them all, just as holiness is for the character of the Lord God Almighty! Every other request modeled for us in our Lords prayer flows from it and serves it: Your kingdom come for the hallowing of your name. Your will be done for the hallowing of your name. Give us this day our daily bread for the hallowing of your name. Forgive us as we forgive others for the hallowing of your name. Lead us not into temptation for the hallowing of your name. Deliver us from evil... for the hallowing of your name. Do you see it? We exist for the renown of Gods holy name in every area and part of our lives because He is holy, holy, holy! This is exactly what we see in Revelation 4. Heaven is not centered on man but on God. He is the Creator, and we are the creature. He reigns from heaven, and we are on earth. He is eternally sufficient, and we are utterly dependent upon Him. All that we dohow we live, how we pray, how we worshipis to be shaped and motivated by one great purpose: that Gods name would be hallowed! As His Word reminds us, For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen (Rom. 11:36). Only when God becomes the center of your universe will you begin to see your life rightly. And only then will you experience the kind of joy and satisfaction you were created for. At the center of that reality is the question sung in victorious celebration by Moses and the rest of Israel: Who is like you O Lord... majestic in holiness? (Exod. 15:11) We Worship the LORD Because He Alone is Worthy (vv. 9-11) Notice the response of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders. They fall down before Him who is seated on the throne. Their posture shows us the proper response to Gods holinessnot pride, but surrender. The twenty-four elders lay down their crowns because they recognize that whatever authority, honor, or reward they possess ultimately belongs to the One on the throne. In response to the declaration that our unchanging God is Holy, holy, holy, the elders proclaim: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Everything that exists does so because God wills it. That means your life is not random, nor did it come by chance. You were created by Him and for Himand the only right response is to lay down whatever you are holding onto and give Him the glory He deserves. Listenif you approach God on your terms, you will never experience Him as you were created to. Your way of worship will always lead you to your idols and away from the living God. But when you see Him for who He truly isholy, holy, holyyou will do what heaven does: you will bow, you will surrender, and you will worship. Heaven is not confused about who it is that sits on the throne. Heaven is not distracted by lesser glories. Heaven is not divided by that which does not last. All of heaven is fixed on one reality that outweighs everything else infinitely more: God is holy, and He is worthy of it all! One day, you will join this scene that we are given in Revelation 4. One day, you will stand before the One who sits on the throne. The only question is this: Will you bow before Him now in worship, or will you bow before Him then in judgment? If you really want to experience God, if you really want to live your life for that which will last and which matters, then be determined in your heart to do this: Turn from lesser things by giving God what heaven already declaresglory, honor, and all that you are. Why? Because there is no one like Him. Because He is the Creator. Because He is holy. And because He alone is worthy.

Michael Neal continues his class on Numbers with a discussion about Nadab and Abihu's mention in verse 4 of chapter 3. Why does Moses mention them and is there any Good News to be had by their inclusion?

Parshat Shemini:  We Must Seek Yahweh's Will  -  English only.  Much has been written about the sin of Nadab and Abihu. The fire was “strange” because the men were performing an act of worship that had not been commanded.  This is a translation of the Torah commentary posted on April 13, 2026. Recorded April 11, 2026.  This year we celebrate Shavuot on Sunday, May 24, 2026.  

Parashá Shemini: Debemos buscar la voluntad de Yahweh  -  Solo en español.  Se ha escrito o hablado mucho sobre el pecado de Nadav y Avihú. El fuego extraño estuvo en el hecho de llevar a cabo un acto de adoración que no se les había ordenado.  Grabado el 11 de abril de 2026.   Este año celebramos Shavuot el domingo 24 de mayo de 2026. Parshat Shemini:  We Must Seek Yahweh's Will  -  Spanish only.  Much has been written and said about the sin of Nadab and Abihu. The fire was “strange” because the men were performing an act of worship that had not been commanded.  Recorded April 11, 2026.  This year we celebrate Shavuot on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office.3 And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.6 And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,8 The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,11 The ninth to Jeshuah, the tenth to Shecaniah,12 The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,13 The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,14 The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,15 The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses,16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel,17 The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul,18 The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah.19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the Lord, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.20 And the rest of the sons of Levi were these: Of the sons of Amram; Shubael: of the sons of Shubael; Jehdeiah.21 Concerning Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah.22 Of the Izharites; Shelomoth: of the sons of Shelomoth; Jahath.23 And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.24 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah: of the sons of Michah; Shamir.25 The brother of Michah was Isshiah: of the sons of Isshiah; Zechariah.26 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno.27 The sons of Merari by Jaaziah; Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri.28 Of Mahli came Eleazar, who had no sons.29 Concerning Kish: the son of Kish was Jerahmeel.30 The sons also of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after the house of their fathers.31 These likewise cast lots over against their brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites, even the principal fathers over against their younger brethren.

Parsha “Shemini,” (Leviticus chapters 9 through 11) is a ‘tour de force’ of what we have been told is “old testament” and “done away with,” and the reasons why that is such a satanic lie. The story starts on the Eighth (or ‘Shemini’) day where YHVH tells Moshe and Aaron and the elders of Israel what must be done, as Aaron and his sons are consecrated to be kohenim, priests to Him. Join Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship for a provocative two-part look at the parsha, and a discussion that will again, surprise some who have, like it or not, rejected His Word in favor of a pervasive Lie. And the Erev Shabbat reading lays that out in a manner that is hard to ignore: https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SSM-4-10-26-Shemini-teaching-podcast-xx.mp3 During the Sabbath Day midrash, Mark suggests that the atbash, or set of literary brackets that surround the key element in the deaths of Nadab and Abihu (“there came forth fire from before YHVH, and CONSUMED…”) also touch the very heart of the lesson. It’s all about eating, or consuming (the SAME Hebrew word, every time) and it surrounds people who were “nigh unto Me,” says YHVH. And the should have known better, but instead did that which He had NOT commanded. As if He had. And there it is. Funny how so much of what He commanded, and then warned about, has been literally “turned on its head.” And how, once we see it, the thing that some disciples once called a “hard teaching,” isn’t really so hard at all. And the Big Lie is (again) revealed for what it is. Shemini: “No Sugar in the Gas Tank” https://hebrewnationonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/WT-CooH-4-11-26-Shemini-Sugar-in-the-Gas-Tank-podcast-xxx.mp3 Service information: Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship worship services and teachings are broadcast live every Sabbath, via Paltalk. (www.paltalk.com has both the link, and the app.) The “room name” is “Walking Torah with Shabbat Shalom Mesa,” and can be found via the paltalk search, then bookmarked. Erev Shabbat services begin at 7:00 PM Mountain Time Friday evenings (9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central) Live Sabbath teachings begin shortly after 11 AM Mountain time on Sabbath day (Saturday). email: mark@markniwot.com The combined two-part reading and Sabbath midrash:

During the dedication of the Tabernacle, Nadab and Abihu died when they brought unauthorized fire before the Lord. Despite an abundance of speculation as to their motivation, that is not what is important here. Rather, the problem is that they tried to introduce something common into holy space. That was not permitted.

Send us Fan MailIn the last episode we discussed two kinds of authority, specific and generic as illustrated in the Old Testament. Specific authority is when God specifies what must be done. We must obey exactly what He has specifically commanded. General authority allows us to choose the means to obey what is commanded. In this episode, we look at the consequences in several Old Testament examples where individuals failed to follow God's specific instructions. Next, we look at examples of specific and generic authority in the New Testament. First, we note Jesus' command to go teach the gospel. Next we note what Jesus said about worship. After this we look at what Jesus said about the Lord's Supper and how Paul told the Christians at Corinth of Jesus command to continue observing it in the same way He instituted it. We talk about Paul's instructions on taking up a collection on the first day of the week. We find that authority is established in the same way in the New Testament as it was in the Old Testament. Take about 30-minutes to listen in on our discussion. Have your Bible handy so you can verify what we are saying. There is a transcript of this Buzzsprout episode provided for your convenience.

Strange Fire & The Death of Nadab and Abihu - Torah Portion - Sh'mini: (Leviticus 9–11) by Shawn Ozbun

Until this point, Leviticus emphasizes that all the preparations and sacrifices had been performed just as the Lord commanded. However, the second the priests went off script, acting spontaneously on their own, disaster struck. Aaron's oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, “each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them” (10:1). Just as fire had previously consumed the sacrifices as a sign of divine favor, “fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (10:2).The reader is left imagining the horror of the scene. It was all going according to plan when God consumed the offerings laid on the altar, but then the same divine fire consumed the offerors. Aaron's highest high, encountering the power of God so intimately, was followed by his lowest low: witnessing the tragic death of his sons and fellow priests. Leviticus 10:3 attests that after Moses offered a divine explanation that might seem jarringly blunt in the wake of such loss, “Aaron remained silent.”Support the show

The Torah in Parashat Shemini tells the tragic story of Nadab and Abihu – two of Aharon's sons, who perished on the very first day they began serving as Kohanim in the Mishkan. After a special series of sacrifices were offered, with Aharon's sons performing the service for the first time, a fire descended from the heavens onto the altar and consumed the sacrifices, signalling the arrival of the Shechina (divine presence) into the Mishkan. Thereafter, Nadab and Abihu brought an incense offering, whereupon a fire came and consumed them. Rashi (10:2) brings different opinions as to the precise sin committed by Aharon's sons. One view – which appears in the Gemara (Erubin 63a) – is that of Rabbi Eliezer, who explains that "Horu Halacha Bi'fneh Moshe Rabban" – Nadab and Abihu were guilty of determining the Halacha without consulting with their Rabbi, Moshe. They reasoned that although a supernatural fire came down onto the altar from the heavens, there was nevertheless a requirement for the Kohanim to kindle a fire of their own on the altar, and this is the reason why they brought their offering. In truth, this conclusion was correct; there was, in fact, such a requirement. Nevertheless, Nadab and Abihu committed a grave offense by acting independently on their line of reasoning without first receiving guidance from Moshe. In Moshe's presence, they did not have the authority to establish Halachic norms on their own. Therefore, although their reasoning was entirely correct, they were guilty of a grievous sin in that they did not submit to Moshe Rabbenu's authority. The Lebush Ha'ora (Rav Mordechai Yoffe, c. 1530-1612) noted that Rabbi Eliezer's understanding of this episode is rooted in a careful reading of the text. In telling of Nadab and Abihu's offering, the Torah writes that they offered an "Esh Zara Asher Lo Siva Otam" – "a foreign fire which He did not command them." If the problem with the Nadab and Abihu's act was the offering itself, then the Torah should have simply stated that they brought an "Esh Zara" – an offering that was foreign, that was unwarranted and hence forbidden. But the Torah added "Asher Lo Siva Otam" – that Nadab and Abihu did not receive the command to bring this offering, suggesting that this was the essence of their sin. Hashem had taught Moshe the rule that the Kohanim were to produce their own fire on the altar, but this information had not yet been communicated to Aharon's sons. Moshe had been commanded to place fire on the altar – but Nadab and Abihu's hadn't. And thus the Torah emphasizes that this was an offering about which Moshe was commanded, but they weren't – and they were therefore punished for acting independently. This tragedy presents us with a crucial lesson in humility. Namely, even when we are confident that we are correct, we must still consult with those wiser and more knowledgeable than us. We must have the humility to recognize our limits, to realize that even things which seem obvious and intuitive to us might not necessarily be correct. We need to acknowledge that there are people with greater knowledge and wisdom whose advice is valuable and even indispensable. We should never feel too confident to ask, to seek guidance, to double check, to consult, to request advice. Even when we are certain, we must humbly question our conclusion and receive instruction and insight from those who know more than we do.

Opening Prayer and Why We’re in Leviticus on Easter Lord God, thank you for this morning. Thank you for an opportunity to celebrate your resurrection. Lord, it is such a sweet truth that so often throughout our lives we forget or put on the back burner. I’m grateful that we live in a society where, even though most people do it wrong, they at least set aside a day to remember that you have risen. As we come to your Word this morning, as we open up the book of Leviticus, help us remember and be in awe of what it means to be in your presence and of how significant an act it was for you to go to the cross. In your name, amen. Well, he is risen. All right. This is not a church that does that very well, so I figured we’d try. This morning I’m doing one of our NGM lessons. It covers five lessons the kids are going over over the next several weeks, because we don’t have NGM today and we don’t have NGM on the 25-year anniversary service. So this is our Leviticus overview. The last time we touched the kids’ curriculum, we were in Exodus back in February. I don’t expect anyone to remember it, so let me lay the groundwork for what we’re talking about today. In Exodus, God’s presence returned to his people, but there was still a significant distance. So God gives them sacrifices, priests, the Day of Atonement, and then says, “Now live like people who belong to me.” That is the arc of what we’re going to be talking about today. The main point of our story this morning is that God built an entire system to teach his people that earning their way into his presence is impossible. However, we sit on this side of Calvary, so we must remind ourselves daily of this distance that the cross had to cross. It happens to be Easter. It wasn’t planned this way, but as I reviewed what I was supposed to teach, I thought, man, this is a perfect preview to Resurrection Sunday. From Sinai to Separation Let’s open up our Bibles, and we’re actually going to start in the book of Exodus. When we read together, we’ll be reading in Exodus 33. But let me give you some background. In our February NGM lesson, we walked through three chapters in Exodus. God brought Israel to the base of Mount Sinai. He had carried them out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, fed them manna, and when they arrived at the mountain, he spoke to the entire nation. God himself, out of the fire and the smoke and a shaking mountain, directly spoke to his people, giving them the Ten Commandments with his own voice. They were terrified. They begged God to stop talking. They told Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but don’t let God speak to us or we’ll die.” So Moses stepped in as a go-between. He went up into the thick darkness where God was, and the people stayed at the base of the mountain. This was the first time in the story where the need for a mediator was obvious. Then God gave Moses seven chapters of a construction plan for a tent: measurements, materials, furniture, fabrics, detail that feels endless in a reading plan. And he did it because he wanted to live with them. The people had just begged God to stop talking to them, and his response was, “No. Make me a tent. Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” The tabernacle was his answer to the distance that sin had created. He is both holy enough to kill anyone who touches that mountain and willing to live in a tent in the middle of their camp. That’s the tension the gospel shows us. While Moses was up on that mountain receiving those plans, Israel was at the base making a golden calf. Aaron, the guy who was the voice for Moses, who had walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, asked for every piece of gold and melted it down and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you from the land of Egypt.” He assigned the credit for what Yahweh had done to a piece of metal that had barely even existed in that form. Then he put God’s name on it: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.” So he made this graven image and then named it God. This wasn’t just rejecting God. It was redefining him. God told Moses he was ready to destroy them. He said, “Let’s start over.” Moses argued with God, not on the basis of Israel’s character, but on God’s. He appealed to God’s ownership of the people, God’s glory, God’s promises to Abraham. So God relented, but 3,000 men still died on that day. The sons of Levi went through the camp with swords. These were everybody’s friends and brothers, and Israel felt the weight that their sin had caused. Then Moses went back up to God and said, “If you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out from your book which you have written.” Moses said, “Take me instead.” And God said, “No.” He said, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book.” Moses couldn’t ransom them. He could not be the mediator. He could not be the true payment for their guilt. That’s where we ended two months ago. We ended at Exodus 32. We knew that God is just, because God killed 3,000 men for their sin. And we knew that God is merciful, because he carried forward a people that didn’t deserve to be carried. After the golden calf, God tells Moses he’ll still give Israel the land. He’ll still send an angel to drive out their enemies. But he says this in Exodus 33:3: “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, for I will not go up in your midst because you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.” They still get what they were promised. They’re going up to the land. But they don’t get the most important part: God. And the text is very clear about the reason. God didn’t withdraw his presence as punishment. He did it to protect them: “lest I consume you on the way.” His holiness is so pure that his presence among a stiff-necked people would destroy them. That word stiff-necked is an agricultural term. An ox that stiffens its neck against the yoke refuses to be led. You can pull all you want; you’re not moving that ox. He’s stiff-necked. He won’t be led. That is what God was calling Israel: a people that would not be led. He speaks to them and they build a calf. He commands and they do what is right in their own eyes. The text doesn’t hold Israel up as an example of repentance. They mourn when they hear this news. They strip off their jewelry as a sign of grief. But this is the same people who will grumble for 40 years in the wilderness. They didn’t really understand what they did. They just didn’t like the punishment. God didn’t just refuse to dwell in their midst. He physically separated himself from them. Moses takes the tent of meeting and pitches it outside the camp. Exodus 33:7 says he put it a good distance from the camp. So if you want to seek Yahweh, he’s not in your midst anymore. You have to leave the camp. You have to go a good distance. You have to see a physical picture of the reality that God is not existing among you anymore, because God’s glory and human sin cannot coexist. Then Moses goes into that tent and prays. He doesn’t point to anything in Israel. He reaches for God’s own character. Moses says, “You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.'” His intercession rests on God’s initiative, not Israel’s improvement. That word favor is the same Hebrew word that shows up throughout the Old Testament for grace. It’s unmerited. It’s already in motion before Moses opened his mouth. This is the picture of New Testament grace. Paul says in Ephesians, “By grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves. It’s a gift from God.” The pattern is the same with Moses. God moved first. The entire sacrificial system in Leviticus exists because God chose to be gracious. Israel didn’t design it. God did. So when we read Leviticus, we should read it thinking, this is a gracious gift from our Lord. Every word in this book is a way God made so that he could be among his people. The next morning Moses climbed Sinai alone, and God descended in the cloud and stood there with him, and he called upon the name of Yahweh. In Exodus 34:6–7, God speaks about himself: “Then Yahweh passed by in front of him, Moses. And Yahweh called out, ‘Yahweh, Yahweh, God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.'” In these verses, God is defining himself. He calls himself compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin—three different words for sin, and God forgives it all. Then, in the same breath, God says he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. He forgives sin and he punishes sin. If you don’t feel the tension in that sentence, you’re not paying close enough attention. How does a God who abounds in lovingkindness and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished deal with a stiff-necked people that he’s chosen to love? This isn’t resolved in Exodus. Frankly, it’s not resolved in Leviticus. Every sacrifice, every priest, every Day of Atonement is God saying, “I’m holding both of these truths at once, and I’m giving you a system to live under while you wait for the real answer.” The Question Leviticus Exists to Answer After Moses’s intercession, after God proclaims his name on the mountain, and after the tabernacle is finally completed, the people built it exactly as God commanded. So God keeps his promise. Turn a couple of pages to Exodus 40. “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle, and Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had dwelt on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.” God is near. God came back. God chose to dwell in the middle of his people. And even Moses—the man who just saw God’s back on the mountain, the man who has spoken to God face to face—can’t even walk in. The glory fills the place so completely that no human can enter. That’s the question Leviticus exists to answer. The same God who told Moses, “No man can see me and live,” is now dwelling in the center of a camp full of sinful people. How can they survive? How can anyone get near him? The answer isn’t something the Israelites figured out on their own. God himself built a system. He designed every sacrifice. He appointed every priest. He established every ritual because the gap between his holiness and their sin was too wide for them to cross. So he said, “Let me build a bridge.” That’s the story that leads us to the book of Leviticus. That’s where we stand when we open it and ask, “Why all of these rules?” The next lessons in the curriculum for the kids go through that answer. Over the next couple of months, they’re going through Leviticus, and this is an opportunity for us to show them how important this book is for every Christian. God’s glory fills the tabernacle. He’s now in the middle of his people. The first thing he does from that tabernacle is speak, and he gives Moses instructions for the sacrifices. In these, God establishes the cost of being near him. The Cost of Nearness: Blood, Atonement, and the Offerings Leviticus gives us five different types of offering: the sin offering and the guilt offering, which dealt with the problem of sin; the burnt offering, which expressed total dedication to God; the grain offering, which honored God’s provision; and the fellowship offering, sometimes called the peace offering, which celebrated the restored relationship between God and his people. Five offerings, each doing something different. But the system has a logic to it, and this logic matters more than the mechanics of it. When the offerings were brought, the order was fixed. Leviticus 9 shows this order of offering: sin offering first, then burnt, then fellowship. You can’t skip to peace with God. Sin has to be dealt with. You can’t dedicate yourself to him before you can be dedicated to him. And you have to be dedicated to him before you can enjoy fellowship with him. Sin, burnt, fellowship. The order isn’t arbitrary. The order is the gospel. You don’t start with fellowship. You start with the blood. In the last lesson, we talked about the bronze altar, the largest piece of furniture in the entire tabernacle complex, and the first thing inside that gate. You couldn’t skip it. You couldn’t go around it. Two lambs every day, one in the morning, one at night, plus whatever individual offerings were brought throughout the day. The four horns of this altar were smeared dark with blood. It was probably never fully clean. The next day, it would start again. This wasn’t necessarily a spectacular event. The person bringing the offering did most of the work himself. Look at Leviticus 1:3–5: “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall bring it near, a male without blemish. He shall bring it near to the doorway of the tent of meeting that he may be accepted before Yahweh. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. Then he shall slaughter the young bull before Yahweh.” The person bringing this offering brings the animal himself. He lays his hand on its head, and then he kills it. I’m not a hunter. I’ve never field-dressed an animal, because that sounds like a terrible thing to do. I have no desire to do that. But this process is doing that before the animal ever dies. He draws the blade across the animal’s throat while his hand is still on its head. The animal bleeds out while the man’s hand is still pressing down on its skull. Blood pours onto the ground at his feet. The animal’s legs buckle. Its body convulses. And the man stands there with blood on his hands because God designed this system so that the cost of sin would be something you felt. They held the animal down while it struggled. Then the person who brought this offering kept working. He skinned the animal himself. He cut it into pieces, removed the internal organs, and the priest arranged the pieces on the altar. Then the priest offered up all of it in smoke, a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. The whole area smelled of blood and burning flesh. This is the aroma of worship under the old covenant. This is what it costs to come near to a holy God. I think we sanitize this. We’ll read, “He shall slaughter the young bull before Yahweh,” and our minds skip right to the theology. But God designed this process to be experienced and felt, with blood running down your arms, soaking your feet in the dirt, and the smell of an open carcass—which, I’ll tell you what, is awful. Back in the day, I did a Tyson chicken and International Beef Packers tour project, and walking into that space when it was not cooled will punch you in the face. I was proud. I was the only one that did not puke. Standing there in that moment must be atrocious. The cost of sin must feel like so much weight. It’s not just a hymn. This was not theological abstraction. This was life draining out of an animal while the offerer holds a blade in his hand. And God wanted his people to feel that every single time. This should have been you. You should be the one bleeding. You should be the one dying. The cost of your sin is life. Have you ever dealt with blood? Not like the paper cut I got yesterday moving cardboard. Real blood. Significant blood. That’s why I don’t want to do anything in the medical industry either. Blood is not cool. I’m good without it. I have to tell myself it’s just Hershey’s chocolate. They dye it red. This was flowing with blood. It stains everything. And God chose to use blood as a means of atonement, not water, not oil. Leviticus 17:11 says: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” Blood equals life. God designed it that way so that when blood was shed, we could see the cost of sin. The cost of sin is not effort. It’s not good intentions. It’s not a scale where your better acts outweigh your bad acts. Something has to die so someone else can live. The blood on the altar is visible, physical, unavoidable proof that sin is a life-and-death situation. And God is the one who provided the solution. The priest splashed blood around the altar, blood on the altar, blood at the doorway. There’s no way to approach God in this system without passing through blood. The author of Hebrews says, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.” This isn’t just theology. It is the architecture of the system God built. There’s a grain offering too. It’s not about atonement. It’s a gift. Leviticus 2:1 describes fine flour mixed with oil and frankincense, offered to honor God’s provision. But even here he says there is no yeast. Throughout Scripture, yeast represents sin. You can’t bring an offering to God while clinging to the thing that separates you from him. Even the non-atoning offering teaches holiness. The guilt offering dealt with sins that caused specific harm to another person or to God’s holy things. Leviticus 6:5 describes someone who swore falsely or defrauded their neighbor. You didn’t just sacrifice a ram. You made full restitution, giving 20 percent more, and you gave it back on the day you brought your guilt offering. You had to make it right. There’s a phrase that repeats throughout these chapters: “The priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.” Over and over. Atonement, forgiven. This is the system God created, and the worshiper walks away forgiven. But he’s going to sin again, and he’s going to need another animal. The priest will need to do this again—over and over and over, next week, next month, next year. The repetition is the point. If this had been sufficient, he would have only needed to do this once. Hebrews 10:1 says: “For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.” The author of Hebrews is making an argument about the whole system. It is a shadow. It shows you the shape of something real, but the shadow itself can’t do what the object does. That’s what the law is. That’s what the sacrifices are. God genuinely accepted them, but they could never make the worshiper permanently right with God. They could never change the heart that kept producing the sin. The people living under the shadow were being trained year after year, sacrifice after sacrifice: recognize what the real sacrifice will be. Every animal that died on that altar was God teaching Israel the same lesson: you need this, and this isn’t enough. The system didn’t fail. It did what it was designed to do. It created a desire for something better. The Priesthood and the Danger of Casual Access What they needed was a mediator, and that’s the priesthood. God’s presence fills the tabernacle. The sacrificial system is now in place. Someone has to stand between God and the people and carry the blood past the curtain on behalf of a nation. So God chose the last person we probably would have expected: the guy who just made a calf. He chose Aaron and his sons, sinful men, to stand in his presence on behalf of the nation. God gave them what they needed to wear to be set apart. He put a plate on Aaron’s forehead to show that he doesn’t belong to himself; he’s in God’s service. He had a robe with bells on, just in case he died. If you don’t hear bells, you know the sacrifice didn’t work. He had a breastplate with 12 stones, one for each of the tribes of Israel. When he walked into God’s presence, he carried the entire nation with him. He goes in so they don’t have to. That is what a mediator does. He stands where the people cannot stand, and he carries them with him. We don’t have time to work through all of the details this morning, but they are worth reading and understanding. After all of this preparation, the priest still has to offer a sin offering for himself before he can offer anything else for the people. The man standing between God and Israel is a sinner, and he needs grace before he can even administer the sacrifice for the people. So every time he serves, the preparation begins over again. The priesthood is God’s provision for the gap, but it’s also a reminder of how wide this gap is. If the mediator himself needs atonement, what does that tell you about the distance between a holy God and the people he’s mediating for? God tells them what this is for. In Leviticus 9:6: “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded you to do, so that the glory of Yahweh may appear to you.” The sacrifices weren’t just a list. They were a condition of seeing God’s glory. Obey the system he built and he will show up. Then, jumping down to verses 23–24: “And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, then came out and blessed the people, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before Yahweh and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar. And all the people saw it, shouted, and fell on their faces.” Fire from the presence of God consuming the offering is God accepting the offering. God saw the blood, accepted the substitute, and demonstrated that the way was open. In that moment, the system was functioning exactly as God designed it. But it didn’t take long for us to screw it up. Leviticus 10, starting in verse 1: “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective fire pans and put fire in them. Then they placed incense on it and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of Yahweh and consumed them, and they died before Yahweh. Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘It is what Yahweh spoke, saying, “By those who come near me, I will be treated as holy, and before all the people, I will be glorified.”' So Aaron kept silent.” The same fire in chapter 9—the fire from God’s presence—consumed the offering and the people shouted for joy. Then in chapter 10, the fire from God’s presence consumed the priests and everyone went silent. Same God, same holiness, same fire. The only difference was how God was approached. One chapter earlier, the entire nation was on its face in worship because God had accepted their offering. Now two of Aaron’s sons are dead, burned up in the tabernacle, because they decided the details of God’s instructions were flexible. The exact nature of their violation is debated. The text may hint they were drunk, because immediately after their death God gives Aaron a direct command about not drinking wine or strong drink when entering the tent of meeting. The specific violation matters less than the principle: “By those who come near me I will be treated as holy.” God defines the terms of nearness, and Aaron’s sons decided those terms were optional. The fire that had just accepted the sacrifice turned on the men who thought they could improvise. Aaron kept silent. His two oldest sons are dead on the ground, and he doesn’t say a word. He was grieving, but he knew Moses was right. God’s holiness is not negotiable, not even for a father’s grief. The silence is heavier than any words Aaron could have said at that moment. He stood there in his priestly garments, the blood of his ordination still probably on his ear and his thumb and his toe, and he had nothing to say. Because what do you say when you know God is just and your sons were wrong? You stand there in silence. We approach God every day, every week. We pray, we sing, we take communion. Christ secured that access for us. Nadab and Abihu are permanent reminders that access and casualness aren’t the same thing. The God we approach through Christ is the same God whose fire consumed unauthorized worship. His holiness has not changed. What changed is the sacrifice. A better priest offered a better sacrifice, and our access is permanent. But the God on the other side of that access is still the God whose fire fell in Leviticus 10. We come boldly, as Hebrews tells us, but we must come on his terms. We must come honoring his holiness. The Day of Atonement and the Two Goats The next lesson for the kids is on the atonement. The atonement sacrifice happens once a year, every year. These daily sacrifices are in the individual lesson: one person, one offering, one act of forgiveness. I’ve often wondered how long the line is for that. If it’s like Disneyland, you’re waiting for an hour. There’s no FastPass. But sin doesn’t just affect the sinner. It defiles the priests who handle it. It contaminates the tabernacle where God dwells. So the Day of Atonement addressed what the daily sacrifices couldn’t. Once a year, the high priest entered the room no one else could enter, carrying blood into the immediate presence of God. In Leviticus 16:2, Yahweh says to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat which is on the ark, so that he will not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.” This first instruction is a warning: don’t come in whenever you want. You will die. The Holy of Holies is not an empty room. This is where God’s presence is. It’s unmediated by blood, and it will kill you. On this day, the high priest enters alone, burning incense so the smoke covers the mercy seat before he can even look in that direction. Without this incense, he will die. He brings blood first from a bull for himself, because the high priest still has to be atoned for before he can atone for anyone else. Then he slaughters a goat for the people and brings its blood inside the veil. Inside the ark sit the stone tablets, the law that every person in the camp has broken. Above the ark is the mercy seat, where God appears. The law underneath, God’s presence above, and the high priest sprinkles blood on the mercy seat and in front of it. Leviticus 16:14 tells us he sprinkles this blood seven times. That blood is the only thing standing between a nation of sinners and the holy judgment their sin deserves. It satisfies God’s judgment so that his mercy can reach his people. There are two goats brought for the people’s sin offering. The first goat is killed. Its blood goes inside the veil: payment for sin. But the second goat isn’t killed. In Leviticus 16:21–22: “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins. And he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it out into the wilderness by the hand of a man ready to do this. And the goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an isolated land. And he shall send out the goat in the wilderness.” This is both hands, a full confession, a full transfer. The text uses, once again, the three different words for sin that we saw earlier: iniquities, transgressions, and sins. All of it laid on this goat and sent into the wilderness. The first goat dies as a payment, and the second goat signifies a removal. These truths are what God does with sin. He pays for it, and he carries it away. Eric read from Isaiah 53 on Friday, and it uses this same language. Isaiah 53:4–6 says: “Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried away. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon him, and by his scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.” Both of those goats point to Christ. The goat that died is Christ paying the penalty for our sins. The goat sent away is Christ removing our sins as far as the east is from the west. Two goats on the Day of Atonement, because it takes two pictures to show what one Savior accomplished in a single act. And once every year, that’s what Leviticus 16:34 says: “This is a perpetual statute.” If this had solved the problem, once would have been enough. But every year the high priest goes back behind the curtain. Every year the blood is sprinkled. Every year God is teaching Israel, “This isn’t the final answer.” In those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Hebrews 10:11 tells us, “And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God… For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Every priest stands. You stand when your work is not complete. Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father. He offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, and he sat down. The distance between those two realities is the distance Christ crossed, and we cannot fathom that distance. Scott talked Friday night about Matthew 27. In verse 51, when Jesus died, the veil of the sanctuary was torn from top to bottom. The veil existed for one reason: to keep people out. Not even the high priest could pass except once a year, covered in blood, hidden behind incense, and scared to death. For 1,500 years this curtain was saying, “You can’t come in here.” No animal sacrifice could remove it. The veil stayed because the sacrifice that could tear it had not yet been offered. When Christ died, God tore it from top to bottom. The sin that required the separation was dealt with permanently. Again in Hebrews 10:19: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from every evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” We are not trembling high priests. We’re not sitting in clouds of incense when we walk in here on a Sunday or when we sit in our quiet time. The blood of Jesus did what the blood of bulls and goats could never do. So draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Our nearness to God cost the Son everything. And now he sits. The job is complete. Be Holy: What the System Was Pointing Toward There’s one last lesson in the curriculum, and it’s in Leviticus 19. After everything we’ve walked through this morning—after the presence, after the sacrifices, after the priesthood, after the Day of Atonement—God says one more thing to his people. Leviticus 19:2: “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.'” The reason for holiness isn’t self-improvement. It’s to reflect God. God’s people look like God, not like the surrounding nations, not like whatever feels comfortable. “You shall be holy because I, Yahweh your God, am holy.” When we walked through holiness in the attribute series a few weeks ago, we looked at how Charnock described it. He called holiness the beauty of the Godhead. Power is God’s hands. Omniscience his eyes. Mercy his heart. Holiness is his beauty. Every other attribute is glorious, but holiness is what makes every other attribute beautiful. Power without holiness is tyranny. Sovereignty is oppression. Even love without holiness is sentimentality. Holiness is the purity that makes everything else about God trustworthy. And God says, “Be like that.” The commands in Leviticus 19 touch everything: honor your parents, no idols, leave grain in your field for the poor and the foreigner, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t take advantage of the deaf, don’t put a stumbling block before the blind, don’t pervert justice for anyone, rich or poor, don’t hate your brother in your heart. Holiness is more than don’t steal or cheat on your wife. The commands in this chapter push into territory that most people would consider optional. Leave part of your harvest in the field for people who can’t afford food. Keep your body clear of markings for the sake of being set apart as God’s holy people. Pay your workers on time. Don’t hold a grudge. Holiness touches your wallet, your body, your calendar, the conversations you have when the other person isn’t even in the room. Holiness is comprehensive. It’s relentless. It leaves no corner of your life untouched. And God says, “Be holy.” Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.” Jesus called this the second-greatest commandment, and this is the first time you see it. Some of these commandments carry into the New Testament, and some were fulfilled in Christ or belong specifically to Israel’s identity as a nation set apart from its neighbors. But the principle beneath every single one of these commands carries across every page of Scripture. God’s people are different, not because we’re better, but because God’s people belong to a holy God. And belonging to him changes what you do with every part of your life. Here’s where this section serves our main point this morning: nobody kept it. Nobody looks at Leviticus 19 and goes, “I did every single one of those perfectly.” Not fully, not consistently, certainly not for long. The call to holiness reveals the same thing the sacrifices revealed, the same thing the annual Day of Atonement revealed: there’s a distance. Even after God provides the presence, the sacrifices, the priests, and the atonement, the people still can’t close this gap on their own. God gave them the command, “Be holy.” He gave them detailed instructions for what holiness looks like, and they couldn’t do it. The law is perfect. We’re not. And the system teaches that we need him. That’s the whole point. Leviticus 19 is the last piece of evidence in the case that God has been building for us this morning. His presence is real, and still the people can’t be what God calls them to be. We need more than a system. We need the one the system was pointing to. And on this side of Calvary, what God commanded from the outside he now accomplishes from the inside. As Ezekiel 36:27 says, “I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes.” Christian, God gives you the power to be holy. It is a new power that you have when you commit your life to Christ. So that’s what these five lessons talk about. They talk about God’s presence. They talk about sacrifice. They talk about the need for a mediator and an atonement and holiness. Five layers of the same truth. God drew near to a sinful people, and he built an entire system so that they could survive his nearness. Every piece of that system worked, and every piece of that system was insufficient. The sacrifices had to be repeated. The priests needed their own atonement before they could offer. The call to holiness exposed what everybody already knew: we couldn’t do it. And the system did exactly what it was designed to do. It taught a people, and it teaches us, what we need. Then Christ came. The presence that filled the tabernacle became flesh and dwelt among us. The sacrifice that had to be repeated was offered once for all time. The priest who needed his own atonement was replaced by one who knew no sin. The Day of Atonement that came back every year was fulfilled in a single afternoon. The holiness that no one could keep was credited to everyone who belongs to him. The depth of our gratitude for what Christ accomplished is directly tied to how well we understand what he replaced. That’s why we spend time in Leviticus. That’s why we have Leviticus, so we can truly understand what Christ’s death replaced. Closing Prayer Lord God, many of us have heard the truth that you went to the cross to die for our sins our entire lives. We grew up either in the church or in a society that just assumes that. And yet we grew up 1,500 years or 3,500 years removed from these words on the page. This sacrificial system that was so significant and so difficult and so vivid—what it means to see a life taken for our sins—are words on a page. Lord, help these words on the page to penetrate our hearts, and help us to be lost in, to be consumed by, the truth of what your death on the cross meant. So this morning, as we celebrate your resurrection—because your resurrection shows that not only did you defeat sin, but you defeated death, that the work was finished—Lord, as we celebrate that, help this day not to be about family, but to be about you. Lord, we love you. Amen. The post Equipping Hour: Presence, Priesthood, and Atonement appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

Have you ever found a place where you felt so safe and happy that you never wanted to leave? That place exists in the glorious presence of God. But how can a people who fall short enter the presence of a God who is perfectly Holy?In Part three of "Into His Presence," we look at the ordination of Aaron and the tragedy of Nadab and Abihu to see why human priests always fall short. Discover how Jesus, our Indestructible High Priest, provides the Purity, Perfection, and Power we need to dwell with God forever.

==============================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://wwaw.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== DEVOCIÓN MATUTINA PARA MUJERES 2026“SUBLIME BELLEZA”Narrado por: Sirley DelgadilloDesde: Bucaramanga, ColombiaUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist Church===================|| www.drministries.org ||===================15 de Marzo¿Imposible?No podremos combatir contra esa gente. ¡Son más fuertes que nosotros! (Números 13:31).Muchos milagros ya habían sucedido desde que el pueblo de Israel había partido de Egipto. Habían visto las plagas cayendo sobre los egipcios; habían cruzado el mar Rojo; habían sido testigos de la majestad y del poder de Dios al recibir los mandamientos; fueron partícipes de la construcción del tabernáculo, incluso habían ofrecido los sacrificios allí y habían aprendido de sus simbolismos; y también habían visto cuáles fueron las consecuencias de la desobediencia y rebeldía de Nadab y Abiú.Así que tenían motivos más que suficientes para confiar en la providencia divina, en su amor y cuidado, y para no desanimarse frente a las imposibilidades.Cerca de la frontera con la tierra prometida, Moisés conversó con Dios y definieron doce príncipes, uno de cada tribu, para que conocieran la región y al pueblo, los recursos naturales, las condiciones de productividad, y que trajeran del fruto de la tierra.Durante cuarenta días inspeccionaron el país de sur a norte y volvieron trayendo un cacho enorme de uvas, granadas e higos, y las informaciones acerca del lugar.Al ver los frutos de la tierra, el pueblo se entusiasmó, pero los diez espías, tentados por Satanás, exageraron, contando algunas noticias falsas. Hablaron de las dificultades y peligros que la tierra prometida ofrecía: naciones terriblemente poderosas, muros enormes, un pueblo demasiado fuerte... Y rotularon el proyecto de alcanzar la tierra prometida como imposible. Bajo la sombra de ese informe, el pueblo se desesperó. ¡Ah! Esa tendencia humana de dar tanto crédito a las insinuaciones diabólicas del enemigo. "¡No lo vas a conseguir!", "¡Mira su tamaño!", "¿Y Dios?, ¿crees que a él le importa esto?". Todo lo que Satanás quiere es disminuir en nosotros la visión de quien es Dios y de los milagros que él ya hizo, llevándonos al fracaso mientras alimentamos pensamientos derrotistas.El pueblo perdió tiempo y energía con reclamos e incredulidad frente a la situación, culpando a Moisés y a Dios por haberlos puesto en una situación sin solución. ¡Cuántas veces actuamos de la misma manera! Permitimos ser cegadas en relación con lo que Dios nos hace, y actuamos como si fuéramos criaturas lanzadas injustamente en este mundo, sin nadie que luche por nosotros.En este día, no caigas en esa trampa satánica, confía en aquel que te creó, que te rescató con su sangre y que obra diariamente maravillas en favor de tu salvación. 

Worship offered in sincerity can still be rejected if it departs from YHWH's instructions. In this episode, we explore strange fire: when sincerity is not enough, looking at the accounts of Nadab and Abihu and the golden calf to show that YHWH alone defines acceptable worship.

Today's readings.. (Leviticus 9,10), (Psalm 108,109), (2 Corinthians 1,2)‘Sanctified' means recognized as holy, set apart from the commonplace; treating a situation or place with all reverence.  Above all, this must be our attitude toward God.  In our Leviticus reading today we see the dramatic and disastrous result of a failure to do this. Imagine being there with all the wonder of the tabernacle and the manifestation of the actual presence of God as worship in it began!  We read “the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offerings … [9 v.23,24].  As a result human attitudes of reverence and humility should have been paramount.  The reaction at the time was totally understandable, “they shouted and fell on their faces” [v.24].Aaron had 4 sons, all were involved in assisting their father and today's chapter tells us how tragedy overwhelmed two of them.  In the way we speak today we might judge that their position of importance went to their head!  Nadab and Abihu “each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD which he had not commanded them” [10 v.1]The result was terrifying for they “died before the LORD” as fire from him “consumed them” [v.2]  Moses then says to Aaron, “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified” [v.3]  There is a vital lesson here for everyone who seeks to serve God and have a close relationship with him: this applies to Christians just as much as to Israelites. Several examples of a failure to do this come to mind.  One is the practice of christening of babies in many churches which is not mentioned in the Bible – or even hinted at – instead the followers of Christ practiced baptism, which is described as “an appeal to God for a good conscience” [1 Peter 3 v.21]  Another, is the teaching of people of a “different gospel” to “distort the gospel of Christ.” [Galatians 1 v.v.6,7]  Paul says, “let him be accursed” [v.9] who does that – and this is what happened to two of the sons of Aaron. A most important lesson for us as we follow Christ and the Apostles, doing so in ways which truly follow the example they set and the words they preached.

The story of brothers Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 reveals the difference between a God-authorized and self-authorized spiritual life. Their sin wasn't incompetence; it was independence. These trained priests offered unauthorized fire and were consumed by divine judgment, teaching us that spiritual competence without dependence on God leads to self-confidence and destruction. 

In an age where judgment seems delayed and accountability feels distant, it is easy to mistake God's patience for indifference. But Scripture warns us otherwise. From the sudden deaths of Nadab and Abihu, to the fiery prophecy of the Day of the Lord, the message is clear: God still requires a holy people.In this sobering reflection, we are reminded that spiritual death is often gradual, that discernment must be learned in God's house, and that the gospel of the Kingdom prepares a people to be found “without spot and blameless” at Christ's appearing. The question is not whether that Day will come — but whether we are ready.

Study Passage: Exodus 24:1-11Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to the LORD, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offeredburnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260221dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:9-11 God invites Us to His Dinner Party Imagine that you’ve been invited to a dinner party. The menu has things that you enjoy. Also, the time and the date work for you. But then you come to realize that you don't know anyone else who’s been invited to the party, and you have absolutely nothing in common with the people who are going. Would you still be as excited to go? I’d guess most of us wouldn’t be as excited. After all, what really makes a party fun is being with people we know and enjoy. Can you imagine a dinner party with God? It’s hard to imagine! And at first glance, it’s probably a scary thought. After all, God is perfect, holy, and eternal; we’re sinners. What in the world do we have in common with God, or he with us? And yet God chooses to invite us to his dinner party. God chooses to socialize with us. We read in today’s Bible verses of how he allowed the leaders and elders of Israel to dine in his presence. What an experience! He did it in an even more wondrous measure when Jesus came to this world and lived our human life. He continues to do it today, promising that he’s with us always, to the very end of time. And he’s preparing a place for us at the eternal “banquet feast” in heaven. But why would God want ME at his party? I’m a sinner! Ah, true. But Jesus lived, died, and rose, thereby paying for your sins in full. And so, you’re a welcome guest through Jesus. What a wonderful party it will be! Prayer: Savior Jesus, thank you for inviting me to the party, the eternal party. Fill me with longing for the day you take me there. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260221dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:9-11 God invites Us to His Dinner Party Imagine that you’ve been invited to a dinner party. The menu has things that you enjoy. Also, the time and the date work for you. But then you come to realize that you don't know anyone else who’s been invited to the party, and you have absolutely nothing in common with the people who are going. Would you still be as excited to go? I’d guess most of us wouldn’t be as excited. After all, what really makes a party fun is being with people we know and enjoy. Can you imagine a dinner party with God? It’s hard to imagine! And at first glance, it’s probably a scary thought. After all, God is perfect, holy, and eternal; we’re sinners. What in the world do we have in common with God, or he with us? And yet God chooses to invite us to his dinner party. God chooses to socialize with us. We read in today’s Bible verses of how he allowed the leaders and elders of Israel to dine in his presence. What an experience! He did it in an even more wondrous measure when Jesus came to this world and lived our human life. He continues to do it today, promising that he’s with us always, to the very end of time. And he’s preparing a place for us at the eternal “banquet feast” in heaven. But why would God want ME at his party? I’m a sinner! Ah, true. But Jesus lived, died, and rose, thereby paying for your sins in full. And so, you’re a welcome guest through Jesus. What a wonderful party it will be! Prayer: Savior Jesus, thank you for inviting me to the party, the eternal party. Fill me with longing for the day you take me there. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260221dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:9-11 God invites Us to His Dinner Party Imagine that you’ve been invited to a dinner party. The menu has things that you enjoy. Also, the time and the date work for you. But then you come to realize that you don't know anyone else who’s been invited to the party, and you have absolutely nothing in common with the people who are going. Would you still be as excited to go? I’d guess most of us wouldn’t be as excited. After all, what really makes a party fun is being with people we know and enjoy. Can you imagine a dinner party with God? It’s hard to imagine! And at first glance, it’s probably a scary thought. After all, God is perfect, holy, and eternal; we’re sinners. What in the world do we have in common with God, or he with us? And yet God chooses to invite us to his dinner party. God chooses to socialize with us. We read in today’s Bible verses of how he allowed the leaders and elders of Israel to dine in his presence. What an experience! He did it in an even more wondrous measure when Jesus came to this world and lived our human life. He continues to do it today, promising that he’s with us always, to the very end of time. And he’s preparing a place for us at the eternal “banquet feast” in heaven. But why would God want ME at his party? I’m a sinner! Ah, true. But Jesus lived, died, and rose, thereby paying for your sins in full. And so, you’re a welcome guest through Jesus. What a wonderful party it will be! Prayer: Savior Jesus, thank you for inviting me to the party, the eternal party. Fill me with longing for the day you take me there. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

==============================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== DEVOCIÓN MATUTINA PARA MUJERES 2026“SUBLIME BELLEZA”Narrado por: Sirley DelgadilloDesde: Bucaramanga, ColombiaUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist Church===================|| www.drministries.org ||===================19 de FebreroExceso de confianza en la paciencia Divina¡Ay de los que se consideran sabios, de los que se creen inteligentes! (Isaías 5:21).En la región de Timnat, al sur de Israel, una región donde los israelitas acamparon durante muchos años, hay una réplica en tamaño real del Santuario: el templo móvil que acompañó al pueblo de Israel durante cuarenta años y cuyas instrucciones detalladas para la construcción Dios había dado a Moisés en el Sinaí.Para una ilustración didáctica, como fue la del Santuario, Dios quería llevar a su pueblo a percibir la santidad de sí mismo y de su Ley eterna, que mostraba la gravedad del pecado y señalaba al Cordero. La obediencia debería ser la respuesta de gratitud a Dios por ese medio de salvación.Aarón, hermano de Moisés, era sumo sacerdote y padre de Nadab y Abiú. Por debajo de su padre, ellos eran los líderes espirituales más importantes en Israel. Habiendo sido llamados por Dios, subieron al Sinaí con Moisés y otros ancianos. Allí comprendieron la santidad, reverencia y seriedad necesaria para lidiar con las cosas sagradas. Esos privilegios hacían que su responsabilidad fuera grande ante Dios y el pueblo."La gran luz y los privilegios otorgados demandan reciprocidad de una virtud y santidad correspondientes a la luz recibida. [...] Las grandes bendiciones o los privilegios no debieran adormecer en la seguridad o la negligencia" (Elena de White, Patriarcas y profetas, pág. 374).Entonces una sombra se posó sobre la familia sacerdotal. Por una deliberada transgresión, Nadab y Abiú usaron fuego extraño en el incienso, en lugar del fuego encendido por Dios. Por ese grave pecado, no podrían salir impunes, y murieron fulminados por el fuego divino.Dios es amor, pero también es justicia. Nadab y Abiú habían experimentado las dádivas divinas del conocimiento y de las manifestaciones de Dios, y no habían desarrollado el hábito de la obediencia y la firmeza por lo que es recto.El Señor solo le permitió a Aarón que permaneciera en silencio por la muerte repentina de sus hijos. Cualquier otra manifestación demostraría simpatía por el terrible pecado que habían cometido, llevando al pueblo a murmurar. Dios reprueba la falsa simpatía por el pecador, que le disculpa el pecado, amortigua sus percepciones morales, disminuye el tamaño de su error y le impide buscar el arrepentimiento.Es peligroso condescender con la desobediencia. Al administrar tu hogar, no seas movida por la falsa simpatía, minimizando los errores explícitos de tus seres queridos, entorpeciendo la obra que el Espíritu Santo de Dios desea realizar en el corazón de ellos. ¡Sé un instrumento de salvación! 

Far too often, we make up our own ideas of what constitutes true worship. Today, we'll discuss the difficult passage of Leviticus 10 when Nadab and Abihu are killed by God for offering strange fire. We'll look at this passage, understand it in its context, and see how it still can guide us to true worship. Join us!  DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS: 1.    What was the background of the Levites and how did that relate to their role among the Children of Israel? Why was this role necessary?  2.    What did Nadab and Abihu do that was wrong? Why should they have known better? 3.    Why was Nadab and Abihu killed? What was wrong with what they did? Why was "death" a necessary response to their sin? 4.    How was the standard for the priests higher than for the average person in the nation of Israel? How was the standard for Nadab and Abihu even higher than for the average priest who was just starting out?  5.    What were some possible reasons for their dereliction of duty? How might alcohol have contributed to their sin? What principle did the Lord give in verses 8 & 9? What present application might this have for us, considering that we are all priests before the Lord?  6.    In verses 6 & 7, what did Moses prohibit Aaron and his sons from doing? Why? 7.    In verses 16-18, what did Aaron's other sons, Eleazar and Thamar, fail to do? What might this indicate about the general attitude they all had towards learning the precepts of the Lord? How do people still demonstrate this attitude today?  8.    The podcast pointed out that a key theme of this chapter (and the whole book of Leviticus), is to follow the Lord's instructions when we approach Him. How might we apply this principle to our lives today?  9.    The podcast also pointed out that Leviticus 10 teaches us about making a distinction between what is profane and what is holy. How do we learn these principles? If we do distinguish between what is profane and holy, how should this impact what we fill our lives with?  10.    The podcast cites Jesus' teaching in John 4:23-24 about true worship. What is true worship and how does it come about in the heart and life of a believer? 11.    Finally, in light of this passage and John 4:23-24 and Hebrews 13:15, who decides what constitutes true worship? As New Covenant believers, what should we fill our minds with, in order to offer the Lord true worship? Check out our Bible Study Guide on the Key Chapters of Genesis! Available on Amazon just in time for the Genesis relaunch in January! To see our dedicated podcast website with access to all our episodes and other resources, visit us at: www.keychapters.org. Find us on all major platforms, or use these direct links: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6OqbnDRrfuyHRmkpUSyoHv Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/366-key-chapters-in-the-bible/id1493571819 YouTube: Key Chapters of the Bible on YouTube. As always, we are grateful to be included in the "Top 100 Bible Podcasts to Follow" from Feedspot.com. Also for regularly being awarded "Podcast of the Day" from PlayerFM. Special thanks to Joseph McDade for providing our theme music.   

Exodus 24:8-11 - And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under His feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And He did not lay His hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Leviticus 10-12; Acts 16 Click HERE to give! One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved. TODAY'S EPISODE: Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible podcast! On this episode, recorded February 9th, 2024, your host Hunter continues guiding us through our Bible reading journey—today marking day 40. We dive into Leviticus chapters 10 through 12 and Acts 16, exploring stories of tradition, holiness, and transformation. Hunter reflects on the tale of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, and their "strange fire"—a warning against trying to manipulate God and a reminder of the dangers of seeking control. Drawing parallels to the book of Acts, Hunter compares this to moments where others attempted to wield power for their own gain, and contrasts it with the fire of the Holy Spirit, a gift that brings true life, healing, and joy when simply received in faith. Throughout the episode, listeners are invited to pause, pray, and reflect on the words of Scripture, joining Hunter in prayers for encouragement, peace, and unity. The podcast is a vibrant mix of daily readings, thoughtful spiritual commentary, and heartfelt prayers, all anchored in the hope that we are deeply loved and called to live empowered by God's Spirit. Stay with us as we journey together—reading, praying, and letting God's joy be our strength. TODAY'S DEVOTION: We all struggle with the desire to manipulate and control, to offer our own strange fire, if you will. Tragically, it consumes us too. But there's a kind of fire that doesn't consume and kill. That's the fire that we see in the Holy Spirit. This is a fire that comes to dwell with us. In Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit descend in tongues of fire. This is a fire that is bestowed on us and received. It's not manipulated. It's given to us, not through our own effort or designs. Instead, it descends on us. It's a gift from heaven. How do we become carriers of this fire of life? Paul and Silas tell the Philippian jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved along with everyone in your household." It seems like all of us in some way or another want to work with strange fire and gain control. It's no different now than it was then. The slave owners in Acts 16 have a girl that tells the future—this is a strange fire. The political leaders in town wanted to pacify the mob—they're playing with strange fire. The jailer drew his sword to kill himself for fear of his own execution—this, too, is a kind of strange fire. Strange fire is all about wanting to control and manipulate to ensure our future or to get what we want, whether it's fortune, power, honor. We all want to make strange fire to get these things. Our strategies appear to work for a while, but in the end, like Nadab and Abihu, it doubles back and ends up consuming us in the end. There are two kinds of fire. One is strange and will ultimately consume us. It's fueled by the desire to control, to manipulate. The other kind is the fire of God's presence that's received as a gift. What do we do for that? We believe in the Lord Jesus. We trust in him. We say yes to him. We say yes to his life. We give up control. We give up on our need to coerce. This is a life-giving fire that dwells within us, entirely bestowed upon us by his grace. It does not consume. It does not kill. Instead, it purifies us, heals us, and offers us his life. It creates within us something new, and offers us true riches, true power, true honor. And all these things are a gift. It is the holy fire of God in us. Today, you can live and walk in the reality of the fire that comes down from heaven. It is your life—the Holy Spirit, Christ in you. This gift has been bestowed upon you. Live in this fire today. Abide in it, not trying to control and conjure up things, but simply resting and receiving Christ's life. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. That's the prayer that I have for my family, for my wife, and my daughters, and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so. TODAY'S PRAYERS: Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.   Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray... Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen.  OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com We are reading through the New Living Translation.   Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured OTHER PODCASTS: Listen with Apple Podcast DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS DAILY PSALMS DAILY PROVERBS DAILY LECTIONARY DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL  

Join Rod, Janice, Corie and Ryan as they delve into the Book of Leviticus, focusing on the anointing of priests, the tragic deaths of Aaron's sons, and the significance of the Urim and Thummim. Explore the deep connections between ancient practices and modern faith, and learn how to apply biblical teachings in everyday life.

LEVITICUS 10 — UNAUTHORIZED FIRE, SOBRIETY, AND PRIESTLY DISCERNMENT (PART 2)“Surviving Near Holy Fire After Judgment”Teachers: Kerry & Karen BattleAhava ~ Love AssemblyThis Torah class continues Leviticus 10, following the judgment of Nadab and Abihu and the establishment of accountability after Yahuah revealed His accepted standard in Leviticus 9.In Part 1, we examined unauthorized fire, immediate judgment, Aaron's silence, and why grief did not override obedience.Leviticus 10 now moves from judgment to instruction for survival.This portion of the chapter establishes how priests are to remain alive, discerning, and faithful in the presence of holy fire.This is not emotional teaching.This is covenant instruction.WHAT WE COVER IN THIS MESSAGE1. Sobriety and Discernment Before YahuahLeviticus 10:8–11Yahuah speaks directly to Aaron and commands sobriety. This instruction is not about lifestyle control but about preserving discernment. Near holy fire, impaired judgment is deadly. Priests must be able to distinguish between the qadosh and the common and teach Israel accurately.2. Service Continues After JudgmentLeviticus 10:12–15Priestly service does not stop because judgment was severe. Obedience continues with greater restraint. Covenant order is preserved even when leadership has suffered loss.3. Rebuke, Discernment, and RestraintLeviticus 10:16–20Moses rebukes Aaron for deviation, because leadership must always be examined. Aaron's explanation is accepted because restraint is not rebellion. Presumption adds action without command. Wisdom withholds action out of fear of Yahuah.WHY THIS MESSAGE MATTERSDiscernment is required near holinessSobriety preserves lifeLeadership remains accountableRestraint is honoredPresumption is judgedCovenant order is protectedLeviticus 10 teaches that survival near holy fire requires discipline, clarity, and fear of Yahuah, not enthusiasm or impulse.SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR STUDYLeviticus 9–10Exodus 40Deuteronomy 4 • Deuteronomy 12Numbers 15 • Numbers 20Ezekiel 9 • Ezekiel 24Malachi 21 Samuel 24Proverbs 23Every section is taught precept upon precept.ABOUT AHAVA ~ LOVE ASSEMBLYWe teach the Pure Word of Yahuah.No religion.No tradition.No compromise.Our teaching follows the Sovereign Blueprint:Law | Precept | Example | Wisdom | Understanding | Prudence | Conviction | Fruit of the Ruach | Final Heart CheckSUPPORT THE WORK — GIVE VIA ZELLEZelle QR at: ahavaloveministry.comZelle only.No CashApp.No PayPal.FINAL WORDYahuah reveals His standard.Judgment enforces it.Discernment preserves life.Restraint protects the altar.Leviticus 10 governs how priests survive after accountability has been revealed.Final Heart Check:Now that judgment has already fallen, will your response show discernment, restraint, and fear of Yahuah, or will it presume upon access?

John 11:45-53,Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.We live in times, sadly, in which it's not hard to imagine public officials seeking their own benefit. Covering their own interests. Talking arrogantly and rudely. Pursuing political expediency in which seemingly righteous ends are said to justify grossly unrighteous means.Unfortunately, it's not hard to imagine leaders like Caiaphas. As we hear about Caiaphas, we have lessons to learn by way of contrast. And there are marvels to see here about our God and his Son and the wonder of the grace of his gospel.Jesus on the RiseLast Sunday we heard how Jesus's sovereign, omnipotent word raised the dead man, four days in the tomb. John 11:43-44,“‘Lazarus, come out!' The man who had died came out…”Jesus continues as the ascendency, and now, having raised a well-known dead man, so near Jerusalem, he's turning the city upside down. Many believe (v. 45), but others go to the Pharisees and stir up trouble (v. 46). They gather the high court, “the council,” called the Sanhedrin, made up of 70 priests and elders and scribes, with the high priest presiding. And they say,“What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.”Indeed he does: water into wine (2:11), cleansing the temple (2:15), restoring a dead son to life (4:53), healing the sick of all kinds (6:2), multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed thousands (6:14), giving sight to a blind man (9:16), and now, raising a dead man who had been in the grave four days (11:44).Yes, he has done many signs. But instead of asking, like many common people are, “Could this be the long-promised Christ?” the leaders as a whole are tragically more concerned with preserving their own place and privilege. They are more oriented on political concerns with the unbelieving Romans than with spiritual concerns in their Scriptures. “If we let [Jesus] go on like this,” they say, “everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (v. 48).Which bring us to the fateful moment, in verses 49–52.God Versus High PriestAt the council, Caiaphas, the high priest, speaks the decisive word. It comes from his mouth; it comes out of his heart. It is fully his. He is fully responsible for it. And John tells us in verse 51, “He did not say this of his own accord.” Who's accord, then, was it? God's accord. Jesus has talked over and over in this Gospel of his coming and his acting as “not of his own accord” but his Father's. This is God's accord, God's plan.So what we have in verse 50 is two visions of the coming death of Jesus: Caiaphas's and God's. Caiaphas perceives the situation, considers his own interest, and issues his counsel, which carries the day. And God is not caught off guard; he doesn't rush in to fix things and “turn” them for good. No, before Caiaphas willed it, God willed it. Before Caiaphas said it, God planned it. God superintends these evil words, from Caiaphas's evil heart, for God's good purposes and the salvation of his people from sin and death.And strange as this sounds in our ears, this is not new in the Bible. This is how the first book of the Bible ends. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph says to his brothers who sold him into slavery,“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”He doesn't say God used it or that God turned it. Sinners meant evil; God meant it (same evil) for good. Same evil, two intentions. And we see something similar near the end of the Bible in Revelation 17:17,“God has put it into their hearts [wicked earthly rulers] to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled…”So, as the council meets, God is not wringing his hands, saying, “Oh no, the high priest is giving the decisive word to put my Son to death.” No, God has planned it. He has orchestrated every detail. In Acts 4:28, early Christians would praise God for bringing to pass at the cross “whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” Oh Caiaphas means evil against Jesus, but God means it for good, to bring it about that many people should be saved.So, let's meditate on this double meaning in the words of Caiaphas in three parts.1. Two Visions of the PeopleWhat does Caiaphas mean when he says the people? Look at verse 50:“…it is better for you [Sanhedrin] that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”For Caiaphas, “the people” and “the whole nation” are ethnic Jews. Caiaphas wants to preserve his own ethnicity, and as we'll see, he has very selfish reasons for doing so. So, by “people” and “nation” Caiaphas means ethnic Jews.What does God mean? Verses 51-52:[Caiaphas] did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.So, for God, “the people” means “the children of God” which is not every ethnic Jew, nor is it limited only to ethnic Jews. The “children of God” are all who believe in Jesus — many believers in Jesus are among the Jews, as we've already seen, and now comes a stunning expansion, like we saw in John 10:16: Jesus has “other sheep” who are not of the Jewish fold — that is, Gentiles!God's chosen children are not limited to Israel; nor is every ethnic Israelite included. From the beginning, God chose ethnic Israel historically as a channel to bring his eternal salvation to all the nations. Now, at last, Messiah has come. And now, by surprise, Messiah goes to a sacrificial death — and through him the gates swing wide to all who believe, all believing Jews and all believing Gentiles. The chosen sheep, scattered among the nations, are “the children of God,” which will come to be called “the church.”And here's the scandal of Jesus's sacrificial achievement in gathering God's children from all nations: in Christ, fellow believers in faraway places, of different nations and ethnicities, are closer by far than fellows in ethnicity, place, and mere human nation. And so today, if you are in Christ, you have something far more important in common with a Christian in China or Russia, than you do with your unbelieving American neighbor who just happens to prefer the same political party you do.So, first, two visions of the people: Caiaphas means ethnic Jews. God means a new-covenant spiritual people from every nation, scattered abroad, and called the church.2. Two Visions of SubstitutionCaiaphas's proposal is for substitution. A people are in danger of destruction. So substitute one man on behalf of the people, and kill him, so that the people do not perish. A political scapegoat. Verse 50 again:“…it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”For Caiaphas, one man, Jesus, should perish, so that the Messianic fervor dissipates, the Jesus movement fades, and almighty Rome remains undisturbed and doesn't come and destroy Jerusalem and the temple. And amazingly, in the superintending providence of God, Caiaphas words this in sacrificial language. One man, he says, will die “for the people” — literally, on behalf of the people. Of course, Caiaphas means it politically. This is pure politics, not spiritual leadership. This is vintage political expediency. And par for the course in world politics. Perhaps you've heard it called the end justifies the means. The end goal is seen to be good, and so the means used to get there are compromised. And mark this: this is evil. Normal and justifiable as it may seem, this is evil in God's eyes. And this, normal politics as it might be, carries the day not in Rome but in Jerusalem among the council of 70 priests and elders and Pharisees, from the mouth of Israel's high priest. More on that in a minute.What about for God? What does he mean by this substitution? Verses 51-52 again:[Caiaphas] did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.For God, his own Son, the eternal second person of the Godhead, fully divine, now fully human as man — Jesus dies on behalf of the children of God. And oh the irony of the sacrificial language — uttered by Israel's high priest for political expedience, and totally unaware that in his very words he formulates, in the sacrificial terms of Israel's religion, the very mechanism God uses to bring that sacrificial system and first covenant to its long-awaited apex and conclusion. This sacrifice of Jesus is the very Sacrifice that for centuries all the animal sacrifices have anticipated — all the endless blood of bulls and goats and lambs that has flowed and flowed for centuries has pointed to this one man's flow of blood at the cross.Which brings us right to the heart of the good news of Jesus, and amazingly, in God's sovereignty, the words of Caiaphas, meant for evil, have us here, as God means them for good.Christians have long called this “penal substitution.”Penal means that a penalty is due for human sin. Sin is an affront to an infinitely worthy God. He made us, and in our sin we have turned our backs on him. And the New Testament makes it clear that the payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23). We all deserve the penalty of death, and eternal separation from God, because of our sin against him. Penal means there's a just penalty for our sin that must be paid.And the good news is that Jesus, in his death on the cross, is our substitute. We deserve death for our sin, but Jesus puts himself forward to die in our place, “on our behalf.” This sacrificial language of substitution runs all the way back to Leviticus — Jesus offers himself as the substitute, in our place, to receive our penalty of death (as animals did only temporarily in the old covenant), that he might then rise, and with him we too might be released to life.So, God's vision is penal substitution: Jesus is our substitute sin-bearer. He took the penalty of death we deserve for our sin, by substituting himself in our place at the cross, that all the children of God, scattered abroad, could be joined to him by faith and live.3. Two Visions of High PriesthoodCaiaphas is Israel's official high priest. There is no other high priest, only one. There are whole chapters of Scripture (Exodus 28–29; Leviticus 8, 16) that deal with his clothes and how to consecrate him for office, and what he does on the Day of Atonement, which is the one day each year when the high priest enters the Holy of Holies to offer the climactic annual sacrifice on behalf of the people. So, who was Israel's high priest that year? John tells us three times. Don't miss this, and don't miss the scandal of it.Verse 49: one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all…”Verse 51: [Caiaphas] did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation…And John 18:13-14: once the soldiers arrested and bound Jesus, “First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.”So, it is Israel's high priest who gives the decisive word that puts Israel's long-awaited Messiah to death. The last act of Israel's final high priest is to give the word to kill Israel's Messiah.Oh the failure of the mere human and hereditary high priesthood! It failed from the very beginning:Think of Aaron, Moses's brother, the first high priest. What was his infamous first public act? He made and led the people in worshiping the golden calf. Then his sons, Nadab and Abihu “offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:1-2).Next we think of negligent Eli and his worthless sons, Hophni and Phinehas (1 Sam 2).And more broadly, over and over again, Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Malachi condemn the greed and corruption and idolatry and neglect of Israel's priests.The history of Israel, from beginning to end, makes the lesson plain: mere humanity and heredity cannot provide the needed high priest to mediate between God and man.And Caiaphas sees that Israel's high priesthood goes out with a bang. This is so tragic: politics and its expediency have captured the high priest! He's ordained as the nation's spiritual leader and playing at politics! As Don Carson observes: “the nation perished anyway [in 70 AD], not because of Jesus' activity but because of the constant mad search for political solutions where there was little spiritual renewal.”O God, give your church spiritual renewal and free us from any “constant mad search for political solutions.”Lessons by ContrastWe see the kind of guy Caiaphas is by the first thing out of his mouth: “You know nothing at all.” That's how he talks. That's his tone: you guys are stupid. You're fools. What are you trying to do, solve this problem righteously? You're trying to fix this trouble without resorting to evil? Let me show you fools how to do it.And then, with the same mouth, and as with the mouth of Satan himself, he speaks the decisive word to put the nation's Messiah to death: “it is better for you that one man should die for the people.” Don't miss that “for you” in verse 50. He does not say it's better for the nation but “for you,” for you priests and elders and scribes in the room. It's better for you, Sanhedrin. This is wicked leadership.So, beware: fathers and mothers, teachers, business people, fellow pastors. Beware a tone that treats others like fools. It may seem small (“fight the world on the world's terms”). It's not small. Where is it coming from? From the heart. Your careless, socially conditioned, socially permissible words are coming from your own heart. And where are they going? It may be a first indicator that expediency is taking root in your heart. Beware the spirit of expediency that would say (or usually not even say it but just live it): my good ends justify these shady means. You are, in effect, saying, “Sin is okay, evil is okay, deception is okay, injustice is okay, if it serves the purpose for something I really want and would make my life a lot easier.”And in leadership beware the spirit of self-service (rather than self-sacrifice). Let me tell you what's really easy to do in a room of decision makers: decide on what's easiest for the room. What's best for the people here. Whether it's a Sanhedrin of 70 or an elder table of 8, the natural pull, apart from the help of God's Spirit, is for a room of sinners to work toward decisions that are easiest and best for the room.As your pastors, we are aware of this pull, and we pray and we resolve and we keep each other accountable that we not make decisions that are best for the room. Rather, as your pastors we take it as our call to ask for God's help and work toward decisions that are best for this church — and are often more costly for us personally. More work to do. More conversations to have. More calls to make, letters to write, topics to research, tasks to compete. This is how good leadership often works: more, not less, is required of the leaders to care well for their people. (A critical parenting lesson, especially in discipline!)Our Great High PriestI end with this, as we come to the Table: Did you realize there are two high priests in this passage? I didn't see this at first. Yes, there is Caiaphas, and as the high priesthood in Israel fails, and comes to its appointed end with one last and greatest failure of all, the one who emerges is not only our sacrifice and substitute but, as Hebrews calls him, our great high priest. I know priesthood can seem obscure and distant to us in the 21st century. Perhaps here's one way to get your bearings more around what it means to have Jesus as our great high priest: he is not like Caiaphas. Caiaphas was one of many and the last in Israel. Jesus is the first, and one and only, in the new covenant. Caiaphas's office was temporary. Jesus's is forever, and of an entirely different order. Caiaphas was evil, rude, self-serving. Jesus, our great high priest is…holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those [other] high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. (Hebrews 7:26-27)Brothers and sisters in Christ, “we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 8:1). “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

“[God] said: ‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; . . . I will be honored.'” — Leviticus 10:3 On my first day of work at a McDonald's restaurant, my cash drawer was short 10 dollars, and my manager wrote me up, leaving me worried about keeping my job. But I was not afraid of being struck dead. We've all made mistakes and had some rough days at work, so we might wonder why Nadab and Abihu were struck dead when they began to work as priests. What went wrong?Nadab and Abihu's sin was not just a minor oversight or a misstep. After God had given detailed instructions about the priests' responsibilities, Aaron's sons ignored God's rules in favor of their own. This is a pattern as old as the human race; sin begins when we decide we know better than God does. But God is holy, and we are not free to improvise our own ways of approaching or relating to God. Tragically, just as “fire came out” and consumed the offering brought by Aaron (Leviticus 9), fire came out against Nadab and Abihu and consumed them. Even Aaron was silent in response, likely indicating that he accepted God's judgment—though he must have felt deep sorrow.Must we fear the same today? In all of history only one priest, Jesus, was flawless and worthy to enter God's presence. And when he did that for our sake, he took the wrath of God upon himself as it broke out against him—in our place. But this is good news for us! Jesus' sacrifice covered all our sin so that we never need to fear God's judgment. Holy God, it's difficult for us to understand your holiness. Thank you for giving us Jesus so that we can be forgiven. Amen.

The reigns of Asa in the South, and Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri in the North. A new capital in Israel. Ahab and Jezebel introduced.

In this week's Bible study, we go through Leviticus chapters 21 & 22. We are still in the ‘Holiness Code' this week looking at regulations for the priests themselves on how to remain holy. Included we look at how a priest might become defiled by death (the mourning process for the dead), as well as the sacred offerings. We will also talk about the restrictions and regulations on the priests and the animals that were to be offered to the Lord. Lots to talk about as we dig deep into the Old Testament.Outline: 00:09 - The Holiness Code - rules and regulations that are intended to set Israel apart. Lev 18.3-6, “you must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to folow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.”Lev 19.1-2, “The Lord said to Moses, speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God am holy.”BE SET APART.03:00 - Leviticus 22.1-3 - What are The Sacred Offerings?Leviticus 1-7 outlines the major offerings the Israelites could bring before the Lord in the Tabernacle. Included in each is provision for the priest and his family. The Burnt offering, Lev 7.8 - the priest may keep the hide. The Grain offering, Lev 2.3, 10; 6.16, 18; 7.9-10 - after a portion is burned as a “most holy” offering to the Lord, the rest is kept for the priest and his family. The Fellowship (or peace) offering, Lev 7.31-34 - a portion belongs to the Lord, then the breast and right thigh belong to the priest - the rest belongs to the offerer to eat in fellowship with their family. The Sin (or purification) offering, Lev 5.13, 6:26, 29 & 7.7 - a portion for the priest to be eaten. The Guilt (or restitution) offering, Lev 7.6-7 - same rules as the sin offering.07:38 - Leviticus 21.1-6 - Priests must avoid becoming ceremonially unclean for the dead.13:08 - Application of Lev 21.1-6 for us today. Do not let yourselves become defiled. Bible verses mentioned: 1 Pet 2.9-10; Gal 5.19-2; Mat 28.19-20 and Mat 7.5.19:04 - Physical Standards of the priests. Leviticus 21.7-9 - No wives defiled by prostitution or by divorce. Leviticus 21.10-15 - specifically has standards for the High Priest.23:08 - Leviticus 21.16-24 no one with physical handicaps can “offer the food of his God.” - v6 as well - the food offerings to the Lord.25:53 - Leviticus 22.1-8 - Clean and unclean27:52 - Leviticus 22.9 - Respect the offering. This reminds us of Nadab and Abihu of Lev 10 and their using “unauthorized fire.”29:18 - Leviticus 22.10-16 - Restricted distributions. No one outside the priest's family may eat the sacred offerings30:49 - Leviticus 22.17-33 - Unacceptable Sacrifices. Animals used for the offerings must be unblemished - without defect - similar to the disqualifications for descendants of Aaron who can not be priests - blind, lame, deformed, or with bad testicles.Exodus 12.5 - The passover lamb must be WITHOUT defect. Jesus was the complete fulfilment of the Law - I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Jesus is our passover lamb. Biblical references: 1 Peter 1.18-19; John 1.29; Matthew 5.17-20; Ephesians 2.8-940:39 - Closing Questions: 1. Do you let yourself become defiled by sin? 2. Does your outward appearance earn you favor with God? 3. Can you make God love you any more? Can you make God love you less? Homework: Read Rom 3.10-31 Support Iron Sheep Ministries: https://Ironsheep.org/donateListen to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/ironsheepContact Dave & the ISM team: info@ironsheep.orgJoin the email list: http://eepurl.com/g-2zAD

Pastor Ryan continues this new, brief sermon series through the Book of Leviticus as he preaches a message titled "The Sin and Death of Nadab and Abihu" during this Wednesday Evening Service.

Pastor Ryan continues this new, brief sermon series through the Book of Leviticus as he preaches a message titled "The Sin and Death of Nadab and Abihu" during this Wednesday Evening Service.

Pastor opens with Psalm 33:12  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”  Our class starts and ends with the story of the kings of Judah. But in between Asa's 40 year reign as a king of Judah and his son, Jehoshaphat's 22 year reign, we see the turmoil and chaos that is transpiring in Israel the northern kingdom. Major events of Asa's Reign:      ⁃    Zera the Cushite attacks (2 Chr. 14:8-15)     ⁃    Azariah and Covenant Renewal (2 Chr. 15:1-19)     ⁃    Treaty with Ben-Hadad of Aram (2 Chr. 16:1-6)     ⁃    Hanani the Seer rebukes Asa (2 Chr. 16:7-10) In 1 Kings 15:16-17 we read about the tension between Baasha, King of Israel and Asa, King of Judah, and how there was war between Asa and Baasha. Baasha fortifies Ramah on the main road to Jerusalem close to the border between to Israel and Judah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering Judah's territory. Asa retaliates but instead of calling on God as he has in the past, he calls on a foreign power and gives temple adornments, silver and gold to the King of Aram and asks him to attack Baasha. Ben-Hadad of Aram does attack Israel, the northern kingdom and wins.  Hanani, a prophet comes to Asa following his treaty with Aram and says, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” Asa was so angry at the prophet that he put him in prison. Asa was a good king and had sought to follow the Lord when he first ruled, but in the later years of his reign he did not call on the Lord, instead he relies on himself and others and not God. The scriptures say, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Asa started out that way, but he did not finish that way. A lesson for us today. Meanwhile, up north… (in Israel) we read in 1 Kings 15-16.  910-870 BC during the 40 year reign of Asa in Judah, this is how it was going in Israel. Jeroboam's son Nadab is on the throne and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord following the ways of his father Jeroboam. Nadab rules for only 2 years. Baasha kills Nadab and rules Israel for 24 years. Baasha battles Israel because of King Asa of Judah's request. Baasha defeats Israel and kills off all of Jeroboam's family, ending the rule of Jeroboam's family and fulfilling the prophetic word given to Jeroboam.  Ahijah's prophetic word had said that Jeroboam was to follow God, and if he did his family would continue to reign but if he did not it would end.  We begin to see that when a nation abandons God it invites disaster. The kingdom  of Israel is in chaos. We can see it in the list of rulers of Israel over the next years: Nadab - 2 years (son of Jeroboam) Baasha - 24 years (kills Nadab and Jeroboam's family) Elah - 2 years (son of Baasha killed by Zimri) Zimri - 7 days (killed by Baasha's family) Omri - 12 years (build new capital: Samaria) Ahab - 22 years (Omri's son - he was the worst king of all. Marries Jezebel and establishes Baal worship) 1 Kings 16-22. God's anger is aroused with this succession of evil kings of Israel…. …But in the southern kingdom of Judah, Jehoshaphat is king. 1 chronicles 17 870-848 BC - he was a man who sought the Lord his God. Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of David instead of the practices that we see goin on in Israel. Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor. He removed asheriah poles, he sent teachers out to the people of Judah to teach them about the law in the Torah and revival breaks out.   Join us next week as we meet Elijah! Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

“Sealed in Blood: Covenant Confirmed”Exodus 24:1-111 Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.”3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules.[a] And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.CONNECT WITH USIf you have any questions or would like to get to know us further, head over to https://www.triumphlbc.org/connect and fill out our online connection card.ABOUT TRIUMPHTriumph wants to see the life and message of Jesus transform your heart, home, and city. To learn more visit https://www.triumphlbc.org/

Jenna Wright and Pastor Matt unpack how Leviticus 9's joyful worship and 10's sobering judgment (Nadab & Abihu) belong together. They touch on: • reverent joy vs. casual or stoic worship • sacrifices in Jesus' day & temple context • Moses/Aaron's exchange (10:16–20) and careful obedience • practical steps for relational discipleship Questions welcome for future episodes. More info: www.libertiharrisburg.org #SermonBside #Leviticus #Holiness #Worship

A gripping walk through Leviticus 9–10 on “holy fear.” We celebrate God's accepting fire and presence - and face the sobering story of Nadab and Abihu - to learn the difference between reverential joy (obedience) and terror (disobedience). Practical call to worship God with awe and joy in everyday life. Scripture: Leviticus 9–10; Acts 2; Hebrews #Leviticus #HolyFear #Worship #LibertiHarrisburg #Sermon

NOTAS DE ELENAMaterial complementario de la escuela Sabática para adultosNarrado por: Patty CuyanDesde: California, USAUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist ChurchLUNES, 1° DE SEPTIEMBRE: VER A DIOSAhora se habían de hacer los arreglos para el establecimiento completo de la nación escogida bajo la soberanía de Jehová como rey. Moisés había recibido el mandato: "Sube a Jehová, tú, y Aarón, Nadab, y Abiú, y setenta de los ancianos de Israel; y os inclinaréis desde lejos. Mas Moisés solo se llegará a Jehová". Mientras el pueblo oraba al pie del monte, estos hombres escogidos fueron llamados al monte. Los setenta ancianos habían de ayudar a Moisés en el gobierno de Israel, y Dios puso sobre ellos su Espíritu, y los honró con la visión de su poder y grandeza. "Y vieron al Dios de Israel; y había debajo de sus pies como un embaldosado de zafiro, semejante al cielo cuando está sereno". No contemplaron la Deidad, pero vieron la gloria de su presencia. Antes de esa oportunidad aquellos hombres no hubieran podido soportar semejante escena; pero la manifestación del poder de Dios los había llevado a un arrepentimiento reverente; habían contemplado su gloria, su pureza, y su misericordia, hasta que pudieron acercarse al que había sido el tema de sus meditaciones. Moisés y "Josué su ministro" fueron llamados entonces a reunirse con Dios. Y como habían de permanecer ausentes por algún tiempo, el jefe nombró a Aarón y a Hur para que, ayudados por los ancianos, actuaran en su lugar. "Entonces Moisés subió al monte, y una nube cubrió el monte. Y la gloria de Jehová reposó sobre el monte Sinaí". Durante seis días la nube cubrió el monte como una demostración de la presencia especial de Dios; sin embargo, no dio ninguna revelación de sí mismo ni comunicación de su voluntad. Durante ese tiempo Moisés permaneció en espera de que se le llamara a presentarse en la cámara de la presencia del Altísimo. Se le había ordenado: "Sube a mí al monte, y espera allá". Y aunque en esto se probaban su paciencia y su obediencia, no se cansó de esperar ni abandonó su puesto. Este plazo de espera fue para él un tiempo de preparación, de íntimo examen de conciencia. Aun este favorecido siervo de Dios no podía acercarse inmediatamente a la presencia divina ni soportar la manifestación de su gloria. Hubo de emplear seis días de constante dedicación a Dios mediante el examen de su corazón, la meditación y la oración, antes de estar preparado para comunicarse directamente con su Hacedor. El séptimo día, que era sábado, Moisés fue llamado a la nube. Esa espesa nube se abrió a la vista de todo Israel, y la gloria del Señor brotó como un fuego devorador (Historia de los patriarcas y profetas, pp. 322, 323).