When you have an important choice to make, what do you do? Some people give in to their impulses, and often live to regret rash decisions. Others try to think things through, analyzing a situation from every angle. Some are guided by the past, drawing on their personal experience or…

If there’s any chapter in the Bible that seems to cry out for an editor, it would be Numbers 7. For how could it have been necessary to list the exact contents of each one of twelve identical offerings? And why did the leaders of each tribe have to be…

What can we possibly learn from this strange test for adultery? Well, the very existence of such a ceremony reminds us that adultery is a very big deal. In fact, the mere suspicion of adultery strikes at the very core of marriage, which is, after all, the pursuit of oneness…

Why would God expect the Israelites to dedicate their firstborn sons to Him? To answer that question, we have to go back to the Exodus, to the time when the people were redeemed from slavery in Egypt. The last plague God sent on the Egyptians was the death of their…

“If you obey me you will be blessed, and if you disobey me you will be cursed.” That sounds uncomfortably close to works righteousness, doesn’t it? Is God saying that we can earn our salvation by what we do? Not if we take a closer look. At the end of…

In Matthew 5:38-41, Jesus clearly told us not to live by the rule of “an eye for an eye” (Leviticus 24:19-20), but instead to turn the other cheek. So, what can we possibly learn from this Old Testament passage that so clearly seems to have been set aside? In the…

“Go have a celebration.” That’s basically what God is commanding His people in chapter 23. But before we rush off to plan a party, let’s look at why the people were celebrating. Maybe we can incorporate some of those ideas not only into our worship but into our daily lives….

“Love your neighbor as yourself” – that comes from Leviticus 19:18. And in quoting from this Old Testament passage, Jesus said that love for others sums up a big portion of what the Law of Moses is all about. In today’s passage, as in so many other parts of the…

The big idea of the Day of Atonement is clear enough – we need Christ to shed His blood to atone for our sins. But so many parts of chapter 16 seem strange until we remember that Aaron the High Priest is representing Jesus’ person and work. Notice, for example,…

It’s easy to see why Jesus had to die, shedding His blood to pay the penalty that our sinful actions deserve. Sin, at its root, is really nothing less than rebellion against God, treason against God. And everyone knows that traitors get the death penalty. But why would a blood…