Two Turtledoves: Leviticus 5

On the second day of Christmas

My true love gave to me

Two Turtledoves

And a partridge in a pear tree.

If you’re wondering why I’m quoting Christmas songs in September, it’s because two turtledoves are part of what we see in Leviticus 5 (link). The book of Leviticus is continuing with instructions about the Law/Holiness Code for the Nation of Israel. We’ve seen some of the offerings described, and eventually Leviticus will get into the specifics of how the people were expected to live.

The starting point, though, are the consequences for when the people fail to live up to the Laws that they have not even heard yet. This is not unlike perusing the Internal Revenue Code and starting with the penalties, because the rest of it is simply impenetrable. You know that something bad will happen if you do this wrong, but you do not yet know what is wrong and what is right.

Now, when we get into the Holiness Code section of Leviticus, it’s less confusing than the Internal Revenue Code. God’s Law was not, after all, written by committee and approved by politicians. The penalties can be severe, but your everyday Israelite was not going to blunder into an error about their actions: clarity matches the brevity. Which is a lesson I have yet to learn.

In those pages of moral, civil, and religious laws, we see a great deal about the holiness and righteousness of the Almighty God. The section that precedes it, though, shows us the compassion of the same God.

How so?

Take a look at Leviticus 5:11. In the midst of all the laws about the required sacrifices for sins and guilt, there is this brief addendum. For those who are without the means to bring an ox, sheep, or other herd-type animal, two turtledoves are to be brought instead.

Why did this matter then?

These are wild birds that were in abundance in the time of Israel. I am uncertain about the availability of a turtledove on the streets of Tel Aviv today, but the average family of Ai or Hebron then would have likely been very tired of cleaning up the turtledove evidences at the time. Being wild and abundant, anyone could have all the turtledoves they wanted. It just took effort. A little skill and training, and one could snare a bird or two in the course of a few days. (Note that some translations render this bird as a pigeon. That shows the commonality of the bird. Oh, and keep your city clean. Eat a pigeon.)

The people did not have to remain distanced from worship because of poverty. They were able to replace that which they could not afford with something that would either be sold much cheaper or which they could obtain on their own. The compassion of God was that He does not restrict access to those who can afford to come. He accepts all those who will put forth the effort to come before Him.

Why does this matter now?

This is always an important question when looking at the Old Testament Law. After all, as Christians we hold that Jesus fulfilled the Law and we are not bound to follow the sacrifices listed within it. There are differences of opinion regarding other parts of the Law, but this much is clear: if one does not think that Jesus going to the cross for your sins satisfied the sin/guilt offerings for you, then you are outside the bounds of orthodox Christianity. We may disagree about how that exactly explains out, but that is of lesser importance: how He did it is less important than that He did so.

How it matters now is this: God still is the compassionate, merciful God He was then. After all, God does not change. The same God who made the necessary provision for the poor to come before Him in those times still makes provision for the poor now.

How so?

First, He provided for all, because all are spiritually poor. Actually, spiritually bankrupt and so underwater we make Enron look like a good investment now. In this, none of us have anything to offer God to buy His favor. Our sins are enough to condemn us for eternity. No amount of personal sacrifice is enough to fix that. Yet Jesus went to the Cross to satisfy our debt instead of us doing so. The redeemed are redeemed not because they had enough but because Christ is enough.

Are you trying to pay off what you lack the means to pay for?

Second, He provided for all, because we all are spiritually alone. So He gave us each other to have fellowship, encouragement, and growth from. Typically, we call that gathering of people a church. There are other things bound up in being a church, but one of the purposes is God’s provision for those who are spiritually alone, which all of His followers are as the world does not fit anymore.

And the price to attend church? Paid by the blood of Christ at the Cross. If they charge admission, then it’s not a church. End of story.

What do we do?

Don’t avoid joining with your local body of believers in Christ because you’re poor and lonely. If you are a believer, then that’s the place you ought to be. We miss out on God’s provision for our needs by not taking the provision He has made.

Don’t reject Christ because you think you have nothing to offer. The truth is, no one who comes to Jesus thinking they have something to give, unless it’s a wrecked sin-soaked life, comes with the wrong mind. We all came knowing we had nothing.

The other point applies from the inside: God made it possible for anyone to participate in worship. Be careful that, as a church, you do not make it harder than He did. If someone is too poor to participate in your church, then they are not the ones with the problems. And a side note: this includes building your worship service such that full participation only works for people with smartphones or other gadgetry. Honestly—you’ll take a tweeted question but not a live one? How dare you reject those who cannot afford (or understand) the technology.

Today’s not-so-nerdy note: Some of the other things we have attached to the concept of church take financial/material resources to operate. That is why we view one part of Christian discipleship as learning to give generously in obedience to Scripture. Even so, for some monetary giving just is not happening. I see Scripture as being clear that the efforts and hearts of people are more important than their bank accounts. Someone may be willing and able to give of their time but have little to no income to give from. Let them give as they are led and blessed. Perhaps someone is blessed with time and wishes to do. LET IT HAPPEN. Do not refuse the gifts of the growing heart.

Sermon Recap

Just a few notes: I think the videocasting experiment is about to end. It’s not working to relay down to the nursery and we haven’t had anyone else tuning it, so we’ll give it another week or two, but there doesn’t seem to be a need for it. We’ll revisit the idea—I think we have a greater call for finding a way to store and use as a video archive than we do for a livestream, so that’s my next experiment.

Morning Sermon:

Audio here (alternate here)

Outline: Luke 14:15-24

Subject: Be present at the Wedding Feast

     No one must miss Heaven, but some will

Central Theme:

     The grace of God provides more than mere adequacy for eternity and He determines that it should be shared.

Objective Statement:

  Each of us should: 1. receive the grace; 2. extend the grace

Rationale:

Setting: Jesus has just highlighted not to exalt yourself at a banquet, but to attend humbly and allow others to exalt you if you deserve it. One major point is that the host determines who is important. Not the attendees.

Culture: Banquets and feasts were a critical part of social existence at the time. These were important--general evidence suggests a great deal of back-and-forth invitations, who invited whom being social position markers, and a very closed loop: if you were on the list, you were on. Declining an invitation was a sign you deemed yourself more important than the one who invited you.

With that in mind, Jesus tells the story of a banquet. 

     1. The invitation is sent out to those that are worthy first

          A. These are stand-ins for the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other self-important folks

          B. When the time comes to actually participate, these all have excuses

          C. Those who make excuses do so because they see God, the Host, as lesser than they

     2. The invitation is sent out to those that are unworthy next

          A. These are those who have responded to Jesus in His earthly ministry

          B. These participate first--but they were unworthy at the outset

          C. These have little in terms of ability to payback: poor, crippled, blind, lame--certainly not                

          equal, not even capable of returning pennies on the dollar expended

     3. The invitation is sent out to those that are utterly rejected finally

          A. These are those who were not there at the beginning

          B. These participate as fully as the first--but were unworthy and distant at the outset

          C. These were so detached that they were lying in ditches or passing by, but were found by 

          those sent by the Host

          D. These are us

Responses

    First: Have you rejected the banquet? You may have said you were coming, but have you truly shown up? Or do you remain aloof, counting yourself as the one who determines whether you will go at all? Or when you will go? Today is the day, step from one who acknowledges the "save-the-date" card and be one who admits their need and becomes a disciple!!

     Second: If you are attending, how are you behaving? As one who deserves to be there? Or as one who did not deserve the invite? Do you, the one plucked from the ditch hold those pulled from the hedge in disdain?

     Third: Have you come alone? Who can you go get?

Evening Message:

We’ve been looking back at the old Experiencing God Bible Study in the evenings, but we’re not using the videos. Instead, I’m trying to highlight certain of the strong aspects of the material and have a discussion. So, I’ll give you the outline that I have used for that:

Evidently Evident Evidence: Acts 11

Take a moment. Now, read the rest of the post :)

Take another moment and think about a time when you did something that you thought was just great. Maybe you were away from home or your normal friends or your typical coworkers and a great opportunity dropped in front of you.

You took it.

Then on the way back, you spent the whole trip thinking of how great it was and how much you wanted to tell the story.

You walked in, the first words you met were “How in the world could you have done that?”

Feel the deflation? If you’ve been through that circumstance, you know the feeling. Here you thought that you had done well but the response is devastating. Someone has either taken issue with all that you did or perhaps just one little detail is under assault, but either way you feel laid low instead of lifted up.

Now, take a look at Acts 11 (link). Well, go back to Acts 10 first (my blog post about is at this link) if you need the context. Peter has gone from the Jewish world into the Gentile world and shared the Gospel. He has got to be excited to see the Word of God go into a place with less opposition than the fledgling faith was facing among the Jewish faith.

Then he goes back to Jerusalem. While the text of Acts is certainly compressed in its relation of events and happenings, the reading feels like Peter walks in the door and rather than hearing “How was the road?” or even “Did you blow out a sandal?” he instead hears “What in the world are you thinking, eating with Gentiles?”

He demonstrates wisdom in his response, though: in an orderly fashion he explains how God showed him the truth. The truth that the Gospel is not bound by circumcision or uncircumcision, not bound by ethnic background or prior religious views. Instead, the Gospel is bound only by the Grace of God.

Peter then goes to discuss the evidence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the new Gentile-heritage believers. The conclusion from the old-line body of believers? “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to live.” (Acts 11:18)

It was a big step for the church, and it is from this step that the church goes forward. The remainder of the chapter shows the establishment of the church at Antioch which becomes the center of the Christian mission. Christian mission because it is here that the disciples are first called Christians, mission because it is from here that intentional efforts to make disciples where there were none go forth.

What if it had been different? What if there had been no evidence from the lives of the Gentiles that showed they were saved by the same God and indwelt by the same Spirit that had come upon the Apostles at Pentecost?

Fortunately it was not the case—the evidence was there. Just as then, now the evidence of our faith should be evident. How so?

1. Faith should be evident in our attitudes toward others. This was not quite the case of the old-line believers at first, but they came around. Our attitude should be one that welcomes hearts that have been granted repentance to life. Prior divisions should be meaningless to us.

2. Faith should be evident by the obvious work of the Spirit of God. In Acts, this was the move of the Spirit to empower speaking in tongues. My conviction is that this was how God authenticated salvation for this group and others in Acts because it met the normative experience from Acts 2, Pentecost, that the Apostles had. Their experience, though, was Spirit-birthed out of practical necessity: people needed to hear the Gospel in diverse languages, so it was empowered.

Today, I would argue that this is not the definite evidence of the Spirit in believers. I think you should check Galatians 5:22-23 for the definite evidence of the Spirit. However, in the speed-growth that was those first years, time was critical, and it is hard to see patience in a week. Unless it’s a really bad week.

3. Faith should be evident by our recognition of the Word of God. For us, this is in the Bible. For Peter, it was the vision and the sheet. God speaks clearly through Scripture today, and our faith should be evident in our recognition of Scripture as God’s Word.

4. Faith should be evident in our repentance from all things not Christ. Note the response: not “Ok, the Gentiles believe.” The response: “The Gentiles can repent, too!” Repentance from sin is the first act of a heart regenerated by Christ. In truth, being born again, having faith, and repenting are so muddled together that they are the crucial ingredients of a new Christian. You cannot truly have one without the other—just as there are three keys to bread: flour, salt, and water (yeast helps, too, but not always) and you don’t have bread until you’ve got them all.

5. Faith should be evident by its spread. The last portions of the chapter set this up: faith does not stay in one place. It is shared with a vibrancy and joy that makes a difference in the world around those who have it. Both in spiritual need and physical—note the presence of Agabus, the prediction of the famine, and the plan to provide for the needs of fellow believers.

In challenging our thoughts:

Does our faith shape the way we see people?

Does our faith shape the way we see events?

Does our faith shape the way we see our future?

If not, why not?

If so, how so?

Today’s Nerd Note:

Prophets then: Agabus makes his first appearance in this chapter, and then he shows up again near the end of Acts. He prophesies of a famine that will affect the ‘whole world.’ Luke notes that this happened, and it happened during the reign of Claudius.

A few notes: first we see that Agabus the Prophet was accurate in his prediction. He does not get it partly right. Second we see that he was precise. There is no vagueness like “perhaps, there might maybe be….”

Prophecy in Scripture may have parts that are unclear, but little (if any) is truly ‘vague’ and none of it is inaccurate.

All of prophecy in Scripture is seen evidence in Agabus in this: prophecy is sent to stir actions of obedience. Here, the church that had means gathered funds to aid the brethren that were in need. Note on brethren: take that to mean all fellow believers, not just men-folk; don’t take it to mean every last person affected by the famine.

So, prophecy is precise, accurate, and requires actions of obedience. Anything that claims to be prophecy but is not all three is probably not prophecy. It may be good preaching, but inspired prophecy? Not there.

An additional aside: throughout Scripture, meeting the needs of the poor is a theme. That theme includes these restrictions: typically it is the poor within the community of faith, not all the poor everywhere; it is the poor that are unable to provide for themselves though they have tried; it is the poor that are poor due to life circumstances not due to personal sin. To claim that the Bible teaches that those with means should have their means taken by threat of force (which is what taxation is, really) to care for those the agent of force (government) deems fit is nonsense.

We should care for the poor. Our hearts should drive us to meet needs and meet needs in an appropriate manner. Those with more ought to see their blessing as the opportunity to give more. Some do: read The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard. Yet Christian life originates from the heart, not from outside force.

Someone has to pay for this: Leviticus 4

In one of the last movies Nicolas Cage was in that I actually like, he shares a few scenes with Harvey Keitel. Through the course of National Treasure, several laws are broken, and Keitel is an FBI Special Agent responsible for bringing to justice those who are breaking those laws. He gets the line, frequently, that “Someone’s got to go to prison.” In the off-chance that you have listened to the critics and skipped this film, I won’t spoil how it ends for you about who goes to prison. Suffice it to say that one does not simply walk into Boston’s Old North Church.

The theme, though, is clear. When the law is broken, justice requires that a penalty be paid. Even though the film demonstrates that much of the law-breaking is done for good reasons, done with noble intentions, that law-breaking requires payment. Even the semi-unintentional kidnapping of Diane Kruger in the film requires that an arrest be made.

The truth is, when wrong is done, someone must pay for the wrong done. This is not merely the case when the victim of a crime deserves justice—after all, some crimes appear victimless, do they not? Yet the issue is not merely how things appear to us.

At issue is one of those larger questions of life. The question: If something is done that is wrong, but no one is directly harmed by it, is it still wrong? In other words, is there a persistent concept of right and wrong that is inescapable, or are human decisions only subject to the trials of peers and historians?

Leviticus 4 (link) gives us an insight into this as we go through the whole Bible.  God speaks to Moses and gives him instruction about how to offer a sacrifice for the sins committed by the people unintentionally.

Catch that line? All of the detail in this chapter reflects the perfection of the offering needed and the intricacies of the process for sins that occurred even though there was no willful intent. Why?

Why would such a process be necessary?

Because sin, the doing of wrong and the not-doing of right, violates an eternal standard of right and wrong. Much of Leviticus delves into how that fleshes out. Some of those commands are for a theocratic 15th century BC society, and some are for all time, and that division requires more than mere proof-texting. However, here we are not explicitly concerned with the content of that standard.

We are concerned with its existence. If Moses heard correctly from God, then that standard exists. Otherwise, there is no point in the Sin Offering commanded in this chapter. The Sin Offering is the major Old Testament offering that does not allocate a portion to the priests: the whole sacrifice is burned up to the Lord God.

How does that matter? One can imagine that religious leadership might invent a concept that benefits them—like the annual pastoral cheeseburger offering—but it is less likely that they would imagine a concept that brings no tangible benefit to themselves or society. This idea of a sin offering for unintentional, unwillful violation of an eternal standard comes from somewhere beyond the priests of Israel.

As a Biblical conservative, I think it comes from what you see in Leviticus 4:1. This is revealed truth from God Almighty.

We would do well, then, to recognize what this means for our lives. It is not a question of whether or not anyone knows what we do. It is not a question of whether or not we only hurt ourselves with what we do. It is not even a question of what we meant to do.

It is a question of whether or not we recognize the existence of that eternal standard.

From there, life changes. If we admit there is an eternal standard, then there is an eternal source for that standard. That source should be known and consulted.

If there is no standard, then who gets to set the standard this week? Next week? What becomes the line for morality among humanity?

If there is a standard, we would do well to learn about it, its source, and its consequences.

In Leviticus, those consequences are shown to be a life for each infraction, adding up to a lot of sacrifice. In Hebrews, we see that there remains a better way.

We can see it here: there is no need for the Sin Offerings if there is no eternal standard. Let the sin that harms no one have no consequence. But it does not work that way. Never has, never will.

Today’s Nerd Note: Short and to the point: memorize “Then the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses, saying” and you’ve got most of the verse 1s of the book of Leviticus.

That’s a crucial point, too: this is God’s revelation. Not man’s ideas nor man’s attempts to please God. These are God’s requirements for life in His community. Again, as we go forward, we’ll look at understanding which parts are better understood as pertaining to theocratic Israel and which parts pertain to all of us at all times. But these aren’t Moses’ ideas. He may not have even liked them.

Book: The Shorter Catechism Activity Book

Today’s Book Review is brought to you by Cross-Focused Reviews, who provided a copy of the book in exchange for the review. They send the book and schedule the blog tour, and I write how I really feel about the book. Trust me, there’s not enough money in these print-run of specialty books like this to bribe all these bloggers :)

I am a Christian of the Southern Baptist variety, and so we do not have an official creed for our churches nor do we have a catechism for the teaching of basic doctrines. We’re a bit more random than that. While I would agree that we might need some changes in that area, this is not really the place for that discussion. Instead, I provide you with that information so that you know I do not come predisposed to a different catechism program or a preference for the one I grew up with, because I didn’t grow up. Or grow up with one.

The Shorter Catechism Activity Book by Marianne Ross looks a little something like this:  

So, now you know how it looks. It’s published by Christian Focus Publications. The author, Marianne Ross, is listed as a wife, mother, writer, and cup-cake baker. Unfortunately, no cupcakes were provided alongside the book and I am unable to evaluate the veracity of this particular claim.

The initial content of this book is the official Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC). This is a series of 107 questions and answers about Christian doctrine. The Westminster Standards are the doctrinal standards for many English-speaking denominations that trace their heritage to the English Reformation, especially the more Presbyterian-leaning groups. Given that the WSC is more than 300 years old, I will not offer an extensive comment here about its value.

This book is not intended to persuade you to use the WSC, either, though. Instead, this book is intended to help reinforce the teaching of that system. There are 107 activities in the book, one for each question of the catechism.

These are in the shape of various word searches, code-breaking games, fill-in-the-blanks, and crossword puzzles. Some of these would be beyond frustrating, but the first page after the table of contents is a code key page. That helps. A lot. In fact, by having this page, you do not find yourself in need of a specific answer key, as working out the answers becomes easy, if time consuming.

In all, the activities are challenging enough to keep a child working at them for some time. Certainly, if they already know the answers to a specific question, the puzzles will be easy.

The drawbacks I would find here are these:

1. I am not an education expert, but in my observation, sometimes puzzle-based learning activities help a student learn to solve puzzles, but not learn the material. That is not all bad, but it is something to consider.

2. You can count this as a drawback or not, but there is no source document on the Westminster Shorter Catechism here. If you do not know it or have a copy available, you’ll have to solve the puzzles to learn it.

3. The book uses the straight Westminster Shorter Catechism. Including “doth” and various other antiquated phrasings. While it falls to the churches to update the overall language, perhaps a minor paraphrasing would fall within the purview of a children’s book.

In all, though, if your particular view of Christianity encourages learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism, this book is a helpful tool in your arsenal. It is worth an extra look.

Free book, again, received from publisher in exchange for review.

Sermon Wrap-Up: September 16

Morning Audio Link is here (alternate)

Morning Outline: (And the prayer guide referenced in the audio is here)

Luke 11:1-13

Prayer

I. Desire for relationship

II. Recognition of situation

     A. Prayer is from lesser to a greater

     B. Prayer reflects our need

     C. Prayer is not powerful: God is powerful

III. Content:

     A. Recognition of situation

     B. From a heart of gratitude and understanding

     C. Focused on what is necessary for obedience

     D. Not focused on perfect wording

IV. Attitude

     A. Persistent

     B. Desperation

V. Trust

     A. God knows already

     B. God will answer better than we realize

Application:

1. Pray. 

2. Pray specifically

3. Pray generically

4. Pray for: Salvation for the lost; growth for the saved; the church to make disciples; strength to obey---provision and deliverance

 

Evening was discussion, primarily, but here were some of the points I wanted to hit:

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

Questions:

What does it mean to you that God works through His servants?

What is the limit on your usefulness to God?

Points:

1. The Bible: is this about us or God? GOD!!

2. We learn about God through the practice of obedience

3. The Holy Spirit guides us in all Truth: John 14:18-27

4. The Presence of the Holy Spirit should also bring Peace

5. God is not still or passive

6. The question is not about you: "What does God want from me?" It is about God: "What is God doing?" 

We follow on with: How has God made me? How, then, am I fit to join with His work?

7. His agenda. Not ours.

Next week's verse:

Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God: Psalm 20:7

Book: Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day

This week, I am participating in a book review project for the book Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day. The book is published by BethanyHouse Publishers, and they sent me a free copy of the book to entice me to review it. All they enticed was the review, though, they did not require any level of review.

The book looks like this:

Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day by Garry R. Morgan is a short primer on more than twenty religions practiced throughout the world today. The obvious focus is on world religions that impact on world culture and American culture, but one of the good points present is that any major religion in the world impacts on those items in the modern day.

As a side note, it appears that BethanyHouse is doing a series of "15 Minutes a Day" books, having started with Understanding Your Bible in 15 Minutes a Day and looking ahead to Understanding Theology in 15 Minutes a Day. I will hopefully bring you a review of the latter after it releases. 

On point, UWRI15 presents us with a challenge. Is it really possible to understand another person's belief system in that short of a time investment? The author acknowledges that he presents a brief summary and not an in-depth treatment.

What is there to like? First of all, comprehensiveness. While someone will find a religious movement left out, Morgan has presented most of the major world religions. This includes groups with fairly small numbers like the Sikhs and Jainists. Second, differentiation. He presents Nation of Islam separate from Islam, and rightly so: the two are different, though related, religious groups. Third, even-handedness. While I think Morgan shows his Christian preferences in the text, he does not attempt to present religious counters to the beliefs of others. Fourth, fast-reading. Each chapter averages four pages, which allows for quick reading. Fifth, going deeper. A few religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism, are given multiple chapters to flesh out more of their story.

What is there not to like? Primarily this: while Morgan uses some in-line citations, there are no footnotes, endnotes, or other comprehensive references in the text. Admittedly, he is Professor of Intercultural Studies for Northwestern College, so he knows the facts and information, but there is no built-in reference section to verify his statements or conclusions. The secondary dislike is related: for one not satisfied with the basic knowledge acquired in 40 days of 15-minute reading, there are no suggestions of where to go next. If I want to know more on Eastern Orthodox Christianity, where do I go? What about Jainism or Scientology (well, other than Tom Cruise)? A bibliographic section would have enhanced the value of this book.

One minor quibble someone may have is with the book's section on the Unification Church: UWRI15 was written before the recent death of the founder of that church. So, his death is not mentioned and this makes one statement in UWRI15 inaccurate about who the leader of that body is.

In all, I found this book helpful as a primer. More could be said about the details of Christian theology in the opening chapters, but then more could be said about the details of many groups mentioned. If you need a short intro, you can start here and Morgan will keep you in the right waters. They are shallow waters at many points, but you will have to decide to invest more than 15 minutes a day if you want to get any deeper.

I did receive a free copy of this book from the publisher.