Old Testament
1. Nazarite vow..."either men or women,...setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way." This vow required the man or woman to:
- Abstain from wine, wine vinegar, grapes, raisins, and according to some - alcohol and vinegar from alcohol
- Refrain from cutting the hair on one's head
- Avoid corpses and graves, even those of family members, and any structure which contains such
- The most "famous" Nazarite in the bible was Samson.
2. Blessing the people
- "May the Lord bless you and protect (keep) you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you .
May the Lord show you his favor (bless you)
and give you his peace.
- This should sound familiar...sounds like benediction at the end of Sunday morning service.
3. The Tabernacle is set up, anointed and set apart.
4. The furnishings, altar and utensils are also anointed and set apart. This section lists the dedication offerings brought by the leaders of each tribe of Israel at the time the altar was anointed.
5. Then...
- "Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s (of the Covenant)cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord spoke to him from there." The direct and unmistakeable voice of God...wow!
New Testament
6. Warnings about false teachers.
7. The widow's offering.
- We have all heard this verse used and much more often misused to get people to "dig deep and give (to me)." Especially by those TV evangelists.
- "For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."
- This is not just about money to your favorite televangelist. At least, I don't think so. This goes back to the discussion about our hearts. This woman beleived so strongly in the message she was receiving and in the promise of God's blesings that she gave from her heart. And, she gave her heart...to God.
- Back at the beginning of this we talked about tithing. Tithe where you are fed, where you are spiritually nutured. And don't give just to get the numners in or for credit on your account with God. We give to God's house so that others can be nurtured. But our gift ultimately is to God.
8. Beware of false prophets...people claiming to be the Messiah.
- Remember Jim Jones ( of Jonestown) and David Koresh (Waco) and Move organization.
9. A few of the disciples want to know when this will happen. "What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?"
- They are still looking for the inside track.
- As usual Jesus doesn't give them a specific answer. History will continue in it's usual fashin. we will continue to hate, harm and kill each other.
- But our job, our goal in all this is to endure.
- "...But the one who endures to the end will be saved." If you hold on, if you stick with Jesus, you won't be sorry, you'll be saved.
Psalm
10. "But as for me, God will redeem my life."
11. "So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid. For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave."
12. We will all die, our bodies fade away...but what will happen to you after?
Proverbs
13. "The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing"
- I beleive this speaks to our eternal happiness.
See you next post...
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