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Bible Challenge 2010
January 31- February 6
This Week’s Readings:
Sunday: Exodus 39 – Leviticus 2 After the tabernacle was erected, the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle to let His people know that here they could find the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins and fellowship with the God of their salvation. Here their offerings could be brought to atone for their sins. Leviticus begins with an explanation of those offerings.
Monday: Leviticus 3 – 6:13 As you read through this section of the book, you might think it is too repetitive. But it’s not if you consider that all the preceding offerings up to chapter 5 were for unspecified & unintentional sins. Those following this chapter state specific offenses and what must be done to atone for them.
Tuesday: Leviticus 6:14 – 8 The law prescribed the plan, the way in which every offering was to be made. The Israelite's worship was to involve his whole heart and soul. These precise regulations encouraged the Israelite worshipper to also engage his mind in his worship. This section concludes with some narrative on the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests.
Wednesday: Leviticus 9 – 11 We behold the first sacrifices of Aaron accepted by the Lord. Now Aaron occupies center stage as he offers sacrifices first for himself and then for the people. Making sacrifices, however, was never to be done in a careless or mocking way. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, paid the penalty for refusing to obey the Lord’s commands with a sudden death by fire. We also learn which animals were considered clean – acceptable for food and for sacrifice – and which were not.
Thursday: Leviticus 12 – 14:32 The regulations stated in these chapters seem somewhat odd to us today. But remember that God was teaching the Israelites about themselves here. The diseases would have been symbolic of sin. The cleansing would have been symbolic of Christ's cleansing us from our sins.
Friday: Leviticus 14:33 – 16:10 Any kind of uncleanness made a person unfit to enter the Tent of Meeting. Yet it was possible someone might unwittingly be unclean. The purpose of the Day of Atonement was therefore to cleanse the children of Israel from any and all pollution.
Saturday: Leviticus 16:11 – 19 The rituals of the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat and the sending of the scapegoat into the wilderness symbolized the only way by which people could appear in God’s presence. Their sins needed to be transferred to another. Also the shedding of blood is necessary to make atonement for their sins.
Bible Challenge 2010
February 7 - 13
This Week’s Readings:
Sunday: Leviticus 20 – 22 As you read through this section, it might seem familiar. It’s a continuation of the rules for holiness in Israel’s society. But now the consequences of disobeying these rules are stressed. If you think all these rules are overbearing, just look at the higher standards that finish out this section, which were required from the priests.
Monday: Leviticus 23 – 25:31 If you were asked to name the major festivals of the Christian church year, could you do it? The Israelites also celebrated major festivals throughout the year. God specified when these festivals were to be held. This gave everyone the specifics concerning sacred assemblies and rest days not only for each year but also for longer periods of time.
Tuesday: Leviticus 25:32 – 27 The middle of this section is very important for anyone trying to understand the message of the Old Testament prophets. For the most part, they weren't telling the Israelites anything new. In fact, most of their rebukes God had already warned the Israelites about. The prophets even borrowed much of their terminology and accusations from this section.
Wednesday: Numbers 1 – 3:26 The book of Numbers as it is called and rightly so begins with a Census of the nation of Israel. On the basis of this census, the Lord designated the position of the various tribes in the camp. The camp was designed to focus inward on the Tent of Meeting, which was surrounded by the Levites.
Thursday: Numbers 3:27 – 5 The Levites are counted in respect to each one of their three clans – namely the Kohathites, Gershonites, & Merarites. The Lord assigned certain responsibilities to each one of these clans concerning the moving of the Tabernacle and its furnishings.
Friday: Numbers 6 – 7:65 This section contains the best-known proclamation of the Lord to Moses in the dessert. We still use the Aaronic benediction in our church services today. God gave it first to the children of Israel for their worship life. This is followed by the generous offerings that the leaders of each tribe brought to the dedication of the Tabernacle.
Saturday: Numbers 7:66 – 10 One year had passed since the mighty hand of the Lord has rescued the Israelites from Egypt. God now ordains that the people are to observe the Passover to commemorate that night of deliverance. Following this celebration, the Lord leads the Israelites out from Sinai to Kadesh.
Bible Challenge 2010
February 14 - February 20
This Week’s Readings:
Sunday: Numbers 11 – 14:19 This section begins with a series of incidents which show how the attitude of the Israelites degenerated from some general griping to open rebellion against the Lord. Despite their rebellion, God sends spies to look over the Promised Land.
Monday: Numbers 14:20 – 16:34 It is highly unfortunate that the Israelites doubted the Lord’s promises. Instead of rejoicing and taking the land, they rebelled. The Lord carries out His judgment against the ten spies who gave the bad report by striking them down with a plague. Acknowledging their mistake, the Israelites try to take the land without the Lord’s approval. This campaign ends in utter defeat.
Tuesday: Numbers 16:35 – 19 The 40 years of wandering in the wilderness now begins. Again, the Israelites rebel, this time under the direction of Korah. When the Lord’s judgment falls upon the people, Moses sends Aaron among them to offer incense. Then God gives His people a beautiful symbol in the budding staff of Aaron to prove that He had chosen Aaron as the High Priest.
Wednesday: Numbers 20 – 22:28 “Where’s the water?” This is an important question in the dessert, yet it still is a sign of rebellion against God. Unfortunately, Moses did not react to this rebellion the same way as before. He disobeyed God’s command to speak to the rock; instead he struck it. This may seem like nothing, but because of this act of disobedience Moses never steps foot in the Promised Land.
Thursday: Numbers 22:29 – 25 God protects His people not only from armies but also from false prophets. One can be as dangerous as the other, as Satan tries to mislead the people of God. Balaam, a false prophet, is summoned to curse the Israelites. The Lord prevented him from doing so. Yet, Balaam suggests to the king of Moab that the Israelites could be seduced into idolatry. To the shame of the Israelites, this ploy is quite successful.
Friday: Numbers 26 – 28:25 A second census of the people is taken, which shows that all the Israelites who were 20 years old or more at the time of the crossing of the Red Sea were now dead. By the Lord’s command, Moses commissions Joshua as the next leader of the Israelites.
Saturday: Numbers 28:26 – 31 Final preparations are being made so the Israelites could enter the Promised Land. There is a summary of several things concerning worship life. The directive to move out in vengeance against the Midianites then follows this.
Bible Challenge 2010
February 21 - February 27
This Week’s Readings:
Sunday: Numbers 32 – 34 This section covers a major decision made by several of the Israelite tribes. Some of the tribes were so impressed by the land east of the Jordan that they decided to live there. After some negotiation, Moses gives them permission to settle the land. Then the Lord defines the boundaries of the land He was giving to them.
Monday: Numbers 35 – Deuteronomy 1 Numbers concludes with the Lord assigning certain towns to be used by the Levites as well as cities of refuge for those individuals who accidentally killed someone. Deuteronomy is Moses' farewell sermon(s) to Israel before they enter the Promised Land. At first glance it seems somewhat redundant (in fact, the name Deuteronomy means "second law") and therefore unnecessary. Yet Jesus refers to this book many times. There are almost 100 quotations of and allusions to Deuteronomy in the New Testament--more than any book besides Psalms.
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 2 – 4:24 Moses highlights the Israelites’ wanderings in the dessert and their defeat of King Sihon and King Og in the Transjordan. Even though Moses pleads with the Lord, he is not allowed to enter the Promised Land. The Lord assures Moses that through Joshua He would keep His promise to give this land to the next generation of Israelites.
Wednesday: Deuteronomy 4:25 – 7:11 Moses tries to impress upon the Israelites the importance of giving their total devotion to the Lord in the future. In this farewell sermon, Moses repeats the laws, especially the Ten Commandments, he feels are of greater importance for the Israelites.
Thursday: Deuteronomy 7:12 – 10 Moses continues his farewell sermon by warning the Israelites not to forget the Lord. This type of sinful behavior was witnessed before through incidents such as the Golden Calf.
Friday: Deuteronomy 11 – 13 God commanded the Israelites to proclaim blessings from Mt. Gerizim, and curses from Mt. Ebal. This was only fitting because Mt. Gerizim is rich and fertile today while Ebal is bare and unproductive. What a perfect picture of the difference between the person who obeys God's laws and the person who does not obey them.
Saturday: Deuteronomy 14 – 17 People who want to poke holes in the Bible will point to 15:4 and 15:11 as contradictory. In reality, they are not. Verse 4 indicates the way things OUGHT to be. Since God has given them a land that will produce enough for the whole nation, there SHOULDN'T be anyone who is poor. Verse 11 states the reality--that because of greed, there will always be poor people--to whom the believer will then show charity.
Bible Challenge 2010
February 28 – March 6
This Week’s Readings:
Sunday: Deuteronomy 18 – 22:12 Because their new homeland was teeming with false prophets, Moses describes the coming of true prophets from the Lord who would lead and direct God’s people in the future. Please also note God’s high value for human life as He talks about the cities of refuge, going to war, and unsolved murders.
Monday: Deuteronomy 22:13 – 27:10 Marriage for an Israelite was quite different from today. They had to go through three stages to get married: engagement, betrothal, and the speaking of their marriage vows. Betrothal was so binding that it could be broken only by divorce. This is followed by the Miscellaneous Laws, named as such because they are arranged in no specific pattern.
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 27:11 – 29:18 When the Israelites entered into the Promised Land, Moses knew they would need to renew their faithfulness to the Lord and to His covenant with them. Thus we have the giving of the Lord’s curses and blessings.
Wednesday: Deuteronomy 29:19 – 32:31 As you read this section, you come to the realization that life is full of choices; few carry eternal consequences. But this choice – do we follow our covenant God, or do we follow other gods? – is as important as life itself. Trusting the Lord and living life His way isn’t just the only way to stay alive; it’s the only way life can be rich, full, and productive – the way He created it to be.
Thursday: Deuteronomy 32:32 – Joshua 2:13 Deuteronomy ends with a song of blessings for the tribes of Israel and Moses’ death. Joshua continues what Moses had written about – namely the fulfillment of the Lord’s covenant promise to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. It was for this endeavor that God encourages Joshua to be strong and courageous.
Friday: Joshua 2:14 – 6 The pages of Joshua echo with the sounds of collapsing walls, the clash of swords, and the booming 'amen' of God's grateful nation. But through all these sounds, the author sustains this clear message: The Lord has fulfilled His promise of the land, and we can trust in Him to fulfill all His promises.
Saturday: Joshua 7 – 9 The entire nation of Israel suffered a terrible defeat because of Achan's sin. While we might be impressed that only one of hundreds of thousands disobeyed, the Holy Lord is not. His wrath burns against all Israel, because His covenant with its clear stipulations about the devoted things had been violated. Israel then gets a taste of its own medicine at the hands of the Gibeonites.
Bible Challenge 2010
March 7 – March 13
This Week’s Readings:
Sunday: Joshua 10 – 13:7 It seems unfair that Joshua should help the Gibeonites because of their past deception. Yet, Joshua comes to their rescue. Joshua prays that God would make the sun stand still. God grants his request, allowing the Israelites to defeat the Amorites. God then lists all the cities which were taken in the Southern and Northern Campaigns against the Canaanites.
Monday: Joshua 13:8 – 16:4 After all of those years of wandering and enslavement, God fulfills His precious promise by allotting the Promised Land to the Israelites. The shape and size of Canaan are comparable to the state of New Hampshire. 60% of its land lies west of the Jordan. Most importantly for us as Christians, Israel's borders find their ultimate value as the place where Jesus gave Himself to carry out God’s plan of salvation for the world.
Tuesday: Joshua 16:5 – 21:18 The tribal allotments of the Israelites continue. It is important to understand the context behind these allotments. The Lord was directing everything. His presence is symbolized through the Tent of Meeting. His will is carried out by means of the lot and through His agents: Eleazar, the priest, Joshua, as well as all the tribal heads of Israel’s clans.
Wednesday: Joshua 21:19 – 24:15 Through this list of forty-eight cities for the Levites we see God's great care in providing teachers for His people. An arrangement is in place whereby Israelites in every corner of the land can be instructed in the Lord's covenant. This is exactly what Joshua encouraged them to with his final words. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!”
Thursday: Joshua 24:16 – Judges 3:19 This section reveals to what extent the individual tribes were successful in claiming their inheritance after Joshua died. We also see the four phases of a pattern that repeats itself throughout the book concerning the behavior of the Israelites – namely APOSTASY, OPPRESION, DELIVERANCE, & REST.
Friday: Judges 3:20 – 6:22 Note the pattern. These chapters begin with the ending of Eglon’s oppression by Ehud and Shamgar’s deliverance. Then there was rest for Ehud’s generation. Followed by apostasy on the part of Israel. Jabin and Sisera oppressed them, while Deborah and Barak, by the power of the Lord, brought them deliverance.
Saturday: Judges 6:23 – 8 There was rest for Deborah & Barak’s generation. Followed by apostasy and Midianite oppression. Until the Lord used Gideon to deliver His people from the hands of the Midianites.
Pastor Jason Jobs
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