Leviticus 3 ~ he shall lay his hand on the head

The Temple fire is not quite huge like this.

Leviticus 3

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1 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. 3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the Lord, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

6 “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 8 lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 9 Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the Lord its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the Lord.

12 “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord 13 and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 14 Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the Lord, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the Lord's. 17 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”

Deuteronomy 18:3-4
This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts. You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, for the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD's name always.

Eli's sons, priests, sinned against the Lord by:

1 Samuel 2:15 -16
Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.”And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”

When we think of an altar we think of something clean, something in front of people in good, clean clothes - people acting appropriately.

Then we try to think of a bloody altar and we cannot imagine it. It seems very ancient to us. Iron age, bronze age, but surely not new age. No, the nature of man hasn't changed so very much. They were not blood thirsty people who enjoyed a good animal kill at the Temple.

Remember what Jesus said - the Pharisees were the teachers of the Law, they weren't BBQ and cut-up-the-live-animal-to-read-the-gizzards. This was a sacrifice. Sacrifice. In the Temple you were to act appropriately. So appropriately, it was cumbersome.

Matthew 12:9-13
⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

Not only was Jesus concerned with mercy to the animals, the Pharisees were as well. They were concerned for animals, not just for profit.

It would not be easy to raise your animal, care for it, and lead it to the Temple - place your hand upon its head and kill it -- for your sin atonement. You just literally had an innocent die for your sins. Yes, there were people who purchased the animal at the Temple, but they still had to slaughter it. It was still a time of inn keepers, accountants, salesmen, merchants, farmers and not just hunters and butchers. The sacrifice involved looking at the death, blood, pain your sin causes.

When we say in our Good Friday Services, "Crucify Him!" I cannot speak for you, but it hurts. But I did and I do need the salvation from God available in Jesus Christ. I know Jesus died for me, personally. Even for the people who would say they never asked him to die for them, He did die for them. All we need to do to make that salvation ours is call upon Jesus, admit we need Him to save us for our sins and believe it in our heart. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Jesus Christ willingly opened His arms on the Cross to be our Atonement. Just as willingly:

Mark 10:14-16
He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

An attitude of gratitude, being blessed to live during the days Jesus ended the sacrifice of animals at our hands. You Gave us Someone Far More Precious to You. Thank You, Father, for the Gift of Your Eternal Mercy in Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.


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Leviticus 2 ~ a pleasing aroma to the Lord

Leviticus 2

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1 “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it 2 and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 3 But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

4 “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil. 5 And if your offering is a grain offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. 6 You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7 And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8 And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. 9 And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 10 But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

11 “No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the Lord. 12 As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. 13 You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

14 “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. 15 And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. 16 And the priest shall burn as its memorial portion some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to the Lord.



Talented Shofar blowing, done before the Temple on Holy Days or to sound the alarm.

Deuteronomy 6:1-7
“Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

If you are from Texas, or the Southwest, you recognize the mouth watering aroma of a tortilla being cooked. But why would God be interested in a food offering and why would we read Leviticus today?

When we give today (and I include myself in this) we believe we give of our abundance. Sacrificial giving is what the Lord seeks; He seeks in our attitudes, we put Him first. We give the Lord in reading Leviticus, our interest. There isn't a Scripture to be read that isn't meaningful.

The Lord tells us He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Why would we read about offerings the Christians and the Jews no longer make? The Jews stopped making sacrifices after the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. It's important to remember Jesus forgave all of us on the cross. Jesus would have died a natural death about 70 AD. Jesus worked very hard traveling to heal and make whole that generation, many people were saved during the years after He was our Sacrifice. 70 AD was same time sacrifices stopped and the Temple was destroyed.

God Himself, as a man, Jesus Christ is our sacrifice.

Romans 5:8-10
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

And how is it today a grain offering is important?

Romans 5:8-10
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Matthew 26:26-28
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

And the aroma portion of the sacrifice is important as well.

Psalm 141:2
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

Revelation 5:8
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

What are we saying to the Lord if we say we will not look at the Book of Leviticus because it is merely logistical and ancient?

Psalm 50:16-17
16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? 17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.

Does Psalm 50 really apply here:

3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge! Selah

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.

12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” - Psalm 50

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Mark 13: 14-27 ~ He will send his angels

There are many more images of the Apocalypse than images of heaven. The enclosed image of heaven is painted by a 12 year old girl, Akaine.


Mark 13:14-27

14 "When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

24 "But in those days, following that distress,
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

26 "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

Hmmm, lots of hits to this particular Scripture verse this week; Google is being kept busy looking at Mark 13: 14-27. This was posted in 2007 originally. Given 2011 has been interesting in a sad, macabre way with massive fish, bird and cattle die offs. And the riots of the people across the world.

What did the Lord tell us?

Luke 21:7
They asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"


Matthew 24:36
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only

Did Jesus say anything else? Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 6 to name more. And He definitely said this is the answer for Christian eschatology:

Acts 1:7
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

What Jesus said in Mark 13 applied to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when he would have died a natural death. It will apply, again, when He comes in glory.

It will apply to your life when your time on earth ends. The second coming of Christ is accompanied by signs, but when Christ returns to the earth will He find faith? Will anyone even be concerned what the signs were? We don't know. Jesus asked the same questions during His time on earth. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

People have said during the plagues, it was the end. People believed the printing of the Bible was the end. They thought the pope and anti-pope eras were the end. People have created religions on the end. People believed Martin Luther was the end. People said Hitler was the end. People say the increase of earthquakes indicate the end.

If anyone tells you they have a complete handle on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Flee. The most wonderful prophets knew of Isaiah. The entire country of Israel heard the Words read in reverence in God's own Temple. Everyone expected a king born in a palace. A crusader, warrior king to set Israel on high. God's plans are His own.

But you know, it could be tomorrow..... Your own personal view of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:52
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

And the best question is, the only question is: "Where will you be? Do you know Jesus?" He loves you. All of the Scriptures, all of the prophets, all of it point to Jesus Christ. History. The count down of BC to AD is Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ came to save you.

Start at the earliest BC.

Moses was told. "I am".

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

John 6:51:"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;"

John 8:12: Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I AM the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

John 10:9: "I AM the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."

John 10:11: "I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

John 10:36: 'I AM the Son of God'

John 11:25: Jesus said to her, "I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

John 14:6: Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 15:1: "I AM the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." AND THIS IS THE WORD THAT WAS PREACHED TO YOU.

Romans 8:19
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God!

Romans 10:13
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Revelation 21:1-6

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."




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Philippians 2:19-24 ~ how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord

Philippians was written during Paul's house imprisonment in Rome (his first imprisonment). He probably did go back to Philippi, Greece. Timothy was to go 2-3 or more times, recorded in Scriptures. Timothy, historians write, was eventually the Bishop of Ephesus. (Poor Timothy.) Living to the age of 80 or 90.
What the Circus Maximus - horse races looked like, the Christians liked horse racing and it continued after Constantine embraced Christianity.
Circus Maximus today. If you've seen the excellent Charlton Heston movie, "Ben Hur" this is where Judah Ben Hur would have raced in Rome.

Philippians 2:19-24

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I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son [child] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Timothy! Wouldn't we all like someone like Timothy, or lots of Timothys, in our every day life. Paul loves Timothy and calls him a son. Timothy is mentioned in the Bible 28 times.

When Jesus sent 72 disciples out, he sent them two by two.

Luke 10:1
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.


Timothy's portion, the 28 times he's mentioned in Scriptures, begins in Acts 16:

Acts 16:1-3
¹ Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. ² The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Timothy traveled with Paul (see the travel lists in blue below). It's great to learn of someone Paul considered to be his spiritual son. In Acts 16, Lydia, the seller of purple (like being the head of Harrod's in London, purple was only sold to royalty) is converted. Lystra, today Turkey, then Galatia, must have been a wealthy area. In Ian Wilson's book, Jesus the Evidence, he references a 1st century letter from a Rabbi Licanthra who asks a fellow Jew, how will they keep going as Jews when miracle after miracle keep happening in Jesus' name? Rabbi Licanthra is convinced that with so many miracles, he is concerned it is the end of their faith. He is concerned and unhappy.

2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.

Paul doesn't see Timothy as perfect. He sees Timothy as someone growing in the Lord with faith. If Paul doesn't require perfection, Jesus doesn't expect more of us than we are capable of. Paul sees someone seeing how it will go and trusting in the Lord.


2 Timothy 3:10-17
You (Timothy), however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.


2 Corinthians 1:20-24
8 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”

20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.


Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's Second Missionary Journey (50-53 AD) - Acts 15:36-18:22, with Silas

1. Antioch (starting point)
2. Syria and Cilicia
3. Derbe
4. Lystra – Timothy joins the party
5. Phrygia and Galatia – Holy Spirit prevents them going to Bithynia
6. Troas – Paul's vision of the man of Macedon
7. Philippi – conversion of Lydia, thrown in jail, earthquake, conversion of jailer – Gospel goes to Europe
8. Thessalonica
9. Berea (Veria) – Jews examine scriptures – memorial of Paul's preaching
10. Athens – Paul preaches the Unknown God on the Areopagus
11. Corinth – Paul stays for 18 months, with Aquila and Priscilla, writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians
12. Ephesus – farewell
13. Jerusalem
14. Return to Syria

Paul's Third Missionary Journey - Acts 18:23-28:31, with Timothy

1. Phrygia and Galatia
2. Ephesus– Paul stays for two years, writes 1 Corinthians and possibly Galatians
3. Macedonia – Paul writes 2 Corinthians
4. Corinth– Paul stays 3 months, writes Romans
5. Troas – stays for 7 days; Eutychus and the nighttime meeting
6. Assos (Behramkale) – Acts 20:13,14 - Aristotle taught here
7. Mitylene
8. Samos
9. Miletus – farewell speech to Ephesians (?)
10. Jerusalem– imprisoned
11. Caesarea – Paul in prison for two years; Felix, Festus, Agrippa
12. Malta – shipwreck en route to Rome

Paul in Rome

According to early tradition, Paul was imprisoned in Rome in 53-62 AD (house arrest, able to have meetings, friends) and again in 64 AD (terrible dungeon). While in Rome he wrote the New Testament books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. According to the 4th-century historian Eusebius, he was beheaded in Rome in 67 AD.

1st column order in the Bible
2nd (column) approximate date written AD

52 (13): 1st Thessalonians
53 (14): 2nd Thessalonians
48 (9): Galatians
46 (7): 1 Corinthians
47 (8): 2 Corinthians
45 (6): Romans

49 (10): Ephesians
50 (11): Philippians
51 (12): Colossians
57 (18): Philemon

54 (15): 1st Timothy
55 (16): 2nd Timothy
56 (17): Titus
58 (19): Hebrews

The two ideas of Paul's timing don't quite agree.

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Genesis 37:12-24 ~ when Reuben

Genesis 37:12-24



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12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits [cisterns]. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. The footnote is found at Rueben's birth, it was his mother's, Leah, commentary on her marriage.

Proverbs 14:22
Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

Poor Reuben. All those brothers stirred up like a lynch mob in a family of too many divisions. A friend of a friend still supports his father's many wives and children. Many jealousies, selfishness of the father, too many children to support, and the friend of the friend says we are so lucky to have Christian marriage with devotion and support for one family unit.

Reuben's heroics end when he lies to his father, Israel. It must have damaged Reuben. How much easier it would have been to have told the truth and looked for Joseph. God would have still found a way to promote Joseph. Not even the soap operas are this complicated.


Genesis 35:22
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.

Reuben became someone who understood the 'necessity' of deep lies. In Genesis 49, Israel is giving blessings to his 12 sons, starting with Reuben. It isn't the blessing an oldest son would hope for:

Genesis 49:2-4
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.


Turbulent waters.

Genesis 30:3
Then Rachel said (to Israel), “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”

How old was Bilhah? How muddied is the water that Bilhab sleeps with her sons' brother? Her owner/employer's enemies' son, it was... on going trouble.

Genesis 2:18
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

The family being given money in Iran also have many complicated issues. The oldest son sends back a sizable portion of his income. His father married his mother as an arranged marriage, a really amazing marriage for his charming, good looking father, who was poor to marry an heiress. His mother had a promise from his father, it would be his only marriage. They had 4 children in short amount of time and lived in a beautiful house. Soon after the 4th child, a small house about the size of a two car garage was built on their property. His father came home with a 2nd wife and moved the first family into the new house. The first wife was enraged to be supporting such a situation and living in the small house. Her first born said she was consumed with hate and forgot her children. The wives hated each other. Four more children were born. Soon another little house was built and wife # 3 arrived. Wife 2 and wife 3 hated the hateful first wife. 4 more children, now 12 in total. Wife #3 was ousted by Wife #4. Wife 1 aligns herself politically with #4. Wife 2 and 3 are all now disillusioned, because 4 wives and 16 children are beyond their means. Children begin to go without shoes.

No one could believe it when another house and wife #5 arrived. #5 is much younger than wife #1's children. No one aligns with wife 5. Now children left without dowry, still in the house, are without basic necessities. The eldest son arranges cash to arrive to wife #2. He knows his mother is too enraged to share the money.

The money is used without the father of these 20 children knowing, it is agreed by all if he would go beyond the suggested 4th wife, more money would in front of the father would just create another 6th family. The father is now 60 years old with a wife in her early 20s.

The eldest son says he hardly had a mother or a father, and he says Christian marriage is the only loving, truly workable marriage. The eldest son is single by choice.

Ephesians 5:23-32

23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

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1 Peter 5:1-4 ~ not under compulsion, but willingly

1 Peter 5:1-4

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1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

We can directly learn what Peter found from his experiences with Jesus.

Peter was introduced to the idea of Jesus as Messiah, before he met Jesus, by his brother Andrew in John 1:41. In Luke 5, the chapter in Luke where Jesus calls His disciples, Peter is having a tough day at work, fishing, and witnesses Jesus tell them where to cast the net and two boats begin to sink trying to pull the net in with so many fish.

Peter immediately falls to his knees.....

Luke 5: But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Not your typical - the answer is 'Jesus!' - Sunday School response.

Isaiah would have understood. Completely.

Isaiah 6:5
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

What would have drawn Jesus to Peter, the man - who was a fumbler. Peter never tried to hide from God Almighty who he was. Peter, honest to his core, believed more in his own goodness than Jesus did. Peter was so glad to meet Jesus. Overwhelmed by the King of Kings. Confused by what He said. Eager to be with Jesus, so eager he jumped out of a boat to walk on water to Jesus!

Matthew 14:28-29 ²⁸
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

.....It was Jesus' great opportunity, you know.... Jesus could have smiled and waived, laughed with the others, as Peter sank. "Bye Peter!" What a laugh, impossible to resist. Many people turn their backs on others when it is inconvenient to know them.

Jesus could have thundered, "Sinner. You are a stiff-necked, faithless man, convinced of your own goodness, eager for your own safety and glory!" And pointed at Peter until the water removed him from sight.

Not our Jesus. Our Jesus is our mediator, our advocate. Our Jesus saves. Our Jesus does not break a bruised reed, nor put out a faintly burning wick. How long did Jesus wait....

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” ³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.

Sometimes situations were difficult surrounding Jesus, it wasn't always healing and miracles. This completed what Simeon had told His mother Mary while he was a baby:

Luke 2:34-35
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Jesus once asked Peter if he wanted to leave. Jesus had a lot to say, sometimes it wasn't easy:

John 6:47- 68
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

...... The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”


Peter, painted by Ron di Cianni

Peter knew His Shepherd. After Peter betrayed the Lord during His trial, many would have slunk away permanently. Or gathered with the other disciples to further condemn Jesus for having placed them in danger.

Peter knew something important about His Shepherd. Peter knew he was loved. When there was a possibility Jesus had risen, Peter ran to him.

Peter and John Running, by Dan Burr Mindre

When Jesus began to appear to the disciples, after His resurrection, Peter was willing to jump out the boat for Jesus again. This time, he swam. Peter wasn't as convinced of his own goodness, but he was sure of his Savior.

John 21:7,9
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them--fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

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Proverbs 25 ~ if you have found honey, eat only enough

Proverbs 25

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1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;

5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
or stand in the place of the great,
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen
8 do not hastily bring into court,
for [or else] what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another's secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.

11 A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone.
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house,
lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
18 A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
20 Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.

23 The north wind brings forth rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.
28 A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.

~ It is not good to eat much honey,
nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.

This would be amazing to most of the world. A lot of Proverbs is like this, over and over again God tells us to make the most of our time, not to be lazy. Yet God tells us all promotion, all gifts are from God.

Striving to go forward... away from countries where the leadership seeks only it's own glory

When we look at revolution, we don't see anything new in the world. Gandhi's revolution was peaceful and India exists today. Africa has tremendous amounts of tribal warfare, yet South Africa's Bishop Desmond Tutu & Nelson Mandela, offering a policy of honest admission of sin and forgiveness has stabilized South Africa. Tremendous results for faith combined with those seeking God and the desire to strengthen others in Him.

These were not despots seeking their own glory, not men seeking to promote their religion while sitting in fine palaces, without providing education, jobs, and kindness to their own, to women and orphans. A two class society of haves and have nots. Religion is false when works to help each other do not exist. Rules of faith seek only to bind to ideology, without hope.

Iran had fighting in 1979, briefly we believed it would be for democracy.

Looking back at France's revolution, it added to years of turmoil. Mindless hate with only the idea of change promotes nothing. Once started, revolution cannot usually be stopped. Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

But it requires the fighters to become tired of war. We haven't seen war yet, but I doubt many of these regimes will change without war. Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.

We don't know where all this unrest is headed, but to be glad of this much unrest isn't good; To assure each other it is just democracy at work. The situation really requires prayer.

Father God, you asked us in the Book of Psalms to pray for Israel, and we do. Let Your Light shine brightly there. After Jesus Christ's sacrifice, Father, You spread the Word around the world. Father God, we pray where there is need, You will fill it. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Father, the Churches of Houston, Baton Rouge, Dallas and others, as the body of Christ, met their need each day. Father, we ask for the people of God to meet this need in prayer. People who are hungry need food, You can provide. People who need work which brings opportunity and dignity need Your blessings.

Father God, we pray about the food shortages. The weather Russia had this summer killed crops. We pray about the huge amounts of corn put into ethanol and the shortage of corn and rice. Father God, we lift up to You the increase in cost globally for food.

Father God, in several places of Scripture You've said take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness. We pray for the leaders of nations to have the welfare of others determine their length of duration in power. We ask for Your justice and righteousness.

Father God, You are not limited as mankind is. We ask for Your help. We depend upon You, as all of mankind. Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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John 10:7-16 ~ the Good Shepherd

Holy Night by Antonio da Correggio, commissioned in October 1522, for a family chapel.

John 10:7-16

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7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Why would Mary, chosen by the Lord to be the Mother of God, be the best lay person example of shepherd? She was the first shepherd in the life of Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:38
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."

Mary believed God.

His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Mary and Joseph had a seamless family in Nazareth; they were seen as good shepherds to the small town. A hard thing to do, not to favor or disfavor the Son of God. A difficult thing to return to Nazareth to raise kids - the lady who was pregnant during the betrothal. When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.


Mary had to live down even the Sanhedrin Council gossip still available in the 1st Century Talmud. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Still she lived in peace. And her family is recorded as being a seamless family, although blended. Jesus would agree with their parenting in the Scriptures.

Mark 6:2-4
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus taught God's love to His disciples:

Acts 10:34-35
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.


In Jesus' ministry, Jesus spent time with his own brothers and mother in the Book of John 2:12; in John 7 they are acting as siblings often do to each other. Yet in Mark 3, and Luke 8 they are beginning to worry about the trouble and Jesus' safety, Mary and His brothers determine to speak with Him and prevail upon Him for His own good. Jesus replies all who do the will of God are His mother and brothers. Mary isn't recorded again as to trying to impose her wishes on Jesus again. The Scriptures don't say if Mary went home and thought about God's will, but she was there for Jesus when she could be.

In the time of the early Church:

Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Jesus told us:

Luke 11:28
Jesus replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

How are we to be God's shepherds?

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." ~ Matthew 28:10

Mark 3:33
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."


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John 17:9-19 ~ I kept them in your name

This art used photoshop, the image of Jesus is using the unique qualities of the Shroud of Turin's ability to map Jesus' face in the 3rd dimension.

John 17:9-19

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9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one [from evil] . 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify [Set them apart] them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified [may be set apart (for holy service to God)] in truth.

Remember the Prodigal Son, our Father God, has run to us! We are God's children, Jesus gave us the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. In Jesus Christ, our older brother, we are part of God's family.

The Scriptures are living and active. Today Jesus prepares a place for you, He mediates for you, loving you as you really are.

Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit

I kept them in your name, which you have given me, I have guarded them

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them

Psalm 42:7
Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.


Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


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