John 3:16 – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”[1] This is the mission of God. The most memorized verse in the Bible. We quote it, we read it, and we hear it many times. It is expressed so much that little thought is put into the mission. Christopher Wright reminds us in The Mission of God’s People that this is God’s mission. Because it is God’s mission, He has chosen how to accomplish His mission. God’s way of achieving His mission is not the way parents would choose as a plan. But God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit’s plan always was. They always knew the whole world because they created them. They love what they created… you. Just as they chose the world by creation and out of love, they gave the world a choice to love in return. They offered eternity with them by a simple choice. Believe in Jesus, the Son of God, as Lord and Savior. But the plan was so much deeper than just a choice. The plan included a blood sacrifice that Jesus made with His own life. God gave up His Son to death so the world could have life. This is God’s mission.

            As believers in God’s mission, we are invited to participate in His mission with Him. There are several aspects of our involvement with God’s mission:
     1) The idea that the world's Creator, the Holy Trinity, would create us to include us in their relationship with them is unfathomable. We were created by God out of His love for us. Every individual in the world is special because we are His creation. Understanding and embracing that truth only causes us to worship God and His Glory. Because of God’s mission, believers choose to worship God. Jesus said, “But an hour is coming, and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”[2] Jesus said genuine worship comes from the heart through understanding God's truths. We journey through this life, learning about God and growing in the knowledge of His mission. When that occurs, it is natural for us to worship the Creator.


     2) Believing that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord caused a transformation in our lives. Paul reminds us, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved and gave himself for me.”[3] Our old life was put to death, and now we live our life by another source, the Trinity. As we learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom about the Trinity, it begins to impact how we live out our lives. It is not a matter of being taught how we should live our lives but a more natural living out of our journey by the grace administered through the Spirit of God. When the universal Church learns about a spirit-filled life, the mindset changes from legalism to grace. This is the real adventure when we begin to trust God rather than relying on our own strength and abilities. Grace has two aspects to it. There is grace that brings salvation through Jesus. The other aspect of grace is the ability to live each day through God. We will spend the rest of our journey here on earth learning to live in this grace of another source.


     3) Learning to live out of this grace changes our lives. Paul encourages the Church to “Do everything without grumbling and arguing,  so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.”[4] Peter also says, “But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.”[5] These scripture passages are typically taught as commands to obey in our behavior. But if the Church understands it is about their identity rather than their behavior, these truths become very natural. The Church has been made holy and blameless because of what Jesus did on the cross. We must rest in this truth and just “be” rather than “do.”


     4) When believers discover their identity in Jesus, a transformation in the mind takes place, significantly impacting their behavior. Joy is already present in the Spirit but is now discovered by the believer. It is realizing they are forgiven and made holy. They know they are the righteousness of Christ—not just that God views them as righteous, but they have been made righteous… past tense. When this realization has occurred, it becomes natural for them to talk about the best news ever. Knowing your identity in Christ becomes the most incredible “evangelism tool” and becomes more than just information being communicated. When the Church knows its true identity, it begins to express the Good News to those around it. Our world is being taught that it is more about them than others. So, this focus on what they can become through Jesus is attractive to them.


     5) As the Church grows in spiritual maturity, it is natural for the believers to edify and disciple one another. God intended the Church to live together in community, which was intentional as it created a desire for others to be included in this group. Nobody would want any part of this community if it is focused on something other than God's intentions. This is displayed in the Bible through the role of the Pharisees. For the Pharisees, it was all about their behavior. Their behavior dictated more about what they would become and their role. This is the opposite of God’s intentions. He made believers supernatural beings; we naturally behave and accomplish things from that transformation. As a body of believers, we are to teach and encourage our fellow believers in their identity so they may live out of this daily grace supplied by God. Proverbs says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”[6]

     6) The final intention of God’s mission is that the Church lives together in community and fellowship so they can provide for the needs of one another. This is modeled in Acts, “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. 44 Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”[7] This is the model church as God intended it to be. We are to live together in harmony and help one another walk this journey here on earth.

This is God’s mission for the New Covenant Church. Therefore, it is my personal mission as well. I not only have to battle the worldview, but I also have to battle (or avoid) the religiosity of the Church. God never intended for us to be religious. Jesus said, “ A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”[8] I believe that we can have a full and abundant life here on earth and not have to wait until we die and go to heaven. May God continue to reveal Himself and empower me to accomplish His mission.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 3:16.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 4:23–24.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 2:20.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Php 2:14–16.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 1:15–16.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Pr 27:17.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ac 2:43–47.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jn 10:10.

Joshua 5 left the Israelites crossing through the Jordan River and circumcising the men.

• Maps
• Jericho was not a large city.
• Archaeological excavations have revealed that its walls enclosed only about eight and one-half acres.
• Approximately 10 football fields.

 
THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO
JOSHUA 6
1 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering.

• Tightly shut

2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns. 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”

• The writer mentions God’s command first, as he did in chapter 5, and then tells of Joshua’s execution of the plan.
• Believing a promise is like accepting a check, but reckoning is like endorsing the check and cashing it.
• The Israelites had to learn that the land was a gift, to be received by faith, not won by effort.

6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 He said to the troops, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

• Faith is not believing in spite of evidence, for the people of Israel had been given one demonstration after another, proving that God’s Word and God’s power can be trusted.
• The Lord had opened the Red Sea, destroyed the Egyptian army, cared for His people in the wilderness, defeated great kings, given Israel their land, opened the Jordan River and brought His people safely into the Promised Land.
• Joshua did not question God as Moses did.
• How could they do anything other than believe Him?[1]

8 After Joshua had spoken to the troops, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved forward and blew the rams’ horns; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of the priests who blew the rams’ horns, and the rear guard went behind the ark. 10 But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

•  The words "LORD" and "ark" occur interchangeably here (v. 8), yet they were different and distinct from each other.
• The LORD was over the ark (above the atoning cover or mercy seat, and between the cherubim), but the ark itself only represented the LORD's presence.
• It was important that the ark of the Lord be in its proper place, for it represented the presence of the Lord with His people.
• When Israel crossed the river, the account mentions the ark sixteen times (Josh. 3–4); and here in 6:6–15, the ark is mentioned eight times.
• Israel could march and the priests blow trumpets until all of them dropped from weariness; but if the Lord wasn’t with them, there would be no victory.
• When we accept God’s plan, we invite God’s presence; and that guarantees victory.[2]

15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times.

• On that fateful seventh day, the procession made the circuit of the walls seven times.
• This parade—consisting of the armed guard, the seven trumpet-blowing priests, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, and the rear guard—may have taken about three hours.[3]

16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua said to the troops, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it. 19 For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
20 So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the trumpets, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. 21 They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword—every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.

• Though critics have charged that this destruction is a blemish on the Old Testament, it is clear that Israel was acting on divine command.
• The responsibility for this destruction rests, therefore, with God and not the Israelites.[4]

 
RAHAB AND HER FAMILY SPARED
22 Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of there, and all who are with her, just as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.
24 They burned the city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house.

• Excavations at Jericho by John Garstang between 1930 and 1936 and Kathleen Kenyon between 1952 and 1958 have confirmed the collapse of the wall under itself, as recorded.
• They also reveal that the invaders burned the city.

25 However, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers Joshua had sent to spy on Jericho, and she still lives in Israel today.
26 At that time Joshua imposed this curse:
The man who undertakes
the rebuilding of this city, Jericho,
is cursed before the Lord.
He will lay its foundation
at the cost of his firstborn;
he will finish its gates
at the cost of his youngest.
27 And the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.[5]

• Joshua is perhaps best known as a book of war.
• Israel was at war with the Canaanites, but behind these human soldiers God was waging war against sin.
• Earlier in Israel's history God was compared to a warrior (Ex. 14:14; 15:3; Deut. 1:30, 3:22; 20:4).
• But now Israel experienced His leadership in war as never before.
• God is constantly at war with sin because it is an affront to His holiness and because it destroys people whom He loves and desires to bless (cf. Rom. 6:23).

DEFEAT AT AI
JOSHUA 7
 - We are never in greater danger than right after we have won a great victory.
1 The Israelites, however, were unfaithful regarding the things set apart for destruction. Achan … of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart, and the Lord’s anger burned against the Israelites.

• Joshua sent men to scout Ai.
• Small town… only need 2-3,000 men
• Joshua sent them, and they returned defeated after 36 men were struck down by the men of Ai
• Joshua mourned, tore his clothes, poured dirt on his head, and prayed.
• Feared the Canaanites would defeat them now.
• God reminded Joshua that he should not look for the reason for Israel's defeat in God—but in Israel!
• Israel needed to repent; Joshua did not need to pray ("Why is it that you have fallen on your face?" v. 10).
• Prayer is no substitute for repentance when repentance is needed.
• Lord told Joshua to “Stand up”! Israel has sinned.
• They violated God’s covenant by taking what was to be the Lord’s.
• Present yourself, tribe, by tribe, until you find the man who stole from God.
• Joshua got to Achan and told him to confess.
• Achan confessed he took a cloak, 5 lbs of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 1.25 lbs.
• He hid them in the ground of his tent.

24 Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, and the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his ox, donkey, and sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought us trouble? Today the Lord will bring you trouble!” So all Israel stoned them to death. They burned their bodies, threw stones on them, 26 and raised over him a large pile of rocks that remains still today. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor (trouble) still today.[6]
 
CONQUEST OF AI
JOSHUA 8
1 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all the troops with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land. 2 Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king, except that you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and all the troops set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected thirty thousand of his best soldiers and sent them out at night. 4 He commanded them, “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. 6 They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we are fleeing from them, 7 you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the Lord’s command—see that you do as I have ordered you.” 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.

• Joshua did exactly as he was instructed by God.
• Sent 30,000 men to Ai and they retreated as before.
• When Ai was left unprotected, the men waiting to ambush attacked Ai, captured the king and burned the city.
• The men of Ai chasing the fleeing soldiers turned and saw their city burning.
• They were now in between the fleeing soldiers and the ambush soldiers.
• They were slaughtered

24 When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword. 25 The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. 26 Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the javelin until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed. 27 Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the Lord’s command that he had given Joshua.
28 Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, still desolate today.

• Many archeologists have identified Ai with the site et-Tell (“the ruin”).
• Excavations at et-Tell, however, have not yet produced evidence of a settlement there in the time of Joshua.
• The geography of the area fits perfectly with the details found in Joshua 8.[7]

29 He hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which still remains today.
 
RENEWED COMMITMENT TO THE LAW
30 At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel, 31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used. Then they offered burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings on it. 32 There on the stones, Joshua copied the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the Israelites.

• "The method of plastering stones and then printing on them came originally from Egypt.
• Thus, the letters were probably painted in red.
• So we can imagine large whitewashed monoliths with red Hebrew characters spelling out the Ten Commandments and possibly the blessings and curses of the Law as well (cf. Deuteronomy 28).
• This structure was the first public display of the Law."

33 All Israel—resident alien and citizen alike—with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark of the Lord’s covenant facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded earlier concerning blessing the people of Israel. 34 Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings as well as the curses—according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the dependents, and the resident aliens who lived among them.[8]

• From this point on, the history of the Jews depended on their attitude toward the Law, which had been read in their hearing that day.
• When they were obedient, there was a blessing; when they were disobedient, there was judgment (cf. Deut. 28).[9]
• Memorizing and obeying God’s Law would be equal to our what?

Baptism and Lord’s Supper.

[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 75.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 75–76.
[3] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 341.
[4] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 341.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 6:1–27.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 7:1–26.
[7] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 343.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 8:1–35.
[9] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 347.

Joshua 2 left the Israelites standing on the Jordan banks.
 
CROSSING THE JORDAN
JOSHUA 3
1 Joshua started early the next morning and left the Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. 2 After three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it. 4 But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before.”

• "The ark serves as a kind of 'divine crossing guard,' stopping the Jordan's flow until all Israel, including the priests, have safely crossed into Canaan."
• The writer of Joshua mentioned the ark 17 times in chapters 3 and 4.
• It was the visible symbol that God Himself was leading His people into the land and against their enemies.
• The people were to keep their distance from the ark, however: about 2,000 cubits, or more than half a mile.

5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow.”

• It would be easier to understand if he had said, “Sharpen your swords and check your shields!”
• But spiritual not military preparation was needed at this time because God was about to reveal Himself by performing a great miracle in Israel’s midst.[1]
• Rid yourselves of any wrong doing.
• The people of Israel were to expect God to work a miracle.
• They were to be eager, gripped by a sense of wonder.
• Israel was not to lose sight of their God who can do the incredible and the humanly impossible.[2]

6 Then he said to the priests, “Carry the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them.
7 The Lord spoke to Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses. 8 Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: When you reach the edge of the water, stand in the Jordan.”
9 Then Joshua told the Israelites, “Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 He said, “You will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hethites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites 11 when the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth goes ahead of you into the Jordan.

• Evidently the pushing back of the waters of the Jordan was to be a sign to the Israelites that God would push back the Canaanites

12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13 When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, come to rest in the Jordan’s water, its water will be cut off. The water flowing downstream will stand up in a mass.”
14 When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge 16 and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah—the Dead Sea—was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

• The Israelites crossed the Jordan when the river was at its widest, deepest, and swiftest—in late April or early May.
• As the snow on Mt. Hermon melts and the rainy season ends, the Jordan rises to a depth of 10 to 12 feet, and floods to a width of 300 to 360 feet at this location today.
• Normally it is only 150 to 180 feet wide here.
• However, in Joshua's day, the river may have been full only up to its banks, as the Hebrew text suggests.
• Pictures of the Jordan River (baptisms)
• The people considered swimming across the river at this time of year to be a heroic feat in ancient times (cf. 1 Chron. 12:15).
• This may be how the spies crossed.
• Interestingly, several earthquakes have sent much soil into the Jordan River at this very location in modern times, damming up the river for many hours (in A.D. 1267, 1837, and 1927).
• Perhaps an earthquake is what God used in Joshua's day, too.
• God may have supernaturally used, by divine timing, a natural phenomenon, like an earthquake or a landslide
• The possibility is that the phenomenon was entirely supernatural.
• Two million Israelites could have crossed the river in half a day if their crossing procession was a mile or more wide.
• Since the Jordan River dried up from Adam, 18 miles upstream from where the priests crossed, there would have been plenty of dry riverbeds for two million Israelites to cross.
• To slip away into the wilderness of Sinai by crossing the Red Sea required some faith.
• However, to invade the land of Canaan by crossing the Jordan River took a great deal more faith because, having once crossed the river, there would be no possibility of escape.
• Once in the land, they would have to face the enemy with their armies, chariots, and walled cities. The entire nation took this step together in complete commitment to God."

THE MEMORIAL STONES
4 After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua: 2 “Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe, 3 and command them: Take twelve stones from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had selected from the Israelites, one man for each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go across to the ark of the Lord your God in the middle of the Jordan. Each of you lift a stone onto his shoulder, one for each of the Israelite tribes, 6 so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 you should tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan’s water was cut off.’ Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”
8 The Israelites did just as Joshua had commanded them. The twelve men took stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the Israelite tribes, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the camp and set them down there. 9 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing. The stones are still there today.
10 The priests carrying the ark continued standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people, in keeping with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried across, 11 and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the Lord crossed in the sight of the people. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh went in battle formation in front of the Israelites, as Moses had instructed them. 13 About forty thousand equipped for war crossed to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him throughout his life, as they had revered Moses. 15 The Lord told Joshua, 16 “Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony to come up from the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 When the priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant came up from the middle of the Jordan, and their feet stepped out on solid ground, the water of the Jordan resumed its course, flowing over all the banks as before.
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho.

• The notation that the crossing took place on the tenth day of the first month is significant.
• It was exactly 40 years earlier, to the day, that God had instructed Israel to prepare to depart from Egypt by setting apart the paschal lambs.

20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before us until we had crossed over. 24 This is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is strong, and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”
 
CIRCUMCISION OF THE ISRAELITES
5 When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.
2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite men again.”

• God specified knives of flint, even though this was the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 B.C.), and bronze implements were common.

3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelite men at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males—all the men of war—had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5 Though all the people who came out were circumcised, none of the people born in the wilderness along the way were circumcised after they had come out of Egypt. 6 For the Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the nation’s men of war who came out of Egypt had died off because they did not obey the Lord. So the Lord vowed never to let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 He raised up their sons in their place; it was these Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way. 8 After the entire nation had been circumcised, they stayed where they were in the camp until they recovered.
 
9 The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is still called Gilgal today.
 
FOOD FROM THE LAND
10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. 11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. 12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

• Lord’s Supper

 
COMMANDER OF THE LORD’S ARMY
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”
Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.[3]

• The command to remove his sandals would have convinced Joshua that this was the same Person—the LORD God Himself—who had appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:5).
• Where God was, there was holiness, and where holiness was, there was a need for cleanness.

 
MATTHEW 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
15 Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized.
16 When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
 
 
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
MATTHEW 4
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.[4]

• Some of you are facing the enemy today.
• Some of you need a miracle today.
• Some of you need to experience the wonder and awe of God.
• There is a good, loving God that resides within you.
• He will battle for you.

 
HEBREWS 4:8-11
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.[5]

[1] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 333–334.
[2] Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 333–334.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 3:1–5:15.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 3:13–4:1.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 4:8–11.

Pacers... finallyThe Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Old Testament and serves as a historical account of Israel's conquest and settlement in the Promised Land, Canaan.

• It follows the leadership transition from Moses to Joshua and highlights God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises to the Israelites.
• Joshua – Yahweh saves (Hebrew) – Jesus (Aramaic)
• The date of the Exodus was probably about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).
• Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34).
• Thus, Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land about 1406 B.C.
• The Book of Joshua begins with events in or very close to the year 1406 B.C.
• Chapters 1-12 – The conquest of the land
• Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8; 1 Chron. 7:27)

ENCOURAGEMENT OF JOSHUA
JOSHUA 1
1 After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant,

• For Joshua, this didn’t occur until 24:29.

the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant: 2 “Moses my servant is dead.

• They mourned Moses for 30 days.

Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. 3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.

• Map

6 “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance.

• By Yahweh's appointment, Joshua is probably to wear two hats—that of military commander and that of estate administrator.

7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.

• Knowing the Law was only the first step.
• Practicing it was what would make Joshua effective.

8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

• Talk about it; think about it; do it!

9 Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
A       I will be with you (v. 5).
   B       Be strong and courageous (vv. 6, 7).
      C       That you may have success (v. 7).
         D       This Book of the Law (v. 8).
      C'      Then you will have success (v. 8).
   B'      Be strong and courageous (v. 9).
A'      The LORD your God is with you (v. 9).
 
JOSHUA PREPARES THE PEOPLE
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit.’”

• The Jordan River wanders about two hundred miles to cover the sixty-five mile distance from the Lake of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping an additional six hundred feet below sea level as it goes.

12 Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh,  13 “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest, and he will give you this land.

• It was not rest in the sense of freedom from conflict, but rather, resting in contrast to journeying.
• Even after the seven-year conquest of the land, there was still much land that the Israelites had to take from the Canaanites and possess (13:1; 23:1-13; cf. 24:1-28; Judg. 1:1).
• Therefore, this rest was the entrance into, and initial participation in, the inheritance the LORD had promised His people.

14 Your wives, dependents, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your best soldiers must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them 15 until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan.”

• They are getting ready to cross over into the land and battle their enemies.
• They have to do this in their own physical strength.

16 They answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. 17 We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. Certainly the Lord your God will be with you, as he was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!” [1]

• The Israelites were praying for Joshua!
• They were going to obey or be put to death.
• Four sources of Joshua's strength: (1) a faithful past, (2) a distinct call, (3) the sense of the presence of God, and (4) the indwelling of the Word of God.

 
SPIES SENT TO JERICHO
JOSHUA 2
1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.”

• Earlier they had sent the spies to see if they could take the land.
• Now they are being sent, not to see if they can take the land, but to find the best way to enter the land.
• Two young men, according to 6:23.
• Jericho is possibly the lowest city on earth, lying about 750 feet below sea level.
• The spies' object was to determine where to attack, not whether or not to attack.

So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.

• Less conspicuous because men were always visiting.
• The writer recorded Rahab's name because she became an important person in Israel's history.
• She became an ancestor of David and Jesus Christ, as well as Israel's helper on this occasion (cf. Matt. 1:5 -Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab)
• Hebrews 11:31 - By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.[2]

2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof.

• Rahab lied (sin), but she was also a prostitute.
• Lying in such a case would save a life, whereas not lying might result in an innocent person's death, which would be worse.
• However, God can and has sometimes intervened when people commit to doing the right thing.
• Some have justified Rahab's lying on the basis of holy war: Since the Israelites were commanded to kill the Canaanites, it was legitimate for her to mislead Israel's enemy by telling a lie.

7 The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.

• Assuming that the spies had fled back to the Israelite camp, the men of Jericho pursued and searched all along the road from their city to the place where travelers forded the Jordan River —about five miles.

 
THE PROMISE TO RAHAB
8 Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.

• The Israelites had not even begun to enter the land but everyone in Canaan knew what was about to happen to them.

10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.

• The melting of the Canaanites' hearts pictures utter despair.

12 Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.”

• If Rahab talked too much, her life was in danger; but if we don't talk enough, the lives of lost people around us are in danger.

14 The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. 16 “Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won’t find you,” she said to them. “Hide there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “We will be free from this oath you made us swear, 18 unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house. 19 If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his death will be his own fault, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his death will be our fault. 20 And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear.”

• The spies gave their solemn promise to spare Rahab and her household, but specified three conditions that Rahab had to meet:
• 1. She had to make her home known to the Israelites when they attacked (v. 18).
• 2. She had to assemble her family into her home before the battle (v. 18).
• 3. She had to keep the mission of the spies a secret (vv. 20, 14).

21 “Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.

• The color had symbolic significance, too, since red recalls blood and vigorous life.
• Rahab's cord answered, therefore, the same purpose with the blood sprinkled upon the door-posts in Egypt, which secured the first-born from the destroying angel.

22 So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them. 23 Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them.

• Joshua had learned by experience that spy reports should be brought to the leaders only, for the people did not have sufficient orientation or experience to evaluate such a report correctly.

24 They told Joshua, “The Lord has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us.”[3]

• "The spies violated God's explicit command that none of the people living in the land were to be spared (Deut 7:1-6; 20:16-18).
• Rahab, however, turned to God and sought deliverance.
• Her experience is proof of the gracious saving purpose of God.
• His overarching decree is that 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved' (Joel 2:32).
• This is one of the most dramatic examples of grace in the OT and is set in bold relief by the questionable aspects of Rahab's profession and conversion.
• "The salvation of Rahab is an example of what God would have done for others.
• The king and the other citizens of Jericho knew all she knew, but they did not turn to Israel's God for mercy.

The fear that drove her to beg for mercy drove them in their stubborn rebellion.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 11:31.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Jos 2:1–24

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible and the final book of the Pentateuch, traditionally attributed to Moses. It serves as a series of speeches by Moses to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. Here’s a brief summary:
 
Reiteration of the Law (Chapters 1-11):
DEUTERONOMY 1:3
3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to say to them.[1]

• Moses begins by recounting the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land.

DEUTERONOMY 1:12-18
12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself? 13 Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.
14 “You replied to me, ‘What you propose to do is good.’
15 “So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: commanders for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes. 16 I commanded your judges at that time: Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or his resident alien. 17 Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it. 18 At that time I commanded you about all the things you were to do.[2]

• Leavener Small Groups

DEUTERONOMY 1:22-28
22 “Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a report about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.’ 23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one man for each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country and came to Eshcol Valley, scouting the land. 25 They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the Lord our God is giving us is good.’
26 “But you were not willing to go up. You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘The Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites in order to destroy us, because he hates us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’ [3]

• Moses then reminds the Israelites about their wandering in the wilderness and all the battles they had to endure.

DEUTERONOMY 3:23-29
23 “At that time I begged the Lord: 24 Lord God, you have begun to show your greatness and your strong hand to your servant, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can perform deeds and mighty acts like yours? 25 Please let me cross over and see the beautiful land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.
26 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. The Lord said to me, ‘That’s enough! Do not speak to me again about this matter. 27 Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west, north, south, and east, and see it with your own eyes, for you will not cross the Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit this land that you will see.’ 29 So we stayed in the valley facing Beth-peor. [4]
 

• He emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s commandments and reminds the people of their covenant relationship with God.

DEUTERONOMY 4:1-2
1 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.[5]
 
DEUTERONOMY 4:9-14
9 “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren. 10 The day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people before me, and I will let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.’ 11 You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire into the heavens and enveloped in a totally black cloud. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared his covenant to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 At that time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess. [6]
 
DEUTERONOMY 4:29-31 (God will not leave you)
29 But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, in the future you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them by oath, because the Lord your God is a compassionate God.[7]
 

• This section includes the Shema, a central declaration of faith in Judaism:

DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9
4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one., 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.[8]
 
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (through the wilderness)
2 Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that he might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.[9]
 
DEUTERONOMY 11:26-28 (Blessings & Curses)
26 “Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse: 27 there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today, 28 and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.[10]
 
Detailed Laws and Regulations (Chapters 12-26):

• Moses restates and expands upon the laws given at Mount Sinai.
• Eat meat
• No idols – Beware of false prophets
• These laws cover various aspects of life, including worship, civil and social regulations, and guidelines for leadership.
• The focus is on living as a holy and distinct people in the land they are about to enter.

DEUTERONOMY 14:22-26 (tithe)
22 “Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields. 23 You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of the Lord your God at the place where he chooses to have his name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the Lord your God. 24 But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you and since the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then exchange it for silver, take the silver in your hand, and go to the place the Lord your God chooses. 26 You may spend the silver on anything you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your family.[11]

• Chapter 16:
• Festival of Passover
• Festival of Weeks
• Festival of Shelters (Booths/Tabernacles)

DEUTERONOMY 18:21-22 (Identifying false prophets)
21 You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.[12]
 
DEUTERONOMY 23:12-14 (Must remain holy)
12 You are to have a place outside the camp and go there to relieve yourself. 13 You are to have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you. [13]
 
DEUTERONOMY 26:16-19 (Covenant summary)
16 “The Lord your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. Follow them carefully with all your heart and all your soul. 17 Today you have affirmed that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey him. 18 And today the Lord has affirmed that you are his own possession as he promised you, that you are to keep all his commands, 19 that he will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations he has made, and that you will be a holy people to the Lord your God as he promised.” [14]
 
Blessings and Curses (Chapters 27-30):
DEUTERONOMY 27:1-8 (Posting of commandments)
1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, “Keep every command I am giving you today. 2 When you cross the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster. 3 Write all the words of this law on the stones after you cross to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. 4 When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster. 5 Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God—do not use any iron tool on them. 6 Use uncut stones to build the altar of the Lord your God and offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God on it. 7 There you are to sacrifice fellowship offerings, eat, and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God. 8 Write clearly all the words of this law on the plastered stones.” [15]

• Louisiana schools posting of 10 Commandments
• Moses outlines the blessings that will come from obedience to God’s laws and the curses that will result from disobedience.
• He calls the people to choose life by loving and obeying God, emphasizing the consequences of their choices.

DEUTERONOMY 30:6
6 The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.[16]
 
DEUTERONOMY 30:16, 19-20
16 For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess.[17]
 
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[18]
 
Final Words and Transition of Leadership (Chapters 31-34):
DEUTERONOMY 31:1-3, 6
Then Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel, 2 saying, “I am now 120 years old; I can no longer act as your leader. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan. 3 The Lord your God is the one who will cross ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.[19]

• Kevin Costner not returning to Yellowstone as John Dutton.

6 Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”[20]
 
DEUTERONOMY 31:14-23
14 The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, 15 the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.
16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me and break the covenant I have made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Therefore write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it, so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and breaking my covenant. 21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do, even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” 22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”[21]
 

• Moses appoints Joshua as his successor and delivers his final words to the Israelites.
• He writes down the law and instructs the Levites to read it to the people every seven years.
• The book concludes with the Song of Moses, a blessing for the tribes, and the account of Moses’ death.

DEUTERONOMY 34:1-12
1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev, and the plain in the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 The Lord then said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”
5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the Lord’s word. 6 He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him. 8 The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
9 Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 11 He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land— 12 and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.[22]
 
Deuteronomy serves as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and the importance of covenant loyalty.

• It calls the Israelites to love and serve God wholeheartedly as they prepare to enter the land promised to their ancestors.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 1:3.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 1:12–18.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 1:22–28.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 3:23–29.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 4:1–2.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 4:9–14.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 4:29–31.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 6:4–9.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 8:1–3.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 11:26–28.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 14:22–26.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 18:21–22.
[13] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 23:12–14.
[14] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 26:16–19.
[15] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 27:1–8.
[16] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 30:6.
[17] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 30:16.
[18] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 30:19–20.
[19] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 31:1–3.
[20] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 31:6.
[21] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 31:14–23.
[22] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Dt 34:1–12.

The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Bible and part of the Pentateuch, traditionally attributed to Moses.

• It chronicles the journey of the Israelites from Mount Sinai to the edge of the Promised Land, covering a period of about 40 years.

1. Census and Preparation (Chapters 1-10): The book begins with a census of the Israelite men able to go to war, hence the name "Numbers."

 
THE CENSUS OF ISRAEL
NUMBERS 1:1-4
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the second month of the second year after Israel’s departure from the land of Egypt: 2 “Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their ancestral families, counting the names of every male one by one. 3 You and Aaron are to register those who are twenty years old or more by their military divisions—everyone who can serve in Israel’s army., 4 A man from each tribe is to be with you, each one the head of his ancestral family[1]

• God instructs Moses on how to organize the camp and the duties of the Levites.

NUMBERS 3:5-10
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to the priest Aaron to assist him. 7 They are to perform duties for him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8 They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9 Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him from the Israelites. 10 You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”[2]
 
NUMBERS 6

• Nazarite Vow – Samson

 
NUMBERS 8:5-12 (Ordination/Consecration)
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Take the Levites from among the Israelites and ceremonially cleanse them. 7 Do this to them for their purification: Sprinkle them with the purification water. Have them shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
8 “They are to take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. 9 Bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the entire Israelite community. 10 Then present the Levites before the Lord, and have the Israelites lay their hands on them. 11 Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a presentation offering from the Israelites, so that they may perform the Lord’s work. 12 Next the Levites are to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls. Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites.[3]
 
GUIDANCE BY THE CLOUD
NUMBERS 9:15-23
15 On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. 16 It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. 17 Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.
19 Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord’s requirement and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days. They would camp at the Lord’s command and set out at the Lord’s command. 21 Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. 23 They camped at the Lord’s command, and they set out at the Lord’s command. They carried out the Lord’s requirement according to his command through Moses. [4]
 

• The Israelites prepare to leave Mount Sinai, where they had received the Law.

NUMBERS 10:33-36
33 They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey with the ark of the Lord’s covenant traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them. 34 Meanwhile, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:
Arise, Lord!
Let your enemies be scattered,
and those who hate you flee from your presence.
36 When it came to rest, he would say:
Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.[5]

1. Journey and Rebellion (Chapters 11-14): As the Israelites journey toward the Promised Land, they face various challenges and rebellions.

• They complain about their hardships, leading to God's provision of quail and the appointment of seventy elders to help Moses.

NUMBERS 11:16-17
16 The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.[6]
 
NUMBERS 13:1-3
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command.[7]
 
NUMBERS 13:17-33
17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.
 
REPORT ABOUT CANAAN
26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”[8]
 
ISRAEL’S REFUSAL TO ENTER CANAAN
NUMBERS 14:1-10
1 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.[9]
 
NUMBERS 14:26-38
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about me? I have heard the Israelites’ complaints that they make against me. 28 Tell them: As I live—this is the Lord’s declaration—I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. 29 Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you twenty years old or more—because you have complained about me. 30 I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. 32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness. 34 You will bear the consequences of your iniquities forty years based on the number of the forty days that you scouted the land, a year for each day., You will know my displeasure. 35 I, the Lord, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.”
36 So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land—37 those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the Lord. 38 Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh (yeh foo nay) remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land. [10]
 

1. Wilderness Wanderings (Chapters 15-25): During the years of wandering, the Israelites experience various events, including further rebellions, the budding of Aaron's staff as a sign of his chosen priesthood, and the story of Balaam, a prophet hired to curse Israel but who ends up blessing them instead.
2. Preparation for the Promised Land (Chapters 26-36): A second census is taken to prepare for entering the land. God gives instructions regarding offerings, vows, and the division of the land among the tribes.

JOSHUA COMMISSIONED TO SUCCEED MOSES NUMBERS 27:12-23 (Ordination)
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was. 14 When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
15 So Moses appealed to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all,, appoint a man over the community 17 who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. 20 Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. 21 He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”
22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community, 23 laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses. [11]

• The book concludes with the Israelites camped on the plains of Moab, ready to enter the Promised Land.

Throughout Numbers, themes of God's faithfulness, human rebellion, and the importance of obedience are prominent.

• Despite the Israelites' repeated failures, God remains committed to His covenant promises, guiding and providing for them as they journey toward the land He promised to their ancestors.

 
1 John 2:12-14
12 I am writing to you, little children,
since your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the one who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one. [12]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 1:1–4.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 3:5–10.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 8:5–12.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 9:15–23.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 10:33–36.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 11:16–17.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 13:1–3.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 13:17–33.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 14:1–10.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 14:26–38.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Nu 27:12–23.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Jn 2:12–14.

Leviticus is the third book of the Bible and is part of the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch.

• It primarily focuses on the laws and regulations given by God to the Israelites through Moses.
• These laws were intended to guide the Israelites in their worship and daily living, setting them apart as God's holy people.

Sacrificial System:

• Leviticus begins with detailed instructions on various offerings and sacrifices, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings (Leviticus 1-7).
• These sacrifices were a way for the Israelites to maintain their relationship with God and atone for their sins.

LEVITICUS 1:1-9
1 Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.
3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He will bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

• Substitute Sacrifice
• God accepts a substitute sacrifice on behalf of the one He loves.
• The precedent has been set.

5 He is to slaughter the bull before the Lord; Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and splatter it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6 Then he is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will prepare a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Aaron’s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat on top of the burning wood on the altar. 9 The offerer is to wash its entrails and legs with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.[1]
 
Priestly Duties:

• The book outlines the roles and responsibilities of the priests, particularly those from the tribe of Levi.
• It includes the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests and the regulations they must follow in their service (Leviticus 8-10).

 
Purity Laws:

• Leviticus contains laws concerning ritual purity, including dietary restrictions, laws about clean and unclean animals, and regulations for dealing with skin diseases and bodily discharges (Leviticus 11-15).
• These laws were meant to teach the Israelites about holiness and separation from impurity.

LEVITICUS 11:1-8
1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals. 3 You may eat any animal with divided hooves and that chews the cud. 4 But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves you are not to eat these:
camels, though they chew the cud,
do not have divided hooves—they are unclean for you;
5 hyraxes, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
6 hares, though they chew the cud,
do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;
7 pigs, though they have divided hooves,
do not chew the cud—they are unclean for you.
8 Do not eat any of their meat or touch their carcasses—they are unclean for you.[2]
Day of Atonement:

• One of the central events in Leviticus is the Day of Atonement, a yearly observance where the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16).
• This foreshadows the ultimate atonement made by Jesus Christ.

LEVITICUS 16:17-19
17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the most holy place until he leaves after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel. 18 Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. 19 He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites’ impurities. [3]
 
Moral and Ethical Laws:

• The book includes various moral and ethical laws, such as those concerning sexual conduct, social justice, and interpersonal relationships (Leviticus 17-20).
• These laws emphasize the importance of living a life that reflects God's holiness.

LEVITICUS 17:10-12
10 “Anyone from the house of Israel or from the aliens who reside among them who eats any blood, I will turn against that person who eats blood and cut him off from his people. 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites: None of you and no alien who resides among you may eat blood.[4]
 
Festivals and Sabbaths:

• Leviticus outlines the religious festivals and Sabbaths that the Israelites were to observe, including Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23-25).

LEVITICUS 23:1-3
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are my appointed times, the times of the Lord that you will proclaim as sacred assemblies.
3 “Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. [5]
 
Blessings and Curses:
The book concludes with a section on the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, highlighting the covenant relationship between God and His people (Leviticus 26).
LEVITICUS 27:34
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses for the Israelites on Mount Sinai. [6]
Leviticus, while often seen as a book of laws, ultimately points to the holiness of God and the need for atonement and reconciliation.

• Themes that are fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.

 
There is often confusion about the role of the Old Testament Law and how it relates to Christians today.

• I believe the Levitical laws were just for the Jewish people.
• Others say they apply to everyone who would worship God.

 
First, let’s clarify some terms.

• The Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s twelve sons.
• Moses was of the tribe of Levi, and when God delivered the Law to him on Mount Sinai, He marked the Levites as the tribe responsible for the primary religious duties in the nation.
• They were made priests, singers, and caretakers in the worship of God.
• In calling it the Levitical Law, we acknowledge that God revealed the Law through Moses, a Levite, and that God appointed the Levites as the religious leaders of Israel.
• The same Law is sometimes called “Mosaic” because it was given through Moses, and it is also referred to as the “Old Covenant,” because it is part of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants.

To discover God’s purpose in the Law, we must first look at its inception, and the things God said to Moses about it.

• When Moses and the people arrived at Mount Sinai, God said,

EXODUS 19:5-6
5 Now if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possession out of all the peoples, although the whole earth is mine, 6 and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.” [7]

• The first mention of the Law to the nation was as a covenant—a legal agreement between God and the people He chose.
• The Israelites were required to obey it fully if they were to receive its benefits.

 
God began His introduction to the Law with the Ten Commandments, but the entire Law encompasses 613 commandments, as detailed in the rest of the books of Moses.

• Jesus summarized the Law as having two emphases: love for God and love for neighbors (Matthew 22:37–39).
• These emphases can be easily seen in the Ten Commandments: the first four commands focus on our relation to God, and the remainder focus on interpersonal relations.
• If we think that is the whole purpose of the Law, though, we miss an important element. Many of the individual commands give detailed instruction on how God was to be worshiped and how the people were to live their lives.
• It is in those fine details that love was either shown or withheld.

 
For hundreds of years, the Israelites lived under the Levitical Law, sometimes obeying it but more often failing to follow God’s commands.

• Much of Old Testament history deals with the punishments Israel received for their disobedience.
• When Jesus Christ came, He said that He did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets . . . but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
• In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus took the Law to a higher level, applying it to the thoughts and intents of the heart.
• This perspective significantly diminishes our ability to keep the Law.

 
The apostle Paul gives us insight into God’s purpose for the Law in his letter to the Galatians.

• In Galatians 3:10 he says, “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’”
• The fine details show up again—if we don’t keep every command perfectly, we are condemned (see James 2:10).

GALATIANS 3:19-26
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was added for the sake of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not just for one person alone, but God is one. 21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power,, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.[8]

• The Law pointed out our sinfulness, proved our inability to keep our end of the covenant, made us prisoners in our guilt, and showed our need of a Savior.
• The purpose of the Law is also revealed:

ROMANS 3:20
20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.[9]

The Levitical Law did its job well, pointing out the sinfulness of mankind and condemning us for it.
HEBREWS 7:18-19
18 So the previous command is annulled because it was weak and unprofitable 19 (for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.[10]

• (for the law made nothing perfect).”
• The Law had no way of changing our sinful nature.
• We needed something better to accomplish that.

HEBREWS 10:1-4
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [11]
 
God’s desire has always been to have fellowship with mankind, but our sin prevented that.

• He gave the Law to set a standard of holiness—and, at the same time, to show that we could never meet that standard on our own.
• That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of our violating that same Law.

HEBREWS10:11-14
11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God., 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[12]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 1:1–9.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 11:1–8.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 16:17–19.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 17:10–12.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 23:1–3.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Le 27:34.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 19:4–6.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ga 3:19–26.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ro 3:20.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 7:18–19.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:1–4.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 10:11–14.

Review:

• Moses received The Ten Commandments

 
Exodus 21 – Laws about injuries
Exodus 22 – Social Matters
Exodus 23 – 3 Annual Festivals
Exodus 24 – Covenant Confirmed
7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”[1]
 
16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud. 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.[2]
 
Exodus 25-31 – Tabernacle Revealed
EXODUS 25
25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. You are to take my offering from everyone who is willing to give. 3 This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; 6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.,
8 “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. 9 You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.[3]
 

• Ark, table & lampstand

 
THE ARK
10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. 21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites. [4]
 

• Exodus 26 - Curtains & walls
• Exodus 27 – Altar, court & oil
• Exodus 28 - Priestly Clothing
• Exodus 29 – Consecration/Ordination of the Priests
• Exodus 30 - Anointing Oil, Altar & Incense
• Exodus 31 - The Sabbath

18 When he finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. [5]
 
Exodus 32 – Golden Calf

• The scene now changes, and we see what was happening down in the Israelite camp, while Moses was still up in the heights of Sinai receiving the instructions for the Israelites' worship.
• The people were already apostatizing (renouncing their beliefs) and were devising their own form of worship.

7 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. 8 They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” 9 The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”[6]
 
19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. [7]
 
Exodus 33-34 – Covenant Renewed

• God’s Glory (Moses’ veil)

EXODUS 33
12 Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor with me.’ 13 Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.”
14 And he replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 “If your presence does not go,” Moses responded to him, “don’t make us go up from here. 16 How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.”
17 The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”
19 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” 21 The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, 22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.” [8]
 

• New Tablets

EXODUS 34
29 As Moses descended from Mount Sinai—with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain—he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord., 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called out to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord had told him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord. [9]
 
Exodus 35-40 – Tabernacle Construction

• Materials
• Skilled Artisans
• The Ark
• The Courtyard
• Moses Inspects
• God’s Glory

EXODUS 39
43 Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.[10]
 
Exodus 40:34-38 -  34 The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36 The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey. 37 If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey. [11]
 
 
LIVING BY FAITH
HEBREWS 11
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful. 12 Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, 18 the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff., 22 By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. 26 For he considered reproach for the sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since he was looking ahead to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible. 28 By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned…
 
39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.[12]
 

• The greatest love story of all time…
• “Jesus, I Believe” – Big Daddy Weave

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 24:7–8.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 24:16–18.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 25:1–9.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 25:10–22.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 31:18.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 32:7–10.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 32:19.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 33:12–23.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 34:29–35.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 39:43.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ex 40:34–38.
[12] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Heb 11:1–40.