Numbers: 2/11 - 2/20

• 1:3 = 20 yrs old must have been the “coming of age” for Israelites; able to go to war, be counted in census, greater sacrifice required
• 1:47-54 = Levites were not to be numbered with the rest of the camp
• 2:33 = Levites were to assemble/disassemble tabernacle, pitch their tents closest to the tabernacle
• ch.3 = more on the Levites
• ch.8 = Levites offered as a sacrifice for Israelites
• 10:29-32 = Hobab tries to leave the camp
• 11:1-3 = God kills with fire those that were at the uttermost part of the camp because of the Israelites’ complaining
• 11:10-17 = Moses is unable to bear all of the people alone, 70 men appointed to help
• 11:24-30 = the 70 elders prophecy, but Eldad andMedad prophesied in the camp (this is forbidden?). Moses wishes that the spirit would fall on everyone and all would be able to prophecy in this manner
• 14:34 = God’s “breach of promise”
• ch.16 = Korah’s rebellion; 250 killed. There’s a good lesson here: don’t exalt myself above my calling!
• 27:1-11 = daughters of Zelophehad: illustrates that though there be no son or daughter, our inheritance may still be passed along
• 28:6 = the burnt offering is continual, just as we are to make a daily, continual offering of our lives to God
• ch.32 = children of Reuben and Gad were content to receive a conquered land as their inheritance before crossing Jordan. Moses discourages this; why should they get to stop when the rest must go on and continue to travel and war with those inhabiting the land?
• ch.36 = more on the daughters of Zelophehad and their inheritance

Leviticus: 2/6 - 2/8

• 5:1-5 = If someone was a witness to someone else’s sin, it was a sin to not report it. It is also a sin to touch an unclean animal or man. Sin occurs not only when we do wrong ourselves, but also when we associate ourselves with things and people we hadn’t ought to.
• 5:14-16 = The greater the sin, the greater the required sacrifice for repentance (i.e. sinning against the holy things of God required a ram and silver compared to turtledoves, pigeons, or flour for other sins)
• 9:23-10:7 = Nadab and Abihu killed for offering strange fire
• 10:16-20 = Eleazar and Ithamar fail to prepare the sin offering; Moses is angry but Aaron says that if he had eaten the sin offereing after everything that had happened that day, would God have accepted it? This statement contented Moses; why?
• ch.25 = observing the sabbath and jubilee years
• 25:1-7 = six years of work is followed by the sabbath year; does a type exist here?
• 25:18-22 = God will bless in the 6th year and provide food for 3 years
• ch.26 = promises for obedience, punishments for disobedience
• 26:10 = “ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new”… what is the meaning?
• 26:26 = “ten women shall bake your bread in one oven”… meaning? 10 women = 10 commandments? one oven = Old Testament?
• 26:30 = “my soul shall abhor you” = the ultimate cost of disobedience… scary thought
• 26:40-46 = coming back to God, forgiveness

Study: I Am Not My Own

This is a line of thought that has really been at the forefront of my mind for several months now; I have these scriptures written on a page in my notebook and I find myself returning to that page to read them again and again. The driving passage of scripture:

1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

As much as I like to think that I’m in control of my future, I’m realizing that without God and his continual blessings of mercy and grace, the bright future I envision for myself wouldn’t have been possible. Moreover, what I’m wanting out of life may not align with what God has in store for me. Learning to submit myself to God’s will and abandon my own will has been a trying and humbling process. Click below to download the study:

I Am Not My Own (Microsoft Word Compatible - 41 KB)

Exodus: 1/19 - 2/5

• 15:27 = 12 wells, 70 palm trees… what is the significance?
• 16:4 = God provides manna. He gives more than the people need, but restricts them to an alotted measure that they are allowed to gather. Does God provide us with more than our portion to see if we will be obedient in taking only what we need? Does God overly bless us to test us?
• 17:8 = War with Amalek. I like the story of Aaron and Hur holding up the hands of Moses so that Israel can win the battle
• 17:16 = God will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Who are the Amelekites today?
• 18:13-27 = Jethro helps Moses develop a hierarchy of judgment. Power was delegated to men to rule over thousands, hundreds, fifties, tens
• ch.20-31 = God gives His laws to Moses on Mount Sinai. Tedious to read, but worthy of a deeper study later… also, more laws/instruction given upon Moses’ subsequent visits to the mount
• 30:11-16 = offering of atonement: all over 20 had to give an equal offering. God requires the same offering from all — rich or poor

Study: When God Speaks

My first study I’m posting deals with the block of scripture Job 33:14-18. In this passage, Elihu tells Job how God can speak to a person:

Job 33:14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
Job 33:15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
Job 33:18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

I began to study the process that occurs when God speaks, as well as what is expected and required of me when I hear God’s voice. Click below to download the study:

When God Speaks (Microsoft Word Compatible - 43.0 KB)

Genesis: 1/11 - 1/18

The following are a few scattered thoughts I had as I read. Most are random thoughts or ideas that I wanted to record so I could revisit them later.

• How do the days of creation correspond — if they correspond at all — with man’s “day” (i.e. 1000 years) on earth?
• 2:2 = God “rested” on the 7th day. Could a type exist here? Christ is to reign for 1000 years (one day) on earth; could it be that God resting for a day could be a type of Christ’s reign?
• 4:4-5 = Why did God not respect Cain’s offering? (see Heb 11:4)
• 6:6-7 = study when God repents
• The visitors that met with Abraham (ch.1 and Lot (ch.19) — presumably angels — on both occasions, they ate with Abraham and Lot… peculiar behavior? I didn’t know an angelic form such as that could eat.
• ch.37-50 = the story of Joseph… one of my favorite characters in the Bible

2008 Bible Reading Schedule

This new year is like every other — full of resolutions that I probably won’t end up keeping. However, I am making a serious effort to read my Bible through this year in addition to the studying that I normally try to do. I always plan to read my Bible through, but I’ve never been able to accomplish the feat in a single calendar year. Depending on a particular Bible, that means I’ll have to read around 2000 pages of text; no easy feat. So this year, I’ve tried to devise a rough monthly reading schedule that will help keep me on task and break a hefty piece of literature into smaller, more palatable chunks. Without further ado:

• January: Genesis - Exodus
• February: Leviticus - Numbers
• March: Deuteronomy - Ruth
• April: 1 Samuel - 1 Kings
• May: 2 Kings - 2 Chronicles
• June: Ezra - Psalms
• July: Proverbs - Isaiah
• August: Jeremiah - Lamentations
• September: Ezekiel - Habakkuk
• October: Zephaniah - Luke
• November: John - 2 Corinthians
• December: Galatians - Revelations

As I go along, I may try to post the dates I start and finish a book to help track my progress. In addition, I may scribble a few notes about certain scriptures that I want to revisit later. Wish me luck.

A Closer Walk

This is to be more of an archive for myself than it is to be a blog for the rest of you; I’m hoping to catalog a number of old Bible studies and add new ones as they come. In addition, I would like to use this blog as a tool to track my Bible reading and organize any stray thoughts or questions that I don’t have time to study at the moment.

I desire to climb higher, run farther, and grow greater in my desire to serve God this year. A new year often signifies a fresh start and I intend to make the most of the blank slate set before me. At the end of the year, I hope to be able to review the posts on this blog and see that spiritual growth has taken place in my life. I want to record the good things God gives me as I serve Him — whether it be a scripture, a new line of thought, or an entire study.

Many of the entries I’ll post will contain scriptures and thoughts that have been a blessing to me. If you should happen to stumble across this place, I hope that they will be a blessing to you, as well.

2Ti 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

God bless,
Chris