Week 15 Monday
We return to the priests' duties in Leviticus, praise God as both mighty and merciful in Psalm 68, and hear Peter explain to the Jerusalem believers why God sent him to the Gentiles.
Leviticus 7
📖 What are we reading?: We go back to the priests' duties surrounding the offerings, and the chapter closes with a neat summary of the first seven chapters of Leviticus.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He makes provision for those who serve Him - the priests received their portion of the offerings, a sign that God cares for the needs of those who minister in His name.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? These regulations remind us that worship isn't casual. Every offering had its place and purpose, and we too are called to bring God careful, wholehearted worship rather than a careless afterthought.
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➡️ The bigger picture: Leviticus was given to Moses shortly after the tabernacle was completed, around 1400 BC, and no other book in the Bible contains as much direct speech from God. Its theme is holiness and separation, though a careful reader will find Jesus in the details of these ancient rituals.
Psalm 68
📖 What are we reading?: A wonderful psalm of praise, describing God as both a God of might and of mercy.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He is mighty and merciful at once - powerful enough to scatter His enemies, yet tender enough to be "a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows" (v5).
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? We're called to sing praises to His name and extol Him who rides on the clouds (v4) - holding together both His power and His compassion in our worship.
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➡️ The bigger picture: The Psalms is a collection of 150 poems and songs, written by David and others, expressing the full range of human emotion in response to God and to life.
Acts 11:1-18
📖 What are we reading?: Peter returns to Jerusalem and recounts his vision to the other believers, explaining why he ate with Gentiles.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He shows no favouritism. Verse 17 makes the point plainly - God gave the Gentiles the same gift of the Spirit He gave the Jews, and Peter knows he cannot stand in God's way.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Like Peter, we should be ready to have our own assumptions challenged when we see God at work in surprising places and unexpected people.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Luke's second book outlines the ministry of the early church - though it could just as well be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, as He guides and grows Jesus' small movement into something that changes the world.
A Prayer for the Day
🙏 Lord, thank You that You care for those who serve You and call us to worship You wholeheartedly; that You are a God of both might and mercy; and that You show no favouritism, welcoming all people into Your family through Your Spirit. Amen.
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