Week 15 Wednesday
Careless worship costs Aaron's sons dearly in Leviticus, David reminds us that God wants our hearts more than our rituals in Psalm 69, and Peter is miraculously freed from prison as the church prays.
Leviticus 10
📖 What are we reading?: A careless attitude in worship costs Aaron's sons their lives. It's hard to say exactly what "strange fire" they were offering, though verses 8-9 suggest they may have been drunk.
✞ What does this passage say about God? He takes worship seriously, and is not honoured by careless or thoughtless approaches to Him, whatever form they take.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Whatever Nadab and Abihu's exact offence, the lesson stands - we must worship God carefully and respectfully, not casually.
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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 69:19-36
📖 What are we reading?: David continues his cry for rescue, calling for judgement on his enemies before turning to praise.
✞ What does this passage say about God? Verses 30-31 show us that God is more interested in our hearts than in ritual offerings - praise and thanksgiving please Him more than sacrifice ever could.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Verses 27-28 are harsh, and Jesus taught us a better way - to pray for and bless our enemies rather than call down judgement on them.
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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 12:1-24
📖 What are we reading?: Peter is miraculously delivered from prison by an angel, even as the church prays earnestly for him - though James, the brother of John, was not delivered in the same way.
✞ What does this passage say about God? His ways are not ours - we can't always know why some are delivered and others aren't - but He hears and answers the earnest prayers of His people.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live? Verse 5 always motivates greater earnestness in prayer. Notice too the hospitality of Mary, who opened her home for the believers to gather and pray.
Looking for some extra info?
📝 A devotional on Mary, a woman of hospitality who opened her home to others in this chapter.
➡️ 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, teach us to worship You carefully and from the heart, not carelessly or by empty ritual; and thank You that You hear the earnest prayers of Your people, even when Your ways are beyond our understanding. Make our homes, like Mary's, places of prayer and welcome. Amen.
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