In this episode, I share from Leviticus and Numbers, how God wanted to bless the Israelites and teach them how to do their jobs as part of His family, and how Jesus wants to take us by the hand and lead us in the good works He has for us to do with Him.
Question for your kids: What is one of the good works Jesus wants to do with you today? You can tell them about one of yours, too.
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In this episode, I share from Leviticus about how God is teaching the Israelites to live with Him as part of His family, and how because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, we can run to Him for help no matter what we are going through.
Why not tell your kids one way you need Jesus’ help today and ask them the same thing? You could even pray about it together.
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A friend recently told me that she’d been feeling overwhelmed by how much there is to know about God and the Bible. But then the Spirit reminded her that she has her whole life to learn, study, and delight in the God who made her.
At this stage of caring for my little people, my Bible meditations are constantly being interrupted by baby yells and requests from my preschooler to watch him knock his building down. Mealtime prayers are punctuated with bibs being pulled off and cries of “Mom, I dropped my spoon!”
No longer can I count on having a certain hour of the day free to read the Bible and pray, which has challenged me to appreciate the gospel in a new way. Just like my kids’ requests (and cries) continue from the time they wake up to the time they ask for a story, a drink, a prayer, and music to listen to as they fall asleep, I am reminded of my constant need for Christ. That He is the only One who can satisfy me and give me the hope I need to get through days (and nights) of needy little people. It is His grace, pulling me out of what is predictable and into a life that demands that I choose where I am going to look for strength.
God has used this holistic way of viewing my need for Christ to challenge me in the way I read Scripture, and especially the Old Testament. Rather than going to Scripture for a verse to carry me through the day, I’m realizing that every God-breathed passage I read is shaping my understanding and love for the Shepherd who is leading me through the weariness, whining, and messed-up plans (and floors).
Digging Deeper
A number of months ago, God used my friend Jessie to lead me to a great resource called One-to-One Bible Reading by David Helm, (which is also immensely exciting to use while reading Scripture one-on-one with someone else).
Since I’m reading through the Old Testament historical books right now, I’m using David Helm’s list of Old Testament narrative questions, first reading for comprehension–noting the context, time and place where the narrative is happening and writing down things that are confusing. It allows me to start with a real-place-and-time foundation before trying to look for a main point or theme.
Once I think about the main point (or what I might be missing if God hadn’t put that passage in the Bible), I get to my favorite part, when I get to ask, “How does the passage point forward to what God is going to do in the future? Does it prophesy or anticipate Jesus Christ in some way?”
After asking myself this question day after day, the Spirit has given me a new lens to view each passage I read from the Old Testament. He brings to mind passages from the New Testament that help explain God’s purposes in the tabernacle, the priesthood, and His never-changing desire for people to reflect His glory. (And if you want to help your children understand how everything points to Jesus, rather than as just a collection of so-called Bible heroes, The Jesus Storybook Bible is a great place to start).
Prayer becomes a way of responding to what I’m learning moment-by-moment. I can thank Him for the map of my life He’s ordained when I read about God leading Abraham, or how He works through all our mixed motives and even sins when I read about Jacob and Rebekah’s deception to receive Isaac’s blessing.
When I get to the end of Exodus, where God gives the dimensions and instructions for the tabernacle, it’s a chance to praise our God of details, because if He gave such specific instructions for an earthly tabernacle, how much more will the place He has for us on the New Earth be carefully prepared?
When I read about Aaron and his sons being clothed in their priestly garments, I can praise Jesus for clothing me in His righteousness, for being faithful on my behalf so that I can be inscribed with “Holy to the Lord.”
Even as I read Leviticus, I can rejoice that one reason for the animal sacrifices was “that the glory of the Lord may appear to you,” and that Jesus was clothed in flesh to become the true sin-forgiving, righteousness-giving sacrifice and to reveal the Father’s glory so that we might worship Him as His children.
Rather than taking what I’ve learned and figuring out what I need to do, Helm provides the last two questions to lift my chin back up to God, asking:
How does this passage challenge your understanding about who God is and what he is like?
And then, as I invite the Holy Spirit’s specific conviction, I can ask:
Is there some attitude or behavior you need to change?
The sorrow I experience over my sin is a gift as it draws me to repentance and remembering again the grace and forgiveness Jesus stayed on the cross to give.
Like a diamond, when we study each facet-passage of Scripture, we can enjoy a different glimpse of Jesus and His glorious gospel. It doesn’t matter if we have six years left or sixty. Every day that we take time to read His Word is a new chance to treasure Jesus and hold our gospel diamonds up to the light for others to see.
Which facet of Scripture will you ask Him to help you understand so that you can enjoy Him more?
You can get the free PDFs of David Helm’s questions for each genre of Scripture here.
Or you can get the entire book here.
Jen Wilkin also has an excellent guide for deepening your study of Scripture called, Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds.
Have you ever gone through one of those read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year reading plans? What happened when you got to Leviticus?
When I followed one, there were certain times I would open my Bible with a sigh, counting the number of days I had left of a particular book and hoping to gain some kind of encouragement from reading about the process of dipping a bird in blood for ceremonial cleansing (Lev. 14).
And if I didn’t keep up with reading three chapters a day, I knew it would be a year or two before I even got to the Epistles, with straight-forward encouragement like, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
It didn’t seem fair that God would include so much detail from the covenant given in the Old Testament since He established a new covenant through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
I’d shut my Bible and wonder how the chapter I read was supposed to help me with my Math test or interacting with classmates in the lunchroom.
I had the same problem as Bible teacher Jen Wilkin, who in her early years said, “I believed the purpose of the Bible was to help me.” (p. 24)
I recently read her book, “Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds,” and was reminded of two truths.
The first is that the Bible is a book about God, not about me.
The second is that it’s just as important to love God with our minds as it is to love Him with our hearts.
Not About Me
Jen shared that, “The Bible is a book that boldly and clearly reveals who God is on every page” (p. 23).
God has chosen to show Himself through the written words of Scripture, all of which help us get to know Him as our perfect Prophet, Priest and King.
It wasn’t intended to be read like a devotional, with a helpful tidbit for the day.
When I judged my times set aside for Bible reading based on how I felt a certain chapter would help me in my current circumstances, I missed the chance to let each passage grow my understanding of the God who is in charge of the universe and loved me enough to die for me.
When I read it only to pick out how I was supposed to act and behave, it kept my focus on my own ability to measure up or how I’d failed to follow His commands.
Jen wrote that, “There can be no true knowledge of self apart from the knowledge of God…When I read that God is slow to anger, I realize that I am quick to anger. When I read that God is just, I realize that I am unjust.
“Seeing who he is shows me who I am in a true light. A vision of God high and lifted up reveals to me my sin and increases my love for him. Grief and love lead to genuine repentance, and I begin to be conformed to the image of the One I behold (p. 26-27).
I could probably write out a list of attributes of God, but it will be hard to believe each one is true without seeing those characteristics manifested in the Story of Scripture.
If I only depend on my own limited experiences with God, I won’t notice the thread of God’s plan of redemption unfolded over hundreds of years, and trust His part for me in that. (Click here for a kid-friendly narrative of God’s rescue plan shown through all of Scripture.)
Mind Before Heart
As I’ve read prayers I’d written out in past years, (amazed by how much I could accomplish when there weren’t little hands to steal my writing utensils), in almost every one I declared my love for God before signing my name (as if He wouldn’t know who wrote the prayer).
I’d write about an incredible experience at a youth retreat or question why He was allowing the circumstances of a crush or a mean teacher to distract me from Him.
While I don’t want to laugh off the things I used to worry about (because they were real fears at the time), it makes me grateful for the things I’ve learned about God as I continue to deal with ever-changing circumstances.
I don’t think it will ever be easy for me to trust God with the future, but when those worry-filled thoughts begin to attack, I’ve experienced more victory in clinging tightly to God’s truths as I’ve grown in the knowledge of Him.
But what happens when the responsibilities of being an adult seem too monotonous to be fair?
Why do dishes have to keep getting dirty?
And how does that laundry basket fill up so fast?
And where did those three hours before lunch just go?
If I measure my relationship with God by how many times I feel a rush of emotion, I will be riding a roller coaster of happiness and discouragement (or think I’m just trapped on a boring kiddie ride of bills, shopping, and potty training).
Here are three encouragements I’ve received in the pursuit of biblical knowledge.
Some days, when I hit the snooze too many times, and any moments of concentration are interrupted by “Mommy, watch this!” I might not feel like I’m making progress at all.
But God is not blind to our roles or stage of life. He entrusted them to us, and rejoices in our commitment to learning about Him, even if we aren’t able to read an entire passage in its context, or our study notes get covered in crayon scribbles.
I really appreciated reading through Jen Wilkin’s Biblestudy method as a framework for growing in Bible literacy as she shared about keeping “The Big Story” of the Bible in mind, learning about the original audience and authors, and focusing on comprehension before jumping to interpretation and application.
2. It deepens our prayer lives.
When I take time to think about the ways I’ve seen Christopher show me patience, love, and grace–laundry left on the floor or a forgotten appointment don’t seems so important.
When I discover an attribute of God in Scripture, it gives me something to praise and thank Him for, no matter what I’m going through.
By covering our times of studying the Bible in prayer, it reminds me that this isn’t some school assignment. It’s an invitation to intimacy as we celebrate a relationship with our wonderful God.
3. It helps us to delight in and enjoy Jesus more.
Who in this world doesn’t long for significance? Security? Satisfaction?
When we let our knowledge of Him flow over into the way we work and serve, the things that we spend our time on will bring us into His satisfaction.
The diaper changes will hold significance.
The financial troubles will be filled with His security.
When we let the Spirit carve the truths we learn into our hearts, people will see tiny reflections of Him when they look at us. And we will be free to open our arms to the beauty of an ever-deepening relationship with Him.
His Word is living and active. And as the prophet Isaiah reminds us,
“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
Will you ask the Father how He would have you love Him with your mind in this season of life?
Will you determine to know Him and trust that what He teaches you will bring the encouragement and direction you need?