Leviticus 13:46b “He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”

STAY AWAY

The chapters in Leviticus which talk about how to deal with lepers seem harsh and unforgiving.  But you must remember the setting.  Leprosy is a contagious disease.  Incubation periods can be as long as 20 years. And back then leprosy usually meant a long and nasty death.  God had to give some instructions on how to deal with this disease to protect the nation.

People were banned from the camp once it was determined they were leprous.  This wasn’t a punishment for them.  Rather, it was a way to keep the infection from spreading.  I know there had to be heartache and even personal sacrifice by many.  But the bottom line was, and still is, that God desires to protect His people.

TEACHING MOMENT

Now this is one of those verses that you may find hard to explain to your child.  Remember, every verse is inspired – even these verses on leprosy.  So, the next time your child gets a rash or skin issue, why don’t you talk about how God put things in place for the people to protect against disease?

I know what you are thinking – “Wow Carl, this really blesses me!”  Listen, God cares about our deepest issues. He cares about our deepest losses.  But He also cares about our bodies and how we take care of them.  This is no small thing.  Teach your kids that.  They need to know that our bodies also belong to God, and He wants us healthy to serve Him.

So, how are you doing keeping your own body healthy?  Are you doing all you can to keep physically fit to serve Him?  Are you allowing your physical limitations to pull you back from what He has called you to do?  Will you recommit yourself today to keep yourself prepared physically to do whatever He asks of you?  He needs soldiers who can fight!

Leviticus 10:1-2 “1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.”

STRANGE FIRE?

Wow!  This passage always hits me hard!  Aaron and his sons had just started offering the sacrifices.  They had just received all the instructions from God through Moses.  They were very detailed, even to the point of using fire sent by the Lord.  But Nadab and Abihu decided to take a shortcut.

In His Word, God gives us very detailed instructions for life.  Now He may not strike us down like Nadab and Abihu, but we will suffer for not following His commands.  We would be so much better off if we would just listen to Him and do what He says.

TEACHING MOMENT

Has your child ever insisted on doing something their way even though you have shown them the best and perhaps the correct way to do it?  But no!  Little Elrod insists he knows how.  So you let him try it his way.  What happens?  He inevitably messes up and then looks to you to fix it.

What a perfect passage to share with them.  Now don’t scare them to death and make them think God is going to zap them, but they need to know that choices have consequences.  Choosing to follow God will bless them.  Choosing not to follow the Lord – well – will have other consequences.

Moms and Dads, are you choosing to follow the Lord?  Are you measuring each decision by God’s Word?  Or are you doing it your way and then running to God to bail you out.

Don’t offer the strange fire!  Let God light your fires!  His fire is pure and holy!

Leviticus 8:4a “So Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.”

NO HESITATION

In this passage the Lord has been giving Moses a bunch of instructions regarding the sacrifices and the establishment of Aaron and his sons (Moses’ nephews) as Priests.  I love how verse 4 begins.  It simply says that Moses jumped to it.  In fact, the Hebrew word for “just as” can mean “as soon as.”  Moses didn’t wait for it all to sink in.  He just began doing what God had told him to do.

Have you ever known people who knew exactly what the Lord wanted them to do but just kept waiting for ANOTHER sign to begin?  You have probably heard the phrase “they are too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.”  Well Moses wasn’t like that.  Daylight was burning.  He had to get on with the instructions of the Lord.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children need to learn that procrastination is not conducive to a healthy walk with the Lord.  There are times to wait when we have no answer from the Lord, for sure.  But when He directs we need to respond without fail.

We expect our children to follow our directions, right?  Most of the time we can give them time to comply or a choice.  But sometimes, we expect immediate obedience – like when we yell at them to get out of the path of a speeding vehicle or to stop hitting their little sister.  There are some directives the Lord gives us that demand immediate obedience.  Knowing His will and His direction is key to walking with Him.

How about you, Mom and Dad?  Are you willing to get off “Ready, Set” and “Go”?  Are you able to do what the Lord says WHEN He says to do it?  Or are you too busy rationalizing why now is not the best time?

God expects us to be like Moses – do it “as soon as” He commands.

Psalm 40:1-2 “1I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.”

I CAN’T MOVE

A few years ago I was hunting in a swampy area which required me to walk through several inches of water to get to my tree stand.  I had really intended to get some new hunting boots, but just had not gotten around to it.  The boots I was wearing were kind of water proof, but not completely.  I managed to get to my stand with damp but not horribly wet feet.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a cold day.

The problem came as I started to exit the woods at dark.  I had not realized when I walked in (in the light) that there were several muddy areas along my path.  As I walked out I accidentally got off the path and into one of those areas of mud.  Not only did I get my feet very wet, but I was trudging along in several inches of thick, clingy mud.  I was so thankful to finally reach solid ground, thoroughly exhausted.

TEACHING MOMENT

What a fun verse to share with your kids the next time you get to play in the mud outside.  Most kids love mud.  Take a walk with them through it.  Compare how different your walking is in the mud and on grass.  Let them feel the tug and pull of the mud on their feet.

Now you can tell them how sin does the same thing to our spirits.  It pulls us down.  It bogs us down.  It makes walking with Christ so hard.  But Jesus is our Firm Foundation upon which we can walk confidently.  As we keep our feet on the solid ground we can navigate the paths He has set before us.  We must allow Him to show us the safest path to follow through the swamps of life.

How about you today?  Are you tired of pulling your feet out of the mud?  Are you tired of walking through the mud of life?  Are you tired of cleaning all that mud off your shoes?  Then walk with Jesus.  Even if He leads you into a swamp, He is there to pull you through!

Leviticus 3:2a “He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slay it at the doorway of the tent of meeting,”

No, I am not thinking about one of those footlong sandwiches.  Lol.  I am referring to the substitute for our sin.  We see in these first three chapters of Leviticus the process which was required for the people to offer their sacrifices.  They were to lay their hands on the head of the animal before it was slain, thus “transferring” their guilt on the animal.

Jesus came and took our place as the final sacrifice for sin.  He was in heaven observing with His Father the hopelessness of man.  I can imagine He said, “Put me in Coach.  I can take care of this.”  I am not trying to be sacrilegious when I say that.  Christ was our substitute for our sins.  The difference in His death and the death of the millions of animals that were sacrificed is His death was the fulfillment of the Law.  He was ONE AND DONE!

TEACHING MOMENT

The next time your child complains about not being able to do something use this thought to explain how they also cannot do enough to gain their salvation.  They are helpless to appease a Holy God.  But Jesus took their place and perfectly fulfilled all God required.

When is the last time your child volunteered to do an unpleasant task for someone?  You can use this truth then too.  Jesus came of His own will to take on a task that He did not deserve.  He willingly laid down His life for the sins He never committed.  In fact, the Word says He BECAME sin for us.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!  He was the best sub ever.  Have you thanked Him today for “jumping in” for you?  Have you given Him the glory He deserves for taking upon Himself the sins you have and will commit?  Have you even acknowledged that?  If not, then stop right now and give Him praise!

Best Verse:  Psalm 119:11 “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”

VALUABLE

When you think of treasure you naturally think of gold, silver, precious gems and the like.  One of my children’s favorite movies was “Goonies.”  These kids are looking for the lost treasure of a pirate that supposedly is hidden near their town.  The whole movie they struggle through dangerous situations to get to the treasure.  And when they finally get there and find it, they realize other things are more valuable. (I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it.)

As believers, our most precious treasure is the Word of God.  It is worth so much more than any amount of gold or silver.  If I was offered all the gold in the world if I gave up any access to God’s Word, I would have to turn it down.  It is just too valuable to me and my walk with Christ.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we teach our children to value God’s Word?  Well, that comes very early.  We have to read it to them.  We have to use it as our instruction manual.  We have to show them we live by it.  We will teach them to value what we value.

Memorizing scripture is so important.  I know many children struggle memorizing it, but I bet they can memorize the words to a song.  So, put the Word to music.  Make it fun to memorize.  Go over those verses time and time again.  Let them store it in their hearts.  It is their real treasure.

So, Mom and Dad, how are you doing with storing the Word of God in your heart today?  Have you taken the time to memorize a verse this week?  Just one verse a week will allow you to memorize 52 verses this year.  Do it with your kids.  Challenge them with a reward at the end.  Prove to them that you have treasured God’s Word in your heart.

Exodus 37:7-9 “7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat; 8 one cherub at the one end and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at the two ends. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.”

WHY CHERUBIM?

Have you ever wondered why the Lord told Moses to make the ark the way He did?  Maybe it’s just me, but I have always wondered about the cherubim.  Why were they placed on the lid?  Why are they facing each other?  I found one explanation that I think you will like.  “Because the Lord’s presence was in the space above the Ark (Lev. 16:2; Psalm 80:1), and Moses spoke to God there (Number 7:89), it was sometimes said that God was enthroned between the cherubim (1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2).”  – from gotquestions.com

So the cherubim are bowing before the enthroned God on the mercy seat.  That led me to ask the question, “Who do I have on my throne?”  Do I bow before a Holy God each and every day?  Or do I put myself or someone else on that throne?

TEACHING MOMENT

It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children who to put on their throne.  We should be constantly pointing them to Jesus.  When they begin to elevate some celebrity or sports figure, point out that they are just flesh and blood and subject to failures.  When they think their whole world revolves around that boyfriend or girlfriend, remind them that Jesus is the King whom will never desert them.

Our children naturally are drawn to people of power.  But it is so dangerous to allow them to do that without knowing the reality of everyone’s frailty in this world.  Even parents can let children down, right?

So who do you have on your throne today?  Are you taking the position of the cherubim and bowing before Him today?  Are you in a perpetual bow before Him, just as those two cherubim are?  We should be for only He deserves our worship and praise!

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

PLANTING THE RIGHT STUFF

Years ago I had a garden.  In fact, for several years I kept a garden.  It was my therapy. I loved raised bed gardening.  I would plant green beans, tomatoes, corn, peppers, lettuce and a few other vegetables.  But there is one simple truth to gardening.  You will only get what you want if you plant the right seed or plants.  You can’t plant bean seed and expect to get corn.

A couple of times I planted what I thought were bush beans but accidently planted pole beans which need a trellis to climb to produce well.  That can be frustrating, to say the least.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our kids to plant the right stuff in their lives is crucial for a successful spiritual harvest later.  They can’t fill their lives with video games and the wrong information and expect to live holy, God-fearing lives.  We have to till the soil of their heart while they are young and plant the Word of God firmly in their tiny spirits.  As they continue to grow we water and care for their spirit with extra fertilizer from God’s Word.

Do some children have crop failures?  Sure.  But usually that is due to insufficient attention to the crop as it grows.  We, as parents, can only tend their garden so long.  They eventually have to take care of it themselves.  We should still send some extra water and nourishment, but they have to be willing to apply it.  Left unattended any garden will cease to produce.

How about your spiritual garden?  Are you planting one thing and expecting another?  Have you planted and forgotten about it?  Are you too busy with other things to tend it?  Stop whatever you are doing today and get out that hoe and weed your garden. Lay down some new mulch and fertilizer from the Word of God.  Apply a generous amount of the Living Water to your spirit today.

Happy Harvesting!

Exodus 33:11b “When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”

TRUSTWORTHY

Moses had established the tent of meeting outside the camp.  That is where he went to meet with the Lord.  This was before the actual Tabernacle.  It was a special place, a place that should be protected as holy.  So, who went with Moses there?  None other than Joshua, son of Nun.

But he didn’t just go with Moses and stand guard while he was in the tent talking to the Lord.  When Moses would return to the camp, with his face shining from being in the presence of the Lord, Joshua would remain behind, standing guard at the tent of meeting.  We see no indication that he grumbled or complained.  He was loyal and dedicated.  He was willing to serve, even if it meant guarding a tent.  This was the same Joshua who had led the army in their first battle.  He was a warrior, but here he was just standing there.

TEACHING MOMENT

Do your children ever complain of the small chores they have to do?  Who likes doing those things?  I used to have to go around the house and empty all the trash cans and then take the trash out.  That may have seen like a small chore, but just imagine what would happen if no one did that.  Your children need to see that there are no small chores, just seemingly small ones.

We need to teach them that everything we do as part of the family is important.  Everything we do as part of the family of God is also important.  Picking up trash in the pews after a service may seem a little thing, but it has to be done.  Being loyal to the small tasks prepares us for the larger tasks to come.

What “small” task are you complaining about today?  Do you feel undervalued?  How do you think Joshua felt just standing next to the tent?  But he knew he was doing something important.  He was protecting the people from trying to “sneak a peek” at God.

Whatever you do today, do it with excellence.  You serve a Master who demands loyalty and loves unconditionally.

Exodus 29:46 “They shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.”

DETAILS

When is the last time you read Exodus?  When you get into the chapters with the descriptions about the tabernacle and the clothing, your eyes start to glaze over, right?  You start thinking, “Okay God, do I really need to know that Aaron and his sons had to wear certain undergarments?  Really?”

This verse today struck me though.  The Lord gives the reason for all the detail with these words.  He wanted to make sure they knew He was God and He dwelt among them.  Wow!  Now tell me, who doesn’t want to be reminded of that?

TEACHING MOMENT

So, the challenge is how can we use this verse with our kids.  Easy!  Take a look around you.  Challenge your kids to find things in nature or in your home that reminds them of the Lord.  Since God is everywhere and everything exists because of Him, that should be fun.  Make a list of everything that they name.  It doesn’t matter how silly it may sound.  God reveals Himself to people in different ways.

Maybe little Elrod sees God in that toad he has been playing with.  Perhaps Susie sees Him in the flower she picked just for you.  Explore with your children why and how they see God in the items they named.  Later on, when they feel God is not around, remind them of the list.  Show them how close He really is.

May I challenge you today to take a fresh look around yourself.  Discover God in your everyday surroundings.  Let His image burn into your mind in the things that you have overlooked lately.  He wants to be near you.  Let Him!