the watcher

Leviticus 5:11 “If you cannot afford to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, you may bring two quarts of choice flour for your sin offering. Since it is an offering for sin, you must not moisten it with olive oil or put any frankincense on it. At the time of giving the law, which is what we will go through in the book of Leviticus, we see instructions on almost every area of life, especially on how to come to the Lord, be it for forgiveness of sins, thanksgiving, passover etc. It also includes instructions on how to treat others including slaves, the poor and foreigners. These laws may look harsh at the face value of it, however they remained guidelines for the people of Israel as the journeyed through the wilderness and into the promise land. Today we look at the sin offering. Do we notice that the law put into consideration what a person can afford? Leviticus 5:6-7,11 Then you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat.

Leviticus 4:3,13,22,27 If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the Lord a young bull with no defects. If the entire Israelite community sins by violating one of the Lord’s commands, but the people don’t realize it, they are still guilty. If one of Israel’s leaders sins by violating one of the commands of the Lord his God but doesn’t realize it, he is still guilty. If any of the common people sin by violating one of the Lord’s commands, but they don’t realize it, they are still guilty. The Lord recognizes the various classes of people, yet the Lord is no respecter of persons. It has to do with responsibility! That is, the Lord would expect from you to the measure He has given you. For example, if the Lord makes you king he expects more from you than a common man. The same yet applies if the Lord makes you priest, elder, leader, pastor, teacher, parent, Father or mother etc. Your posit

Leviticus 4:2-4 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. This is how you are to deal with those who sin unintentionally by doing anything that violates one of the Lord’s commands. “If the high priest sins, bringing guilt upon the entire community, he must give a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must present to the Lord a young bull with no defects. He must bring the bull to the lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the Lord. If we analyze the requirements needed to atone for the sins we commit, even the non-intentional ones and the price that is required to cover it, we begin to understand what Christ did for us. Imagine bringing a bull for each wrong you committed unintentionally! Man was really in a predicament and needed salvation. John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. The one who

Leviticus 3:1 “If you present an animal from the herd as a peace offering to the lord, it may be a male or a female, but it must have no defects. When anyone come to the Lord they come as they are and they receive His salvation. He then makes everything new, gives us a reset in the spirit, a new life, we then have the opportunity to start again on a clean slate. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18a This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.  John 3:3,5,7 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ When this initial salvation is done the next step is to study His word and be filled with His Spirit to live the new life day afte

Leviticus 2:11 “Do not use yeast in preparing any of the grain offerings you present to the Lord, because no yeast or honey may be burned as a special gift presented to the Lord. I have always wondered why unleavened bread was important in God's instructions to the children of Israel. Why was yeast not allowed on their bread be it during the time of passover or for grain offering on the altar. Exodus 13:6-7 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the lord. Eat bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast bread or any yeast at all found within the borders of your land during this time. I had to go research opinion of writers and it was opined that it had something to do with the significance of yeast in the bible context. The yeast was used time and again to represent sin, that could like yeast permeate the whole loaf. Luke 13:21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even

Leviticus 1:2,10,14 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats. “If the animal present as a burnt offering is from the flock, it may be either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a male with no defects. “If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. Sacrifice, what is it's essence?  "It is giving up something to show value, it is giving up something of value for the sake of something else, (Oxford dictionary) Most time people talk of sacrifice without considering what it really is. It is something of value given in place of another, to pay for a wrong, show appreciation, or an expression of love. If we are to summarize it, the Lord is interested in the heart of the one bringing the sacrifice and not in the sacrifice itself. We see this from the first sacrifice that was ever offered b

Romans 12:17-18,21 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Before we move into the book of Leviticus, let us remind ourselves of who we are and the lifestyle the Heavenly Father expects from us. We understand that we cannot control what other people do, however we can control our reactions to their actions, so we read: Romans 12:18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. If they bring evil reply with good: Romans 12:17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Evil should never conquer us, No, we conquer evil with good. Romans 12:21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. You have your nature as a believer, that nature is what you have become when Christ filled you with God's Holy Spirit. It makes you carry the character o

Exodus 40:33-34 Then he hung the curtains forming the courtyard around the Tabernacle and the altar. And he set up the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. So at last Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. As we finish the second book of the bible today - Exodus, we see Moses's completion of the work of building the tabernacle.  What happened after this? Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Remember this, when we obey the instructions, we prepare the place for God to manifest His power. We see the same happen when Noah had built the ark the Lord instructed him to build. Genesis 7:5,16 So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him. A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them. We have talked about how obedience is the driving force for God's blessings. It is not only

Exodus 39:42-43 So the people of Israel followed all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses. Then Moses inspected all their work. When he found it had been done just as the Lord had commanded him, he blessed them. It is that simple, the reward of obedience is blessings. Listen, Genesis 22:16a & 17a “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me . . .  I will certainly bless you. Deuteronomy 28:2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: Truly it is that simple. Remember that the fall of man came as a result of disobedience, all the record of men in scriptures who failed or were rejected by God were as a result of disobedience. The enemy cunningly convinced Eve to disobey God and he still uses the same trick today. We must never be caught on the negative side of the divide we must stay on the part of obedience. See, in obedience you are secured in the Lord and those who come against you automatically fall into the disobedient cadre which leads to G

Exodus 39:1b,5b,7b,21b,26b,29b,31b just as the Lord had commanded Moses. just as the Lord had commanded Moses. All this was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses. All this was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses. just as the Lord had commanded Moses. just as the Lord had commanded Moses. just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Do you see the trend, the whole building of the tabernacle was with obedience to the instruction of the Lord. . . .just as the Lord commanded . . . The problem begins from man not knowing the instructions of the Lord. The Psalmist sang: Psalms 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. God's instructions are a must know, that brings us back to the question, how do we know what God has instructed? The answer is found in the book of Hebrews: Hebrews 1:1-2 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised e

Exodus 38:21,24-25,29 This is an inventory of the materials used in building the Tabernacle of the Covenant. The Levites compiled the figures, as Moses directed, and Ithamar son of Aaron the priest served as recorder. The people brought special offerings of gold totaling 2,193 pounds, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. This gold was used throughout the Tabernacle. The whole community of Israel gave 7,545 pounds of silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. The people also brought as special offerings 5,310 pounds of bronze, One major responsibility of the believer, especially those in leadership, is accountability! It is ignorance that will make a minister of God "no matter the title" feel offended when asked to account for that which is entrusted to them. At no point has the collective contribution of members of a group, fellowship or "church" become any individual's personal possession. IT IS FOR THE LORD! You as a leader or ste

Exodus 37:2,4,16,23 He overlaid it inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it. Then he made poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. Then he made special containers of pure gold for the table—bowls, ladles, jars, and pitchers—to be used in pouring out liquid offerings. He also made seven lamps for the lampstand, lamp snuffers, and trays, all of pure gold. So much was put into the building of the tabernacle, the place where the Lord would meet with the people. All the materials were either pure gold or overlaid with gold. Today we know that God dwells in the tabernacle not made with human hands: Acts 7:48-49 However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says, ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.  Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the Lord.  ‘Could you build me such a resting place?  God dwells in us by His Spirit. So today just as the tabernacle was carefully built, we bui

Exodus 36:8-9 The skilled craftsmen made ten curtains of finely woven linen for the Tabernacle. Then Bezalel decorated the curtains with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. All ten curtains were exactly the same size—42 feet long and 6 feet wide. When we read through the remaining verses in Exodus 36, we wonder what we learn from all the details involved in the construction of the tabernacle and it's interior fittings. What comes to mind is God's instructions to Noah: Genesis 6:14-15,22 “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. It reminds us that walking with God requires a key element, that element is Obedience. Obedience is the key factor to walking with God. People wonder why they are not too close to

Exodus 36:6-7 So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: “Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!” So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project. When the people are willing supply is always more than enough. Exodus 36:3-6 Moses gave them the materials donated by the people of Israel as sacred offerings for the completion of the sanctuary. But the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning. Finally the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. They went to Moses and reported, “The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do!” So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: “Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!” So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. The result of willingn

Exodus 35:4-5 Then Moses said to the whole community of Israel, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Take a sacred offering for the Lord. Let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; When the Lord wants to do His work He uses His people. They are the first responders. Thus the Lord always ensures His own are blessed. It is not only limited to tangible things like money but also skill and expertise in various trades that come in handy for doing the Lord's work. Exodus 35:10 “Come, all of you who are gifted craftsmen. Construct everything that the Lord has commanded: I have always believed that there is no human created without gifts or talents, it just has to be discovered and developed. We bless and edify each other spiritually by prayers and other spiritual activities we also do so by using our God giving gifts tangible and intangible to do God's work, build the church and one another. Remember that this involves men and wo

Exodus 34:12,14,30 “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him. To have a walk with God, you have to be committed to it, you are either with Him or you are not. God made it clear to the children of Israel that if they would serve Him, then they had no business with any idol. They became God's people by reason of birth, the initial covenant was with Abraham through whom God initiated the covenant and the faithfulness was required through the lineage, that is Issac, Jacob and the twelve sons rising to the people who had multiplied through the times. So when we say Israel, it is not a person but a people, if anyone decided to rebel and is cu

Exodus 34:5-7 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,  “Yahweh! The Lord!  The God of compassion and mercy!  I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.  I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.  But I do not excuse the guilty.  I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;  the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.” One nature of the Heavenly Father is forgiveness, we see it in the scriptures above. We actually learn forgiveness from our Heavenly Father. When He addressed Moses, He used these words: "“Yahweh! The Lord!  The God of compassion and mercy!  I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.  I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. " Many who ask why it s

Exodus 33:15-16 Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” The world try to convince man of is his independence from God. That is the enemy's line from the beginning. The conversion with the woman at the garden was about man being like God, emphasizing that man is self sufficient on his own and does not need the Heavenly Father! Genesis 3:1,4-5 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” It was a false promise of liberation that many yet

Exodus 33:3 Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” The revelation of Jesus the Christ brought a liberty that up till today many people including religious people cannot understand. I was talking to someone from a particular religion and he/she told me they were not ready to take the witness of the writers of the New Testament since it was written after Christ's death, they wanted to hear what Christ said Himself and what He had written. I answered by saying that Christ did not write, He did not come to write, even the one you said you believe did not write someone wrote for him/her. I further asked why one would not believe the same testimony from different people at different times, but would easily believe the testimony of one man, whose character was questionable, whose source of testimony could not be verified cause he/she had night mee

Exodus 32:1,4,7 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” The Lord's told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. One thing we observed about the children of Israel at the time when Moses came to them was their familiarity with idols. They seemed to have forgotten the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and made themselves familiar to the idols in Egypt. The had no idea who Almighty God was. This is why they quickly sought an alternative when Moses was off for 40 days. It seemed as if it w

Exodus 31:14-17 You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death. The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’” The day of rest of the Lord, is the Sabbath and just as we see in Exodus 31, the Lord reminds the children of Israel that they must keep the sabbath day, the penalty for flouting it was death! Now we would understand why the teachers of the law observed Jesus on the sabbath day waiting for him to

Exodus 31:6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make: God gave instructions to Moses concerning the building of the tabernacle. This included the whole structure, the ark, altar, the clothing for the priests, etc. He did not stop there, He had also prepared those who will do this work. Exodus 31:2-6 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft! “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given spec

Exodus 30:21,33,38 They must always wash their hands and feet, or they will die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants, to be observed from generation to generation.” Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.'' ''Anyone who makes incense like this for personal use will be cut off from the community.” There was a holy standard kept for the priests and the people at the time of the old covenant. Definitely God's requirement of holiness had always been there from the beginning, having to do with walking in good works, summarily obedience to living righteously. When Christ came to set us free, He did not come to make us unholy but actually more holy. He said: Matthew 5:48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Peter explained further: 1 Peter 1:15-16 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You