Leviticus 23 & 24: Will You Rejoice?
Verse of the Day: (23:40) And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

1. Rest (23:1-3)
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. (23:3)

Time and again, God reminded His people to work only six days, and rest on the sabbath day, as it is not only good for the body, but also the soul, as we reflect upon His grace.

2. Rejoice (23:4-44)
These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. (23:4)

God through Moses commanded Israel to celebrate His seven feasts for Israel to remind them of His grace in delivering them from the bondage of Egypt as well as His continual presence with them in the wilderness. The seven feasts were - 1. The LORD’s Passover (the time when God delivered them out of Egypt) 2. The feast of unleavened bread (the time when they ate the unleavened bread for seven days after the LORD’s Passover) 3. The Firstfruits (the first harvest of their crops after they inherited the land of Canaan) 4. The Fifty days or Pentecost (fifty days after the Firstfruit) 5. Trumpets (trumpets were used for their movement in the wilderness) 6. Day of Atonement (the day of the year where the high priest offered the sacrifice not only for his own sins but the sins of Israel) 7. The feast of tabernacles (the days they dwelt in booths in the wilderness). Indeed, let us be thankful and grateful to God, and to always rejoice in Him for His grace, knowing that He is too wise to make a mistake, and too loving to be unkind. (Philippians 4:4)

3. Restore (24:1-23)
And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. (24:21)

Throughout man’s way, it is the principle of sowing and reaping and restoring - you reap what you sow, and you restore what you have broken. However, God’s way is even higher than man’s way as even when others do us evil, we still love them, and do them good. Indeed, Jesus, the Son of God, is the best and perfect example of unconditional and sacrificial love, when He died and shed His blood, not for His own sins, but for the sins of the world. At the cross, Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Indeed, let us love all including our enemies, and rejoice all the time even bad time, knowing that God is good all the time. (Luke 23:34)
 
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to rejoice all the time, including bad time, trusting You.

Leviticus 21 & 22: Are You Sanctified?
Verse of the Day: (21:8) Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.

1. Sanctify (21:1-24)
Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him. (21:15)

Throughout the Bible, holiness of God’s people is His utmost concern. Without holiness, no one can be with God forever because He is holy, and therefore He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of the whole world. Whoever believes in Christ shall never perish in fiery hell, but shall be sanctified before Him, and one day be with Him in heaven forever. During the Old Testament era, God’s desire for His priests, and especially His high priest, including their families, who represented Him in their services at His holy sanctuary, was that they be examples of holiness to Israel and the rest of the world. God through Moses gave laws and ordinances to His high priest and priests as to how they must sanctify themselves and be holy in everything; from not touching the dead, to their marriage of a virgin, otherwise they shall be severely punished. Today, after Christ came and died for our sins, Christians are now God’s priests, and we must also be saved and sanctified to serve Christ, and be an example of His holiness. (1 Peter 2:9-10)

2. Separate (22:1-3)
Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. (22:2)

Not only the high priest and the priests must be sanctified, even the things of God must be sanctified and separated from the profane ones. This is an important lesson for us as God can never be with the devil, or Light be with darkness. Let us therefore separate ourselves from sinful activities, and be serving God in His church. (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)

3. Soul (22:4-33)
The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water. (22:6)

There are two things that last forever – God’s Word and man’s soul. (1 Peter 1:25, Luke 16:19-31) Since the beginning of time when God created Adam and Eve, and the time of Moses, and even today, God’s desire is that all souls be saved by the redemption of His only begotten Son, because He already knew that Adam and Eve shall sin against Him. God’s desire is that our souls be with Him in heaven after our death, if we believe in Him, otherwise, He shall blot our names in His book of life, and condemn us to hell because of our sins. Let us therefore believe in Jesus Christ, and be sanctified and holy, as He is holy.
 
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please sanctify and purify me, as I repent my sins before Your holiness.

Leviticus 19 & 20: Will You Be Holy?
Verse of the Day: (19:2) Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

1. Holy (19:1-37)
Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD. (19:37)

God through Moses gave Israel His commandments as to how they must live holy lives before His holiness. If there is only one word to describe God, it is His holiness. This is the reason why God creates fiery hell not because He desires man to be cast into it, but because of His holiness. The only way for man to be holy, and to be with God on earth and one day in heaven, is to believe that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for the sins of the whole world, and that whoever believes in Jesus shall never perish but have everlasting life with Him in heaven. Indeed, God’s commandments were similar to the Ten Commandments He had given earlier to Israel. (Exodus 20:1-17) In summary, God’s commands required Israel to believe that He is the only true God, and that man must honour their parents, keep the sabbaths and be contented with life. Today, these laws are still applicable, and we must obey them, as God desires us to be holy before His holiness.  

2. Hide (20:1-21)
And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: (20:4)

If there is one thing that God hates most, it must be dishonesty. God knows everything and He sees everything, and there is nothing that He does not know or see, and let us not hide anything from Him. God warned Israel that whoever hid the sins of the man who sacrificed his child to Molech (one of the idols) and not punished him with death as He had commanded Israel, shall be guilty himself and be punished with death. (Galatians 6:7)

3. Honey (20:22-27)
But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. (20:24)

God knows those who believe in Him, and He shall richly bless them with milk and honey or the richest of His blessings. During Moses’ time or the Old Testament era, God’s milk and honey was literally milk and honey in the land of Canaan where they had plenty of milk from the cattle, and honey from the bees. Today or the New Testament era, after Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of the whole world, God’s milk and honey to those who truly believe and trust in Him is the abundant and everlasting life with Him. Indeed, with God we have everything, and without God, we have nothing! (John 10:10)  
 
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please help me to be holy as You are holy.

Leviticus 17 & 18: Are You Washed In The Blood Of Christ, The Lamb?
Verse of the Day: (17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

1. Burn (17:1-7)
And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. (17:6)

God commanded Moses and Aaron that only the priests could offer the various types of offerings to God at the door of the tabernacle, and any man who offered any sacrifice without the priests shall be severely punished. The priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar signifying that the blood of the sacrifices had taken the sins of the people, and they then burnt the fat as sweet fragrance to God signifying that they desired to please Him with their sacrifices and had repented their sins. God knew the hearts of Israel that many still committed idolatry and were worshipping false gods, and making sacrifices to them as they did in Egypt. Let us truly repent of our sins and be sweet fragrance that all who come in contact with us shall experience the love of God in us. (2 Corinthians 2:15)

2. Blood (17:8-16)
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off. (17:14)

Without the shedding of the blood of Christ, there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22) God commanded Israel that they must not consume the blood of any flesh as it was the life of His creatures. This was why when the priests sacrificed the offerings, they sprinkled the blood and burned the fat, and only the flesh remained for consumption for the priests and the people. Today, we are under God’s grace and we can eat and do whatever for His glory since Jesus came and died for our sins. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

3. Beast (18:1-30)
Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (18:23)

Man reaches his lowest point when he commits immorality with the beast that must have hurt God who created man in His image. (Genesis 1:26) God has created man with a living soul, and makes him far superior and smarter than the beast, yet man has degraded himself to a beast because of lust. God commands man to have only one wife, and give him laws of marriage, such as no sexual relationship with the same sex, and with his siblings, etc., that are still applicable today, so as to keep man holy before His holiness.  
 
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that I am washed by the blood of Christ, Your only Son.