The revchristruelsen’s Podcast

Currency

Topic of Discussion Leviticus 27.  The last chapter of Leviticus! 

(All Scriptures and verses use the ESV.)

 Money is an earthly thing.  The love of money is a root of all evils, but money is necessary for transactions.  Money can become worthless overnight.  The one currency that is valuable for all time is the currency that only Christ could provide.  

The art: Moses as depicted by Dore.  Public domain.  

The hymn: Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word.  Public domain.  

 

 

God's Merciful Answer to the Wages of Sin

Text for discussion: Leviticus 26.  

 

Israel and God had a covenant, a contract which provided penalties for a breach of contract.  God, knowing our sins and weaknesses visited His full wrath on the Son in the crucifixion that we might have full life and complete forgiveness.  Christ's work paid for it all.  

Hymn: The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Public domain.  

Artwork: Christ in Gethsemane. by Mikhail Vrubel.  1888.  Public domain.  

Redeemer Past and Present

Reading for discussion: Leviticus 25.  

 

The God of creation, who made the heavens and the earth redeemed Israel.  He brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they belonged to Him.  He was their God and they were His people.  They were certainly reasons that the people lost the land, but ultimately this was a microcosm of the greater thing that God did by redeeming the people of all nations through His Son Jesus Christ.  If we claim Him as our God in faith, He claims us as His own through His Son.  

Hymn: Savior Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise (public domain).

Photo: Christ the Redeemer.  as shared in Wikimedia Commons by Lima Andruška from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  2011.  

Christus Victor Revisited

Text for discussion: Luke 4.  

In this chapter, Jesus is tempted in the desert and begins His ministry.  

Jesus shows us how He is going to stand between us and evil.  The full victory is won at the cross.  It is not just a temporal victory, but an eternal victory, for you . . . . 

 

Hymn: Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me.  A public domain hymn.  

Image: Christ in the Desert by Ivan Kramskoy, 1872.  

The Tree of Life

Text for discussion: Leviticus 24.  

We are forgetful of things past.  Practices and their meanings disappear for us, but God remembers all.  All provision comes from Him, and He does not forget us.  In light of all our sins, God has wiped them away by the power of the new tree of life.  What is it?  

 

Hymn: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

The engraving: The Crucifixion by Gustave Dore.  

The Sun Rises on the Just and the Unjust (Revisited)

This week we revisit a podcast from January 14, 2022:

Exodus 16.

All abundance comes from God.  All the people of the earth experience the shining sun, and rain when it is needed.  

The people of God wanted to return to Egypt when the wilderness grew harsh, but God provided.  

He provides for you too.  

 

The hymn: My Soul Now Praise Your Maker

A public domain hymn.  

Are you the Black Sheep of the Family? (Revisited)

This one revisits a podcast from May 14, 2021: 

Esau wasn't exactly the most beloved character in all of Scripture.  He was kind of an oaf, a doofus, but here is his genealogy in Genesis 36.  

This podcast is about being the "black sheep" and what to do about it.  

The hymn is #730.  What is the World to Me. A public domain hymn.  

Pixels and Powerful Patterns

Text for discussion: Leviticus 23.  

 

So much is lost in our understanding of history and our world.  When we read the Scriptures there is much significance and understanding lost to us, but whatever patterns we miss, God always remembers.  The feasts discussed in this chapter are no different-but as we come to understand them through God's Son, Jesus Christ, the patterns take shape for us. 

Engraving: Gustave Dore's depiction of Moses and the Commandments (public domain).

The Hymn: Be Still My Soul, (public domain).  

Flooding In

Text for discussion: Leviticus 22. 

 

The Holiness of God floods in and overwhelms our uncleanness.  God purifies us and makes us right with Himself through the all availing sacrifice of His Son.  Without this, we are unclean, unworthy, unacceptable.  We are beggars, fully dependent on God to meet the requirements.  

Engraving: Gustave Dore's depiction of Moses and the Commandments (public domain).

The hymn: Savior Again, To Thy Dear Name We Raise (public domain).

When You're Just Not Good Enough

Text for discussion: Leviticus 21.  

 

The priests in the tabernacle had a heavy burden of holiness to bear.  This chapter describes how difficult it was to hold to the requirements; in their position, many of us would surely be disqualified.  God has sent a greater high priest and the covenant He has made with us was inaugurated in His blood!  

Hymn: Not All the Blood of Beasts

Engraving: Moses and the Ten Commandments engraved by Dore.