Got Mildew?

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When you arrive in Canaan, the land I am giving you as your own possession, I may contaminate some of the houses in your land with mildew. [Leviticus 14.33-34] 

To say God randomly does something opens Pandora's Box of doubt about God and the entire Bible.

This is how it begins... Our educated minds immediately conclude that mildew is an "uh-oh" associated with moisture and therefore reasonably conclude that the solution is to simply get rid of the water and mildew will take care of itself. There is no need to repent - just stop the water.

Next problem?

We could go on to address financial uh-oh's, uh-oh's from natural disasters, accidents, theft, or loss, health uh-oh's, and just uh-oh's in general. Down the list, man's knowledge and ingenuity have formed or formulated solutions that don't require repentance - just get the solution! And yet, every "uh-oh" in this list (including mildew) is detailed as a curse for disobedience found in Deuteronomy 28.15-68.

In a strategic move to counteract frivolous religious nonsense, I want to open a different Pandora's Box to elicit doubts about the man-made solutions today we so quickly turn to to remediate the "oh-oh's" detailed above...

What if our man-made solutions are nothing but distractions to keep us from repenting? What if our man-made solutions that keep us from repenting therefore prevent us from witnessing the miraculous, unexplainable, irrefutable power of God? What if we attempt then to religiously justify that our man-made solutions are from God ignoring that fact that Godless people claim these same solutions are purely the evolution of man's intellect? What if we just stop thinking or talking about this because it raises questions we have no answers for except that we are in need of repentance? What if, because we have man-made solutions for nearly everything, we see no need for God and certainly no need for Jesus (except to maintain some religious facade)? 

What if our man-made solutions are not the result of Godly advancement (evolution) of man's ingenuity, but are instead idols that infuriate God and enrage His jealousy? 

What if our man-made solutions merely shape-shift curses from one form into another - let's say into expensive monthly payments or up-front costs? What if our man-made solutions effectively, one interest payment, one premium payment, one prescription or procedure payment, or one gadget purchase at a time, make money our god (that insatiably consumes all our time and efforts)?

What if?

What if our wonderful man-made solutions (our own ways) are nothing but suicidal extended curses upon our disobedience? Who would do such a thing?

There were man-made solutions in Jesus' day. If God indeed uses man-made solutions to solve man's problems (as misguidedly suggested by some), why did Jesus instead miraculously, unexplainably, and irrefutably solve those problems without aid from man's solutions? Why the distinction? Why did Jesus use only God's ways (miracles) instead of incorporating man's ways (calling it miracles)? Why did Jesus tell at least one person, "Go, and sin no more!"?

“The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” [Mark 1.15]

The Good News is:

It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ [Luke 24.47]

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13]

Repentance and faith are required to enjoy the benefit(s) of Jesus' rescue - Redemption - the Good News. Whether it is mildew or sickness or lack, these curses indicate the need for repentance and faith in Christ. Sounds silly, right? Not if you read the Bible for what it actually says (instead of what religion has made it out to be!).

Jesus resorted to the miraculous, unexplainable and irrefutable power of God to prove that man-made solutions are not the answer. Jesus presented Himself as the solution to every progressive curse of death upon man. Jesus presented Himself instead of man-made ways:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

To give up your own way is to repent. To take up your cross is to believe the Good News that is, Jesus. To follow Jesus is to repent and believe God's solution for the curses upon man and the world instead of man's solution.

Got mildew? Got need? Got tragedy? Got sickness? Got trouble?

Follow Jesus (repent and believe)! Intentionally give up on man-made solutions. Intentionally take up the way of faith (even to the point of death on your cross) in following Jesus, walking in the pure, miraculous power of God.

Father, Your Word is clear: curses point us to repentance, not man-made solutions. It is overwhelming to consider how far away from this truth the modern Church has wandered. Oh, we know "Jesus is the answer," but we refuse to acknowledge the question, "why are we experiencing curses?" Consequently, we faithfully 'worship' man-made idols (debt, insurance, medicine and technology to name a few) with our time and energy in flagrant defiance of Your jealous demand to trust You alone. Forgive us! But find our repentance with feet and hands to intentionally give up our ways of idolatry and intentionally take up the way of faith in Jesus alone - our cross, following Him in miraculous, unexplainable, and irrefutable demonstration of Your power! So be it.

Gender, Confusion, and Order

The LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. On the eighth day the boy’s foreskin must be circumcised. After waiting thirty-three days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. During this time of purification, she must not touch anything that is set apart as holy. And she must not enter the sanctuary until her time of purification is over. If a woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be ceremonially unclean for two weeks, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. After waiting sixty-six days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth. [Leviticus 12.1-5] 

In my years of writing resultant to reading the One Year Bible and then the One Year Chronological Bible, I know of at least six other times I have written on the passage of Scripture above from Leviticus. I want to list those times here as links in hopes that anyone who reads this will take the time to read each one in chronological order.

The reason for asking readers to read these past six articles is not to confirm my knowledge, but to document my journey dealing with this particular confusing passage from the Bible. Here are those past articles:

• Rights, 2014
• Discrimination Or A Picture Of Christ?, 2015
• A Sign Of Covenant, 2018
• No Foul - Just Covenant, 2019
• Infinite Wisdom, 2023
• Why Ask Why?, 2025

Because this year (2026) I have been attuned to the events that took place in the Garden of Eden (referring many times to the "Has God really said...?" question Satan asked Eve), I am compelled this time around to see Leviticus 12.1-5 in that same light. Ready?

Regardless what modern Equal Rights ideology presents, it cannot change Bible history. Satan approached Eve with his enticement to rebel against God. For whatever reason Satan chose to entice the woman, the Bible records that Eve first partook of the forbidden fruit.

What happens when God came walking through the Garden sheds light on the Leviticus passage:

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” [Genesis 3.8-10]

Adam and Eve both hid from God, but God addressed only Adam and only Adam responded, "I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked." Adam, in the order and responsibility assigned him from God as God's first-created human, singularly owned the shame both he and Eve were experiencing. God established the precedent of gender order: first, by creating man first, and then with His address above only to Adam that was then furthermore reflected in Adam's response.

As sin does however, Adam's God-assigned order and responsibility became tainted.

“Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” [Genesis 3.11-12]

The authority and responsibility Adam demonstrated in his "I" heard you... "I" hid... "I" was afraid... "I" was naked... response quickly disintegrated when God called him to reckoning! Instead of "being the man," Adam immediately threw his beautiful, previously cherished and perfect bride under the bus!

The rest is history... which directly relates to Leviticus 12.1-5!

Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” [Genesis 3.14-15]

God's mention of "offspring" has everything to do with childbirth just like Leviticus 12.1-5. God also foretells of Jesus here and those of His time blind with demonic religion (John 8.44).

Look then at what God said to the woman:

Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” [Genesis 3.16] 

Again, childbirth is mentioned. And again, this ties right into Leviticus 12.1-5. The curse God pronounced upon Eve was a curse upon the entire female gender (don't worry, man will get his...). With every child born, woman's desire to control her husband is effectively warned against in the amount of time God assigned for purification based on the child's gender. While there is this perceived "preference" for male children, the male child, in the "order of gender," has this to look forward to (not):

And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” [Genesis 3.17-19]

We must notice and understand  that for Adam, eating the forbidden fruit was a secondary sin. The primary sin God scolded Adam for was listening to his wife that resulted in eating the forbidden fruit!

If we can and will see it, the rule of a woman's purification period for male or female children, serves as a reminder of God's order not only for the woman, but also for the man who, in God's order of things, is woman's' protector.

Likewise, the curse upon man (to scratch a living for the cursed ground) reminds not only the man of God's order, but also the woman who, in God's order of things, is protected by the man.

God is a God of order. We can fuss and complain all we want, but, as Job found out, it is best to just let Him be God.

Thank God that Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law, right?

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13]

So then, the question looms... how does Jesus affect the gender issue at hand in Leviticus 12.1-5? In Christ, all is fulfilled! However, just like the Ten Commandments provide timeless insight into God's order now in Christ, so, Leviticus 12.1-5 also serves to remind us of God's order in Christ. Again, God is a God of order. Jesus did not redeem us from order, but from the penalty for breaking order. The order still remains!

To everyone who reads this article, male and female alike, please understand that in Christ, all are free: free to live in God's order without condemnation. The respective responsibility upon male and female alike is paramount.

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. [1 Peter 3.7]

We must all remember that Eve would have had no sin had Adam not disorderly followed her lead. It would seem Satan approached the woman the same way nature teaches us that predators go for the weak and vulnerable. The primary responsibility was upon the man, for himself and for his wife, to obey God. Adam failed miserably in protecting his wife - just as men have been failing miserably increasingly more ever since. It is no wonder today that "gender" is embroiled in such a "hot topic" power struggle!

In the New King James Version, 1 Peter 3.7 gives a beautiful word picture of gender roles:

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. [1 Peter 3.7 NKJV]

The complexity of the gender topic is undeniable in today's society. Is there any hope of getting it right? Is it any wonder that gender confusion is a real thing today?

Father, I can only trust that Your Holy Spirit brought Your light through the words written here as they relate to Your Word. May every man who reads my thoughts here be convicted, as I am, to be highly protective of women in general, starting with the women in their own home. May every woman who reads my thoughts here be convicted to follow Your order in men in general, starting with the men in their own home. May Your Word be our guide irrespective of popular societal norms. So be it. 

The New Distinction (Christ In You)

For I, the LORD, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy. [Leviticus 11.45] 

Where else have we heard part of the verse above? It was the opening line before the Ten Commandments.

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. [Exodus 20.2]

The interesting thing about both these passages is that God's declaration of being the One Who rescued Israel out of Egypt had everything to do with God making a distinction between those who were His and those who were not. The Leviticus passage is in regard to what God's people eat and the Exodus passage is in regard to love for God (alone), the Sabbath, and love for others.

Jesus re-defined holiness regarding what we eat in this way:

Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” [Matthew 15.10-11]

Naturally, as Jesus came to reveal God's love for the entire population of the world, the distinction of certain foods would no longer be required to differentiate between those who are God's and those who are not. This was born out in the Holy Spirit's revelation to Peter:

Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. [Acts 10.28]

So also, Jesus re-defined holiness regarding the Ten Commandments as the distinction of the Sabbath was fulfilled in Him. Jesus didn't "break" the Sabbath as His contemporary religious people supposed because He came "as" the Sabbath. Unsurprisingly, in the Ten Commandments, the distinction of holiness is only mentioned regarding the Sabbath!

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. [Exodus 20.8-11]

The distinguishing "holiness" not mentioned in the other nine Commandments, is fulfilled in the Sabbath - in Christ. Remember what Jesus said about the Law (Commandments) and the Prophets?

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. [Matthew 5.17]

The New Testament distinction of holiness then is not achieved in food or observance of days, but in Jesus:

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. [Colossians 2.16-17]

 As the Sabbath was made for man...

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. [Mark 2.27]

Because God so loved the world...

“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. [John 3.16]

Jesus came to make the new distinction between those who are God's and those who are not:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [John 14.6] 

This new distinction begins not by eating certain foods (It’s not what goes into your mouth), but by confessing Jesus (by the words that come out of your mouth):

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. [Romans 10.9-10]

The new distinction is not the LORD Who brought us out of Egypt, but Jesus Christ Who died for us on the cross:

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13]

The new distinction is made by following the resurrected Christ:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

It is not difficult to find how religious observances and food factor into the new distinction Jesus laid out in Matthew 6 (they don't). The new distinction is simply Jesus:

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [Colossians 1.27]

Yes, the new distinction is Jesus. Holding to the observance of certain days and foods (not just certain foods, but all food) is not required in Jesus, but instead, giving it all up, taking up our cross, and following Him.

Please pray this prayer with me:

Father, thank You for Jesus. I see that religion and food are not my concern as I first "confess" Him and then obediently follow Him. I do believe and I do "confess" Jesus; save me! Let Jesus be the distinction in me as I do His work from this point forward... Wherever I go and whatever I do, I want Jesus to be the "words" and the "works" proving His presence. So be it (Amen).

(If you prayed this prayer and mean it, tell someone. Join in with others of the same confession. It's what Jesus distinctly does in you.)

The Old Testament, Jesus, And The Progression Of All Things

Now stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, and do everything the LORD requires. If you fail to do this, you will die, for this is what the LORD has commanded.” [Leviticus 8.35] 

On this date in 2025, I wrote the article Dive In The Deep End. It is  good start to understanding what is presented here today.

When Jesus died on the cross, why was only the veil (curtain) in the Temple torn? If we follow the "Age of Grace" ideology today, the entire Temple should have been destroyed, correct? Oh wait, Jesus in fact predicted the Temple's entire destruction (Matthew 24.2, Mark 13.2, and Luke 21.6) and, in fact, history reveals that it was completely destroyed in 70 AD at the hands of Roman forces led by Titus (Wikipedia).

So, why the progression? Why was not the destruction of the Temple completed when the veil was supernaturally torn?

First, let us consider what Jesus said about the Law:

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! [Matthew 5.17-20]

Now why would Jesus say this? Does this not completely go against everything our popular "Age of Grace" teaching promotes? In fact it does except if we consider it in the understanding of progression.

When a child grows up and leaves home, parents often lament that their child "forgets everything they learned" when that child makes some wayward choices. Sadly, the problem is not so much that the child "forgets" as it is that the child "never learned." The Bible actually bears this out:

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. [Proverbs 22.6]

If we can see it, what Jesus said about the Law is not optional. Understanding the Law is part of the progression of Kingdom citizenship.

Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. [Galatians 4.1-5 NKJV]

To "stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days" provides insight that there is indeed something to the idea of progression. Seven days represents completion which is the outcome of progression. The Leviticus passage above also provides insight into the gravity of following the progression: "If you fail to do this, you will die."

The unlearned wayward child is proof that the guardianship and stewardship of the Law is every bit as necessary as Jesus said it was. There is indeed a progression to Grace. That progression teaches God's children that life hangs in the balance of Jesus Who accomplished the purpose of the Law and the Prophets.  What is the opposite of life that hangs in the balance of Jesus? Death. Jesus spoke of life in sober terms:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and Prophets, but to accomplish their purpose. There can be no understanding of Christ for salvation apart from understanding His relationship to the Law and the Prophets. Salvation is based on faith in Christ Jesus Who, accomplished the purpose of the Law and the Prophets. Faith in any other "Jesus" is the "broad way" Jesus warned against. If Jesus is indeed part of our lives, the Law and the Prophets are part of our lives. Passages like the subject passage above from Leviticus have great meaning to us. While we are not constrained by the Law and the Prophets, we are constrained by Jesus (Who is constrained by the Law and the Prophets).

Although by our inherent sinful nature at birth we are destined to die, the progression to that day of death is supernaturally altered for those who are in Christ (John 10.10). It is their earthly distinction as children of God. But God's children will never know or understand this unless they know and understand the Law and the Prophets and Jesus as their fulfillment. In fact, the "Jesus" known by those ignorant of the Law and the Prophets (wayward sons and daughters) is not Jesus of the Bible, the eternal Son of God.

Too harsh? Jesus didn't think so (see Matthew 7.13-14 above) and Leviticus gave us insight that failure to do what the LORD has commanded launches a death sentence. Oh yeah, every detail of the Tabernacle (and eventually the Temple) points man to God through Jesus Christ. 

Father, I am amazed how Your Word fits together so completely. Help me to see that maturity in Christ is a progressive process. Help me also see that failure to progress in Christ is deadly (just as You warned Adam and Eve of death - that was a progression itself). Help Christians today understand that the progression of death they experience today is not the distinction You desire for Your children. Show us more... And may Your glory be seen in us as we are in Christ. So be it.

Curses Do Not Lie

“Suppose you sin by violating one of the LORD’s commands. Even if you are unaware of what you have done, you are guilty and will be punished for your sin. [Leviticus 5.17] 

How does one know he has sinned if he is unaware of it?

The answer to this question is simple. However, the implications of it are complex - at least, when a person is proud and arrogant...

In simplest form, when one of God's commands are violated, there is punishment. What is the punishment? The Bible is actually quite clear about the punishment (curses) for sin and disobedience to God (I apologize for the length of the passage to follow, but its relevance is paramount):

“But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: Your towns and your fields will be cursed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be cursed. Your children and your crops will be cursed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be cursed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be cursed. “The LORD himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. The LORD will afflict you with diseases until none of you are left in the land you are about to enter and occupy. The LORD will strike you with wasting diseases, fever, and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew. These disasters will pursue you until you die. The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron. The LORD will change the rain that falls on your land into powder, and dust will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed. “The LORD will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away. “The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, scurvy, and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will strike you with madness, blindness, and panic. You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you. “You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will sleep with her. You will build a house, but someone else will live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will never enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be butchered before your eyes, but you will not eat a single bite of the meat. Your donkey will be taken from you, never to be returned. Your sheep and goats will be given to your enemies, and no one will be there to help you. You will watch as your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves. Your heart will break for them, but you won’t be able to help them. A foreign nation you have never heard about will eat the crops you worked so hard to grow. You will suffer under constant oppression and harsh treatment. You will go mad because of all the tragedy you see around you. The LORD will cover your knees and legs with incurable boils. In fact, you will be covered from head to foot. “The LORD will exile you and your king to a nation unknown to you and your ancestors. There in exile you will worship gods of wood and stone! You will become an object of horror, ridicule, and mockery among all the nations to which the LORD sends you. “You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops. You will plant vineyards and care for them, but you will not drink the wine or eat the grapes, for worms will destroy the vines. You will grow olive trees throughout your land, but you will never use the olive oil, for the fruit will drop before it ripens. You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, for they will be led away into captivity. Swarms of insects will destroy your trees and crops. “The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker. They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail! “If you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and to obey the commands and decrees he has given you, all these curses will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed. These horrors will serve as a sign and warning among you and your descendants forever. If you do not serve the LORD your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, you will serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The LORD will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you. “The LORD will bring a distant nation against you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture. It is a nation whose language you do not understand, a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young. Its armies will devour your livestock and crops, and you will be destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine, olive oil, calves, or lambs, and you will starve to death. They will attack your cities until all the fortified walls in your land—the walls you trusted to protect you—are knocked down. They will attack all the towns in the land the LORD your God has given you. “The siege and terrible distress of the enemy’s attack will be so severe that you will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you. The most tenderhearted man among you will have no compassion for his own brother, his beloved wife, and his surviving children. He will refuse to share with them the flesh he is devouring—the flesh of one of his own children—because he has nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns. The most tender and delicate woman among you—so delicate she would not so much as touch the ground with her foot—will be selfish toward the husband she loves and toward her own son or daughter. She will hide from them the afterbirth and the new baby she has borne, so that she herself can secretly eat them. She will have nothing else to eat during the siege and terrible distress that your enemy will inflict on all your towns. “If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the LORD your God, then the LORD will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick. He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief. The LORD will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed. Though you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, few of you will be left because you would not listen to the LORD your God. “Just as the LORD has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the LORD will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy. For the LORD will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone! There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the LORD will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair. Your life will constantly hang in the balance. You will live night and day in fear, unsure if you will survive. In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were night!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ For you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see around you. Then the LORD will send you back to Egypt in ships, to a destination I promised you would never see again. There you will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will buy you.” [Deuteronomy 28.15-68]

Regardless what proud religion tries to pawn off on people today in effort to retain their numerical and monetary support, curses point straight to sin that must be dealt with. Curses don't lie.

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. [Proverbs 26.2]

Curses are the outcome of God's Justice! 

He repays people according to their deeds. He treats people as they deserve. Truly, God will not do wrong. The Almighty will not twist justice. [Job 34.11-12]

Curses are God's merciful call to reckoning and rescue: 

But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity. [Job 36.15] 

This is just as true in New Testament times as it was in Old Testament times. Curses have not changed because God has not changed. Curses remain the result of sin and are God's call to repentance and faith. 

As we see in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, the meticulous Old Testament protocols to follow when curses were present were repentance and sacrifices. And, as the New Testament bears out, there are no uncertain New Testament protocols to follow when curses indicate sin: repentance and faith in Jesus. The timeless common denominator is repentance. There is little chance of effective repentance however if God's people refuse to acknowledge the implications of the curses they experience!

When we experience curses in our lives, it is arrogant foolishness to simply say, "I just live in a fallen world" as it that relieves us of any responsibility to repent. And, what's worse is that when curses come, we simply mitigate their effect with popular man-made solutions, the most popular of which are the idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology. Through these idols we, to our own eternal peril, proudly deny responsibility for whatever curse we are experiencing. To be sure, asking for prayer for the doctors to find a solution is NOT repentance.

The most damning belief prevalent among "believers" today is to tout "Jesus paid it all!" even though they are still experiencing curses.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13]

If Jesus rescued us from the curse, how then can we still experience the curse? To declare "Jesus paid it all" while still experiencing curses is to slander, belittle and confuse the work of Christ on the cross! God has always made a distinction between His people and those who are not His people:

Then the LORD told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them. But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the LORD and that I am present even in the heart of your land. I will make a clear distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’” [Exodus 8.20-23]

How can God's people today claim they are "His people" when they suffer all the same curses as the world? How can they claim they are "distinct" when they patronize all the same idols as the world (debt, insurance, medicine and technology)?

This might all mean something entirely different had Jesus NOT come to earth healing the sick, raising the dead, and performing all manner of unexplainable miracles in clear demonstrable distinction between God and the world!

If we are experiencing curses today, something is wrong, and repentance and faith are necessary.

“Why don’t people say to God, ‘I have sinned, but I will sin no more’? Or ‘I don’t know what evil I have done—tell me. If I have done wrong, I will stop at once’? [Job 34.31-32]

The pride of man knows no bounds. In the face of curses everywhere, the alleged "Church" proudly and  unrepentantly suffers indistinguishably along with the world audaciously defending their suffering with complicated "doctrines" to that end. In open mockery of the Bible and God Who authored it, the alleged "Church" remedies their suffering with the world's solutions. In contrast, anyone who suggests genuine repentance and faith in response to curses (and, until the curses are removed) is discounted as fanatical or spiritually imbalanced. All the while, the Bible stands firm that curses don't lie.

Curses don't lie any more than God lies! But their is a liar... Jesus pointed him out:

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. [John 8.44]

Satan's lie always comes back to the same root: it is his pride-provoking question "Has God really said...?" 

God does not lie. Curses do not lie. Jesus does not lie. Satan cannot help but lie, and the Church en masse has believed Satan's lie that even though God said curses are inseparable from disobedience, they do not necessarily mean a person needs to repent and believe until they are gone.

Father, help us get our facts straight. Help us get our facts from You. Help us see there is a liar who would twist Your truth any way he can to prevent us from genuinely repenting and believing until curses are removed. May Your people today be distinguished by their miraculous walk on earth (as was Jesus) as they genuinely repent and genuinely believe in Jesus, giving up their own way, taking up their cross, and following Him. So be it.

The Light Is Important

The LORD said to Moses, “Give Aaron the following instructions: When you set up the seven lamps in the lampstand, place them so their light shines forward in front of the lampstand.” So Aaron did this. He set up the seven lamps so they reflected their light forward, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. [Numbers 8.1-3] 

On this date in 2020, I wrote the article What Does It Mean? offering insight into the arrangement of the Holy Place furnishings.

In addition to that 2020 article, I would add observations today about the significance of the phrase just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

If we understand that everything about the Tabernacle (as well as everything in the Old Testament) points to Jesus, we begin to understand just how important it is that God's instructions be followed. This importance is not religious speculation, but is confirmed by Jesus Himself:

You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39]

With this established, Jesus' strict demand then upon His followers can be understood with as much importance:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

It should not be overlooked that God the Father commanded specific instructions concerning Jesus at the Mount of Configuration:

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” [Matthew 17.5]

In conclusion, the direction of the "light" (as specified in the subject passage above) is never to be considered random. God is Light (1 John 1.5). Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8.12). The "direction" of the Light is specific. The Light illuminates God's Way. Everything else is darkness, disobedience, and idolatry. To explain everything this implies right here would require reciting the entire Bible...

Father, I am overwhelmed with Your Word. Never has Your Word seemed more significant to me than it has today. May this revelation continue as I submit myself to Jesus, Your Word, and as Your Holy Spirit helps the process. May Your Light be reflected from me as I gaze upon it! So be it!

How Important Are The Ten Commandments?

Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The LORD spoke to him from there. [Numbers 7.89] 

Should we be surprised that God spoke from a position above the Ten Commandments contained in the Ark of the Covenant?

God still speaks from this position above the Ten Commandments today. This is becoming increasingly more true for me every day. God speaks from the Ten Commandments!

We are never wrong to expect God to speak to us from the Ten Commandments. Why? Because the Ten Commandments help us focus on what is most important about God and man. The Ten Commandments show us how to effectively love and honor God Commandments 1-3) and how to love and honor man (Commandments 5-10).

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22.37-40]

But what about the 4th Commandment? For all the fuss the religious leaders made about the Sabbath otherwise and elsewhere, no one questioned why Jesus didn't mention it in context of His Ten-Commandments-summary-answer above. So, in typical God-like fashion, Jesus revealed their shortcoming by asking a question of His own:

Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. [Matthew 22.41-46]

Aside from the fact that Jesus' question uncovered the Pharisees' ignorance of the Messiah being both God and man ...no one in that group had even a thought to ask about he Sabbath even though Jesus said Sit in the place of honor at my right hand which is a position of "rest" - a position of Sabbath Rest! Jesus effectively revealed their gaping ignorance about the Sabbath even though it had become central to their pious, but ignorant religious existence. They knew the Ten Commandments, but they didn't know the Ten Commandments.

Ready for this? How could they really know the Ten Commandments though? As of the time of their confrontation with Jesus, the veil in the Temple was not yet torn. They did not have ready access to the Ark of the Covenant - the place where God spoke from the position about the Ten Commandments. It would be the very Sabbath Rest, Jesus, who would be responsible for that veil being torn! The very Sabbath the religious elite so adamantly defended, they actually knew nothing about. In their proud, academic, religious disposition, they only knew the Sabbath as a day - not as a person - nestled right there in the Ten Commandments between the first three Godward Commandments and the last six manward Commandments.

Jesus was speaking of the 4th Commandment about honoring the Sabbath when He asked His audience about the Messiah. In His question, Jesus revealed the all-important connection between God and man in the person of the Messiah, Himself - the Sabbath Rest. Of course, however, the Pharisees who had challenged Jesus with their question about the greatest Commandment, were silenced by Jesus' question back to them because they knew the Scriptures academically, but had no spiritual enlightenment about what they were revealing. It could be argued therefore that they had somewhat an excuse... But, we have no excuse whatsoever!

Yes, God is still speaking from the Ten Commandments and the curtain has been torn separating us from Him. But, if we don't go to Him - go to the Ten Commandments - and there find the Sabbath Rest of Jesus - we are just as ignorant as the Pharisees and, more so, because our ignorance is willful. Jesus opened the way to God. And, as we approach God, the Ten Commandments are the very platform from which He speaks! And, the Ten Commandments not only reveal how we are to respond to God and man, but also how to respond to Jesus! 

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. [Colossians 2.16-17] 

The Ten Commandments are timeless - first written on stone. They reveal Jesus as the Sabbath Rest - the Rock of Salvation. In this way, the Ten Commandments provide every foundational material, in Christ, THE Foundation - the Sabbath Rest - necessary to come to God.

Father, thank You for Your Word, Jesus. Thank You for the Ten Commandments and their timeless application to humanity. So be it.