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February 27

Reading 1 - Leviticus 1 & 2

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2 v. 1 - It seems that the meat offering (which didn't involve meat) was made to smell nice by the frankincense. It was important that the 'sweet smelling savour' was literal and not just figurative. Do our 'offerings' reach God as a sweet smelling savour, when we pray for His forgiveness? Do we put the effort and personal expense into adding the 'frankincense' to them so that they do?
Peter Cresswell
1 v.3 - There were a number of levels of sacrifice, and a number of criteria decided what size of sacrifice you should bring, but the concept of voluntary will must have had a bearing on it, as it is stated in this verse. God is always interested in what we choose to bring Him, rather than our maybe reluctant response to what we believe to be a command. This concept of a willing mind is one that we should develop. 1Chron.28:9, 2Cor.8:12
Peter Cresswell

1:3 'of his own voluntary will' shows that it is a freewill offering, like that of Jesus.
1:4 The putting of the hand on the sacrifice marks association with the animal which was to be offered. However the animal did not have the enough value to make it a representative of the man. This required the death of a man - Jesus, who gave himself
1:9 'sweet savour' These are the occurrences in Leviticus. Leviticus 1:9 13 17 2:2 9 12 3:5 16 4:31 6:15 21 8:21 28 17:6 23:13 18
The occurrence in 2 Corinthians 2:15 is instructive because it explains what the 'sweet savour' typifies. It is the life of the faithful believer.

2:11 no leaven or honey was to be used in any meal offering. Leaven is a corrupting influence - see Matthew 16:6 and honey is naturally sweet, Christ, who is typified by the offerings, was not naturally sweet. He had to subject his fleshly mind to the will of his Father.
2:13 and every oblation ... salt Mark 9:40 Colossians 4:6 Salt is an item which, in Colossians 4:6, adds to the 'speech' of the one who is walking 'in wisdom'. It is the preservative which 'seasons' right speech. That it is used in sacrifices marks that the animal, of itself, needed something added to make it acceptable.
Peter Forbes

Leviticus follows on from the book of Exodus but we should not think it fits chronologically at the end of the book of Exodus. In fact all the contents of the book of Leviticus were spoken whilst Israel were at Sinai - 7:38 25:1 26:46 27:34. So the contents of this book fit within Exodus 19-40.

2:4 The word translated 'oblation' 07133 is also translated 'offering' [2:1] 21 times in Leviticus so whilst we might not be familiar with the word 'oblation' the way that the Hebrew word is used elsewhere in Leviticus shows us simply that the oblation is an offering.
Peter Forbes

1:17 That the bird was not divided indicates that it was opened so that it's inside could be seen - 'all thinks are naked and opened' (Hebrews 4:13)

2:13 The seasoning of sacrifices with salt highlights the effect of salt - it both preserves and brings out the flavour - see also Colossians 4:6
Peter Forbes

Reading 2 - Psalm 103

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v.14 is very comforting, isn't it? There are a number of other passages that offer the same comfort. Ps.78:38,39, Job 10:9. Although God demands an attitude from us that we always try our best, he nevertheless is aware of our shortcomings, especially that of the flesh which we inhabit. Ps.89:47
Peter Cresswell
v.1,2,20-22 - The phrase 'Bless the Lord' comes a number of times. This seems an odd concept, as we have nothing we can give to God which He would consider a blessing, not in the sense in which His blessings to us cover our needs -as He has no needs of that sort. But He does have desires and it is His stated desire that all should come to repentance. Therefore by humbling ourselves to obedience, we bless Him in furthering His desire to save us, which, conversely, can only come about by Him blessing us.
Peter Cresswell
Psalm 103 This wonderful Psalm gives a number of reasons why we should bless the Lord. We should reflect on each of these reasons as we read the Psalm.
Peter Forbes
:10 The Psalmist recognises that God has been merciful to him. This attitude is reflected [Ezra 9:13] by Ezra. The context in Ezra 9 shows that this is not simply a statement about our lives generally. Ezra had specific sins in mind when he echoes the words of the Psalmist.
Peter Forbes
:13 That the Lord pities His children is presented (Malachi 3:17) again when speaking of those who 'spake often one to another' (Malachi 3:16). So we can know which of His children He will spare. Will we be among them?

Against the background of the way in which God cares for His creation we learn that His mercy is seen in the provision of Jesus. Verse 17 is quoted by Mary (Luke 1:50) in response to the wonderful news she received.
Peter Forbes

Reading 3 - 1Corinthians 11

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v.5 - Here we have women joining in the worship - and the only requirement is that they should be covered. There are a few examples of women doing this - Luke 2:36, Acts 2:17,21:9. The shaving of the head was what a woman entering the camp of Israel had to do for a month to humble her and prepare her for marriage to someone in the camp - Deut.21:10-13. To avoid this process, the new covenant allows for a head covering for women instead.
Peter Cresswell
:23 If it were not for Paul's introduction to the 'Last Supper' we would probably never think of introducing it with 'the same night in which he was betrayed'. The reason why Paul does this is that there were those at Corinth who, like Judas, had other things on their mind at the breaking of bread. Judas wanted to leave to get the money promised him. There were those in Corinth who were more concerned with their own pleasure that remembering the death of Jesus.
Peter Forbes