[A]ny outsider who came near was to be put to death.

Numbers 3:14-39

[A]ny outsider who came near was to be put to death. Numbers 3:38b

I continue my study of Numbers, and in the text today 3:14-39, where the Lord speaks to Moses, as He provides additional commands for a census among the Levites, and more specifics on how the Levites were to guard the tabernacle.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God organizes the Levites and provides them with a mission as each of the clans of Levi's sons are not only numbered (from one month of age upward), but also named specifically, they are given a specific place to camp around the tabernacle, and they are also given specific physical attributes of the tabernacle to guard.  In the Old Testament, the physical location of worship is given special meaning as outsiders are to avoid getting to close to the sanctuary, as they risk being put to death (v38).  Yet the New Covenant in Jesus, believers must understand that there is no such attachment to the physical temple as the temple itself is anywhere believers gather as believers' bodies are referred to as the temple given Jesus lives in the hearts of believers.  See also Ephesians 2:19-22 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
• What do we learn from the text about people?: As Jesus lives inside believers hearts, God intends for others to see Jesus in us as we worship through our actions, demonstrating love of others.  People do not need protection from getting too close to the sanctuary - on the contrary, God wants non-believers to be drawn to believers through the light of Jesus that shines through us. 
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid attachment to a church building or to physical attributes of a church.  Claim the promise that each of us as believers are a temple with Jesus residing in our hearts. Follow the example of the Levites who stood guard over the temple - of course recognizing that we must protect our heart because that is where Jesus lives.  Glorify God in your body.  

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You sacrificed Your body and life for me...so that I could have life now to the full and for eternity.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

 John 4:1-26

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7-10

I continue my study of John, and today, I unpack John 4:1-26 using the Sword Bible Study Method.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: Once again we see that Jesus acts with intention - He has a plan. In v1 Jesus anticipates drawing negative attention from the Pharisees and with it not being the day or hour of His arrest and crucifixion (He still has more work to do with His ministry), He leaves Judea and heads to Galilee.  Continuing with intent, Jesus passes through Samaria and stops at Jacob's Well to rest and for water - we see Jesus as having earthly needs as the Incarnate Son of God.  During Jesus' time on earth, this site is important for its ties to Jacob, and because the in Shechem the Samaritans built a rival temple to the one in Jerusalem. He encounters a Samaritan woman at the well and asks her to draw water for Him.  Jesus does not care about racial, ethnic, economic, social, or cultural boundaries - regardless of the strife between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus shares the gospel message - referring to Himself as the Living Water - with the Samaritan woman.  As the omniscient God, Jesus knows the woman has married five times and is living with another man who is not her husband. Jesus ends the encounter with the Samaritan woman by sharing that (a) true worship of God is not limited to a building, temple or even a location, and (b) He is the Promised Messiah. 
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Racial, ethnic, economic, social, and cultural boundaries are often obstacles that prevent fellowship and love from flourishing as division and hatred is often learned from a young age. When these barriers are removed we can see people as they are - everyone sins and is in need of a Savior.        
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Avoid racial, ethnic, economic, social, and cultural animosities - love others as God loves us.  As Jesus did, share hospitality as a means to fellowship and know others.  See Jesus as the Living Water and the source of eternal life.         

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves and You are the Living Water!  Thank You Jesus for giving me the Living Water and for my salvation.  I am not deserving of Your love nor my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

John 2:13-22

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. John 2:18-21

I continue my study of John, and today, I take another pass at unpacking John 2:13-22 using the Sword Bible Study Method, and I summarize my thoughts from both yesterday and today by providing an outline and main point for the text.  

Main point: God wants us to be consumed by zeal for Jesus and both each believer and the church exist to glorify God through zeal for Him. 

1. God wants us to have zeal for Jesus - He is the temple of God.
2. Jesus lives in believers' hearts and bodies - we are also the temple of God.
3. The church (as a collection of believers both via the local and global organization) is also the body of Christ and therefore also the temple of God.  

• What do we learn from the passage about God?: God seeks for us to be consumed by zeal for Himself.  V17 shares how the disciples remembered David's words from Psalm 69:9, yet later in the text (v21) Jesus refers to Himself as the temple.  God is not seeking zeal for a building.  Instead He is seeking zeal for God through His Son Jesus and through people who are created in His image and in whom the Holy Spirit lives in hearts and bodies - animating us to live for His glory.     
• What do we learn from the passage about people?: Jesus' reference to Himself as the temple is further amplified by text elsewhere - see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and 3:16 where believers are described as the temple given that the Holy Spirit and God reside in our hearts (and therefore our bodies).  We can extend this thought by looking at how scripture shares how the church is the body of Christ - see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 1:23.     
• Is there anything from the passage God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid,Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): God wants us to be consumed by zeal for Jesus and both each believer and the church exist to glorify God through zeal for Him. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an amazing God that lives in me to bring You glory.  You are worthy of all glory, honor and praise as You save and bless beyond comprehension.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You save and bless.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.