February 5 - Evening
"Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord. You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings."
- Leviticus 2:11-13
- Leviticus 2:11-13
The Salt of the Covenant
The grain offering was brought by an Israelite to the Lord as fine flour with oil and incense on it. The priest would take a handful of the fine flour mixture and burn it as a memorial offering.
This grain offering could not include yeast or honey. The reason for this prohibition seems to be related to the potential of fermentation which would corrupt the original condition of the substance offered. Yeast causes decay through the fermentation process. In extreme cases yeast will sour dough if it is left unattended and honey can ferment under certain conditions. Any kind of decay is associated with sin, the fallen nature of the world, immorality, impurity, corruption, death, etc. In fact, honey was used in Assyria and Anatolia to honor the gods of the dead and the underworld
So, absolutely no yeast and no honey in the grain offering, but as offering of firstfruits yeast is acceptable (Lev. 23:17, 20). Honey was included in firstfruits offered during Hezekiah’s reign (2 Chr. 31;5). But, yeast and honey are never used in burnt offerings.
On the other hand, salt was always a necessity! Salt is generally considered a covenant food among the Greeks in the West and the Arabs in the East. In the world of 1400 BC salt was a shared substance between covenant parties. A Babylonian letter from this time speaks of their allies as those who had “tasted the salt of the Jakin tribe.” This reference to tasting the salt of their tribe was meant to remind the recipients of the letter that they had eaten the salt from their allies (the Jakin tribe in this case) table, and so where obligated as a covenant partner.
Likewise, Israel shared their salt with God so as to reinforce their understanding of the covenant relationship they had with the Lord. The use of the phrase “the salt of the covenant of your God” in Leviticus 2:13 would indicate that the salt was a symbol of the original covenant the Israelites had with God. This covenant was the motive for using the sacrificial system. The sacrifices and offerings maintained their covenant relationship with God, because the sacrifices atoned for sins and preserved Israel’s standing in their covenant with God.
In the ancient world salt was indestructible. Salt would have been an indication that the covenant was eternal and indestructible. The symbolic value of salt was very important.
Salt was part of the eternal covenant with the priests of Israel promising provisions for their priestly families. It is called a covenant of salt in Numbers 18:19:
”Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”
In Second Chronicles 13:5 the Davidic covenant is referred to as a covenant of salt that will last forever:
"Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?”
Notice in Ezra 4:14 in the ESV translation where the Hebrew wording is preserved the Samaritans consider themselves covenant partners and obligated to be loyal to the Persian king because of the salt they have eaten from the Persian palace:
“Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king.”
It is worth noting that the salt may also be a reminder to both parties of a covenant of the curses that would be inflicted upon the one that broke the covenant obligations. A Hittite treaty includes the curse that if the treaty is broken “he and his family and his lands, like salt that has no seed, likewise have no offspring.”
Phobeo (Gr) – Fear Eng) - phobeo is Greek verb that means “fear” and “terror.” The Greek word originates from phobomai which means “to flee.” The word phobeo can also be used as a noun to express “awe,” “honor,” or reverence.”
Have I entered into the New Covenant with God through faith in Jesus Christ?
I will trust in the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31 and spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 26:28 and referred to in Hebrews 12:24.
I will trust in the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31 and spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 26:28 and referred to in Hebrews 12:24.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Family friends and their children
Church
Heal the broken
Nation
Military and National Defense
World
Sudan's north and south division
This is a herodian ashlar stone on the SE corner of the Temple Mount retaining wall in Jerusalem. The protruding square knob on the side was used for attaching ropes to pull and position the block on the wall. Once the block was set in place this knob was usually removed by the stonemasons.
Someone to Quote
"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it." - Will Durant
Something to Ponder
Although Christianity began in the Middle East and moved into North Africa in the very first generation, the lowest concentration of Christians (4% of the population) and the smallest number of Christians (13 million) of any major geographic region is found in the Middle East and in North Africa today.
Here’s a Fact
Stepped Stone Structure -
This is a 12-story high foundation structure built on the slope of the Kidron Valley below the City of David
(OT Jerusalem).
It was built to support a large fortress and governmental building during the Late Bronze Age (1400-1200) or Iron Age (1200-1000 BC). Parts of it were built and reinforced during the time of David and Solomon, although a large portion of it was built before the time of David by the Jebusites.
This was the ancient Jebusite “Fortress of Zion” that David and Joab attacked in 2 Samuel 5:7 and 1 Chronicles 11:5. It is also the Millo that is mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:9 that David “built the city roundabout from the Millo inward.” The Hebrew root for millo is ml’ which means “filling” which gives the Hebrew word Millo to refer to a large fill for construction to support a building or a terrace made out of a series of stones filled in for support of a slope. The Millo is also mentioned in First Kings 9:15 and Second Chronicles 32:5:
“Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces (Millo), the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.” – First Kings 9:15
“Then he (Hezekiah) worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He (Hezekiah) built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces (Millo) of the City of David. He (Hezekiah) also made large numbers of weapons and shields.” – Second Chronicles 32:5
This Millo, or Stepped Stone Structure nearly doubled the area to build on in narrow ridge of the northern part of the City of David.
This was the ancient Jebusite “Fortress of Zion” that David and Joab attacked in 2 Samuel 5:7 and 1 Chronicles 11:5. It is also the Millo that is mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:9 that David “built the city roundabout from the Millo inward.” The Hebrew root for millo is ml’ which means “filling” which gives the Hebrew word Millo to refer to a large fill for construction to support a building or a terrace made out of a series of stones filled in for support of a slope. The Millo is also mentioned in First Kings 9:15 and Second Chronicles 32:5:
“Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces (Millo), the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.” – First Kings 9:15
“Then he (Hezekiah) worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He (Hezekiah) built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces (Millo) of the City of David. He (Hezekiah) also made large numbers of weapons and shields.” – Second Chronicles 32:5
This Millo, or Stepped Stone Structure nearly doubled the area to build on in narrow ridge of the northern part of the City of David.
Proverb
"Her (the adulteress) feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.
She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths are crooked, but she knows it not."
- Proverbs 5:5-6
She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths are crooked, but she knows it not."
- Proverbs 5:5-6
Coach’s Corner
Show the quality of exceptionalism in your life by working hard, listening to others when they speak, keeping your promise, giving more than you take, serving in a ministry, fearlessly following the calling of your heart and doing good.
Exodus 4
New International Version (NIV)
Signs for Moses
4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
New International Version (NIV)
Signs for Moses
4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
6 Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.
7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”
Moses Returns to Egypt
18 Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.”
Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”
19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)
27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the signs he had commanded him to perform.
29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 21
New International Version (NIV)
21 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
Hebrew Servants
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Personal Injuries
12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
15 “Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
18 “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
20 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.
22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26 “An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. 27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded. 31 This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
33 “If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
35 “If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. 36 However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.
New International Version (NIV)
21 “These are the laws you are to set before them:
Hebrew Servants
2 “If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. 3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7 “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 8 If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. 9 If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. 10 If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. 11 If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
Personal Injuries
12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. 13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate. 14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.
15 “Anyone who attacks their father or mother is to be put to death.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
18 “If people quarrel and one person hits another with a stone or with their fist and the victim does not die but is confined to bed, 19 the one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.
20 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.
22 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26 “An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. 27 And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.
28 “If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. 29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death. 30 However, if payment is demanded, the owner may redeem his life by the payment of whatever is demanded. 31 This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. 32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.
33 “If anyone uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the one who opened the pit must pay the owner for the loss and take the dead animal in exchange.
35 “If anyone’s bull injures someone else’s bull and it dies, the two parties are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. 36 However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and take the dead animal in exchange.