Exodus: The Choosen Ones – Week 2

Posted by Rob Borley | Posted on 07-07-2009

Category : Bible, Bible Study, Exodus, Old Testament

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As mentioned some weeks ago I have been part of a team working on a six week study course on the book of exodus. Unfortunately, due to my week in the USA I missed the opening session but here is what I delivered for week 2.

Entitled “Gods Exit Strategy: The Plagues”  we looked at  Exodus 5 – 11. I’ve included below links to the recording (sorry if the quality is not amazing; it was recorded live straight to my laptop and has not been edited except to remove some of the discussion chatter). If there is demand I can add the slides and my more detailed notes.

I hope it’s useful. I may add a companion post when I have more time.

I will post the remaining 4 weeks worth in the same way when they are completed.

I hope it’s useful.

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Down2Earth: 9. Clean or Unclean?

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Posted by Larry | Posted on 14-02-2008

Category : Bible, Down2Earth, Jewish, Old Testament

These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on the ground. You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.
Leviticus 11:46-47 (NIV)

Throughout my life Iââ?¬â?¢ve been blessed with good food and great cooks around me! I consider food to be one of Godââ?¬â?¢s most wonderful creations ââ?¬â?? what better than to get around the table with family or friends and enjoy together some great tasty food with some good conversation? And if youââ?¬â?¢re not convinced about that, Iââ?¬â?¢m sure I could come up with a sound Biblical argument in its favour!

Growing up in a Jewish family definitely had some advantages and good food was one of them; much of what we did as a family centred around preparing, cooking and eating good food. My mum was very strict about keeping to the dietary laws as originally laid out in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 of the Bible and further developed by the Rabbis. The main regulations can be divided into three areas:-

� the distinction between permitted and prohibited animals, fish,
birds, reptiles and insects.
� the prohibition against eating blood.
� the prohibition against the mixing of meat and milk.

From an early age I learnt that these rules were not to be broken and my mum had everything in place to ensure there were no violations. She bought all her meat and poultry only from Jewish butchers who came under the supervision of the ââ?¬Ë?Beth-Dinââ?¬â?¢ which ensured that, not only was the meat strictly kosher, but also that it had been prepared by the hallowed method of shechitah - a swift cut by a razor-sharp knife – which Jews believe to be the most painless means of slaughtering the animal. Most of the blood would then be drained but even so, my mum would then kasher the meat ââ?¬â?? render it perfectly pure from blood. She would soak it in water for half an hour, then cover it all over with salt and allow it to remain for an hour and then rinse it with fresh water. She also kept separate sets of crockery and cutlery for meat and milk foods.

There was no chance of breaking the rules inside our house, but outside was another matter (and I blame this on the bad influence of my elder brother!). We would frequently sneak out to the local Wimpy Bar (Wimpy preceded McDonalds in the UK back in the 60s) and devour very non-kosher hamburgers. Even worse would be cheeseburgers ââ?¬â?? not only non-kosher but also a mix of meat and milk ââ?¬â?? if she ever would have found out, I doubt Iââ?¬â?¢d still be alive now to tell the story!

Fortunately now under the new covenant, there’s no longer the need to abstain from eating anything for religious reasons (1 Cor 10:25; 1 Tim 4:1-4) while itââ?¬â?¢s still important to be sensitive to others so as not to offend (Rom 14:14-15). The harder challenge now is to distinguish between whatââ?¬â?¢s clean and unclean in all aspects of life and to keep it ââ?¬Ë?kosherââ?¬â?¢ in our hearts and minds rather than in our mouths and stomachs.

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Down2Earth: 6. Take a Break

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Posted by Larry | Posted on 25-07-2007

Category : Bible, Down2Earth, Old Testament

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV)

My memories of the Sabbath day when I was growing up as a child arenââ?¬â?¢t that great. For a start, it fell on a Saturday which was the day when everybody else seemed to have lots of fun. We’d have a long morning at the synagogue and then we werenââ?¬â?¢t allowed to go shopping, handle money, carry anything, do cooking, watch TV, travel in the car or on public transport ââ?¬â?? the list goes on. It was also football day (thatââ?¬â?¢s soccer to anyone from the US reading this!) ââ?¬â?? every game in the football league kicked-off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon (none of this Sunday at 5.30pm nonsense that you have now just to cater for a television channel!). As football was my passion in those days, not to be allowed to go and watch the games was, I thought, a harsh restriction. The only answer for me to survive was a well-developed regime of rule breaking. To think all those years my mum thought I was at my friendââ?¬â?¢s house just ââ?¬Ë?talkingââ?¬â?¢ when, in fact, we were screaming our heads off at White Hart Lane watching Tottenham Hotspur!

My family didnââ?¬â?¢t even practice Judaism in an orthodox way ââ?¬â?? so you can imagine what it must be like in a real orthodox home ââ?¬â?? they often have things like automatic light switches to get round the hundreds of rules and regulations that the Rabbis have set down as their interpretations of how the Sabbath day should be lived out. Itââ?¬â?¢s no surprise then that Jesus addressed the subject of the Sabbath and confronted religious leaders on a number of occasions ââ?¬â?? best summed up when He said:
ââ?¬Å?The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.ââ?¬Â Mark 2:27 (NIV).

However, for most people living in western society the problem isnââ?¬â?¢t how to interpret Sabbath regulations, but rather how to include the Sabbath as a basic principle within a culture that has adopted the notion that nothing beats ââ?¬Ë?24/7ââ?¬â?¢. Even the church has bought into its deception ââ?¬â?? I mean, doesnââ?¬â?¢t it sound so much more spiritual to have a prayer session that goes on 24/7 than one that stops at 10pm so everyone can just go home and go to bed! It may sound cool for a service, shop, business etc. to be available 24/7 but the people that work these places are breaking (or being forced to break) a crucial principle that God Himself ordained ââ?¬â?? work six days and then take a break! This doesnââ?¬â?¢t have to be on any one particular day but it does need to happen otherwise people and society as a whole will suffer.

Since the Sabbath was made for man, it should be an enjoyable day, completely detached from work, where quality time can be spent alone or with family or friends. It�s not necessary to prescribe exactly what people should do or not do but certainly time could be given to anything that�s reflective, edifying and encouraging. Do you have a Sabbath day or are you 24/7?

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