Bible in One Year Day 33 (Exodus 10 -11, Leviticus 8, Psalm 50)

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Plague of Locusts (James Tissot)

Day 33: Locusts, Darkness, and Death of the First Born 

Plague of locusts (Exodus 10:1 - 20), Plague of darkness (Exodus 10:21-28).  

The point of worship is not giving God what we want, but giving God what he asks for. 
God wants to free us from our idolatry and God wants to dominate those things that dominate us.
 God wants to give us freedom to give him the worship that he deserves. 

Commentary Peter Pett's Commentary 

Leviticus Chapter 8 The Anointing of Aaron as the High Priest 

This chapter again, as with Leviticus 1, takes up from the last part of Exodus (see Exodus 40:33). It describes the anointing of Aaron as the first High Priest of Israel, to oversee the tabernacle. Or, as he is mainly known in the text, as ‘The Priest’. This was together with his sons who would be his deputies as ‘priests’, and one of whom would replace him when he died. The nations all had High Priests and it is not therefore surprising that it was an idea that Israel took up under God (for the actual term High Priest see Leviticus 21:10; Numbers 35:25; Numbers 35:28). Had they not had a High Priest they would have been an oddity among the nations.

His responsibility was to look after the religious life of Israel, and to act as Israel’s representative before, and mediator with, God. As such he had to ensure the proper working of the community, to ensure that all was done rightly, and to ensure that the people knew the Law of God. 

The importance of all this for us today is that we too have all been called to be priests under our own Great High Priest (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6), and in what happened to Aaron and his sons we can see something of our privileges in Christ.

But like Jesus Himself our priesthood is not earthly, but heavenly. According to the Law no one, apart from the descendants of Aaron (Hebrews 8:4), can serve as a priest on earth, not even Jesus. But their ministry has ceased, both became invalidated by the offering up of Christ, and because of world events. 

Earthly sacrifices are therefore no longer acceptable, and can no longer be offered. Thus we do not serve on earth as an earthly priesthood, we serve in a heavenly priesthood (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Through the work of Christ all earthly priesthood has lost both its function and its validity. They were but shadows and types of a reality to come (Hebrews 8:5; Hebrews 10:1). 

Our responsibilities and privilege are made clear in the New Testament. As His priests we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5), the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15; Philippians 4:6). 

The Name of the One Who offered up one final sacrifice for sins for ever, a sacrifice never needing to be repeated. Thus the only offering and sacrifice that we can now make is the offering of ourselves to and through Him, as we are made one with Him in His sacrifice (Galatians 2:20).

And this is the basis on which we can read ourselves into these chapters. For like Aaron and his sons we too have been called to priesthood. And like them we must treat it as a serious business. Aaron is a type and shadow, partly of the High Priesthood of Christ, and partly of our position as priests under Christ’s High Priesthood.

Anointing of Aaron Type of Confirmation 

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A Daily Challenge 
Day 33 John the Baptist and Reincarnation 

CHALLENGE: “John the Baptist was the reincarnation of the prophet Elijah. When the disciples ask Jesus why the scribes say that Elijah must come before the Messiah, Jesus says he already had come. 'Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist' (Matt. 17:13). Also, Luke says John the Baptist will have the spirit of Elijah (Luke 1:17).” 

DEFENSE: John the Baptist functioned symbolically as a new Elijah, but he denied actually being Elijah in person (John 1:21). The New Testament repeatedly states that we will be resurrected, not reincarnated.

Jesus’ Resurrection is recorded in all four Gospels (Matt. 28:6–7; Mark 16:6, 14; Luke 24:5, 34; John 21:14), and it sets the pattern for ours (1 Cor. 6:14). Thus he is referred to as “the firstborn of the dead” (Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5). 

The New Testament is emphatic about our resurrection (1 Cor. 15), stating that “it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

In Matthew, when the disciples ask their question about Elijah, they have just seen Jesus transfigured along with Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1–9). Elijah—not John the Baptist—had just appeared to them, and they were wondering if this was the fulfillment of the prophecy that Elijah would return before the Messiah (Mal. 4:5–6).

John the Baptist could not be the reincarnation of Elijah because Elijah never died. Instead, he was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1–15). At that time, Elijah’s servant, Elisha, asked that he be allowed to inherit a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, which he did (2 Kings 2:10 11, 15). Elisha could not have been the reincarnation of Elijah because they lived at the same time. For Elisha to inherit a double portion of Elijah’s spirit meant that he was able to inherit Elijah’s role as a prophet; he had the same prophetic spirit, not the same individual soul.

When Luke’s Gospel says John the Baptist “will go before [Jesus] in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), it is saying that John the Baptist will inherit Elijah’s function and strength as prophet the way Elisha did.

 Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist