Leviticus 8, Psalm 9, Proverbs 23, 1 Thessalonians 2

Date	Version	Reading Plan
@April 5, 2024	ESV (2016)	M’Cheyne Plan 2024

Leviticus 8

Leviticus 8:33–34 (ESV) 33 And you shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for it will take seven days to ordain you. 34 As has been done today, the LORD has commanded to be done to make atonement for you.

As part of their ordination, Aaron and his sons were not to go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, remaining at the entrance day and night and performing what the LORD had charged. The CSB Study notes provides some insight as to why this was the case:

The number seven symbolized the completion of the ritual’s purpose. Since the ordination rite was about consecration, the priests could not leave the sacred grounds during the ordination week. Although the priests enjoyed the privileges of service, the gravity of their responsibility put them at risk if they offended the holiness of God (Lev. 10:1–2; 1 Sam. 2:12–17).

Psalm 9

Psalm 9:7–8 (ESV) 7 But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, 8 and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.

These verses powerfully speak of God’s perfect justice and that all nations and peoples will forever be judged with righteousness and uprightness. Either before Him at the end of our days or upon His return, there will be a judgment. Every excuse will be pitifully without warrant in the presence of a holy God. To every man is assigned the verdict of “guilty”, not by what He has done by what we have done of ourselves. This news should sink deep but also lead to high praise of our LORD for providing His Son as a worthy sacrifice. Christ took on Himself the wrath due us, being made sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Only in our full surrender to the Lord Jesus and His work on our behalf are we made clean, only by His righteousness we are made righteous.

Proverbs 23

Proverbs 23:24–25 (ESV) 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. 25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.

I am not a father, but to have a wise son who wholeheartedly follows the Lord must surely be a blessing. This passage speaks both of the rejoicing of the father in having a wise son but is also prescriptive for children to make their parents glad in pursuing wisdom. Because I am not a parent, the latter becomes my primary focus. To that end, I do hope my following the Lord and seeking His wisdom brings them gladness.

1 Thessalonians 2

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV) 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

Paul continues in the posture of gratitude toward God for the church receiving His Word. He also makes an important distinction that they did not accept it as the word of man but as the Word of God. It was God’s Word, not man’s, that was doing work in the hearts of the believers. As we share this same Word, it will not be by any lofty speech or wisdom on our part but by the faithful speaking of the gospel of Christ and the work of the Spirit that hearts will be drawn to Him.

Carson on Psalm 9

Not for a moment should we depreciate the relative good of living in a country with a relatively high level of income, a stable government, and some accountability. But such blessings do not guarantee righteousness. “The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice” (Ps. 9:7–8).

A wonderful reminder from Carson to appreciate the relative stability and affluence of our American culture but also to realize that this in no wise equates to righteousness. Sadly, we continue to lose grip on this as we move ever toward exaltation of human capability. By jettisoning the truth of our sinfulness, we succumb to the idea that we are inherently good and posses within us the power to achieve our own salvation.

Justin Houtz