Tag Archive | Aaron

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 117 & 118

Apr28
(I post Sunday’s and Monday’s studies together.)
 
Day 117.  Reading 1 Chronicles 6
Day 118. Reading Psalms 81, 88, 92 & 93
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about the tribe of Levi and singing in Chronicles?

What encourages you in these Psalms?

Day 117.

1 Chronicles 6.

Remember these genealogies of the tribes, were needed, after they all went into captivity, and then RETURNED. They people who hadn’t been in the Promised Land for 70 or more years had no idea where they were to live.  PLUS!!!  Those from the tribes of Levi were the priests who would serve Israel and eventually work again in the temple when it was re built.

Today’s reading is all on that priestly tribe of Levi, and his three sons, Kohath (Aaron the priest), Gershon, and Merari. 

There are many, many priests listed in the sub-tribe of Kohath, all descended from Aaron. These were the priests in charge of the Tabernacle/Temple and all the Holy things.  This chapter lists them down to Jehozadak, who went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.

The sub-tribe of Gershon has a smaller list of names, and the sub-tribe of Merari has even fewer.

Then this chapter (verses 31-48), shows a new group of priests (from each of the sub-tribes) to fulfill another task in the Tabernacle/Temple.  Since David was a singer (psalms), he wanted music to be a part of the service in the house of the LORD, after the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, both in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple that Solomon built. 

Of the Kohathites, Heman, the singer, was chosen. 

Of the Gershonites, Asaph was also chosen. Many of the songs in Psalms were composed by Asaph.

Of the Merarites, Ethan was chosen.

The duties of the High Priests are listed here too. They were to make offerings on the altar of burnt offerings and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place and to make atonement for Israel. After Aaron, was Eleazar, then Phinehas, his son, and so on. 

Then the cities and pasturelands are recorded that belonged to each of the sub-tribes of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari.  All are listed, so their post-exile descendants would know where their inheritances lay. 

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Day 118.

Psalm 81.

(So here is an example of a psalm written by Asaph).

Wow, can you hear the joy and worship in this congregation?  Asaph calls the people of God to SING aloud, SHOUT for joy, RAISE a song, and SOUND the music of the tambourine, lyre, harp, and shofar (trumpet). 

Then his song tells of how God rescued them from slavery, answered their prayers (and grumbles), and tested them.

They his song says. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.   WOW!  But, Israel didn’t do it.

Then you hear God’s plea, “Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.” 

And God’s promise if they did listen.  “He would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalm 88.

This psalm was written by Heman and is very dark. It was sung to the music of a reed, a mournful instrument.) Sometimes my prayers echo his depression and despair.

  • O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.
  • Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
  • For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol (the grave).
  • I am counted among those who go down to the pit;  I am a man who has NO STRENGTH, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave….. like one whom You remember no more.

Then he continues with harsh anger toward the LORD. (Yep, I’ve prayed this way too!)

  • YOU have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions of dark and deep.
  • YOUR wrath lies heavy upon me, and YOU overwhelm me with all your waves.
  • YOU have caused my companions to shun me; YOU have made me a horror to them.

Yikes!  Yes, you CAN pray to God like this when your heart is broken and in torment!

  • But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before You.
  • O LORD, why do YOU cast my soul away?
  • Why do YOU hide Your face from me?
  • Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer YOUR terrors; I am helpless.
  • YOUR wrath has swept over me; YOUR dreadful assaults destroy me.
  • YOU have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; 
  • My companions have become darkness…………………………………… 

Heman bemoans God’s failure to hear his prayer for GOOD HEALTH.  (Have You done this? I have.)  He assumes God is angry with him, but, LIKE JOB, he knows of no cause for that anger. But, his crying out to “the LORD, the God of his salvation,” proves that he has an underlying trust; it just seems invisible in this horrible, dark time. 

Psalm 92.

(Now, a glad, bright psalm for the Sabbath!  But don’t let it mock Heman’s desperate prayer, above.)

  • It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and Your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
  • For YOU, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy

Hear the joy in serving the LORD even into old age!

  • The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
  • They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
  • They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, To declare that the LORD is upright.
  • He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him!

Psalm 93.

Another glorious song of praise!

  • The LORD reigns; He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; He has put on strength as His belt.
  • Yes, the world is established, it shall never be moved.
  • Your throne is established from of old; YOU are from everlasting.
  • Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.

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No matter how our heart feels or the circumstances we are in, we can always go to our God and pour out our pain or praise.  He listens. He knows, like He did in Job’s suffering. Sometimes, He allows us to endure for a while, for our good and His glory.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 46

Feb15
Day 46.  Reading Leviticus 8 – 10. 

Read the scripture for today. What do you learn about God? Share what you learn with others.

Leviticus 8.

God told Moses (and us) about the offerings, the glorious garments of the priests, and the ordination ceremony. Now, Moses called the whole congregation to the Tabernacle to witness (or at least be present at) the ordination of Aaron and his four sons.

Moses then did it all, according to what God had said, washing them at the Bronze Basin, dressing them in the garments, anointing each on their right ears, thumbs, and toes, and on Aaron’s head.  Moses brought the prescribed bull for a sin offering, and after all five had laid their hands on its head, he killed it. Moses took the blood and all the parts of the bull and did as the Lord had commanded.

Aaron and his four sons remained inside the court of the Tabernacle for seven days, performing what the LORD charged them as part of the ordination. 

Leviticus 9.

After the seven days, Moses called Aaron, his sons, and the elders of the people. Aaron then performed the sin offering in minute detail for himself and his sons. He then took the offered specific animals and offered them for the people for sin, burnt, and peace offerings. 

After the offerings/sacrifices, Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them.

Then Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of the Tabernacle, and when they came out, again blessed the people.

“And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.  And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar.

And when the people saw it, they SHOUTED and FELL ON THEIR FACES.”

Leviticus 10.

A hard lesson is learned.

After all the pomp and glory of the ordination ceremony and the majesty of the LORD’s glory appearing, a dark thing happened that (I’m sure) shocked Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation to their very core.

Aaron’s two older sons, Nadab and Abihu (perhaps drunk from celebrating and the fantastic realization of their high position in the community of Israel) took their censers, put incense in them, and offered “unauthorized” fire before the LORD.  (Remembered God had given Moses, Aaron, and sons the EXACT, God-authorized way to perform holy worship towards Him. In pride or drunkenness, these two men sinned grossly.

And God responded.

Holy fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

“Among those who are near me, I will be sanctified, and before all the people, I will be glorified,” said the LORD God Almighty.  (God had clearly shown them the details of worshiping Him and they had ignored them.)

Moses told Aaron’s uncle Uzziel’s two sons to come in and carry the bodies outside the camp. These Levites obeyed, carrying the bodies in their coats.

Grief and terror must have mingled in Aaron’s heart. His two oldest sons, newly ordained to serve God and the people in the Tabernacle, had been annihilated before their eyes…by the God he served. 

And God told Aaron and his remaining two sons, “Do not grieve for them, lest you die and wrath come on all the congregation.”

Aaron obeyed.  (God did allow the rest of the family and congregation to grieve.)

God then spoke directly to Aaron and his remaining sons. “Drink NO WINE OR STRONG DRINK, you or your sons, when you go into the Tabernacle, lest you die. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach Israel all the statutes the LORD has spoken to them by Moses.”

Then Moses told Aaron and his sons to get on with the offerings. Eleazar and Ithamar made a mistake in offering the sin offering. They had brought the sacrificial blood to the wrong place and had not eaten what they should have. Moses was angry. 

Aaron confessed his and his son’s faults before Moses and alluded to the stress and conviction of losing the two other sons. When Moses heard that, he realized their grief-prompted mistake and relented. 

 

 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 31

Jan31

Day 31. Reading in Exodus 4 – 6. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you?

Exodus 4.

From the burning bush, God told Moses that He was sending him back to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel OUT OF EGYPT.

By now, Moses has twice told the LORD that he is “unable” to do it.  God has assured Moses that He would be with him all the way. God gave Moses His sacred Name by which he could persuade the people and even told him HOW He would rescue them. (Many times, Pharaoh would refuse, but God would plague Egypt until he agreed. )

“But the people won’t believe me,” Moses counters now.

Then, God gave Moses three signs to convince the people.  First, his staff turned into a snake and then back into a staff.  Next, his hand turned leprous, then back to clean. Finally, when Moses poured a little Nile River water onto the ground, it would turn to blood.  WOW!

“Oh, my Lord,” whines Moses, “I am not eloquent. I’m slow of speech and tongue.” (He’s spent the last 40 years with only sheep to talk to.)

God assures Moses that HE is God. He makes mouths (and ears and eyes with their deficiencies).  Moses is not to worry about that, but to “Go! I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

“Oh, my Lord. Send someone else.”

Okay, that is enough!  God is angry.  “Ok, Moses, but this is the last concession. Your brother is coming to see you. Tell and show him all I’ve revealed.  He will be your spokesman.  I’ll tell you what to say, and you can whisper it in his ear.” 

  • Wow.  Indeed, God has been exasperated with me like this many times as I make excuses not to obey Him.  Oh, the patience and kindness of our God!  Forgive me!  What a wonderful example I have in Jesus when it was time for Him to become human and die for my sins. No hesitation. And God said of Him, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Moses asks permission from his father-in-law to go and is graciously relieved of his shepherding duties.  He packs up his wife and son on a donkey. At a rest stop, God threatens Moses’ life. Why? Because he did NOT follow through with the covenant commandment of circumcision, which he should have done to his son when he was 8 days old.  Does Moses want to be part of God’s family or not?

While Moses lies dying, Zipporah circumcises their son and flaunts the foreskin. “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” she says.  

God relents, and Zipporah is left alone with the boy until he heals before they return home. Moses leaves on foot to meet Aaron at the Mountain of God. He tells his brother everything God said, and together, the two men go to the elders of the people of Israel in Egypt and do the signs.  The people believe, and there is great rejoicing and worship of the LORD. 

Exodus 5.

Buoyed up by this reaction, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness‘.”

“Um, no!” answers Pharaoh. “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know him. I will not let Israel go.”

“Please let us go three days into the wilderness to worship our God, or He may send a pestilence on us.”

“No!  Get back to work!  You have too much idle time on your hands. Now you will have to find the straw for the bricks for yourselves instead of me supplying it.  AND YOUR QUOTA IS THE SAME!”

The elders of Israel go to Moses and complain. “You have made us stink in the eyes of Pharaoh! Things are worse than they were before!!!”

Moses goes to God. “Lord, why have You done evil to this people?  Why did You ever send me?  I have not delivered the people at all!”

Exodus 6.

“NOW, you will see what I will do to Pharaoh,” the LORD says. “For with a strong hand, he will send them out, and with a strong hand, he will DRIVE them out of his land.” (Just you wait and see!)

God speaks to Moses. “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan. 

  • 1) I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians HOLD AS SLAVES. 
  • 2) I have remembered my covenant. 
  • 3) Say to the people, “I am the LORD, and I will DELIVER you from slavery, I will REDEEM you with an outstretched arm with GREAT ACTS OF JUDGMENT. 
  • 4) I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.
  • 5) I will bring you into the land I swore to give to your fathers, and give it to you as a possession. I AM THE LORD.”

“Now, Moses, go in, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go out of his land!” 

And so the contest begins. In the end, Israel will be free and wealthy. Egypt will be broken and without an army, a leader, or a son to take his place.

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As the writer of this book, Moses takes a moment to give us his and Aaron’s genealogy.  Jacob’s third son, Levi, had three sons (important regarding the duties of the Tabernacle and Temple worship). They are Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  Moses and Aaron are descended from the line of Kohath through Amram and his wife, Jochebed.  (Levi lived 137 years, Kohath lived 133 years, and Amram lived 137 years.  At this time, Moses is 80, and Aaron is 83. Their sister Miriam is somewhere between 87-92 (sources differ).

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