DAY 59    Read numbers 17 through 19.

Today's reading points up the importance of following God's will in every detail.  The influence we exert may lead another person to decide for or against the right.

Memory gem:  "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments"  (Psalm 119:10).

Thought for today:
At a large evangelistic meeting, a well-known preacher made an earnest appeal for men and women and young people to surrender to Christ.  A number came, and among them a girl of fourteen or fifteen years.  But as she came, she kept looking back to someone still in the audience.

When the group arrived at the front seats, the minister asked them to remain standing a moment while he made a last appeal for still others to come forward.  While waiting there, this young girl kept looking back, so pitifully--and suddenly she could wait no longer.  She turned and went back up the aisle and sat down by the side of a man who, the minister later learned, was her father.  The minister waited, not knowing what it meant.  She put her arms about her father's neck, and one sitting just behind heard her say, "Papa, you and I promised we would meet her in a better world, when she left us last year, and I want to keep that promise.  I went forward that they might pray for me--I thought you would come.  We have stayed together since Mother died, and I could not stay down there without you.  I want to surrender to Christ tonight, but I cannot go without you.  Won't you go with me there where the others are--and, with me, surrender to Christ?"

And this big, strong man trembled.  He was one of the judges of one of the high courts of the state, and he said, "Little girl, Papa will go with you. You are right."

And together they came and knelt down.  And when the prayer was over, the minister said, "Who has given his heart to Christ?"  And the judge stretched out his hand and said, "I have."  And the girl said, "So have I, Papa!"  And she kissed him again and again.

What if he had not come?  Oh friend, wait not for somebody else, because somebody else may be waiting for you!  Your influence on the wrong side might mean eternal loss to someone.

DAY 58    Read numbers 15 and 16.

Today's reading recounts the tragic results of harboring a spirit of envy.  In this case envy ripened into open revolt, and only divine intervention prevented a coup.

Memory gem:  "He [Aaron] stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed"  (Numbers 16:48).

Thought for today:
One snare that the evil one uses is found in Galatians 5:19-21: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;...Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Envy has been the downfall and the defeat of many individuals, saints included.  The brothers of Joseph envied him so much that they sold him into bondage (see Genesis 37).

It was because Korah, Datham, and Abiram "envied Moses also in the camp" (Psalm 106:16-18) that they were swallowed up as the earth opened and a fire was kindled in their company.

It was because "the Jews which believed not [were] moved with envy" (Acts 17:85) that they tried to kill Paul.  It is often because of envy that mankind gets into trouble.  James tells us: "Where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work"  (James 3:16).

No man is safe from this sin until he has learned to rejoice in the success of others.  The musician who cannot bear to hear or see another musician praised is of small caliber.  The scientist who is unliberal in his estimate of the accomplishments of other scientists is unworthy of the name.  The preacher who is jealous of the success of other preachers and fails to give them due credit had better watch his own Christianity.

In Canterbury Tales envy is represented as of two species: "Sorrow at othermen's weal [happiness] and joy at other men's harm"

DAY 57    Read Leviticus 26 and 27.

Today's reading brings us to the end of Leviticus with its many ceremonial regulations.  Perhaps it is significant that the last instruction concerns tithing.

Memory gem:  "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord"  (Leviticus 27:30).

Thought for today:
"God as the Giver of all our benefits, has a claim upon them all; that His claim should be our first consideration: and that a special blessing will attend all who honor this claim.

"Herein is set forth a principle that is seen in all God's dealings with men.  The Lord placed our first parents in the Garden of Eden.  He surrounded them with everything that could minister to their happiness, and He bade them acknowledge Him as the possessor of all things.  In the garden He caused to grow every tree that was pleasant to the eye or good for food; but among them He made one reserve.  Of all else, Adam and Eve might freely eat; but of this one tree God said, 'Thou shalt not eat of it.'  Here was the test of their gratitude and loyalty to God.

"So the Lord has imparted to us heaven's richest treasure in giving us Jesus.  With Him He has given us all things richly to enjoy.  The productions of the earth, the bountiful harvest, the treasures of gold and silver, are His gifts.  Houses and lands, food and clothing, He has placed in the possession of men.  He asks us to acknowledge Him as the Giver of all things; and for this reason He says, Of all your possessions I reserve a tenth for Myself....This is the provision God has made for carrying forward the work of the gospel."

"The,,,system of tithing was founded upon a principle which is as enduring as the law of God.  This system of tithing was a blessing to the Jews, else God would not have given it them.  So also will it be a blessing to those who carry it out to the end of time.  Our heavenly Father did not originate the plan...to enrich Himself, but to be a great blessing to man.  He saw that this system...was just what man needed."--Counsels on Stewardship, pp. 65, 67, 68.

DAY 56    Read Leviticus 24 and 25.

Today's reading tells of a time in ancient Israel when everything was to be made right, a time for freeing slaves and restoring property--a year of jubilee.

Memory gem:  "Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God"  (Leviticus 25:17).

Thought for today:
It was for liberty of conscience that God brought the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, where Pharaoh himself had said, "Who is the Lord?...I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go"  (Exodus 5:2).

It was from a godless tyranny that a nation of slaves was delivered "through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm" (Deuteronomy 5:15).  No wonder God instructed their leader, Moses that when they reached the Promised Land, they must continually revive the knowledge and the fact of freedom.  A least once every fifty years there was to be a national rejoicing because of these great principles, and a rededication to them.

It is significant that the famous Liberty Bell--which rang for the inauguration of American civil and religious liberty, but was cast in Britain years before--has inscribed upon it the command given to Israel over 3000 years ago: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof"  (Leviticus 25:10).

Certainly every Christian should proclaim liberty, religious liberty.  So should every ruler of the people all over the earth.

Some people are ready to proclaim liberty for themselves, but not for others.  Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick reminds us that there was once a famous actress, Charlotte Cushman, who used to greet her friends at her Newport villa by saying: "This is Liberty Hall.  Everyone does as I please."

There were some people who came to America when it was a wilderness to seek religious liberty for themselves, but not for others.  Someone has facetiously said that when they landed on the shores of Massachusetts, they first fell on their knees and then fell on the aborigines.  They found freedom for themselves in the wilderness, but when Quakers, Baptists, and others came to preach and practice the truth as they saw it, they were persecuted.  True religious liberty is a religious liberty for all.

DAY 55    Read Leviticus 22 and 23.

Today's reading:  After prescribing the kinds of sacrifices for different situations the Lord gives instructions for the three great yearly festivals.

Memory gem:  "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast....with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"  (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8).

Thought for today:
We might put it this way: The law of ceremonial sacrifices was the preaching of the gospel, revealing the promised Saviour, who would come and die for the sins of the world.  The blood shed in those services pointed forward to Jesus, whose blood was shed for man's sin.  In every sacrifice His righteousness was revealed as much as in every Communion service today.

As one travels through India he realized that the people of the vast land are very religious, and have been for centuries.  The altars, the temples, the sacrifices, the multitudes of priests and devotees prove it.  Some time ago a Calcutta newspaper reported that a young Brahman, a recognized leader of religion and Hinduism, came to the house of a missionary for an interview.  In the course of the conversation he said, "Many things which Christianity contains I find in Hinduism, but there is one thing which Christianity has that Hinduism has not."

"And what is that?" the missionary asked.

The young man's reply was striking--"A Saviour."

And that is just what the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Old Testament promised--a Saviour.  That is one reason why we should study the Old Testament as well as the New.  The Old Testament promised a Saviour, in prophecy and ceremony, in the feast and sacrifice.  The New Testament reveals a Saviour who had come and fulfilled the Old Testament promises.

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Difficult or obscure words:
Leviticus 23:7, 8.  "Holy convocation"--that is, a holy or sacred gathering, called a "sabbath" in verse 15.  The first and last day of each of the week-long feasts was a"sabbath" regardless of the day of the week on which they fell.  These were not the same as the seventh-day Sabbath of verse 3.

DAY 54    Read Leviticus 19 through 21.

Today's reading:  Among other solemn instructions, God issues a warning against dabbling with the occult.

Memory gem:  "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy"  (Leviticus 19:2).

Thought for today:
Through human mediums, and even through the priesthood of certain pagan religions, demon powers have made contact with men, in order to take the very place of God in the lives of fallen humanity.

All contact with these unseen demon spirits was forbidden in ancient Israel.  Later on, in his desperation when God had forsaken him, King Saul sought contact with the dead Samuel through the intervention of such spirits.

But Saul was punished for his sin, as we read in 1 Chronicles 10:13: "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it."

The "familiar spirit" attempted to palm itself off as the spirit of the prophet Samuel.  To this very day these spirits often imitate the dead friends of those who seek their advice.  Sometimes they claim to be the spirits or souls of eminent people of past ages.  The prophet Isaiah warns against consulting with such familiar spirits claiming to be the spirits of the dead: "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God?"  (Isaiah 8:19).

DAY 53    Read Leviticus 16 through 18.

Today's reading describes, among other things, one of the most important aspects of the sanctuary service--the yearly Day of Atonement.

Memory gem:  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"  (1 John 1:9).

Thought for today:
In Israel of old, when the holy temple was cleansed at the end of the year, each offender had a chance to show that he was still repentant, that he still wanted forgiveness.  If that was true, the record of his sin was blotted out when the sanctuary was cleansed.  When that day of remembrance was made again of sins, as the writer of Hebrews puts it in Hebrews 10:3, every true Israelite renewed his consecration to God and confirmed his repentance.

"On that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord"  (Leviticus 16:30).

How happy they must have been when that day had passed and they were clean from their sins!  Friends, we may have that same experience.  We read in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Notice, we are not only forgiven, but cleansed from all unrighteousness, from all our sins.  Then we can sing:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
            ----Fanny J. Crosby

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Difficult or obscure words:
Leviticus 16:8.  "Scapegoat"--Azazel, a superhuman, wicked spirit.  One goat was "for the Lord" and the other was "for Azazel."  The blood of this goat was not shed as a sacrifice for the sins of men; its death was in no way substitutionary.

DAY 52    Read Leviticus 14 and 15.

Today's reading has more of the sanctuary laws, giving particular attention to the ceremonies for cleansing any defilement.

Memory gem:  "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow"  (Psalm 51:7).

Thought for today:
"Now," says Dr. F.B. Meyer, "I contend that Jesus...is all through the Book, the Book of God.  He is in every chapter and every verse, from the beginning to the end.  In fact, every incident and subject in the Bible is either about Jesus or somehow makes a road to Him."

That is especially true of the so-called ceremonial law of the Old Testament.  It is just full of types and ceremonies, sacrifices and priests, which are really a picture and prophecy of Jesus.  And, in view of what our Saviour accomplished on Calvary's cross, it seems clear to me that we should make a distinction between the Ten Commandments, or moral law, and what is called the ceremonial law.  The Ten Commandments, sometimes called the Decalogue, constitute in principle God's holy law which is unchangeable.  It is the very foundation of His holy throne.  It is the righteous expression of His character.  And since that is so, we believe it is as eternal as the everlasting God Himself.

While the moral law of God is eternal in character, it would not be true to say that the rites and ceremonies which He gave to Israel as a nation are eternal.  Many of the offerings,the feast days, even the priesthood itself were typical of the redemptive work of Christ; and they all met their glorious fulfillment in the offering of our Saviour on Calvary's cross.  This is what was meant by the apostle Paul when he wrote that Christ "abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances"  (Ephesians 2:15).

What did Jesus do with this law of ordinances?  We read in Colossians 2:14: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."

Every sacrificed lamb of the ancient Israelite ritual pointed forward to Jesus.  He was the reality that the rites foreshadowed.

DAY 51    Read Leviticus 12 and 13.

Today's reading looks at some of the regulations for preserving the health of God's people.

Memory gem:  "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth"  (3 John 2).

Thought for today:
The laws given through Moses concerning sanitation, hygiene, diet, and the control of communicable disease are astounding in their scope and exactness.  Medical science today is just beginning to catch up with what was common knowledge to the ancient Israelites in the fifteenth century B.C.  Public health played a prominent part in the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage.  It certainly helps to account for the fact that God's blessing was upon His people, and that "there was not one feeble person among their tribes''  (Psalm 105:37).

Afflictions will come to many of us in spite of the greatest care in obeying health rules.  We are living in a degenerate age.  We are a long way from the Garden of Eden, but obedience to God's instruction in all these things will bring us blessing and help, no matter what our condition may be.  And let us remember the wonderful statement on Exodus 15:26: "I am the Lord that healeth thee."

May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of the world and the Redeemer of the human race, bless you and yours, physically, mentally, and spiritually--and may He prepare you for a place in that glorious new world which is to be yours and mine though His grace revealed in Jesus Christ.

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Difficult or obscure words:
Numbers 14:34.  "Breach of promise"--better: "your hindering of frustration of My promise."  Israel's rebellious opposition prevented the fulfillment of God's promise.

DAY 50    Read Numbers 14; Leviticus 10 and 11.

Today's reading records Israel's tragic failure on the very border of the Promised Land; it tells a painful story of swift punishment for a grievous sin.  It also lists the clean and unclean animals.

Memory gem:  "Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of  the mercy"  (Numbers 14:19).

Thought for today:
"At the hour of worship, as the prayers and praise of the people were ascending to God, two of the sons of Aaron took each his censer, and burned fragrant incense thereon, to rise as a sweet odor before the Lord.  But they transgressed his command by the use of  'strange fire.'  For burning the incense they took common instead of the sacred fire which God Himself had kindled, and which He had commanded to be used for this purpose.  For this sin, a fire went out from the Lord and devoured them in the sight of the people.

"Next to Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu had stood highest in Israel.  They had been especially honored by the Lord, having been permitted with the seventy elders to behold his glory in the mount.  But their transgression was not therefore to be excused or lightly regarded.  All this rendered their sin more grievous.  Because men have received great light, because they have, like the princes of Israel, ascended to the mount, and been privileged to have communion with God, and to dwell in the light of His glory, let them not flatter themselves that they can afterward sin with impunity; that because they have been thus honored, God will not be strict to punish their iniquity.  This is a fatal deception.  The great light and privileges bestowed require returns of virtue and holiness corresponding to the light given.  Anything short of this, God cannot accept.  Great blessings or privileges should never lull to security or carelessness.  They should never give license to sin or cause the recipients to feel that God will not be exact with them.  All the advantages which God has given are His means to throw ardor into the spirit, zeal into effort, and vigor into the carrying out of His holy will."--Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 359, 360.

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Difficult or obscure words:
Leviticus 11.  Some of the creatures mentioned here do not correspond to those modern ones with the same names.  The general principles remain the same, however.