Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

Start over "And reconsecrate your Nazirite consecration to GOD by bringing a yearling lamb for a Compensation-Offering. You start over; the previous days don't count because your consecration was ritually defiled." (Num.6.3)  Do-overs are like sleep-overs, they are refreshing. You get a fresh start, new perspective and turn a new leaf. God says you can start over.  Our text describes a situation where a person has made up his mind to consecrate himself as a Nazirite and along the way, something happens that bridges this consecration. As a Nazirite you are not permitted to cut your hair, drink strong drink, not even the juice of grape, you must not eat grapes or raisins, touch dead etc "you must not drink any wine or beer, no intoxicating drink of any kind, not even the juice of grapes--in fact, you must not even eat grapes or raisins." (Num.6.3)  And all of these you agree to do in order to fulfil your vow as a Nazarite. All of these are within your control. But...

The spirit of jealousy "And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: (Num.5.14) It is as though this passage is saying when the spirit of jealousy comes upon someone, whether the other person is right or not, the spirit of jealousy will be jealous. In the case of our text, it tells the story of a man upon whom the spirit of jealoy comes and he is jealous of his wife because he suspects that she has been cheating on him. But also goes on to say the man can also be jealous of the wife even when she is not cheating on the him. Why? Because the spirit of jealousy has come upon him. So that the man's actions are dictated by the spirit of jealousy.  In other words, if the spirit of jealousy comes upon a person, irrespective of what the other person does or does not do, the person on whom the spirit of jealousy comes will be jealous. It ha...

Broken trust "Give these instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people--men or women--betray the LORD by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty." (Num.5.6 NLT) It is interesting that God says when one sin against one's fellow man or woman, it is an abuse of trust. The Message Bible renders it thus:  "Tell the People of Israel, When a man or woman commits any sin, the person has broken trust with GOD, is guilty," (Num.5.6)  It says one has broken trust with God. This is to say that God invested so much trust in you such that when you mistreat your fellow human, you broke that trust with God. Little wonder He was as able to boast about Job to the devil.  Jesus portrayed this truth best when He said, you did it to me when you did it for one of these little ones.  "Then the King will say, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.' (Matt.2...

Pastor's covering  "Don't let the tribal families of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites. Protect them so they will live and not die when they come near the most holy things. To protect them, Aaron and his sons are to precede them into the Sanctuary and assign each man his task and what he is to carry. But the Kohathites themselves must not go in to look at the holy things, not even a glance at them, or they will die." (Num.4.18 - 20) There's been so much talk about pastor's covering with so much to contribute from the divide. Some say we need it others say not anymore.  We see the story of how God told Moses and Aaron to protect a family from the tribe of Levi who were responsible for the carrying of the instruments used in the Holy place. As we can see in our text, God say if they go in and look, they'll die. So to prevent them from dying, God says to the priest, that is Aaron and his sons to go before the Kohathites so that they do not di...

Leadership and money  "Moses turned over the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of GOD." (Num.3.51)  Money is one of the primary sources of temptation for most people especially leaders. Money is so tempting, Jesus warned that you could not serve God and mammon. (see Lk. 16.13) Why we gravitate towards it, this much I cannot explain. May be because the Bible says it answer things. (see Eccl.10. 19)  As a leader you want to guard yourself so much you are transparent like a river. Moses had collected the money for the redemption of the firstborn. God had asked him to give this money to Aaron and Aaron's sons, to whom it rightfully belong. Our text says, "Moses turned the redemption money over to Aaron and his sons".  He did not put it in a fixed deposit for a while. He did not hold on to it for more than necessary. He did not delay the payment as most employers delay the payment of salary of their employees, nor did he split th...

Take an inventory  "Number the congregation of the People of Israel by clans and families, writing down the names of every male. You and Aaron are to register, company by company, every man who is twenty years and older who is able to fight in the army." (Num.1.2 - 3) God spoke to the leaders of Israel, Moses and Aaron to number the children of Israel by clans and families, company by company and everyone twenty years and above and is able to fight in the army.  There is a very important lesson to draw from this. Imagine you, like Moses, took an inventory of all the skills and talents you possess. You take into account every gifts, talents and abilities you are blessed with. Imagine if you did everything you know how to do, if you acted on every truth you know, if you practiced everything you've learned. I dare say you will be surprised at your own achievement.  The question really is, why aren't you?  You noticed that Moses took the numbers not just of every male bu...

Don't cheat each other "Don't cheat each other. Fear your God. I am GOD, your God." (Lev.25.17)  One of the consequences of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden is that man began to seek his own instead of looking out for the greater good. Isaiah the prophet tells us that every man has gone his own way, doing our own thing.  "We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him." (Isa.53.6)  And this is one of the primary reasons why we cheat one another. We cheat because we think what we have is not enough - scarcity mentality. We think that what the other person has is better compared to ours. And we see this play out in the first family. Cain was jealous of Abel and we know the outcome.  God told the Children Israel to not cheat each other. Why? God say because you fear God. I like this rendition: "Show you...

No double standards "And no double standards: the same rule goes for foreigners and natives. I am GOD, your God." (Lev.24.22)  Double standards are a daily occurrence, we see this play every now and again. But most interestingly, it is how it plays out in our individual lives. How we judge others by their actions and deeds but judge ourselves by our best intentions. How we tell ourselves that we intended to do good even if the outcome was not what was intended, but judge others basically and squarely by their actions. Double standards...  God says to Israel, "No double standards: the same rule goes for foreigners and natives". Let's insert others and self in the place of foreigners and native. And read that sentence thus: "No double stardards: the same rule goes for others and self". This way, maybe we will learn to give people a benefit of a doubt just as we give ourselves when caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.  Much as it is true that w...

Draw up a schedule "Moses posted the calendar for the annual appointed feasts of GOD which Israel was to celebrate." (Lev.23.44)  Anyone who will succeed in life knows that success is not a happenstance but a consistent application of deliberate steps. And that is where your schedules comes in. It is very important that we have a prepared time for everything and most especially a time when we meet with God to draw strength and strategy. Some people prefer to do it first thing in the morning, hence we hear, morning devotion. But if morning does not work for you, find the time that works, what matters is that you meet with God.  Moses posted the calendar for the appointment that the children of Israel had to keep with God. Having a place and a time to meet with God is very crucial. It prepares you to meet with God and prepares God to meet with you. This does not limit us to a place and time, but helps us to stay consistent with God.  The bible says that at certain time, in ...

I insist on being treated with respect  "Don't desecrate my holy name. I insist on being treated with holy reverence among the People of Israel. I am GOD who makes you holy" (Lev.22.32)  We tend to take people for granted. Maybe, out of familiarity, the same that breeds contempt. But sometime it is also the way we have presented ourselves that make people treat us the way they do. What goes unchallenged, becomes a routine. God says to the children of Israel, "I insist on being treated with holy reverence".  We, like God, must know our worth and insist that others treat us with respect. This goes without saying, that you too, must treat others with respect. We must understand the need to set boundaries and when those boundaries are being challenged instead of feeling the need to explain we reinforce them.  There is power in a firm statement. Like God told the isreality: "Don't desecrate my holy name." If you let it, people will walk all over you. Be...

These abilities "No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to offer gifts to GOD; he has a defect and so must not offer the food of his God. He may eat the food of his God, both the most holy and the holy," (Lev.21.21-22) God spoke to Aaron through Moses. Pause!  I often wondered why God would not just speak to Aaron directly, he was the Hight Priest.  "GOD spoke to Moses: " "Tell Aaron, None of your descendants, in any generation to come, who has a defect of any kind may present as an offering the food of his God." (Lev.21.16 - 17) But I guess He is God and has order in place. Or was it that Aaron wasn't in a place where he would hear what God was going to say to him? Was he disabled? At least toward God, was he deaf?  Anyways, our text says God told Moses to tell Aaron about those who are disabled in his family that they could not present the offering of food to God but because they belong to the family, they could eat of the food prese...

Live God's way  "Do what I tell you; live the way I tell you. I am the GOD who makes you holy." (Lev.20.8)  One would think that our text is stating the obvious for one who professes to be a Christian. To live the way God tells the Christian to live should be a given.  But really, there are several reasons why this seeming obvious instruction seem difficult. For starters, man has a free will that he is always ready to explore and this exploration is not always in agreement with God ways. It is as if when God says do not do this, we think there is something we are meant to enjoy there that God is trying to prevent us from enjoying. But we must understand that God has our best interest at all times. Once we settle this, you would think all will be well and good.  But there is also the other matter. And that is the adversary, the devil that is working day and night to see that you do not live the way God wants you to. The Bible calls him your adversary.  "Be sober,...

Secret haters "Don't secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt." (Lev.19.17 MSB) We tend to look at human and judge people based on what we see or hear about them but truly the best judge or criterion for judging a person is the state of their heart. By that I mean what is the internal state of a person as it relates to other.  You hear people say this person has a good heart. How did they come to that conclusion? Through how the person relate to others. Our text says don't secretly hate your neighbour. Those who secretly hate their neighbours will laugh in their face but secretly plan against them. The Bible says the person who must come to God must have a clear hands and a pure heart.  "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn decei...

I am God, your God  "Don't strip your vineyard bare or go back and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am GOD, your God." (Lev.19.10)  When you read through scripture you will find certain instructions that do not seem to make sense. But God gives such  instructions and signs them thus: I am God, your God. Or the way the King James Version renders it, "I am the Lord, your God".  Such instructions are likely to be carried out only by those who truly have God as both Lord and God.  We saw how this seeming illogical instruction led to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, well maybe, of his direct forebear. This instruction say do not strip your vineyard bare but leave something for the poor. That was exactly what Boaz, the great-grandfather of David did with Ruth (see Ruth. 2). And they ended up becoming a couple through which Jesse the father of David would be born and down the line David and then the Lord Jesus Christ.  In ...

Be holy "Speak to the congregation of Israel. Tell them: Be holy because I, GOD, your God, am holy." (Lev.19.2)  Holiness is the nature of God. And the Bible says we are partakers of the divine nature of God.  "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2Pet.1.4 KJV) So if you are born again, you have God's divine nature on the inside of you. That's what the Bible means when it talks about we being "new creature".  "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2Cor.5.17 KJV) The old things that passed away include your sin nature. And in your sin nature is poverty, sickness, death. But in your divine nature is life, more life and abundant life (see John. 10.10) Our text says be holy. It did not say do holy because ultimately you w...

Once for all time "For dealing with a woman during her monthly menstrual period; for dealing with anyone, man or woman, who has had a bodily discharge of any kind; and for dealing with a man who has had intercourse with a woman during her period." (Lev.15.33 NLT) Reading through Leviticus we can see all the ceremonial uncleanness that Jesus' death delivered us from. It talks about the various sacrifice the israelite had to make to remain clean in order to be able to come before God and to also relate with one another.  Every time a woman had her period, she is supposedly unclean and has to bring two dove for her cleansing after seven days. We can see why this was serious business in Jesus' days. And why he had to make a whip and drive them all out of the temple. (see John. 2.15-16) That said, it made me appreciate even more the access the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus afforded me. The Apostle Peter told us that Jesus suffered and died for our sins onc...

Remove the affected stones  "He is to order that the stones affected by the fungus be torn out and thrown in a garbage dump outside the city. He is to make sure the entire inside of the house is scraped and the plaster that is removed be taken away to the garbage dump outside the city." (Lev.14.40 - 41) I believe it was from this passage and the intent of it that Jesus drew the principle that states that if your hand offends you, cut it off. If we are houses then we are made up of stones. I think it was the Apostle Peter that says we are lively stones.  "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1Pet.2.5 KJV)  But our text says if one of the stones that make up the house is affected with fungus that stone should be torn out and be thrown in the garbage. This is how I know it applies to what Jesus taught about plucking off any part that will stop you from entering th...

Speak up for your children  "Then Aaron answered Moses on behalf of his sons. "Today my sons presented both their sin offering and their burnt offering to the LORD," he said. "This kind of thing has also happened to me. Would the LORD have approved if I had eaten the sin offering today?" (Lev.10.19 NLT)  Children can be juvenile and as such can often go off target. They want to explore, they are curious and as a result can sometimes do the unexpected. That was what had happened with Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu and when Moses rebuke their father after they passed, the Bible records that Aaron was silent.  "Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD meant when he said, `I will show myself holy among those who are near me. I will be glorified before all the people.'" And Aaron was silent." (Lev.10.3 NLT) That same day, the other sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar had failed to eat a goat but instead burnt it. When Moses found ou...

God and His will, not man and man's will  "Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord meant when He said, I [and My will, not their own] will be acknowledged as hallowed by those who come near Me, and before all the people I will be honored. And Aaron said nothing" (Lev.10.3 AMP) It is often said that man proposes but God dispose. When that is said, my response has always been, if man was in the center of God's will, God would not need to dispose. Because that man will only propose what God has first proposed.  This is the picture we see in this passage of scripture. Nadab and Abihu sought their own will, their own agenda and not the Lord's. Moses says to Aaron, this is what the Lord meant when He said, I, and My will and not their own will be acknowledged as hallowed... "  So God and His will on the one hand, and their will on the other. But it is God's will that will be acknowledged as hallowed. It is God's will that must be done. If you must w...

The gospel of sensationalism "That same day Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons, took their censers, put hot coals and incense in them, and offered "strange" fire to GOD-something GOD had not commanded. Fire blazed out from GOD and consumed them--they died in GOD's presence." (Lev.10.1 - 2) The children of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu had seen a spectacular display of the presence of God. They saw how their father had entered the Tent of Meeting and had made a sacrifice that God had consumed with fire causing the people to cheer.  "Fire blazed out from GOD and consumed the Whole-Burnt-Offering and the fat pieces on the Altar. When all the people saw it happen they cheered loudly and then fell down, bowing in reverence." (Lev.9.24)  This cheers from the people made Nadab and Abihu offer what the Bible referred to as "strange" fire. The Bible says Strange fire,  is something that God had not commanded. And as a result, they were both consumed by fire. ...

God will appear to you "And a bull and a ram for a Peace-Offering, to be sacrificed before GOD with a Grain-Offering mixed with oil, because GOD will appear to you today." (Lev.9.4)  God instructed Moses to bring Aaron and his sons and they were to offer an offering before God in the presence of the whole congregation of the children of Israel. And Moses said the reason they were doing this was because God was going to appear to them today.  This brought to mind the story of Solomon and how God appeared to him. The Bible says he had offered a 1000 burnt offering at interval as he dedicated the temple of the Lord. That night God appeared to him.  Number one lesson we must learn from this is that when we fully and wholly give of ourselves to God in the place sacrifice, God shows up. In the case in our text, it say God appeared in His Shining Glory.  "Moses said, "This is what GOD commanded you to do so that the Shining Glory of GOD will appear to you." (Lev.9.6) ...