“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
‘What is written in the Law?’ he (Jesus) replied. ‘How do you read it?'”
Luke 10:25-26 NIV

Why would Jesus ask an expert in the Law, someone who is proficient in scripture, how does he read it? Because it’s possible to be well versed in the rules of religion but deficient in the relationship with God part.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
Romans 15:4 NIV

Apostle Paul is telling the Roman Church that the Old Testament is for us to learn the character of God and to give us hope.

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding.'”
Leviticus 12:1-4 NIV

If we read Leviticus and then come away thinking, “Now I have 251 laws and rules to incorporate into my life.” That thinking doesn’t fill us with hope. It’s bondage. In Genesis, there was a fall into sin. And with that fall, it created a barrier between a Holy God and a sinful people. I read Leviticus and think this is God creating a way for us to purify ourselves inside and out. So that we could relation with him. When I read about the Festivals and Animal Sacrifices, I see God creating a system to avert the human tendency we see today. The tendency to create a God box for our lives to put on the shelf with all our other tasks and responsibilities boxes. We are meant to live the entirety of our lives through our God box.

“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. By calling this new covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
Hebrews 8:10-13 NIV

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the experts in the Law. They conspired to crucify Jesus. This is not condemnation, this is so we realize that human nature seeks out rules and laws as a way to control and predict. If we default to rules and discipline, sometimes that leads to shaming ourselves and others for not being able to be perfect.

If we seek relationship, God begins to write the laws in your heart and mind. Which involves edifying us; making us stronger and changing our taste for the world. He begins to fortify and strengthen us. He pulls that sin out of our life because He heals the reason why we make the choices in the first place.

Rules correct symptoms/ behaviors. God gets rid of the illness/ reason the behavior exists. The purpose of this blog is that I help build and strengthen our relationship with God.

Exegesis is the critical examination and interpretation of Scripture. On the side of my bed, reading and journaling the Bible, is where my relationship with God happened. Church, Bible Study, Fellowship, our Church Groups, and even this blog are meant to nurture our relationship with God. We need these places because it helps us build, nurture, and strengthen our knowledge of God. But our relationship with God is built and maintained based on our ability to create and live from our God space. God is waiting to take us to Canaan; the land overflowing with milk and honey. This is our personal Level 10 existence. The Heavenly realm we are meant to experience here on earth.

All of this is our choice.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
Ephesians 2:14-16 NIV

I have made several post HERE and HERE with helpful strategies to help us read the Bible. They are so important, I am going to go through them again. When we read the Bible, we need to understand who the person is writing the Biblical story, who his audience is, and why he is writing them. The Book of Ephesians, was written by Apostle Paul. Before he was Apostle Paul that wrote most of the New Testament, he was persecuting and killing Christians before his lifelong changing encounter with God. He is writing to the church in Ephesus to strengthen their faith and encourage them. When we read Ephesians we should read with this understanding.

Ephesus is a prominent church within the Roman Empire. It is filled with Jews and Gentiles Christians. Apostle Paul is telling us that we are united in our belief in Christ. Jesus’ death and resurrection became the bridge between sinful people and a Holy God. Man will always want to separate us into our differences. However, Paul is telling us explicitly that once we come with our faith, God declared us righteous. This isn’t free from sin but declared in right standing with God because of Grace and Mercy (more on that later). We are united in our belief in God. United.

“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
1 Samuel 16:1 NIV

My previous POST explained that when we read the Biblical Stories we should be thinking about each character. We should be asking ourselves who are they and what can they represent? The story of David and Goliath. This story is in 1 Samuel 16-17. The prophet Samuel was instructed to go to see Jesse. One of Jesse’s eight sons would be Israel’s next king.

“When he arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.'”
1 Samuel 16:6 NIV

Jesse lines up seven of his sons. The prophet, Samuel, immediately goes to the son that looks like he should be king.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'”
1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

God is giving us His standard for the way He regards us.

“Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ So he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’
‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered. ‘He is tending sheep.’
Samuel said, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.’
So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; this is the one.’
1 Samuel 16:10-12 NIV

Jesse, the dad, leaves David working. He doesn’t think of his youngest son when Samuel tells him that he is there to anoint the next king.

Who is David? What can David represent? David is us. He represents the way life, people, and our beliefs limit us. He represents how God looks at us. He looks at our heart, our strengths and our weaknesses and declares them exactly what He needs.

“A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height is six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield went ahead of him.”
1 Samuel 17:4-7 NIV

This is the story of David and Goliath. Goliath is 9’9. He is huge, a warrior,  and he has been standing in front of Israel for forty days taunting them. No one steps forward to fight him and end the war because they are afraid. David is there looking for Saul when he hears Goliath’s taunts. He steps forward to fight him.

Who is Goliath and what can he represent? Goliath is the giants in our life that incite our fears. They are people, systems, environments, family, and self-limiting beliefs that we are afraid of.

“Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become my subjects and serve us.”
1 Samuel 17:9 NIV

This part is brand new. The next things we ask are what does the Bible say about them and what does that mean for us? What does the Bible say? Goliath is saying to his opponent if he wins, he will rule over our life and we will serve him. If we win, we will rule over him and he will serve us. Goliath is our fear stumbling blocks that life gives us. If we shrink and live in fear, we let it win and it rules our lives. If we conquer it, we are strengthened and we make it serve us. It becomes our superpower.

“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put his coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul. ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.”
1 Samuel 17:38-40 NIV

What is the Bible saying? David has stepped forward to fight Goliath. Saul begins to dress him for the battle. Except they don’t fit. What does this mean for me? When we get in front of our fears, we armor up because life, people, and/or ourselves, tell us that we don’t have what it takes. We believe that we are missing something. However, David took it all off. We should too.

“Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:39-40 NIV

David took off the things that Saul said he needed to be ready to battle. He chose instead the things that God had equipped him to use proficiently. He chose his strengths. It means that God has equipped us with everything we need already.

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,'”
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”
1 Samuel 17:45;50 NIV

David used only the tools that God gave him and with God’s help he killed Goliath. God has given us everything we need to live life well. He is waiting on us to choose a relationship with him.