Walk in Wisdom
To receive these lessons by email, fill out THIS FORM and select "Daily Devotional" from the options.
These daily devotionals are written to help you remain rooted and grounded in God's Word each day. We have one devotional for each weekday, and one for the weekend.
-
Latest Devotional
The Hermeneutic of Hindsight
Leviticus 7:17-18a
“But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire. If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him.”Reading through law codes like the ones we find throughout Leviticus gives us a perfect opportunity to reflect on the diverse layers of meaning in the biblical text and of what readers in the 21 st century might derive from the words that readers in this Canaanite wilderness could not have ascertained. We can call this the Hermeneutic of hindsight: the ability to read the Old Testament through the light of the New, comprehending ancient rites and sacraments through the lens of Christ’s Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection, understanding that what God sowed in the hearts of patriarchs and prophets and priests as a mustard seed has been growing and branching out and bearing fruit ever since.
We don’t open our Bibles to Leviticus 7 and effectively discover that first uncracked, unrooted seedling, but through hindsight, through what we’ve witnessed of God’s revelation in the ages since, we find a tree in its adolescent phase, nearing maturity, nearing that harvest of everlasting reaping. We hear in the line, “If any of the flesh of the sacrifice…”, a better word from Heaven: “Take, eat; for this is my body that is broken for you!” For the flesh of these sacrificial offerings is but an ungerminated vision of our coming Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. And when we read the warning not to partake of that flesh on ‘the third day,’ we see better the ripening blossoms of the prophetic metaphor; we understand that on the third day our Sacrificial Lamb was no longer dead, but alive! Our Easter feast is not a partaking of His death—oh no! Not here; not now! On the first day, yes; but on the third day we partake of His death-defeating life!
Remember this as you study the Scriptures, friend: the subjective questions of “what does this mean to them?” and “what does it mean for me?” both hinge on the ultimate objective question, “What does this mean to God?” And the answer to that, just like a mustard seed, becomes more manifest by the day.
-
Sabbath Psalm (A revision of Horatius Bonar’s hymn ‘Here, O My Lord, I See You Face to Face’)
-
Earth-Shattering Faith
-
Over-the-Top Confession
-
Top-Top Shelf
-
Pleading the Fifth
-
From Immanuel’s Veins
-
Sabbath Psalm (from William Cowper’s hymn, ‘There is a Fountain Filled with Blood’)
-
Grace is More
-
A Little Clarity
-
Buried in the Sinews
-
Cometh the Tide
-
Better than BBQ
-
Sabbath Psalm (A revision of A. Cleveland Coxe’s hymn, ‘O Where are Kings and Empires Now?”)
-
Picture Perfect
-
Pressing Onward
-
Unwritten Prayers
-
Blood on Our Hands
-
Goodness: the Greatest Blessing
-
Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Frederick Brewster’s hymn, ‘Lord God, Our Thanks to Thee We Raise’)
-
Shimmering in the Fire
-
On Holy Ground We Tread
-
You, Me, and Other Gemstones
-
Self-Sacrifice
-
Faith, Worked Out
-
Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Mary Ann Lathbury’s hymn, ‘Break Thou the Bread of Life’)
-
Love—in Excess
-
A Hand-Me-Down Art
-
Gendered Language
-
The Afterglow
-
Moses and the Red Letters
-
Sabbath Psalm (Revision of John Peterson’s hymn, ‘Holy Spirit, Now Outpoured’)
-
Crime and Forgiveness
-
Unbreakable
-
On the Face of It
-
The Distinguishing Mark
-
A Plot Twist
-
Sabbath Psalm (Revision of Frank Bottome’s hymn, ‘The Comforter Has Come’)
-
Come Away with Me
-
A Critical Departure
-
Down with the Ship
-
The Good Fight
-
A Horror Story
-
Sabbath Psalm 47 (Revised from John Peterson’ hymn ‘Jesus is Coming Again’)
-
Come All Who Thirst!
-
A Reassuring Truth
-
What's On the Menu Today?
-
Choices and Consequence
-
What Have We Become?
-
Sabbath Psalm 46 (Revision of John Bakewell’s hymn ‘Hail, Thou Once-Despised Jesus!’)
-
When Adjectives Fail
-
Epics and Epitaphs
-
A Team Effort
-
What a Guy!
-
A Holy Touch
-
Sabbath Psalm 45 (Revision of Thomas Kelly’s hymn ‘Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices’)
-
Name Your Price
-
Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Smell
-
A Most Fulfilling Prophecy
-
Marked by the Blood
-
Dressing the Part
-
Sabbath Psalm 44 (Revision of John Peterson’s hymn ‘Open Wide, Ye Doors’)
-
Facts and Feelings
-
Priesthood: A Balancing Act
-
Beautiful Glory—Glorious Beauty
-
Lamplighters
-
A Mobile Home
-
Sabbath Psalm 43 (Revision of Giovanni P. Da Palestrina’s hymn ‘The Strife is Over’)
-
An Open Door
-
Gold Rush
-
Practicing God’s Presence
-
An Ark Like No Other
-
A Heavenly Contribution
-
Sabbath Psalm 42
-
A Crackling Fire
-
Picnic Time!
-
There is a Fountain
-
A Book Signing
-
A Recurring Theme
-
Sabbath Psalm 41
-
Are You Listening?
-
Almighty Love
-
Got Justice?
-
A Song to Share
-
Fable of Farce?
-
Sabbath Psalm 40
-
A Revolutionary Idea
-
The Avenger
-
A Silver Lining
-
Liberty by Submission, pt. 2
-
Liberty by Submission, pt. 1
-
Sabbath Psalm 39
-
A Bit More Context
-
Laws on Slavery (An Introduction)
-
The Art of Worship
-
A Deep Light
-
A Word on Honor
-
Blessed Rest
-
What’s in a Name?
-
The Law in Essence