by Shannon Tillman | Sep 25, 2025 | Bible Study, Theology, Thoughts
Years ago, a fellow staff member called me to chat. I had been in a great mood before the phone call. However, by the end of the conversation all of life seemed bleak. She had one negative thing to say after another about every situation: work, health, relationships, everything. I was drained by the end after listening to her complaining to me for over an hour.
While I fell apart with just one person’s gripe session, poor Moses had to listen to millions of negative voices rising up against their situation and against him.
Exodus 15:22-23
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)
These people faced life-threatening circumstances. This is a serious matter. There is no water. It had been three days. Children kept telling their parents, “I’m thirsty.” Imagine their fear. If water was not found soon, people could die. Finally, in the distance, they saw water. Picture their joy of coming close to what seemed like an answer. Hope was renewed. They rushed onward, with dry mouths and parched lips, eagerly anticipating a refreshing drink. Yet, their hopes were dashed as they took a sip. The water was bitter, harmful, undrinkable. What they thought was an answer just added to the problem.
How do we respond to difficult situations? What do we do when our hopes are crushed? There is a choice to make. The people decided to complain.
Exodus 15:24
So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Imagine millions of people grumbling. If my heart was disturbed by one negative phone call, how would a murmuring crowd impact Moses? It would be easy to join in and become a part of the complaints. Yet, in the midst of all this grumbling, he took a different approach.
Exodus 15:25a
Then Moses cried out to the Lord…
The people complained; Moses cried out to God. Millions of people focused on their circumstances. Moses focused on the only One who could help with the problem. Moses called on the Lord to intervene. God gave Moses a creative solution.
Exodus 15:25b
…and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
Millions of people stood around and complained. One man prayed and received an answer that helped millions. That is the power of crying out to God compared to complaining about circumstances.
Each difficult situation brings a choice. Will I complain or cry out? Maybe the Lord will reveal to us creative solutions that will help others as well if we choose to cry out to Him.
by Shannon Tillman | Sep 18, 2025 | Bible Study, Theology, Thoughts
Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France competitive bike race seven consecutive years, from 1998 to 2005. Due to the grueling nature of this race, speculations arose that he may have used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong denied the allegations for years. An investigation, however, concluded that he had been doping throughout his biking career. Finally, in 2013, Armstrong admitted to the drug use. His awards were stripped from him and he was punished with a lifetime ban of involvement in professional sports.
Everything can be lost in a moment by our own sinful choices. Even future generations can be impacted. The nation of Israel experienced consequences from their sins. Children from eleven out of the twelve tribes of Israel were impacted by their forefathers’ idolatry for over a thousand years.
The nation of Israel had been miraculously rescued from Egypt by the hand of God. The Lord brought them to Mount Sinai in order to meet with them, to establish a covenant with them.
Exodus 19:5-6
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
If the nation would obey God, all of them would be a kingdom of priests. The priesthood was for everyone. What a privilege granted to them! However, the honor was soon to be stripped away from the nation. They chose to worship a golden idol shaped like a calf, instead of the Lord.
Exodus 19:19
When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
The covenant between the people and God was broken. Their idolatry, their sin, their breaking of the rules led to drastic consequences.
Exodus 32:25-28
Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
Only one tribe of Israel responded to Moses call of being “for the Lord”. The Levites came to Moses and were given the gruesome task of killing idol worshippers. They chose to do what was right in a wrong situation. Because of their choice, they received a blessing.
Exodus 32:29
Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”
The rest of the tribes had the priesthood stripped from them. Only the Levites and their descendants were able to keep the position of their priesthood.
Numbers 3:5-7, 11-13
The Lord said to Moses, “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the tent of meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle…The Lord also said to Moses, “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, for all the firstborn are mine.
The Levites replaced the firstborn of every tribe. What was meant for every tribe was given to the Levites instead. The other tribes had this honor stripped from them and their children.
However, a miraculous turn around takes place after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He became the lasting High Priest on our behalf.
Hebrews 6:20a
where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever…
Jesus from the tribe of Judah, not Levi, is now the High Priest. What Judah lost with the golden calf was regained by Jesus at the cross. Jesus, the First Born son, implements the regaining of the priesthood for all believers. It is not reserved for a few but the office of priesthood is open to all.
1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
We received the priesthood back! We are now the priests of God. Think of the honor the Lord has given you through Jesus. You are not “just saved”; you are chosen to be in the royal priesthood. This is beyond just being a serving priest but being bestowed with royal lineage as well! We have been set apart to be holy. Together, believers from all over the world, through all of history make up a new nation of people that are the special possession of God Himself! That is a reason to give a shout of praise! This honor of priesthood is for the privilege of serving Jesus, the one who suffered to grant us this sacred office.
Revelation 1:5-6
…and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
I do not know what you thought when you looked at the mirror this morning, but it should be “I am a royal priest of God”. We will be celebrating the One who gave us this honor not only on earth but heaven as well. One future song is recorded in the book of Revelation honoring what Jesus has done and what Jesus will do.
Revelation 5:9-10
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Everyone is called to the priesthood. This is not for a special few. Your past does not disqualify you. Your age is not a factor. Your excuses have no place. You are the royal priest of the Lord, serving under the High Priest of Jesus. It is time to step up into the fullness of your holy calling.
by Shannon Tillman | Sep 11, 2025 | Bible Study, Theology, Thoughts
He was chosen. He worked with wood and had other skills in creating items. He was one man in a nation of millions of people. He was called to the work. No other person in history accomplished the task that he alone could do. It was a sacred job. He was commissioned by God to create the place of mercy. His name was Bezalel.
Exodus 31:1-5
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.
The nation of Israel had been rescued from Egypt. In the wilderness, the Lord instructed Moses to build a tabernacle, a place of worship. Bezalel was to lead this sacred task of constructing the house of worship for the Lord. There were numerous holy items that were made.
Exodus 31:6b-9
…make everything I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand…
The most holy object of them all would be the ark of the covenant. This box was the meeting place between God and the people. It would be housed in the section of the Tabernacle called the “Holy of Holies” or “The Most Holy Place”. Once a year, the High Priest was allowed to go behind the curtain and sprinkle blood on the ark. It was the time of forgiveness of sins for the people. It was Bezalel who would have the great honor of making the holy box.
Exodus 37:1
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
Bezalel had to take a rough tree, smooth it down, and fashion it into the shape of a box. The box was then covered with precious metal.
Exodus 37:2
He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.
The Lord gave specific instructions about the lid of the ark. It would be adorned with angelic creatures looking downward at the top of the box.
Exodus 37:6-9
He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
The ark was not empty but contained objects from the wilderness journey.
Hebrews 9:4
This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
Bezalel completed his beautiful ark without the full understanding of how it would picture one of his relatives who would be born over fifteen hundred years later. Bezalel was from the tribe of Judah. Jesus, also from the tribe of Judah, fulfilled the purpose of the ark. The ark was the meeting place between God and His people.
Exodus 25:22
There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
However, the ark could only be approached with the blood sacrifice, and only once a year by the High Priest. The Lord wanted to meet with all of His people. The ark was the picture of what was to come.
Let us ponder the fulfillment of the ark from the inside out. First, inside the ark was the jar of manna. This was the miraculous bread that came from heaven for the daily provision of the people, to sustain them in the wilderness until they reached the Promised Land. Jesus declared Himself the true Manna from heaven.
John 6:32-35
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Another object in the ark of the covenant was the ten commandments. This was the requirements for the people. However, everyone failed. Each one sinned until Jesus. He lived perfectly. Thus, He fulfilled all of the law.
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
The last object in the ark was Aaron’s staff. There had been a dispute where Israelite leaders believed they deserved the high priesthood just as much as the descendants of Aaron. The Lord spoke to Moses on how to handle the dispute.
Numbers 17:1-4
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout…
The following morning, the Lord miraculously showed His chosen tribe for the priesthood.
Numbers 17:8
The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
This staff shows that only God’s chosen priest can serve before the Lord. Jesus, our High Priest, is chosen to approach God.
Hebrews 6:19
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
The High Priest, the one who is the Mediator between God and man, is Jesus. He approached heaven, not with the blood of an animal, but with His own blood. His precious blood was shed on a wooden cross. What was the ark fashioned out of? It was made of wood. Wood of the ark pictured the wood of the cross where the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of mankind was made. He took on the sin of the world. He was able to die for us because He was perfect, He was God in a human body. The wooden ark was covered with gold, representing the deity of Jesus. The God-man died for us, making atonement for our sins.
The word “ark” in Hebrew means “ark, or chest, or coffin.” The very name of the ark gives a picture of the final placement of a dead body, a coffin. After Jesus died on the cross, He was laid in a tomb. Also, recall the ark of the covenant had a lid with two cherubim looking downward at an empty space between them. Now picture the tomb of Jesus as it was discovered by the women on the third day.
Luke 24:2-4
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
I think that those two angels had sat at each end of the body of Jesus, watching over his body until He rose from the dead. Then they enjoyed staring at the empty place and telling the people who came:
Luke 24:5b-7
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
Jesus is the fulfillment of all the symbolism of the ark of the covenant. A distant relative, from the tribe of Judah, made a precious box that was a telling a story of what Jesus would do on behalf of His people. Bezalel created the ark, but he would never see it again. For the box was placed behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could access this room and only one time a year. This changed, though, when our High Priest, Jesus, who was also our sacrifice, died on the cross.
Matthew 27:50-51a
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The curtain which shielded the ark of the covenant from all the people, all the priest, and even the High Priest except one day a year, was miraculously torn! Access to God through Jesus, became available to anyone who would believe. That ark pictured Jesus and gave a picture of what He would do for us. We can now freely approach the mercy seat of God.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We can approach God boldly today because of Jesus. In the past, the nation of Israel did not have complete access to the Lord. That is why Bezalel toiled in his labor. He completed the ark so that the nation of Israel could access the room of God through the High Priest once a year. Jesus completed His work so that every person could enter in the Holy place of the Lord at any time, for any reason. We have access to the true Ark of the Covenant, Jesus, at this very moment. May we all take the time to enter into His holy Presence today.
by Shannon Tillman | Sep 4, 2025 | Bible Study, Thoughts
I know little to nothing about farm animals. Usually, my only contact with the critters stem from petting zoos at the local fair. I admire them from afar due to allergies. I may think they are cute, but I do not take time to ponder their importance in the agricultural world.
A verse of wisdom caused me to think more in depth about a particular animal on the farm.
Proverbs 14:4
Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.
I am embarrassed to say that I thought oxen were their own type of animal. I did not realize that the term is used for well-trained cattle. I only found this out by using the handy information at Wikipedia:
In the New England tradition, young…cattle selected for draft are known as working steers and are painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster makes or buys as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes for each animal as it grows. The steers are normally considered fully trained at the age of four and only then become known as oxen.” (Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Ox. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox)
Based on the verse from Proverbs, if oxen are not taken through an intense training process, then eventually a time will come when the manger, or feeding trough, is empty. In other words, taking the time to plan and train the next generation of cattle, ensures that there is future harvest for the people and their children.
Spiritually, the church is responsible for creating “oxen”. The church is to invest in the next generation and train them on how to labor for the gospel. In other words, we are called to make disciples.
Matthew 28:19-20a
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Just like the oxen are trained on farms through a series of steps, we must make a deliberate plan of action to disciple others. The church must grow others up in the faith, so they in return can repeat the process to go and make disciples. This is what answers the prayer request of Jesus.
Luke 10:2
He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Why are the workers few? We are not training them how to work in the fields. Discipleship is not taking place. If this continues, the manger will be empty at a future time. In other words, at the time when the cattle are supposed to be oxen bringing in the harvest, there will not will not be disciples to go. Eventually, it leads a culture that is spiritually starved. I believe the evidence of this is all around us.
Generations of churches have not raised up spiritual disciples. Too often, there was erroneous thinking that left the responsibility of discipleship-making to only church leaders. Sadly, church leaders encouraged this false ideology due in part to believing a bible degree or a church title somehow made them more spiritually mature. However, the great commission did not put a qualification on those who are to make disciples. It is given to all believers, which means there are no age requirements, degree requirements, intelligence requirements, skill requirements, personality requirements, or any other excuses that are used to disqualify those from disciple making.
By the way, discipleship is not about programs. Discipleship is a partnership. A young calf was yoked to a mature ox to learn how to plow the fields, how to work on the farm, how to respond to the plowman. Eventually, the calf is labeled an ox and will be used to train other cattle. Discipleship is about showing others how to walk with Christ, live for Christ, make decisions that honor Christ, tell others about Christ. Discipleship is showing what a Christ-life looks like on earth today. This cannot happen in a one-hour Bible study once a week. Discipleship requires an investment of time, energy, resources in order to see true oxen, true disciples made.
Discipleship is what Jesus modeled. The disciples followed Jesus for three and a half years. Interestingly, it takes about four years for a calf to become an ox. The disciples lived with Jesus, in a sense, yoked to Jesus each day during this time. This gave them a first-hand look at how Jesus lived on a daily basis. The disciples saw how Jesus understood the Word of God, interacted with others, made decisions, prayed, told stories, ate, slept, handled difficult people, taught, and everything else that took place. This is discipleship. His disciples understood what He was calling them to do when He told them to go and make disciples. They were to walk side by side by others and teach them everything, show them how to live, let them be a part of their daily lives.
In this context, please note that the true disciple makers of the family are the parents. The children are yoked together with their parents. Discipleship is taking place no matter what? Are they being discipled in the ways of Christ or the ways of the world? Once again, it is not the “church leaders” responsibility to disciple your children. Instead, God has gifted the parents with little disciples in their home. Parents have the privilege of training them up in the ways of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Discipleship happens as life happens. We have distorted discipleship to a sermon or a class. Our churches reflect the lack of true discipleship. Discipleship is not obtained in masse. True discipleship comes in small groups, like Jesus with the twelve. Yet, those twelve changed the world. Now, we see a world that is changing the church! We cannot blame an unplowed, unfruitful field on the world. The community reflects the church. Is your church discipled and discipling others, or is it just going through a few programs which does not train people or transform people into true followers of Christ?
It is time to evaluate the fields. We can no longer just go through the same old motions that have not worked and will not work. If we continue in our bad set of programs, the manger will be empty. The only ones to blame would be the church that did not disciple others. In fact, we are already seeing this in culture. In recent statistics, the younger generation is more likely to classify as “nones” (meaning no religious affiliation) than as a Christian. The manger’s supply is dwindling. The church must take notice and make changes!
We cannot change the entire church; we may not even be able to influence our local church. However, we can evaluate ourselves. It comes down to this: Who is yoked to us? Who are we discipling? If there is no one there, then we are not obeying the command of Jesus to make disciples. If there is no one there, then we are not answering the prayer request of Jesus for laborers in the field. If there is no one there, then we should not be surprised that the manger will soon be empty.
