In today's section, we read about:
Procedures for cleansing from bodily discharges
The day of atonement
Prohibitions against eating blood and certain sexual practices
Commands for holiness in personal conduct
Punishments for disobedience
Instructions for priests, worthy and unworthy offerings
Festivals for the Israelites to celebrate
The Sabbath year, the Year of Jubilee, Redemption of the poor and enslaved
Blessings for obedience and punishments for disobedience
Some thoughts that struck me:
The two birds required for cleansing in Lev 14 remind me of Matt 10:29-31 "What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows." Would that have been something the people listening to Jesus would have thought of?
God repeats the warning about coming into the holiest place just any time (16:2). The understandable tendency would be to despair about ever being able to approach God - but we have a great high priest who has enabled us to approach boldly (Heb 10:19)
The imagery of the scapegoat sent into the wilderness (16:22) is so powerful. We need someone/something to take away our sins - Psalm 103:12 "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west."
Lev 17:11 underlines that it is only because of the blood of Jesus that we can be put right with God, by restating the general principle (expanded on in Hebrews ch9 and 10) - Lev 17:11 " the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord".
The central themes of God's law are restated - God repeatedly end a command by saying "I am the Lord your God" (18:5,6,21,30; 19:1,4,10,12,16,18,25,28,30,32,35; 20:7,8; 23:22,43; 24:32; 25:17; 26:1,2). This then changes slightly to become "I am the Lord who makes you/them holy" (21:8,23; 22:16,32). Then it changes again with God reminding them that He was the one who brought them out of Egypt for a purpose - to be his people (19:35; 26; 22:33; 25:38,42,55; 26:13)
The Israelites are commanded to show justice to all (no favouritism or partiality). They are commanded to show kindness to the poor and foreigners living among them, the latter as a reminder that they were foreigners in Egypt, before God rescued them. These commands start with God, and go back to God through the treatment of other people. "Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other" (25:17). We demonstrate our love for God by obedience to his commands - "I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning." (2 John 5-6)
The festivals, which are to be celebrated annually on a permanent basis, serve as a continual reminder of the people's dependence on God and how God has shown his faithfulness to his people. These instructions help us remember. Celebrating these festivals would be another distinguishing feature and help them to obey the command not to live like the Egyptians or the peoples God was driving out of their land (20:23). And they should be celebrated with great joy! (23:40)
Lev24:10-16,23 is an illustration of how serious an offence blasphemy is. The whole community was instructed to take action against this offence.
Lev 26 sets out the clear choice - amazing promises of unimaginable blessings on the one hand, or punishment and curses for disobedience. One thing from each section that struck me most - Lev 26:11-13 is just phenomenal "I will live among you, and I will not despise you. I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high." The other thing from the section from 26:14 onwards is that there is always the possibility for the people to come back to God. If they remain stubborn, they will suffer the next wave of punishments, which are not the acts of a capricious or vindictive God, but the consequences of their unfaithfulness to God.
We are now a tenth of the way trough - our tithe, the firstfruits!
2 comments:
I am not participating directly in this 'Bible in 90 days' adventure, but as my husband Mark continues to, I find myself benefiting from the mysterious and wonderful miracles that happen when you spend such concentrated time in God's living and active word. I can honestly say that Mark has not been this light-of-heart in months if not years. He has always had a faithful quiet time, but it's almost as if by just concentrating on reading these passages of the Bible, he's allowing God to love him in a way that forces him to just sit back and receive.
So courage and kudos to all the 90 day adventurers out there - enjoy whatever special gifts God has for you in the rest of these three months.
I found this morning's reading very challenging in terms of relating to God's holiness. Everything seemed such a palaver to be ritually clean, and so many ordinary things would be affected by uncleanliness. Yet so often I wander blithely into God's presence, without any real appreciation of His otherness, His purity, His holiness. I guess it helped that the Israelites had seen Aaron's sons killed for presenting the wrong fire.
I was also struck by the repeated emphasis that is put on being without blemish and defect in order to come into God's presence. Then there is also the phrase "it is the blood given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible" (Lev 17:11). Then there is the fact that only the high priest can go into the holiest place. But the wonderful thing is that all these points are met most wonderfully in Jesus, as the letter of Hebrews explains.
The third point was the wonderful pattern provided by the Year of Jubilee. We go about our normal lives but ultimately everything belongs to God - "you are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me" (25:23) - cf. Heb 11:13, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. "
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