- Blood: So much blood used in annointing and purifying. This seems so foreign to us. In our culture we rarely see blood.
- Hygiene: Interesting laws instructed the people on how to deal with poisonous mildew and fungus--something we still deal with, such as killer molds.
- Medical care: God also gave basic but detailed instructions about how to spot and contain diseases.
- The goat in the wilderness: Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, Aaron was to put all of the people's sins on a goat's head. Then it was sent into the wildnerness (Lev 16:20-22). The people were to fast and refrain from work. "In the presence of GOD, you will be made clean of all your sins. It is a Sabbath of all Sabbaths" (Lev 16:29-31). A beautiful and vivid picture of Christ's redemptive work, still far in the future.
- Precious blood: The people are forbidden to consume blood, on pain of death and banishment. Why? "The life of the animal is in the blood. I have provided the blood for you to make atonement for your lives on the Altar; it is the blood, the life, that makes atonement" (Lev 17:10-12). Blood = life, and it is precious.
- Do not conform: God tells the Israelites straight out not to live like the Eypgtians or the Canaanites. "Don't do what they do" (Lev 18:1-5).
- Sex laws: It seems strange that God had to spell out all of these forbidden sexual practices in such detail, but these things must have been happening or God wouldn't need to make such laws. The worst? Child sacrifice. Almost unthinkable, but it was going on regularly around them.
- Strong words: "Dabbling in the occult pollutes your soul" (Lev 19:31).
- A good reminder: "Show respect to the aged" (Lev 19:32). This was a good nudge for me. My mom lives with me and sometimes drive me crazy :/
- This says it all: "Be holy because I, God, your God, am holy" (Lev 19:1).
Elena's Verse of the Day: "The Lord appeared to the people in all his glory...they shouted and fell to their knees to worship the Lord" (Leviticus 9:23-24)
I'm sharing a few thoughts from each day's reading. Feel free to jump in and share your own!
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Boils, burns, rashes, sores and mildew. Sounds like a repeat of the plagues of Egypt. My immediate thoughts cenetered around basic medical and household care - common rules for household and community living, especially in one so large as Israel.
ReplyDeleteThen something clicked. How much focus do I put on keeping my house clean, disinfecting and dusting; How much time do I spend exercising and caring for my external appearance? All of this to discourage any kind of "infectous disease" in my everyday, physical life.
What about my spiritual life? Do I keep away from "infectious diseases" that will prompt temptation and sin? Jesus said it best in Matthew 5:29-30, "...if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off...it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell".
The point is not that we should dismember ourselves, but we should stay away from sin just as God instructs the Israelites - "stay away, do not defile yourselves as the Egyptians and Cananites did, be holy because he (God) is holy". When I recognize my sin, I should immediately and heart-feltly repent and seek God's mercy and grace.
Then Leviticus 16: 10, 20-22 brings repentence and atonement full circle through a "scapegoat", literally. "The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place..." Does this sound familiar? Jesus spoke these words as he was dying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. My God, My God why have you forsaken me". Jesus was alone like the goat, carrying the weight of all our sins and released into the wilderness. foresaken. not by God, but by me, a sinner.
Jesus. Precious Lamb. The Scapegoat. The Atoning Sacrifice. He purchased us by his blood so that we may be redeemed. What a picture the old testament paints of our beloved Savior.
I agree, Portia. I think Leviticus and Numbers could be summed up in two words: Be holy. However, we all know that's impossible on our own. Thank God for the Scapegoat!
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