I have to be honest: my thoughts are not on my Bible reading tonight. It's not just a lack of concentration. I'm angry over something I have learned, and I find it does me no credit, nor does my thoughts on this passage any good. I have debated over and over within myself if I should just leave off on this post, or if I should really school myself and not let my emotion hinder my study. Thankfully, I can take this situation in prayer, and though it might high-jack my prayer life for a little bit, it won't hinder it. Just my study of God's Word and what He might teach me. So, friends, though I am already a day behind, I might have to return to this passage at a later time and give it the full attention it deserves.
But for this post, I think I'll include this thought (the only one that pounded in my head the entire time I read it):
It took a great deal to consecrate a priest, sacrifices, ceremonies; it was no small thing. The entire act was to dedicate that person to the Lord, that they would belong to Him and that their purpose would be to do His work; as well, they were set apart, set apart to the Lord and set apart from the people. They did not belong to the people the same way that a Benjaminite would have. They belonged to the people because of their public office, their duty of service, and their example to others.
This position should have been two pronged: one, that they be respected by the people because they are their spiritual leaders and authorities, respect them because they work hard for you and have been put in authority over you; two, that above all, the priests should understand that they were given this office not for their own importance but to serve others, to serve others, not his own ends or views. If both of these things happened, it would, I should think, produce a fairly good situation. The priest would serve God and serve the people wholeheartedly, and the people would show respect and follow their priest's lead, which then would have come from God because he is serving God... You see the circle? Like marriage. But, it's not a perfect world. I know this was not always the paradigm in Biblical Israel, and I know it's not always the paradigm now.
I don't dare say anymore at this point, because I have no intentions of coming out and saying what has me preoccupied tonight, and I don't want to give anyone enough rope to hang themselves on assumptions. (My husband would here remind you of "you know what happens when you assume..." Of course, he cleans that saying up quite a bit.) Let's just say that if you're reading this and you think it might be you, it's safer to think it's not. (And then if your sense of humor is as sardonic and self-deprecating as mine is, you might start singing "You're so vain"... Insert "comical" smiley face here, though in this case a conspiratorial wink would carry the same message, though likely just as cheesy.)
So, for now, I am leaving off. After a post much longer than planned and far, far less about my passage than I intended. I am going to go pray for a bit. And then I am going to read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, a book I loved as a child and just got from the library and which never fails to make me smile. If you like kids' lit and haven't read it, you should.
Tomorrow's Reading: Exodus 30:1-38
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