Numbers 8:1-9:14

It's been a long day.  My daughter has pink-eye, which meant a trip to the doctor's and then hanging out in Walmart for 45 minutes waiting for the prescription to be filled before we could go home again and let her be miserable in her own space.  She actually bears up under it fairly well, until it's time to clear her eyes or put medicine drops in them.  Taking care of a sick child can take a lot out of you.  It's days like this, where you feel a little beaten, very tired, and maybe even a little discouraged that you wonder what a book like Numbers can bring you.  You rather wish you could be in Psalms, where David's laments might at least make you feel you're not alone, or remind you how good you really have it.  Or you might wish for an encouraging word from Paul in the New Testament, and be very tempted to go looking for it...  But instead, you're "schlepping" through the OT, reading laws and regulations that seem to have nothing to do with you.

Reading the laws, though, you find that anyone who is unclean is required to set themselves aside, to refrain from religious practices and meals, and even leave the camp until such time as they are made unclean.  (Too many references to count, but you could check out Leviticus 12, 13, and 15 for some examples.)  Remember, those with infectious skin diseases were even required to call out their uncleanness so that everyone would know to avoid them.  I felt like I had a small taste of that today.  Walking around Walmart, waiting on eyedrops, I felt my daughter's gunky, green-goopy eyes were about as ostentatious as if I'd gone around calling out, "Pink eye!  Pink eye!  Steer clear!"  I kept a disinfectant wipe on hand the whole time in case we should need to wipe something down, though I didn't let her touch anything.  Though the few people who spoke to me were generally friendly and sympathetic, I felt as if just as many people were looking at me, wondering why on earth I had her out at all and why didn't I go home.  Because of her pink eye we neither went to church or to youth group today.  I missed Sunday school, what sounds as if it were a good sermon, and a chance to hang out with our teenagers as I didn't want to spread the infection giving my daughter so much discomfort.  I did feel a bit of a leper.  And I felt more so for her.

And here we have Numbers, a passage on the Levites and on the Passover.  And I understood how a few of them felt: a contingent (I have no idea how big or small) came to Moses and Aaron because they were being kept from observing the Passover due to uncleanness from touching a dead body.  Why, they wanted to know, could they not be allowed to observe the Passover, when they earnestly wanted to?  Here were Israelites eager to do as the Lord commanded, and couldn't!   The word the Lord sent Moses commanded that they could in fact.  It doesn't necessarily say that anyone who is unclean could keep the Passover despite uncleanness, but at least this type could.  I felt like asking for a special dispensation, too: I would have liked to go to church, especially as the weather this week promises to keep us further at home from Bible studies and the like.  But then, I do have my Bible on hand.  I do get to read from it, from the book of Numbers and live with the Israelites as they learned what it took to live in the presence of a Holy God.  (Yeah, have you seen the next passage?  I'm looking forward to it tomorrow: I wouldn't mind seeing a visible evidence of God's presence in our midst.)  It teaches me that I should be grateful for what I have.  I may not have been able to fellowship with other believers, but I certainly have the opportunity to fellowship with my God.

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 9:15-10:36

Numbers 7:43-89

So, really, the whole chapter of Numbers 7 is a record of the gifts given to the Lord for the Tabernacle by the tribal elders on behalf of Israel.  Notice that the each gave the same gift on consecutive days?  It's like the 12 Days of Christmas for the Tabernacle.  (Is it sacrilegious to say that?)  These gifts were given at the consecration of the Tabernacle: the moment it was made holy and its use begun.  Perhaps they were to celebrate the gift of the Tabernacle and the opportunity to worship God in their midst?  Perhaps it was to recognize the momentous occasion (kind of like gifts when a baby is born, or at a wedding, or what have you)?  I'm not entirely clear on that.  I did read a few commentaries that the Lord's pleasure in the gifts may have been signified in His speaking to Moses from above the mercy seat at the end of the chapter.  Wouldn't that be cool?  Every time you gave a gift that pleased the Lord, we would hear Him speaking to us?  Do you think that people would give more often?  And perhaps be more likely to examine themselves and give from a purer heart in the hopes of communication with the Lord?  Or do you think they'd run from it more, in view of their sin, if their hearts were unrepentant?  Does that make it any more different, then, from how we are even now, without the Lord's audible approval?

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 8:1-9:14

Numbers 7:1-42

Tonight, I really do just have to say, reading read.  I'm too tired, and my mind's too numb to do much else.  It's been a good day, though.

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 7:43-89 (long chapter, huh?)

Numbers 6:1-27

It's late.  And I seriously considered putting off this entry with a simple, "I read it today."  I have a pretty good reason: it seems the easiest way to ensure time to my devotional time is in the evening after my daughter's gone to bed.  It never works in the morning: if I get up before she does, it is so early and it takes so long to wake up enough for real consciousness, she inevitably gets up before I can get any thinking done.  She does, after all, tend to get up around 5:30 in the morning.  So evenings, where I'm actually at my best mentally, seem the best time.  However, tonight, I had friends from out of town (one from outside the country) surprise me with a visit!  (Yes, very exciting.  No really, incredibly exciting and wonderful.  I love those girls!)  I could have kicked them out after a certain time (and they may not have minded) and said, "I need to do my devos, get out!"  (Or rather something nicer...)  Truth is, though, that it has been so long since I've seen either one of them, let alone both of them (I think both goes back to my wedding two years ago) that I was reluctant to let them leave, even to go to bed.

So, I could cop out tonight.  But I have reflections I want to get down.

The majority of today's passage is on the Nazirite vow.  Believe me, no small amount of irony was far from my mind.  Who is the most famous Nazirite of the Bible?  Yes, Sampson.  Yes, of Sampson and Delilah fame.  Reading through the regulations for a Nazirite, physically, Sampson kept one down pretty good: not cutting the hair.  Otherwise, they all went out the window.  Nazirites were not to go near a dead body.  Though this was referring to a human body, it was meant to keep the Nazirite from uncleannes.  Any dead body (human, unclean animal, clean animal) would make a person unclean, so Sampson eating honey from a lion carcass made him unclean.  Nazirites were not to drink wine; the Scriptures never explicitly state that Sampson drank wine (that I could find), but the feasting that took place when he married his Philistine wife was of the sort where alcohol was in abundance and where everyone, especially the groom, would drink, making it very likely he didn't abstain from alcohol.  Sampson did not observe God's statutes about intermingling with foreign peoples, as he had a taste for pagan women.  A Nazirite was to be holy unto the Lord, to dedicate themselves to the Lord, but everything about Sampson showed contempt for the Lord and his statutes, calling on God only when he was a risk for death.  Ironic, yes?  It shows that for the vow to be truly relevant, an attitude of respect and fear was necessary before the Lord.  I'm sure we'll be talking about this more when we meet Sampson in Judges, but, man!  It seems so counter to wisdom that a man like that would be given such power.  But God used him, even in his weakness, in his weakest moments.

A side note: the blessing here in Numbers 6 is my favorite benediction in the Bible.  So let's end with that, shall we?

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 7:1-42

Numbers 5:1-31

In the beginning, I was tempted to be sad and a little shocked by the passage on the ritual to test a woman's unfaithfulness.  My initial reactions were that perhaps it wasn't quite fair: a jealous husband with unfounded fears could humiliate his wife before the congregation; there seems to be no test for a husband who may have been unfaithful; and a woman, whether she repented or not, would lose her ability to bear children (something that defined her) if she were guilty.  There could be repentance, but not end to her consequences, no restoration.

Thinking a little further, though, showed me some things.  First, in a patriarchal society, such as Israel was, the husband had the right and opportunity to act as an overlord over his wife.  A jealous husband could make life very miserable for his wife.  Such a ritual would give the innocent wife an opportunity to silence all accusations.  She would have drank the curse before the priest and come away unscathed, showing herself to be innocent and pure.  If she was guilty, then she had not only sinned against her husband, but also against the Lord, and the consequence for her own actions would be on her own head.  True, it doesn't give any provision for an unfaithful wife who might experience a serious repentance and may need restoration, but sin was a very serious thing in the Israelite camp, as anywhere.  And God intended the Israelites to be the real city on a hill: they were to be God's people among ungodly nations.  Sin had to be dealt with in the camp, lest it run rampant.  After all, the Israelites were a stiff-necked nation (as we shall see throughout this book).

In reading some commentaries, I noticed that they all made special effort to point out that the ritual was not magic.  I hadn't thought so to begin with, but I begin to see their point: some of the elements of the ritual would seem to point that way.  The woman drinks water mixed with dust from the Tabernacle floor and the ink used to record her words promising that she's been faithful.  There would have been nothing harmful in any of these elements, nor were they intended to poison.  Rather, the ritual was supposed to be an outward symbol of the work the Holy Spirit would do in the wife's own life, bringing a spiritual ailment into the physical realm.  One interesting note I read in the BKC (Bible Knowledge Commentary) was that in drinking the ink brushed from the scroll, the woman was proverbially eating her words.  How's that for irony?

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 6:1-27

Numbers 4:1-49

So here we have the charges of the Levites (what they are charged to do or to care for) as well as a partial census.  Notice, only men of an age suited to serving in the Tabernacle were counted: from age 30 to age 50.  The total number comes to 8,580.  What if that were a church?  Could you imagine, 8,580 men serving?  In basically a custodial fashion?  They would be like the deacons of the church of today, ministering and serving without any priestly duties.  How many active deacons do you have in your church?  (I am always surprised by the number ours has when it comes time to confirm offices, but I have to say, I'm glad to know so many men in our church serve!).  Essentially, these men took care of the physical aspects of the Tabernacle.  The priests' offices were spiritual, the Levites physical.  It was left to them to properly wrap and pack up all the articles of the Tabernacle, the various hangings, posts, poles, etc. of the physical Tabernacle building.  They were to ensure that everything was properly cared for and stowed and carried, and they were not to touch it for fear of dying.  And that was not an empty threat, as we shall see some day in our reading.

Imagine the care and attention it would have taken to properly wrap these articles so that you could be sure not to touch them, that they would be protected, and that they would not fall during a move.  I would hope that not even the best housewife would as lovingly pack her china or her silver.  Yet, knowing the Israelites history, I can't help but wonder if perhaps sometimes the Levites prized their position more than their charge, that they cared for their importance as a Levite more than the Lord's house.  Maybe they were careless from time to time?  Did it ever become so routine that they barely noticed what they did?  Just as we can sometimes be careless in the disciplines we are called to: Bible study, prayer, giving, worship.  We are not threatened with death if we do not care for such things so well.  But doesn't it become kind of a spiritual coma if we don't?  What do we disregard that the Levites may (or may not, really) have?

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 5:1-31

Numbers 3:1-51

The tribe of Levi holds some fascination for me.  It has a varied history.  Its father and namesake, Levi the son of Jacob, may not have started out as a promising candidate to sire what would become an important tribe.  You might remember that he, together with his brother Simeon, exacted a terrible revenge upon the Hivites for the defiling of their sister Dinah.  Jacob had arranged a marriage so that Dinah may not be completely dishonored, but Levi and Simeon took it upon themselves to deceive and slay the men of that city, dishonoring their father's word among strangers (Genesis 34).  The consequences of their actions began to reveal themselves in Jacob's blessing several years later, as Jacob foretells that they will be divided and scattered in Israel, intimating that they would have no inheritance in the Promised Land (Genesis 49).

However, this is not the whole story, not for Levi.  Remember again the scene at the base of Mt. Sinai, when Moses had been gone "too long" from among the camp of Israelites, returning with the stone tablets in hand to find a raucous party (to put it in nice terms) going on the base of a golden idol, a calf.  Moses called for anyone righteous to stand with him against the offenders, and it was the Levites who gathered to him, and they defeated all the offenders in the camp, exterminating them.  This, then, brought a blessing on the tribe of Levi for the zeal they showed for the Lord, that they be consecrated and sealed to serve before the Lord (Exodus 34).

As we learn in this chapter, it is the Levites alone who were allowed to dwell close to the tabernacle, to guard it and keep it, to care for the priesthood.  One interesting thing I noticed is that the Lord harks back to the exodus from Egypt again.  Referring to the plague on the firstborn, the Lord declares that when he took the firstborn of Egypt, and passed over the Israelites, He consecrated all firstborns to Himself.  However, rather than take every firstborn into His service, He allowed the Levites to stand in as substitutes.  This, at the latest, would have come just a few years after the exodus, as we know they were only left Sinai two years from the exodus (Numbers 10:11, though I need to double check my timeline on this to make sure I understand this verse correctly).  The events of that night and of the passover would have still been vivid in the Israelites minds, at least enough, I would think, that they would heed this.  Instead of claiming the firstborn, the Lord took the Levites, and to make up any difference, the Israelites were able to redeem their children with redemption money, which then helped to pay the priests for their services, as the Tabernacle was their work.  Isn't it interesting to see both how the Lord works His intentions and actions together as well as how He provides for those who serve Him?  All that was given to the Lord, there was a portion for the priests to support their daily living so that they would be free to work.  (Not much unlike a portion of our tithes to our church going to pay for the pastors who make it their life's work to serve us.)  God is so cool.

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 4:1-49

Numbers 2:1-34

I used to teach a high school girls small group.  The girls who were faithful in coming would loudly agree that I am a "Bible nerd."  There were times when I would get excited about Old Testament history or facts or figures or what have you, and inevitably one or more of them would begin to pretend to push a pair of glasses up their nose, just to say, "Nerd!"  (In a very loving, and friendly way, of course.  I hope.)  One of the things I loved to bust out from time to time was my Bible atlas.  To anyone who reads through the Old Testament, a Bible atlas is invaluable.  Why?  Because it names all sorts of places and people groups that we have no concept of, and aren't on modern maps.  Where did the Ammonites live, anyhow?  Where was Mt. Sinai?  (Still lots of debate on that one).  Where are these places called Ai and Hazeroth and Kibroth-hattaavah?  (How many of us can actually pronounce them?)

This passage is one where I wished, just a little bit, that I had a map.  It tells us how the Israelite camp was set up.  That these instructions were given was important.  Can you imagine trying to muster 57,400 men intermingled amongst more than one million people?  How long would that take?  By the time the clans were put into orderly fashion, it may have been too late for them to respond to whatever threat there was.  Or can you imagine trying to get the entire people moving when it was time to break camp and journey to the next place?  (After all, Mt. Sinai was not the final destination.  It was a resting place, a place to get together, get organized, and get the Law down and begin to be a nation.  They still had someplace to go.)  Mass chaos!  Unless, of course, you have an orderly camp, a system for breaking it, for setting it up, and leaders to oversee it.  That's what this chapter is about.  And thanks to it being recorded in Scripture, today we can have an understanding of how it laid out.  Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun to the east; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the south; Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin to the west; and Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the north; all surrounding the tent of meeting and the Levites (who would be in the center of the procession when they marched out).  It makes sense, it's in order, and it certainly made things easier to organize and to move when the time came.  And the time is coming: Israel camps at Sinai for a couple of years, but then the Lord moves them on.  And eventually, on and on and on.  But that, friends, is another day.

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 3:1-51

Numbers 1:1-54

NUMBERS!  I know so many people who groan at the thought of reading through Numbers, and I partially understand.  There are in fact a lot of numbers in the book (so we can definitely say it's aptly named).  But there are also stories, some really great stories.  Previously, when I've read through the Bible, Numbers seemed like a really great respite after reading Law since basically Exodus 20. 

Here's the thing, though: the numbers in this Book are actually rather significant, and telling.  Here in the first chapter we see that Israel is commanded to take a census of all warrior-aged men in Israel.  This is significant because it gives us an idea of how strong the Israelite fighting forces would have been in this time of sojourning (and preparing to take over a homeland).  Also, it excludes all females and males not of soldiering age.  Which means there were far more Israelites in the camp at Sinai than are listed in this chapter.  According to the census, there were 603,550 men able to go to war.  Just men.  Just men who could go to war.  It'd be twice that if each of these men had a wife.  Even more if many of them had children.  Can you imagine, a camp of at least one million people gathered at the base of Mt. Sinai?  No wonder other nations were intimidated when the Israelites came wandering near!  They'd fear for their food stores, at the very least!  Notice, that this doesn't even include Levite males.  The Levites were dedicated to the care of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), with all of its furnishings and instruments and other accoutrements.  Did this mean that the Levites were completley exempt from war?  No.  We'll see later in our reading (though I can't remember exactly where at the moment) where the Levites are sent first into battle as a guard, and that as long as they marched forward, the battle was in favor of the Israelites.  However, God said that they were not to be part of the census, and so their numbers were neither listed nor taken.

We'll see that their numbers really will play a role in the Israelites' journey from Sinai.  However, that isn't until chapter ten, so we have a little while.  There is more of the Law yet to be read.

Tomorrow's Reading: Numbers 2:1-34

Leviticus 27:1-34

Final chapter of Leviticus!  And it's on vows.  I admit, at first the chapter didn't make much sense to me.  The ESV uses the term "valuation" in regards to the person dedicated in the vow.  I knew valuation meant to determine the value of, and I wasn't putting everything together.  After a perusal of the BKC (Bible Knowledge Commentary), it made more sense: when a person, household, animal, or piece of land is dedicated to the Lord and made holy, they are put to service for the priests.  Should anyone want to redeem anything dedicated to the Lord, they must pay back the full value and then some.  Some other passages where you see some of this stuff in action include: 1 Samuel 1, Psalm 116, and as for those things that are devoted for destruction, you can see 1 Samuel 15.  We'll likely talk more about devotion for destruction then, as it makes that passage far more understandable for us modern readers.

So, I lived through Leviticus.  More than, lived, enjoyed!  I don't profess to understand it completely, and it would likely take a great deal more in-depth study to do so.  But I can say this: it does make the wider picture of the Old Testament make sense.  I'm starting to see more and more connections between the Law and the events in the Old Testament.  I expect to see even more as we continue reading through.

Tomorrow's Reading?: Numbers 1:1-54

Note: this particular entry did not publish when it should have, and has been back dated to reflect the time of reading rather than it actually making it on the web.

Leviticus 26:1-46

If ever you spend any time with me in Bible study, if we talk about the Old Testament, inevitably you'll hear me talk about the Blessings and the Cursings in Deuteronomy 28-29.  Practically, the whole of the Old Testament hinges upon those passages.  I almost smacked my forehead when I read this Leviticus passage this morning.  I had never occurred to me that those same promises might be elsewhere in the Bible, but it should have.  After all, Deuteronomy, meaning "second law", is the second giving of the law.  Which means, it had to be somewhere in the first giving, like in Exodus or Leviticus or Number.  Duh.  And here it is.

While the terms in this passage might seem harsh, they were certainly given with a purpose: to let Israel know that their decisions and their actions had consequences.  God warned them ahead of time that if they chose to obey Him, He would bless your socks off.  If you've ever been like me and had to clean out a fridge full of tupperware holding moldy or soured food, then the idea that the surplus of a harvest would last until the next one, having to cleared out for the next harvest, is mind-boggling.  Or, if you've ever struggled with a grocery budget or how to put food on the table, doesn't the idea of never being in want, the harvests so abundant you won't be able to eat all of it, blow your mind?  And yet this is what God promises.  On the other side of the coin, the unspeakable is going to happen (not likely, not bound to, but will indeed happen) if Israel refuses to obey the Lord's statutes and honor their covenant with Him.  Not as punishment, not to grind them under His almighty thumb, but to discipline them to bring them back to Him.  If you were Israel, which do you think you would choose?

Looking at the contrast of these promises, it seems so easy that they should choose to obey.  Love, honor, and obey the Almighty God.  But we know from history that they didn't.  Not even most of the time.  And we'll see how these decisions and consequences play out over and over and over again, how God makes good on His promises.  Really, Judges alone will tell you that.  Everything that happens in Isreal, and later Judah, is a direct result of this action-consequence relationship the Lord establishes in Deuteronomy 28-29, but first here in Leviticus.  I'm actually pretty excited to see it unfold over the next several months as we read through the Old Testament.  Yes: this passage is likely to come up in the blog again.  You are forewarned.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 27:1-34

Leviticus 25:1-55

If ever you should doubt that God's Law carried weight and promise, then look no further than this passage.  God commanded the Israelites to observe Sabbath years, to allow the land to rest fallow in order to refurbish the nutrients in order for the crops to prosper, and when they didn't do it on their own, He made them do it.

I refer you to the following passages:

Jeremiah 25:8-14
Daniel 9:1-2
2 Chronicles 36":20-21

As consequence that Israel refused to follow the Lord and that they refused to obey His commands, both nations (Israel and Judah) were overrun by enemies.  Judah, the last nation, was taken into captivity by Babylon for 70 years.  It seems that one reason their captivity lasted for such a specific amount of time is to allow the land to rest fallow, that the land finally enjoyed its Sabbath years that the Isrealites had denied it for so many generations.

One must realize the amount of faith and trust it would take to take an entire year off farming and rely on the land and your stores to feed your family and entire household.  When each year the yield of farming seems so uncertain: any number of weather-related things, bugs, varmints and encroachers could harm or destroy a crop.  It required Israel to demonstrate complete dependency on God: that the yield of the sixth year would truly provide for three years until the land was producing and vibrant again.  Apparently, they hadn't been willing to take the risk.  The result was that God exacted those Sabbath years anyway, but instead of with the cooperation of Israel and its blessings upon them, it was to the detriment of the Lord's chosen people.  Instead of enjoying blessing, they were carted off into captivity and disciplined so that they might return to Him and finally listen.

We still do that today, don't we?  The Israelites may have seemed foolhardly in retrospect, but that is because we have the benefit of hindsight.  Do we show such loyalty and trust when we don't even have 20/20 vision, let alone foresight?  How many things in our daily lives, in our futures do we have to give over to the Lord and yet are unwilling?  That even when we do try, we have to constantly "give it back to the Lord"?  I know I've been there.  With our finances, with my daughter, with my unborn son.  In words it seems such an easy thing, but in deed we find that faith is about practice, not words, that it is about trust in the face of the unknown. 

One thing can be certain, though: God proves through Leviticus and the Exile that He keeps His word, that He has "follow through."  Which also means I can trust the promises of Scripture: that He will never leave or forsake me, that anything is possible through Him, that He will work good out of even the most difficult of circumstances.  He doesn't promise to keep me from difficult circumstance, only to uphold me and make them fruitful.  That's a promise I can take to the bank.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 26:1-46

Leviticus 24:1-23

What a long day!  It's been a long day of caring for my daughter, cleaning house, cooking: I've been in full housewife mode today!  Sadly, it means that I read this passage at the beginning of my day, but haven't had an opportunity to write and reflect until now: when I can barely remember it.  It would be so easy to plead "pregnant brain" and go to bed, but I don't want to do that again.  I will say that I found the story of the Israelite woman's Egyptian son tragic.  I understand why the punishment was harsh, and why there was no leniency: the people needed to see that there was no place and no tolerance for sin.  I find it tragic that this young man, in a fit of anger, let his emotions get the best of him, that he showed so little respect for the God so visibly in his own presence.  I feel for that mother.  I can't imagine knowing that your son did wrong and that he was punished in such a way.  I found myself praying that somehow her relationship with God wouldn't have been severed because of it.  So often we contend with God when our children are the victims of accidents or illnesses, and we wonder why did God not prevent them?  How more difficult would it have been, for this woman as it might have been for Aaron over his sons, to know that your child's death is decreed by God because of the sin and choices they have made?  I trust in God's infinite wisdom and love to have resolved that, if the woman was willing to let Him.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 25:1-55

Leviticus 22:17-23:44

This may be a small thing.  I had always thought of the Feasts on the Jewish calendar to be a time of celebration and party, basically joy and fun.  But over and over again during the commandments, I see that the Lord admonishes the Israelites that "this is a solemn thing."  I had never thought of the Feasts like that.  Granted, they were a time of remembrance and religious ceremony, but wasn't it also a time of eating and celebration and raucous laughter?  I am not saying that the solemnity of the feast was to cancel out this jubilant air, but I suppose I had never considered how important these feasts were to the Lord.  After all, they were to remind Israel of a few things: God's provision in the desert, God's provision each year in the harvest, God's provision for the atonement of Israel's sin...  They were certainly to feast and fete and favor, but they were to above all remember and to honor the Lord their God.  The Feasts were a solemn thing unto the Lord.

I wonder: do we have anything like that in the Church?  We have communion, but I've noticed that churches use varying emphasis and practices in regards to communion.  Communion is certainly a time of remembrance and solemnity, but is there also celebration?  Are we too solemn?  We certainly fellowship and eat and laugh and "feast", but do we solemnly remember why we gather for fellowship and feasting beyond the short blessing prayer over the food?  Might there have been a reason God didn't institute feasts with us?  I don't really have an answer to the last one.

I think, though, that this is a good principle to practice in our own faith: to celebrate and to remember and honor the Lord.  How would we do it?  The Bible admonishes us that everything we do, we do unto the Lord.  If we do that, do we need festivals or a tradition to make us feast Him?

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 24:1-23

Leviticus 21:1-22:16

I'll be honest: I don't have anything interesting or relevant to say about the regulations imposed on the priests of the Levitical priesthood.  I'm sure if I thought about it long enough, I could.  But I read through the passage and simply thought, "Um, okay."  I know that the priests were to be set apart, that they were given privileges lay people were not, and all of that makes sense.  I guess I don't have much to add this time.  Maybe it's because pregnant brain has really got to me today.  I couldn't remember a single detail about last Sunday until it was brought to my attention by others.  And this week has been a bit of a blur.  I think I'll give the prego brain a rest tonight.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 22:17-23:25

Leviticus 20:1-27

One thing is certain: knowing the Old Testament laws found in Leviticus can help bring into perspective some of the Old Testament stories.  There are two in particular I'm thinking of in relation to this particular passage on child sacrifice and sexual impurity.

The first takes place during David's reign.  Amnon, one of David's sons, lusted after his half-sister Tamar.  By all accounts, Tamar was beautiful, and Amnon wanted her.  But there was a serious problem here: she was his sister.  In Leviticus 20:17, it specifically states that a man was never to have sexual relations with his sister, not the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.  As David had several wives, and children with many of them, it's possible that Amnon and Tamar weren't raised together and may not have even regarded one another closely as relations, except by their father.  But the Law had made provision for that, and Tamar was off-limits.  Rather than control his lust, however, Amnon tricks her into coming to his bedside to minister to him while he is "sick" and ravishes her.  Before his attack, Tamar saw it coming and even begged that Amnon would allow them to go before David to be granted a marriage so that he might not defile her.  It didn't work.  And David would have been in contempt of the Law if he'd allowed it.  (Whether Amnon really cared about this or not is doubtful; if he had no qualms about raping his sister, then I doubt he had qualms about any other moral issues.)  The sticker here is that both Amnon and Tamar should have been cut off from Israel; in many ways, Tamar was.  She went to live in her brother Absalom's house as a desolate woman: tainted by her rape, she was unable to marry or to live a productive life.  Amnon, however, went unpunished.  David knew of the instance, was incredibly angry, and yet did nothing.  Here David and the priests failed to follow the Law.  Amnon should have been cut off, at least, for his violation of his own sister; but nothing, at first happened.  The consequences for this slip-up proved to be dire: Absalom, offended on his sister's behalf, held his grudge against Amnon and eventually killed him as a vigilante.  His actions led to a chain of events where Absalom eventually participated in a conspiracy against his father, causing David to leave his throne and wander through Israel (for the second time), ending in Absalom's tragic death.  If David had taken action and disciplined his son according to the Law, the chaos and heartache that later ensued would have been avoided: justice would have been done and God's own law appeased.  (2 Samuel 13 is the story of Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom.  The following chapters describe the conflict between Absalom and David.)

Or take this one: Manasseh, king of Judah.  His father was Hezekiah, who was one of the few kings that devoted himself to the Lord (though not perfectly).  Hezekiah, however, failed to teach his son to follow in his footsteps, and instead Manasseh erected altars to Baal and Asherah, even in the holy places.  He sacrificed his son, consulted wizards and mediums, and pretty much violated every commandment in Leviticus 20:1-9.  Reading through 2 Kings 21 gives you little doubt as to why the Lord punished Judah for their idolatry; it only makes you wonder that He waited so long to do it.  Manasseh even went so far as to erect a graven image in the temple!  Verse 9 describes Manasseh as more evil than the nations the Lord had driven out before Israel when they first conquered the land! Leviticus declares that any man who offers his child to Molech, and you know the same applies to any god that requires child sacrifice, is to be cut off, and that God would set His face against him: essentially, curse him.  The same was to go for anyone who turned a blind eye towards this mans actions.  As the king, the entire nation turned a blind eye to Manasseh, and some even willingly participated with him!  Amon his son followed in his own footsteps.  The brief description in 2 Kings is enough to understand how far the nation had strayed from the words of the Lord.  Leviticus is clear about the depth of depravity child sacrifice and wizards and mediums presented; but Judah did not care.  It isn't until Josiah is king and begins to restore the Temple (now in horrible disrepair from neglect during a time of blatant idolatry) and they find the Book of the Law, which Judah had forgotten, that they realize the depth of their depravity and sin.  It is no wonder that the people tore their clothes in anguish!  Imagine, hearing how detestable the actions of the past several generations had been and the punishment for continuing them!   The Lord sent His prophets, promising punishment for Judah for their actions, and it came within a few generations: the Babylonians came and decimated Judah, leaving a small remnant in the land, and taking another remnant to Babylon.  The people, as a people, were cut off, cut apart, and scattered, as the Lord had promised here in Leviticus.

It just proves to me again how well the Scriptures dovetail one another and to see how the Law was fulfilled, how God's promises were fulfilled among His people.  It makes me so eager to continue to learn more, to piece more together and see the whole fabric of the Bible as a single piece.

Tomorrow's Reading!  (Let's press on): Leviticus 21:1-22:16.

(Do you realize we only have a few days left of Leviticus?  It's almost a shame.)

Leviticus 19:1-37

Leviticus 19 is an interesting chapter.  There's so much here.  How to love the Lord and keep his commands, how to be a good neighbor and friend.  The second portion of the chapter really begins the discussion on how to treat others: leave some of your harvest for the poor (not as a handout, as they had to work for it, but an opportunity to work), don't steal, be impartial in judgment, do not hate or seek vengeance or bear a grudge.  Be kind to strangers and show hospitality to all.  Be just.  Be honest.  I don't think anyone would quibble that these characteristics make a good person, an admirable one.  But I think that's it's important to note that what comes first is a devotion to the Lord, that the Israelites should be holy because the God in their midst is holy.  If you are devoted to the Lord, then these things would be the fruit of that devotion.  Someone once referred to a book (I regret that I don't know what it is), where the author suggested that a good barometer of how your relationship with the Lord is doing might actually be how well your relationships with other people are going.  There are exceptions to ever rule, of course, as we are not responsible for others' choices or attitudes.  However, this chapter suggests that to be generally true: if you are swindling a neighbor, false in your testimony, stingy against others, or hold a grudge or hate someone, can you be truly devoted to the Lord?  It's a heavy thought.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 20:1-27

Leviticus 17:1-18:30

This is cool: the Israelites weren't to eat blood because in the blood is a creature's life force.  That goes for animal or human.  Blood was considered sacred and not only were the Israelites to abstain, but also any strangers (non-Israelites) living among them.  Today, modern science backs that up (yeah, don't tell me the Bible isn't real) as we know the blood carries nutrients, oxygen, a whole host of things necessary to the living cells and organs of the body.  The stop of blood flow, life is gone.  Now, add to this these verses:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. --Romans 6:23
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.  --Hebrews 9:22

Maybe this is not great leap I'm making here, but do you see how it all fits together? The life force is the blood.  The recompense of sin is the taking of life, in other words, death.  The Day of Atonement worked because blood, the life force, of an animal was offered in substitution for the real payment: our own blood for our own sins.  There could be no forgiveness of sins unless there was the shedding of blood, the taking of a life (why we all die in the first place, check out Romans).  HOWEVER, Jesus came and shed his own blood, sacrificed His own life force so that we may be forgiven, His blood substituted for ours.  And so, we are forgiven and life is granted to us.  Seriously, this dovetails so beautifully with Hebrews, that maybe Hebrews and Leviticus should be studied side-by-side.  But then, it dovetails so well with Romans, too.  And I'm sure, if I were given enough time to really think it over, so many other books in the Bible.  See how it all correlates?  I'm sure we'll see more of it as we continue to read and become more familiar with what the Bible has to tell us.  So, so cool.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus

Leviticus 16:1-34

The Day of Atonement.  You know, this passage plays right into a lot of what we believe as Christians.  The Book of Hebrews explains how Christ's once-and-for-all sacrifice pretty much fulfilled the priests' office of going in once a year to offer atoning sacrifices all at once.  And no sacrifice was necessary to be offered for His own atonement, because He was without sin.  Pretty cool, huh?  Reading through this passage just impressed upon me how much they had to do to atone for their sin, and this only once a year.  All the sin for an entire people accumulated over a year is atoned for on this one day with these few sacrifices.  But even more, all the sin for not simply an entire nation, but the entirety of all nations, for every single person, throughout all time, was atoned for in one single sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus.  He who was wholly human and wholly divine.  That's about as far as I can wrap my mind around.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 17:1-18:30

Leviticus 15:1-33

This has truly been one of those days where I have not had a moment to myself (except lunch).  I was able to get the passage read rather superficially while eating my lunch, but that's about all the time I've been able to give to it today.  What a discouraging day!  Not just in regards to my private quiet time, but many things.  The bright spot in my day (completely irrelevant to this passage) has been a visit from friends and my daughter giving her daddy kisses for the first time.  For now, I'm going to bed.


Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 16:1-34

Leviticus 14:1-32

Luke 17:11-19 is where you can find the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed.  Reading the passages in Leviticus about what was required to live as a leper under the Old Testament system, from diagnosis to healing and cleansing, gives a greater appreciation for what was required for these lepers to be declared clean again and accepted back into society.  Interesting, isn't it, that the one leper who turned back before he had even reached a priest was a Samaritan?  It was quite a lengthy process to be cleansed, as we see here in chapter 14.  I suppose you could try to make the excuse that the other nine intended to return to Christ and thank him after they were finished with the purification process.  Only the Samaritan had good sense, though, to realize that he may or may not find Jesus again so easily, that maybe it was more important to praise God and thank his Savior than to go through the rituals.  After all, didn't God say, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" (Psalm 51:17) and "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).  There are some things God prizes above the fulfillment of rituals.  Granted, the Old Testament Law should not be looked upon as merely ritual: this is what was required to live in the presence of the Holy God, as the Israelite camp did day-in and day-out.  It was simply that God did not desire the rote practice of the Law, but rather that the Law be practiced out of a loving and obedient heart.  Such a heart the Samaritan had, and likely retained throughout the protracted ceremonies.  But I wonder, what about the other nine?

(I sure hope I'm not stealing my own thunder for Luke 17!  But then, it is another year and a half before I'll come to that passage, so maybe it won't matter, or I'll be struck by something else completely then.)

Note: I've actually been working on this short post all day, off and on.  While I'd like to devote time in the morning to this, I can't say I can complain about being in and out of the Word all day, with these things twirling around in my mind like good background music.

Leviticus 12:1-13:59

A very good friend of mine once told me a story about how she and her brother and sisters played "leper" as kids.  They would throw towels or blankets over their heads and walk about crying out, "Unclean! Unclean!" so that all may know their leprosy and not come near.  Whether they based the game on this passage or on stories from the New Testament, I don't know.  If you think it unlikely that a bunch of kids would know a passage in Leviticus, you haven't met this family. :)

I couldn't help but think of my friend and her siblings as I read this passage.  It is such a funny story to think of a bunch of kids wandering around their farm, yelling "Unclean!"  And yet, it's also a little heartbreaking when you compare it to these Scriptures.  The truth is, there were people who for thousands of years under the Old Testament Law who did have to shun the company of others and have to call out warnings of their uncleanness to those who might pass them by.  They were ostracized for fear that their disease was infectious, and therefore dangerous.  It was necessary, but how difficult would it be to send your son or daughter away, your mother or brother, dad or uncle, knowing that you would likely never live with them again?  To fear that you might be infected already and only a matter of time would show it on your skin.  What would it be like to be subjected to a priest for examination, one who may fear the Lord and have compassion, or one who loves his position more than God or people and looks at you with distaste?  I couldn't help but think these things and imagine being shut up for seven days while we wait to see if the spot, sore, or abscess is infectious or not.  It gives me a greater appreciation for the joy of the lepers Jesus healed, the relief and excitement of being able to present oneself to the priest with the proper offering, be examined and pronounced clean again.  And it amazes me all the more that only the single leper returned to worship at Christ's feet.  What an incredible gift the Lord gave them!  And only one thought to return to their Savior and thank Him.

I want to say, "I hope I'll never be like that," but I have to examine myself and be sure that I never have.  Have I ever taken a blessing for granted?  Have I ever received and not given back?  It's a very humbling question.  Lord, may I not have that attitude again, and give You daily thanks for all that You have given me!

UPDATE on Leviticus 11:1-47

After some more reading, I found a few reasons why God may have chosen that animals that come under specific exceptions might be unclean.  Mainly, the information comes from a commentary, "A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments," by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fusset, and David Brown, dating from 1871.  In their comments on this particular passage, they list two possible reasons for these restrictions: 1) to ensure distinction between the Jews and surrounding nations they were not to co-mingle with, and 2) dietary reasons.  Both make some sense.  Jews were known throughout their history for their distaste for certain foods based on their religious law, and at times of captivity or oppression, even used that distinction as a basis for looking down upon their oppressors.  The fact that they would detest or have a distaste for food their neighbors were eating would provide a barrier for completely assimilating into other nations, no matter how much they might adopt the strangers' habits (which was still not good).  Dietary reasons for excluding certain foods and preparation practices include that these meats or practices may have led to a greater risk of illness and disease amongst a large people living in close quarters.

Leviticus 11:1-47

This is one of those passages where the resounding question in my mind was, "But, why?"  I saw the logic of it: whatever chews cud and has a cloven foot, both, are acceptable to eat.  But if they don't have both criteria, they are not acceptable to you; therefore, the camel, the rock badger, etc. are not acceptable.  No problem, I get that.  But why do these things constitute defilement?  Why isn't it the other way around?  It's not the logic of how the rule works by why the rule in the first place I don't understand.  I've been reading some commentaries and they have yet to explain that to me.  They are perfectly capable of explaining the rule, which I already understand, and even the principle of abstaining from that which defiles us, even today, which I also understand.  But why does God say that the cloven-footed cud-chewer is acceptable, but the non-cloven-footed cud-chewer, or the non-cud-chewing cloven-footed are not?

I've been wondering if there really isn't a particular reason, other than that the Lord has decreed this and it is to teach the principle that some things can defile us (like, say, lying, murder, sex outside of marriage, gossiping, hating our brothers, Christian or familial) and therefore we should detest them and abstain from them.  (If you don't believe me on the parenthetical examples, check out Colossians 3:5, 2 Timothy 3:5, 1 John 3:14-15, Ephesians 5:19-21, just to name a few).  Granted, I've not yet exhausted my commentaries and helps, and I by no means have an exhaustive library with which to research.  Maybe the answer's out there and I just haven't found it.  But from the standpoint of someone who is simply reading through Leviticus, this principle makes sense: there are things in life that make us unclean, that will separate us from the Lord.  And we are to avoid them, abstain from them, not only that but to hate them and detest them.  After all, they separate us from our Lord.  If only we had that attitude towards the sin in our lives!  If only we understood how the seemingly "little sins" can make us unclean and can taint our relationship with the Lord!  Things that perhaps we think we can slide by with.  Or that we are only hurting ourselves with.  But one thing I am learning for sure from Leviticus (and I know will be supported in Numbers and Joshua, definitely), that one sin among the people of Israel affected the entirety of Israel: look at Moses' warnings to Aaron and his sons after Nadab and Abihu.  Does it not work the same for the church?  This is not a call to point fingers at other people, by no means! (To borrow a Paul-like phrase.)  But perhaps it's an even greater call to examine our own lives and make sure that we are confessing our sins to the One who is faithful to forgive: our sin affects our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with others.  It makes us unclean.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 12:1-13:59

Leviticus 9:1-10:20

Ever have one of those days where things just did not go according to plan?  Not necessarily a bad day (in fact, it ended very well), just... not remotely like you'd hoped.  I could go into the details of the day, but that's really my other blog.  Suffice it to say that it's after 10:00 and I'm just now sitting down to do my reading for the day.  I am definitely going to do better tomorrow.

I could just say, "I read my reading for today" and sign off.  But I don't really want to do that too much.  This is my time to "chew the cud", if you'll excuse the expression, and I don't want to miss out on that if I don't have to.  So, though my bed is softly calling my name just behind my back, my pillow inviting me to lay down and catch up on the sleep I missed last night, I am steadfastly and doggedly committed to this post.

I'm actually rather glad that these two chapters were read together on my schedule, because they're a very good juxtaposition.  In chapter 9, we see Aaron just after his consecration beginning to enact the sacrifices that the Lord has commanded, and we see a constant refrain: "as the Lord commanded Moses."  Holy fire from the Lord comes out and consumes Aaron's offerings, and this is almost as a benediction, or a sign of approval.  They've been accepted.  Then, just after this in chapter 10, two of Aaron's sons offer fire before the Lord.  And the Lord's holy fire blazes again: but this time it consumes Aaron's sons, killing them.  This is not a blessing; this is not approval.  They have been executed for offering unauthorized fire before the Lord.  Could what they did truly have been that bad?

That seems to be the statement the Lord is trying to make.  The essence of the Law is to follow it: word for word.  Aaron's sons defied God's Word when they offered a fire before Him that was not lawful and was not holy.  They sinned before the Lord, whether out of carelessness or pride or what have you; they sinned.  And the Lord cannot abide with sin.  It may seem a spectacular judgement, to consume them with fire, but in the context of the passage, is it really that outrageous?  We have already mentioned that God used fire to show approval of the sin, peace, guilt, and grain offerings just given.  Is it any more unreasonable to show disapproval in a similar manner?  It certainly caused people to stop and consider the consequences for being flippant or for disregarding the Lord's instructions.  I would certainly have thought twice, if I had been Aaron or one of his surviving sons, to be careful to follow the Lord's instructions in all matters.

A side note: this reminds me of a comment that one of my professors in Bible college made.  He noted once that when God is starting a "new phase" in His plan that it is often accompanied by some spectacular events.  The promise to Abraham: Abraham and Sarah give birth in the old age.  Bringing Israel out of Egypt as a great nation: the parting of the Red Sea, the manna from Heaven, the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire (the list can go on and on here).  The beginning of the sacrificial system: Nadab and Abihu being consumed by fire; Christ's advent, His ministry, His death and resurrection.  The miracles that accompanied the beginning of the church, and Ananias and Sapphira. What this means, I can't say that I'm the expert to tell you.  Maybe this is God's way of showing He's really at work here, I don't know.  But it is interesting to note.  (How's that for a LONG and committed post?)

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 11:1-47

Leviticus 8:1-36

Experiencing technical difficulties with Blogger, so I'll just note that I read this passage on the consecration of the priests.  Hopefully this will post with little difficulty.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 9:1-10:20

Leviticus 6:8-7:38

It seemed a bit harsh to me, at first, that if someone was unclean and ate of the sacrifices that they should be completely cut off from Israel (Lev. 7:19-20).  What if that person didn't have time to go through the whole ritual before being there at an appointed time?  What if something happened on the way?  I could think of a half dozen excuses why this might happen.  Was it necessary to completely shun them?

But then I began to think of the full implications of such actions.  God had commanded that no person who had touched uncleanness take part in the sacrifices.  Period.  Being clean before the Lord was a condition of sacrifice.  Everyone in Israel knew this.  So no matter what had happened prior to a sacrifice, one who had touched uncleanness had a perfectly good excuse to abstain, and no reason not to.  It struck me: this isn't really an issue of being ceremonially clean before the Lord, but a matter of the heart.  God wanted people to be clean before they came to Him; uncleanness and sin were the very things that separate us from God.  Making sure one was ritually and spiritually clean was a part of the preparations for sacrifice and worship before the Lord.  It was a matter of the heart being right.  Could you really say that someone who heedlessly went forward with sacrifice before being cleansed truly had a heart right before God?  If they were were completely ignoring His commandments?  I don't think so.  It was necessary to be ritually cleansed, not only to fulfill the Law, but to prepare the worshiper for worship.

How many of us do that today?  How many of us actually take a moment to cleanse and purge ourselves of our sins before standing up to sing in church?  Before partaking in communion?  Offering?  Listening to the sermon?  All of these are forms of worship.  All of these are part of the things we do in order to focus on God and to attribute to Him His worth.  Have we ever taken so seriously the preparation to meet our Lord in worship?  What would it look like if we did?  How many of us would need to step back from worship in order to deal with some things that needed to be cleansed from our lives, from our hearts?  And are we truly worshiping God if we allow sin to fester in our hearts, disregarding His command to be clean before Him?  This bears some serious thought, because while the answers seem obvious, they're not necessarily pat, are they?

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 8:1-36

Leviticus 5:14-6:7

This is a passage that actually gave me some difficulty last time: mostly because I couldn't see the difference between the sin offerings and the guilt offerings, at least on their condition of being offered.  It again boils down to, it would seem, unintentional sin.  After reading some commentaries, they point out specific differences, such as the guilt offering deals with the Lord's "holy things" (I would assume Tabernacle articles), the Lord's commands, breaches of faith between man and God, etc.  Also, you might notice that restitution was to be made in full to the injured party as well as an offering to absolve the guilt of the sinner.  The Teacher's Commentary pointed out one thing that I have been concerned about: as all of these offerings are for unintentional sins, sins even when maybe the sinner only suspects their guilt rather than knows if for sure, there is no provision for those who willfully sin. 

The question, then, is: if you have sinned intentionally and willfully, does that mean there is no forgiveness for you, no means to be made right?  I don't think Scripture supports that.  After all, there is the promise in 2 Chronicles that if God's people would humble themselves and pray and turn to Him, He would forgive them and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).  Rather, it seems that the sacrificial system was to be specifically used by those who have turned or softened to the Lord.  So, perhaps it was necessary for the sinner to be softened to the Lord, to desire repentance, and understand that it would not be an easy road to turning their life around that the sacrifices would fulfill their purpose.  But it definitely seems that there is no easy sacrifice for the person who sins and wants absolution so that they can go out and do more of the same.

Tomorrow's Reading: Leviticus 6:8-7:38

Leviticus 4:1-5:13

Ever played that game, "One of these things is not like the other"?  Did you notice which paragraph/passage it was here?  Tucked between paragraphs of "If X sins unintentionally, comes to know of it, and confesses his sin, then he shall offer..." there is a portion that actually gets a little more specific.  I was struck with that among any unintentional breaking of the law by priest, leader, congregation, or common person, there are instructions for uncleanness.  Why, might I ask, is that?  Why are instructions for becoming unclean by touching an animal carcass, human uncleanness (I particularly thought of bodily fluids and excrement here), and various ways to make oneself, well, unclean included among the offerings of unintentional sin?  It rather drives home the point that sin makes us unclean, doesn't it?  That is essentially what it does.  I still think of the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) explanation for sin: anything you think, say or do that does not please God.  Sin is anything that does not please God, and sin is what makes us unclean, unrighteous, unholy.  If you even break the smallest part of the Law, you are guilty of breaking the entirety of it.  That included touching foulness and carcasses and offal, etc., even if it was necessary.  After all, didn't the priests have to cleanse themselves after burning the carcasses of the offerings?  It seems like such a little and simple thing, but the gravity of it is real.  We are all unclean because of our sin.  Thankfully, Christ came to fulfill the Law: we are now made clean by His blood, not an animal's, and His cleansing is permanent.  Praise be to God!

Leviticus 3:1-17

This may seem very shallow, but I was struck by the commandment that the Israelites could not eat the fat of meat.  I knew they were not to eat blood, as it is the life of a creature (human or animal).  But I hadn't realized the fat (I know, I realize I know little about kosher Jewish food).  My main thought was, "Man, that sure takes the flavor and enjoyment out of eating meat!"  Yes, I'm a good gentile.  There is a spiritual lesson here, though, isn't it?  It's a good lesson on giving the best to the Lord.

I watch Food Network.  I'm a fanatic.  I know my palate is too narrow to be really considered a good foodie (as well as my budget too small) but I love and am fascinated by food, and wish I knew more about ingredients, especially quality ones.  I know from my education from said network that the fat is where the flavor is.  Want a good burger?  Have at least 80/20 fat ratio in your ground meat for juiciness.  I've learned these things.  Here, though, in Leviticus 3, all fat belongs to the Lord.  Not just the fat of the peace offering, though that does seem to be the main components of the peace offering, but all fat.  It says so in v.16: all fat is the Lord's.  Israelites are not to eat fat.  It boggles my mind a little (no wonder pork isn't kosher).  But here, you see that the best is given to the Lord, and going without any fat is a remind of it.  How good those peace offerings must have smelled when being offered to the Lord!  (Suddenly, how decadent lardo, an Italian dish of herb-cured fatback, seems!)  It would be a daily, thrice-daily!, lesson in remembering that God deserves and should have the best of anything we can give or want, as everything is from Him, all of our blessings, necessities, all from Him.  What a humbling lesson.  How hard might it have been to keep one's attitude in check on something like that and be glad to sacrifice the best flavor to please the Lord?

Side note: note that the peace offering could be a male or female animal offering.  The burnt offering in ch.1 could only be male.

Leviticus 1:1-2:16

I had a bit of a chat with the Lord before plunging into Leviticus again.  It went something like, "Ok, God, there's no way I am going to really understand Leviticus without your help; in fact, I may still be too thickheaded to really get it then.  But I want to know and understand Your Word, so I would greatly appreciate it if You'd sit by me and help me to at least glimpse into what You wanted us to know here."  I always encourage those that study the Bible with me to ask for the Lord's help and blessing before plunging in.  After all, He wrote it because He wanted to communicate things to us, right?  If we're willing to listen, He's willing to open His words for us.  This will be my constant prayer throughout Leviticus and through the rest of this Bible reading plan.  I have to say: I'm a little excited to be back.  A little intimidated to be sure, as I know I've already failed once, but I can't wait to read God's Word and hear the things there are for me to learn.

I have nothing really spectacular to say.  I still don't understand the why's and wherefore's like I wanted to the first time through.  But maybe it is not so important to know why you can't present a grain offering with honey or why you discard the crop of a bird in the ash heap, but that if you want to be right before the Holy God this is what is required of you.  If it really came down to it, if I was standing before the Holy God, not right and not covered by His forgiveness, would I really quibble about the why's when performing these actions is what came between getting zapped or not?  I'd hope not.  Wouldn't I much rather do what is required to please Him?  I should hope so!

One thing that did intrigue me and may require some further study is this idea of the covenant of salt in Leviticus 2:13.  I'd never noticed it before.  It's mentioned just two other places in the Bible (that my cross references show): Numbers 18:19, and 2 Chronicles 13:5.  Both talk about the offerings given to the Lord as a covenant of salt.  In Numbers, it says it is their due, and here in Leviticus it talks about their offerings should never lack salt as part of this covenant of salt.  Of course, there are lots of implications from salt: salt's ability to cleanse, to preserve; in the NT we are encouraged to not lose our saltiness just as we are encouraged to be lights in the world: our saltiness is our righteousness in the metaphor.  I need to do some digging to make sure that similar implications are here in this covenant of salt, but it seems likely, doesn't it?  I am intrigued.