Leviticus 16-18:No worldly imitations

This is a brief post…I am at my mom’s house preparing for a trip tomorrow to see my grandmother. She is recovering well from her surgery!! After 400 years of slavery in a foreign land, the Israelites apparently picked up many bad habits, including worshiping other gods and participating in deviant sexual behavior. The inhabitants of Caanan also had behavior that was detestable to the Lord. So there was a period of cleansing to teach the Israelites what was wrong and what was right. Above all, the lesson is this: be separate. Don’t conform to the behavior of those around … Continue reading Leviticus 16-18:No worldly imitations

Leviticus 14-16:Continued provision

I didn’t realize that the Lord provided instructions for mold and mildew remediation in houses!  I worked at a school a long time ago whose outer walls were contaminated with black mold — the very bad stuff.  It oozed out of walls when we tacked anything up on them and made the whole classroom smell moldy.  The district had to hire a firm to come in and remove the walls that were contaminated — very similar to what the priests had to do when the people’s homes were overrun with mold and mildew….only without the spacesuits and plastic bubble. Short … Continue reading Leviticus 14-16:Continued provision

Leviticus 11-13:The Untouchables

Skin diseases must have been a challenge for the Hebrews living out in the desert. I can’t help but feel pity for those who were forced to stay outside the camp, ostracized and forced to declare themselves “unclean” any time anyone approached them. One of my favorites stories of Jesus is how he went up to the lepers, touched them in their uncleanness, and then healed them. The bleeding after pregnancy and during menstrual cycles also made women ceremonially unclean. That’s not such a bad idea! I get so cranky and tired, and lately I’ve been in so much pain, … Continue reading Leviticus 11-13:The Untouchables

Leviticus 8-10:Ultimate consequences

Poor Aaron.  My heart broke for him as I read about his family’s first official duties as priests.  Two of his sons got it wrong…they went their own way and burned the incense differently than the way in which the Lord had commanded, with tragic results.  The Bible says that fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned those sons to their deaths. I had a long post about the possibility of the reasons behind this explosion…that perhaps they put in the incense in the incorrect order, rendering them extremely flammable.  But then in looking at other translations I … Continue reading Leviticus 8-10:Ultimate consequences

Leviticus 5-7:A Way Out

God’s law is not unfair.  He is just, and this aspect of his character is evident throughout these chapters. His law makes provisions for those who are poor so that they, too, can become right with God. In sin offerings, for example, the people are told they must present a female sheep or goat, which is the sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord. But then he goes on to command that those who cannot afford a sheep or a goat may bring two turtledoves or two pigeons.  Again, … Continue reading Leviticus 5-7:A Way Out