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

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

I’ve reached that point in a bad cold where my nose feels better, but my throat is itchy and on the verge of a cough. Yet this yucky feeling is a mere scratch compared to what Job experienced in the deep valley of his life. Despite the fact that his “friends” kept telling him that he must have been wicked indeed to deserve all the calamity, Job takes comfort from the fact that God still lives. From chapter 18: “Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life— and eventually he’ll take his stand on earth. … Continue reading Job 18-20: Knowing that God lives