Today's Reading:

Leviticus 19
Leviticus 20
Leviticus 21
Leviticus 22

 
Imagine trying to live out Leviticus with no mixed fabrics, no rounded beard corners, priests cannot have crushed private areas , and definitely do not give the Lord an offering of a lame goat that was not your favorite. One wrong move and then you would be stoned by the community. God handed down the ultimate rule book to follow that felt incomprehensible and unfeasible to follow. That is where grace sneaks in, as these chapters are not saying “be perfect or else,” they are shouting at us that we absolutely fail miserably, but God will still be our God. Each impossible standard set pointed us to Jesus, our Savior, who is the spotless lamb and whispers to us, “No worries, I’ve got this for you.  Your polyester sins are forgiven.”  

 

 

We are again reminded to be holy because God is holy. We are reminded to keep the laws in order to set the Israelites apart from the pagan lifestyles of the surrounding nations. The first few are a reminder of the compassion in the 10 Commandments and are like an umbrella of laws that show respect for parents, the Sabbath, and keeping personal integrity and sacrifices properly (do not eat spoiled meat). It boils down to love others.   

In verse 19:9, the gleaning laws are told, which will come up again in the book of Ruth. It is another way that God cares for and provides for the widows and poor. If the farmer does not harvest every last morsel, then those who need food are provided for by doing a little work themselves, picking through the fields. It is like a modern welfare system. As with the wages and judging others fairly, do not prostitute your daughter, just show kindness and compassion, love your neighbor as yourself! Even Jesus was quoted as saying this (Matthew 22:39).  

Verse 19 was interesting as not to mix different breeds of animals, (although I do love my little Gidget who is a Yorkshire Terrier). We have a God who created perfect animals, there was no need to play God and create new breeds. Nowadays, God doesn't care about your fashion sense, so go ahead and mix wool with linen. For the priests, remember God had them put on the linen underwear, this was to keep everything holy. If you start to mix items, cloth, seeds , and so forth, then the lines get blurred over time, and that was what the pagans were doing.   

“Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves” (19:28) boils down to where the heart is. Such takes on this in today's culture- eating bacon is okay, but tattoos are taboo. God did not want the Israelites to mourn and mutilate themselves during funerals as part of the pagan culture did; believing that by doing so the spirits would then be able to pass, and the offering of the blood to the deities showed their devotion. Again, setting the Israelites apart was the reason behind the laws. All life is to be respected as sin will attach itself no matter if it is in worship, farming, business, family life, or relationships.   

Chapter 20 went into the repercussions for serious sins (mostly sexual or idolatrous)- death by stoning or God would have the people “cut you off” from the community, which would give the person the space and time to repent. Child sacrifice to the deity Molek was abominable by God, and if a community member allowed it to happen, then God would judge them just as harshly. The same went for those who consulted mediums/spirits, and the adulterer and adulteress, homosexuality, and other capital offenses, obey to not be vomited out. While it is easy to see these laws as humorous- mix fabrics- jail, eat shrimp- jail, overcook a piece of offering- jail, but they address the sins that defiled the land and the community. The death penalty shows that breaking a covenant with God was serious, and eventually, we will all face the ultimate judgment.  

 The regulations for the priests were at an even higher standard. It represented how close God was to them, dwelling in the tabernacle. Priests were to avoid corpse defilement, no mourning, and may only marry a virgin. Any priest with a physical defect (blind, lame, hunchbacked, eye defect, sores, damaged testicles, etc.) was not allowed to offer sacrifices or be in the holy place. Jesus was the unblemished sacrifice, and it represents defects as imperfections of which God required wholeness in His holiness. Those with an imperfection could still eat the priest's food, just not serve at the altar. Chapter 22 continued with more about the priests and the acceptable offerings. Do not give God the seconds or leftovers.   

Today's Discussion question: 

If we had to enforce just one of the holiness rules from today’s reading to live by (mixing fabrics, trimming your beard style, blemished sacrifices, honest scales, etc.) which would you pick- and would you rather be the law enforcer or the rebel that broke the rule. Let us know!

 
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