God seems a bit harsh: “Obey me or else” (my paraphrase). But God is not a “my way or the highway,” tyrannical slave driver. Actually, God seems rather soft in chapter 26. Instead of the whole set of 700-something biblical commands, we find just three here. Don’t make or set up stuff to worship. Keep [...]
Archive for the ‘Leviticus’ Category
Day 41: Leviticus 26-27
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged blessings, curses, God, idolatry, rest, Sabbath, worship on October 12, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Day 39: Leviticus 22-23
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged communion, Eucharist, festivals, JD Morris, Lord's Supper, remember on October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
JD Morris blogged some reflections on Genesis and Exodus today. “Anytime God would do something for the Israelites, he would have them pick a special way to mark the event so that they would never forget.” “It seems to me that God finds it very important for us to mark special occurrences in our life [...]
Day 38: Leviticus 19-21
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged God, holiness, holy, sacred, sanctification, sanctified on October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2 NIV). To be holy is to be set apart (for a special or divine purpose). The laws of Leviticus, as we have seen, are more than oppressive rules. They empower people to live out a special and meaningful identity as God’s community, distinct [...]
Day 37: Leviticus 16-18
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, Sexuality, tagged God, human dignity, sex, sexual purity, Sexuality, speech on October 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I heard that a guest speaker visited my college before I enrolled there. He began his chapel speech by shouting, “SEX!” He captured his listeners’ attention but lost it as soon as they learned that the rest of his speech had nothing to do with the word! Leviticus 18 says a lot about sexuality, but [...]
Day 36: Leviticus 14-15
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged Hospitality, offering, Poverty on October 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
These book of ancient Israelite laws frequently require people to take animals to the priests as offerings, and they often make special allowances for people who can’t afford the preferred sacrifices. We find such an allowance in Leviticus 14. People recovering from skin diseases are to take three lambs and some flour and oil to [...]
Day 35: Leviticus 11-13
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged Bible, cleanliness, Leviticus, life, Promised Land, purity on October 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
People who attempt to read straight through the Bible often stall in Leviticus. The lists of ancient rules about endless details can cause us to question the worthiness of what we’re doing. But chapters 11, 12, and 13 provide more than ancient policy details. They show us the importance of purity. The people have escaped [...]
Day 34: Leviticus 8-10
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged Central Church of Christ, Leviticus, ministry, ordination, priesthood, Spartanburg on October 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Central Church of Christ in Spartanburg, South Carolina, commissioned me for ministry leadership on Sunday morning, June 3, 2007. The elders prayed over me and presented me with challenges and blessings. I’m glad they didn’t sacrifice animals as we see in the ordination practice of Leviticus 8, and they didn’t have to tell me not [...]
Day 33: Leviticus 5-7
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged justice, Leviticus, Paul Metzger, speak up, testify on October 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
According Leviticus 5:1, ancient Israelites sinned if they knew about a situation but didn’t say anything when there was an opportunity to testify. Now we mustn’t get too carried away with this. God does not expect us to call the police every time we see others (or ourselves!) speeding or crossing a solid line on [...]
Day 32: Leviticus 1-4
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leviticus, tagged giving, God, Leviticus, offering, pleasing aroma on October 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This reading describes four offerings, identifying each as an aroma that pleases the Lord. Leviticus intimidates potential readers today. The book’s words and the contexts into which those words first spoke are foreign to twenty-first-century Christians, at least in my culture. We don’t kill and burn animals in worship, and we tend to prefer our [...]
