I write this sometime around now every year, this stretch of passages is one of the reasons I write this blog. If I did not write this blog I would get bogged down reading these and start skimming over the passages, or even skipping days. While I cannot ind anything in this passage today which builds my faith, I still think there is value in reading this passage regularly (in my case, once a year). One of the reasons it is important to read these passages regularly is that people with anti-Christian, or anti-Judaism, biases will often misrepresent what is written here. If we read them regularly we will recognize when someone is doing that.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 13.
Now that we have modern medicine and a scientific understanding of how mold and mildew spread, is there anything we have to learn from today’s passage? I will answer that with a definite “Yes.” The passage lays out a definite and deliberate approach to deciding what actions to take when someone or something appears infected. This passage reminds us not to rush to judgement. Instead, examine the facts and patiently wait to see how things develop. If there is a risk of things escalating, isolate in a reversible manner until the situation becomes clear one way or the other.
Yesterday I wrote that a process of dedication like the ordination which Aaron and his sons went through can make people more determined to do things the right way. Today’s passage starts off by demonstrating that it does not always do so. Despite going through the somber, serious process of ordination decided that they could take a shortcut to the proper procedures. So, a dedication/ordination service does not in and of itself prepare us to do the Lord’s work. We still need to put in effort to get things right.
The passage goes on to describe what animals the Israelites were allowed to eat. While Christians do not follow these dietary laws, we have recently been reminded why it is a bad idea to eat anything you can lay your hands upon by the outbreak of the coranavirus from Wuhan, China. While there are other theories about the origins of this infectious agent, currently the most likely theory is that it jumped from one of the animal species sold for food in the markets of Wuhan, markets which are known for selling as food animals no one outside of Asia, and few outside of China, would consider eating. A similar thing happened in 2002 from a different part of China. The rules laid out in this passage provide an easy to remember set of rules which limit your diet to things which have little to no risk of making you sick.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 8-9.
The process which Moses went through with Aaron and each of his sons must have really made them feel called out from the ordinary. Reading it makes me realize that we should have such ceremonies for people in our Churches more often. Not this elaborate, but designed to make them feel the support of the people and dedicated to serving God. Such an acknowledgement in front of others can make us more determined to do things the right way and to help others serve God.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 5-7.
In the New Testament, Paul writes that if you think it is sinful to some specific thing, than you commit a sin when you do that particular thing. This has led some people to the conclusion that if you do not think a particular act is a sin, for you that act is not a sin. Today’s passage makes very clear that you can sin without realizing that you are doing so. A careful reading of what Paul writes on the subject reveals that there are things which are not sinful to do in and of themselves. However, they may be sinful to do if we think of them as sinful. Or, if we them in front of someone who thinks of them as sinful, who then does them because they saw us do them. That latter sin does not require that we know the person thinks that the action is a sin.
As an example of how this works. I have some friends who often tell self-deprecating jokes about themselves in order to make people laugh, and often intentionally set themselves up as the straight man for a joke told by others. If someone took advantage of one of these set ups in order to make them look bad, it would fail because the butt of the joke, and those around them, knew the whole thing was just to get a laugh. However, the person who tried to make them look bad would still be guilty of trying to bring harm to them by besmirching their reputation. On the other hand, if someone set themselves up to be the butt of a joke, I took advantage of that opportunity, and that person felt denigrated by what I said, I would be guilty of hurting their feelings, even if I only meant to make them laugh. or, to put it another way. If I intend to do harm, I am guilty of doing wrong even if I fail to do harm, but I am also wrong if I do harm, but did not intend to do so.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 1-4.
Today moves on to a description of the various sacrifices which the Israelites were required to make. I found two things in this worth taking note of. First, the passage makes a connection between the use of blood and fat in the various animal offerings and God prohibiting the Israelites from eating either. I am not sure of the significance of this for us today, but there it is. Second, the Israelites were only to offer animals without defect. Here the significance is clear. We should only bring our best to God, whether that is the material goods we offer, or the effort we put into doing His will. It should not be an after though, or done carelessly.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 39-40.
Today’s passage describes the making of the outfits worn by the priests in detail. Once again, earlier we saw the description of the design God had given Moses for these, now we have the description of how they were actually made. Sometimes I wish I had enough knowledge of sewing to see if I could duplicate these (without the carved gemstones). Additionally, I would like to see two completely different people attempt to duplicate these from these instructions to see how different (or not different) they turned out. Once the writer is done describing how the Tabernacle and the priestly garments were made, he describes the process of setting up the Tabernacle for the first time. A casual reading of the passage would lead one to believe that Moses put the pieces of the Tabernacle together by himself. However, several of the items would have been extremely difficult for one person to do and a few seem impossible.
Having written all of that, this passage conveys the value of ritual and careful attention to detail in worship. They are not always necessary, but they sometimes help us get into the right frame of mind to worship God properly.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 36-38.
I wrote a couple of days ago that I struggled with what to write about the passage where it described the plans God gave the Israelites for the Tabernacle. I have a similar problem with today’s description of how the Tabernacle was constructed. Initially, today’s passage felt like it was merely a rehash of the previous, with a few more details thrown in. However, there are some differences. The passage describing the plans gives an idea of what the Tabernacle, and its accoutrements , would have looked like. Today’s passage actually describes details necessary to make the parts actually functional. Or, to put that another way, the previous passage would have allowed you to make a model of the Tabernacle, while today’s passage would allow you to produce a working replica.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 33-35.
In this passage it refers to Moses going out to the Tent of Meeting then a little later mentions Moses telling people to bring offerings for building the Tabernacle. Yet later in the Bible the Tabernacle is referred to as the Tent of Meeting. So, what does this mean? Well, the Tabernacle was overseen by the priests, but this Tent of Meeting appears to have been Moses’ special province. My reading suggests that the Tent of Meeting referred to here was a tent which Moses set up outside the camp to go to to speak with God. Later, the Tabernacle took over that purpose, once it was completed. Now I find it interesting that Moses went back and forth from the Tent of Meeting and the camp, but Joshua appears to have lived there. It appears to me that Joshua spending all of his time in the Tent of Meeting served two purposes. First, since the Tent of Meeting was outside the camp someone needed to be there to take care of the tent and ensure that it was secured against weather. That was Joshua’s job. Second, and more important, Joshua was training to become Moses’ successor. He needed to spend time there studying and learning to do God’s will. By maintaining a separation from the rest of the camp, Joshua was able to develop his skills without the distractions of the camp.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 30-32.
There are a couple of points in the account about the Israelites and the gold calf which Aaron made for them which I don’t think I have ever seen anyone discuss. A casual reading of the passage leads one to believe that all of the Israelites were involved in worshiping the gold calf, but a closer reading suggests otherwise. The first hint that not all of the Israelites comes when Moses calls for people to join him and side with the Lord. Now, if all of the people were taking part in the celebratory worship of the calf, why would Moses expect anyone to join him? More importantly, after the Levites joined him, he told them to go through the camp and kill everyone, yet they only killed around 3,000. Does that mean that only 3,000 of the Israelites were worshiping the golden calf? No, probably not.
It reads to me like a group of malcontents became convinced that everyone was looking for an alternative now that Moses had been gone for over a month, but in fact only a small portion of the population had given his extended absence any thought. When Aaron declared the celebration many of those who were part of the original group and many others joined the celebration, but when Moses called for people to join him a lot of those sobered up and moved away from the celebration. The 3,000 killed represents those who chose to oppose Moses reasserting his authority over the Israelites. Another point worth examining is that the passage says that all of the Levites sided with Moses. Yet, after the battle to re-establish Moses’ control, Moses told them that some of them had killed their own sons and brothers. That tells me that either some members of the tribe of Levi did not side with Moses, or the “Levites” mentioned here were not necessarily members of the tribe of Levi, instead being those who sided with Moses whether they were descendants of Levi or not.
Now that I have said all of that, what does this mean for us? It tells us that it does not take a large number of people to start a larger group down the wrong path and, more importantly, it only takes a small number of people willing to stand up to them to get people to come to their senses. It may seem like everyone is doing wrong, like their is no point in standing up for what is right. But, you will usually find that if you stand up and say, “Wait, that is wrong,” more people will side with what is right than you expect…and fewer people will stand with the wrong than you thought.
