Eat This - Not That!

I love this project of reading through the Bible! I’ve studied the Bible through, but I confess that this is my first time to begin with Genesis and read through to Revelation. Leviticus may be the very reason I’ve never made it through!

All these laws and rules make my head swim! Aren’t 10 Commandments enough? Don’t drink blood—what to do about skin fungus (or house fungus)—what to do if a wall lizard falls into the cooking pot—who checks out a sore spot on a bald head—Fire Gift vs. Grain Offering—what happens if a man has sex with his aunt—Day of Atonement and Year of Jubilee—cloven hoof as opposed to split hoof on the dinner table. (How exactly did I get so lucky as to draw blog duty this week?)

Here are my personal observations on why all this must be necessary:

First, the children of Israel are no longer wandering in the wilderness. They have survived and they are home. This fledgling nation of Israel, this little band of travelers must now learn how to settle down and live together as God’s chosen people. All of these laws are God’s answers to the question, "What do we do now?"

These people are not just any people, they are people in covenant with Yahweh, the one true God, and as such, they are to be different. They are not to act like others, so they will have different rules. It’s as if God is saying, "You are my children, and in my house we will act THIS way."

Many of these Levitical laws—dietary, medical, sexual, natural, and covenantal—are common sense ways for a neophyte nation to stay healthy and "grow big and strong." Don’t eat pig. (It’s full of worms and too hard to cook. It’ll make you sick and you’ll die.) Have those sores looked at. Don’t act in ways that denigrate our purpose! Remember who we are! We are becoming God’s holy nation.

Hang in there—the story will return! - Steve Winter, executive pastor