Adam
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Posts by Adam
Bible in a Year – Day 35: Don’t Touch!
Feb 4th
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 11, 12 & 13
A long time ago, God made a promise to Abraham that he would make his descendants as numerous as the grains of sand and that they would be a great nation. From that point on, God made conditions favorable for the people of Israel to prosper and grow in number – even while they were in slavery in Egypt, they grew as a people. And so it’s through that lens that we take a look at some of these Levitical instructions – specifically those involving things like food and disease.
For a lot of us, the idea of clean and unclean foods is pretty foreign. Or, even if we have some understanding of the concept, it just seems like unnecessary regulation – something that was put in place to make people jump through hoops. And, in fact, by the time Jesus came to earth in the first century, the enforcement of these regulations had reached a point where Jesus felt a need to confront those who were policing the food consumption of the people. However, the regulations as presented in Leviticus actually make a whole lot of sense – especially, as I said before, when we view these instructions through the lens of a God trying to protect (and grow in number) his chosen people.
We have to realize that without these rules in place – rules given directly from God – that countless numbers of people would have died from eating rotting meat, meat that was contaminated through the diet of the animal or meat that was not properly prepared. Others would have died from shellfish allergies. Others would have died from eating poisonous creatures that looked harmless to the naked eye. They didn’t have the science to tell them why not to eat these foods. But they did have a loving Father who, through some very strict regulations, protected them from their own ignorance.
Likewise, all of these instructions about skin disease and spreading mold protected people from spreading disease and infection to each other. For a modern day comparison, think of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. This is a disease that is only spread a couple of ways – primarily those in which there is a transfer of blood from the infected person to the uninfected person. And so, if God was writing Levitical law to reflect this reality, it might say something like “If one has sunken eyes and becomes easily ill, that person is to be considered unclean. Anyone who has intercourse with or exchanges bodily fluids in another way with the unclean person is to be considered unclean. Therefore, refrain from exchanging bodily fluids with these people.”
Now, obviously, this little statement doesn’t fully explain HIV/AIDS, but if followed, these simple instructions would greatly reduce the instances of HIV/AIDS in that community. The same was true in ancient Israel. For those people, they had no grid or knowledge to understand communicable diseases or bacteria. What they did have the capacity for was, “Eating this is bad (or wrong) and the price might be death.” Simple and effective. Through regulations like these, God would grow a mighty nation that not only had a lot of people, but a nation full of healthy people. And healthy people can work at a trade and be financially sound. They can form healthy armies that have the upper hand over their enemies. They can pass on healthy habits to their kids. And, ultimately, they can become more like the people that God intended them to be. These regulations, then, aren’t just rules. They are the instructions of a loving and infinitely wise Father. And those kind of instructions, whether we like them or not, are the kind that will save us from our own ignorance.
Bible in a Year – Day 34: Black, White and Smudgy
Feb 3rd
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 8, 9 & 10
Woah! Something just happened here. In the midst of God creating structure for the worship and lives of his people, Leviticus 8-10 presents us with three stories – the first two offer a simple, easily-understandable view of God. Then the third story comes along and completely rips up our notions of a black and white God.
First, we read about the ordination of Aaron and his sons. This is an incredibly detailed ritual – the instructions for which were given directly from God to Moses. And I think we should note that this was a long time coming. Aaron and his sons had been anticipating (and, perhaps at times, dreading) this day for quite some time. Now the day was here and they followed the ordination process to the letter and began their ministry. And what happened when they had done everything that they were supposed to?
“Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.” (Leviticus 9:23-24)
That’s pretty cool! The people did exactly what God told them to do, he did exactly what he said he was going to do and everything was great.
Then there’s the second story – the story of Nadab and Abihu. Now, this little episode stands in stark contrast to the first story. I think it’s important to remember that these two guys were part of the “Aaron and his sons” crew that went through the ordination process and followed everything to the letter. They weren’t rebels or bad guys. However, in Leviticus 10, we see that they strayed from their instructed duties. Now, the Bible isn’t clear about the motives of Nadab and Abihu or why exactly they offered this “unauthorized fire.” It doesn’t even really tell us whether they knew it was unauthorized fire. After all, they were new on the job. And yet, when they did something contrary to God’s instructions, they paid the ultimate price. What’s up with that?
There are a few quick take-aways here. It’s easy to see that God takes his commands pretty seriously (this, of course, served as a good reminder of that fact). It could also be said that his standard of purity was higher for these priests than for other people. This is an idea that seems to be fleshed out a little in the New Testament. And (this is of particular interest to me and I’ll probably expound upon it at a later date) this is an indication that God simply doesn’t have the same perspective on life that we do. He used these guys an example. Will they burn in eternal torment because they used “unauthorized fire” in the tabernacle? I’m not the judge, but I somehow doubt it. In fact, their death might have actually resulted in a substantial reward for them in an instant.
What I mean is this: While we may think the deaths of these two priests occurred to “teach them a lesson,” they really learned no such lesson. After all, they were dead. Everybody else learned a lesson! Was it fair of God to kill two people to teach a lesson? Sure, if you have God’s perspective of life and death. If you see human life as merely a brief chapter in a massive story about an individual’s spirit and about the entirety of God’s creation.
Either way, the moral of this second story was this: Do something that God doesn’t want you to do and you’re going to pay the price. Again, this enforced the concept of a black and white God. Follow instructions, get rewarded. Fail to follow instructions, get punished. But then look what happens:
When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord. Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”
Aaron replied to Moses, “Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?” When Moses heard this, he was satisfied. (Leviticus 10:16-20)
Again, two of Aaron’s sons do something that contradicts the commands of the Lord. And yet, this time, not only are they not killed, but Scripture tells us that Moses, God’s appointed judge of the people of Israel, “was satisfied.” What we he satisfied with? He was satisfied with Aaron’s reasoning for why his sons didn’t eat the sacrificed goat. And so, even though these two men violated God’s command, the weren’t killed by God and they weren’t even punished by Moses.
So what is up here? Well, I think there’s a lot going on here, not the least of which is a presentation, right at the outset of this new religious order, that God is not as black and white as we try to make him. It’s subtle, but this story seems to point out what Jesus would later verbalize. It basically shows us that God’s created order and his laws are actually made for our benefit and that, in fact, there may be times when it’s OK to violate the letter of the law and, instead, obey the spirit of the law. In fact, God has no need to be black and white about following “policy and procedure” because he is a perfect judge. If he says it’s OK, it’s OK – even if it’s not “by the book.”
And so begins this mystery and tension of following the law, what the punishment for sin is and a lasting argument about what, if any, exceptions exist. Now things are starting to get fun!
Bible in a Year – Day 33: Sin Equation
Feb 2nd
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 5, 6 & 7
At first glance, today’s reading might fall into the “more of the same” category and we have to resist them temptation to simply skim through these chapters. For me, it is important to read every word, because if it’s in the book, it has a purpose for being there. And so, I read through these chapters wondering what was there that we didn’t already cover yesterday. Then it hit me. This was the beginning of God’s crazy plan to save us from ourselves. It doesn’t really look like it from this vantage point, but just wait! Let’s look at the Levitical equation as most people understand it:
Sin Committed + Required Sacrifice = God’s Forgiveness
That makes sense based on the text, but as a New Testament follower of Jesus, I would view the equation more like this:
Sin Committed + Required Sacrifice + God’s Forgiveness = Life + God’s Blessing
What in the world am I talking about? Well, I know that the Bible tells us that the “wages of sin is death.” Presumably, anyone able to offer a sacrifice is not dead and, therefore, have not paid the “wages” for their actions. They took out a spiritual payday loan on their life. And so, the sacrifice required is not actually the pricetag for their sins – that pricetag is much higher. Instead, when we sin, God offers forgiveness. And when that forgiveness is added to the “sin” side of the equation, the result is that we have life and blessing, or as the Scripture says, “life…more abundantly.” In fact, through God’s infinite grace, even the price he asked as a sacrifice for our sins was given to us by him. Just as in the story of Abraham and Isaac, God provided the sacrifice for the people of Israel and he provides it for us today. In addition, he tends to restore to us even more than the price that we paid in the first place.
So, what was God up to here? Did he change his mind about the cost of sin, or is there some other explanation? Well, in the pre-Jesus world of Israel, the understanding of sin, sacrifice and forgiveness (or atonement) would perhaps be more like that first equation, but remember, the Old Testament points to the New Testament – it foreshadows (and sometimes directly predicts) the future. And so, I believe that the second equation represents what God was doing all along. The second equation has always been God’s plan, even if his people didn’t know it.
Think of it this way: Imagine that I agree to sell you a car. I look up the Blue Book value of the car and give you a price of, say, $15,000. That is the price, the value, the worth of the car. And so I tell you that I will sell you that car for $15,000, but that if you’ll give me $150 now, you can take the car and use it and we’ll settle up the rest of the payment later. Your assumption, then, would be that you will have to, at some later date, pay me the rest of the price for the car. Now, let’s say that a few weeks later, you see me and say, “Hey, how do you want to work out the payment for this car? Can we do some kind of payment plan?” And I say, “You know what, don’t worry about it right now. I’ve still got the $150 you gave me earlier. We’ll just work it out later.”
Now, let’s imagine that it’s a few months later and I still haven’t required any real payment for the car. You see me again and, knowing that you owe me $14,850, you try to avoid me. But I make the effort and walk over to you, call out your name and begin a conversation. And as we talk, I say, “Hey, I’ve got a lot of things I want to chat with you about, but first, I wanted to let you know that you don’t owe me anything for the car.” Of course, you would be flabbergasted! What had changed my mind?
Well, the truth is that nothing changed my mind. I actually always intended on giving you the car. The only reason I gave you a price in the first place was so that you would understand that what you were receiving was of value. The only reason I asked for the $150 was because I knew that if I told you I was giving you the car, you would never accept it. In other words, your accepted paradigm was that of a financial transaction, so I created one for you. I didn’t need the $150. As a matter of fact, I had already returned the $150 to you multiple times over in ways that you simply didn’t notice. Are you getting the picture?
In this example, my motives never changed and my plan never changed – only your perception changed. And so I think it is with the people of Israel (and with us). That is why reading the Bible in it’s entirety is so critically important! What we read here in Leviticus about all these sacrifices is just the beginning of the story. God is giving us the Blue Book value of our sins and asking for a little down payment – one that, like the $150 for the $15,000 car, pails in comparison to the actual price. It’s not the whole story. It’s just one chapter.
In that case, I guess we’ll have to keep reading…
Bible in a Year – Day 32: High Price, Huge Gift
Feb 1st
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 1, 2, 3 & 4
Ah, Leviticus! The word alone strikes fear into the hearts of even die-hard seminary students. For most “casual” readers of the Bible, the word translates roughly in English to “don’t bother reading this.” And yet, in my commitment to read through (and blog about) the entire Bible, this collection of incredibly detailed laws cannot be ignored. And so, off we go!
It’s as though the creator of our Canonical reading plan wanted to have a little laugh at our expense. Not only do we get to start reading Leviticus today, but we get four chapters of it! However, in these four chapters, there’s basically one theme: When you sin against God, there is a price to be paid. And, in fact, that price will be those things that are the most valuable to you – the best of your flocks, herds and harvest. If not that, perhaps even your life.
You see, part of the reason that people tend to stay away from the book of Leviticus is that there is so much detail about ritual that we don’t really think applies to us anymore. God doesn’t require us to make ritualistic sacrifices in the post-resurrection era and therefore, none of this stuff really applies to us, right? If that’s our attitude, I’m afraid we will really miss out on the vibrancy of this book. Sure, there are a lot of details in here – prescriptions to follow – that don’t directly relate to how we interact with God today. But the principles set forth in the book of Leviticus are like the fundamental laws of physics or mathematics. They are the building blocks for our society. They are the starting point for all of humanity in our interaction with God.
What we find as we begin to read this book is that God sets an incredibly high standard for his people. He also knows that they will not meet this standard. And so, out of compassion, he gives them ways to, essentially, say they are sorry. Sure, what he requires is pretty elaborate and immense. But we have to remember that this God who can see the past, present and future knew that he was not only setting a high standard and high cost for his people, but that, ultimately, he was setting a high cost for himself.
You have to wonder why God, knowing that he would have to bail us out, would set such a high price for us. I mean, he’s the God of all creation. He could have just said, “If you sin against me, you’re going to have to say you’re sorry.” Then, when Jesus came, he could have just been really sorry and everything would be taken care of. But, in fact, God required a sacrifice. Therefore, Jesus would have to be the ultimate sacrifice – to be really sacrificed.
Again, you have to think that this was all for our benefit. Some would disagree with me and say that God doesn’t do things for anyone’s benefit but his own. Really? Then why in the world did he create us? We’ve caused him nothing but headaches and heartache. He already had angels to worship him. Did he really need us? But I digress…
The fact of the matter is that God, in his infinite wisdom, was making another statement about our worth and the worth of our relationship. He was saying, “This is really valuable. You are really valuable.” As a leader, I often tell the people I am leading that the reason I set the bar high for them is because I value them and their commitment and, thus, don’t want anyone else to wander lazily into the same role for which they have labored so intensely. God tells us that our relationship with him is valuable and he wants to make sure that we know that he’s not interested in having the kind of relationship that isn’t seen as the most valuable thing in our lives.
For God, the high price of disobedience directly translates into the incredibly high value of grace and forgiveness. You can’t have one without the other. And so, the God who sees and knows all things set things up in a way that he could give us an extravagant gift – one that we can’t afford, that we don’t deserve and that we can’t ever repay.
Bible in a Year – Day 31: God’s Traffic Light
Jan 31st
Today’s Reading: Exodus 39 & 40
A place for God to dwell. Why did he need one? Why all the effort to construct this ornate structure for a God who dwells in all creation? You have to believe, as I eluded to before, that this was actually not for the benefit of God, but for the benefit of the people. We are given a hint at this purpose at the very end of chapter 40:
“In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted.”
It was like a big spiritual traffic light! Cloud means stop and no cloud means go. And by having this specific building to look to in order to receive this “stay or go” direction, the people of Israel had a clear directive. Combine this idea with the previous idea of having some kind of ornate physical representation of God (or, in this case, where God was) and we begin to see the incredible willingness of God to reach out to his people at their level of spiritual maturity.
He didn’t need to come in a cloud, because he was already there. He didn’t need a house, because he dwells everywhere. It is possible, but not necessary, for God to take on some kind of physical form. And so, the only reason that he would do that is for the benefit of those of us who are physical beings and have a very limited understanding of non-physical or metaphysical. And so, this entire tabernacle was not built for God, but was built as a way for the people to better understand and interact with their God. It’s an incredible example of culturally relevant ministry as demonstrated by the God of the universe.
