Today's Reading
Leviticus today contains an instruction I can't understand, especially given Jesus' compassion for the sick, the hurting and the outcasts. It says, "In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God." The examples it gives are ones that bring me almost to tears. Does anyone have insight on this?
Mark: Moses and Elijah weren't just two of the most famous people in Israel's history. Moses represented The Law and Elijah The Prophets. The only Scripture they had in Jesus' day was our Old Testament and the Jewish religion was built on The Law and The Prophets. The Mount of Transfiguration was a statement that Jesus was the fulfillment of both The Law and The Prophets.
Psalms today declares God as "the source of all my joy." I am not sure I can always say that, but that's the way I want it to be.
Proverbs: perhaps it's better to open up and admit hatred than to hide it, but I would think that it should be in the form of confession and repentance.
I hope to hear from you today.
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Sean here. When the possessed boy is brought to Jesus, there are a series of questions asked to the father. Jesus is God and already knew the answers; therefore, the questions are provided by Jesus to make a point. I think in this situation, Jesus asks those questions because at the end the father admits he doesn't fully believe in Jesus when he states "if you can." Jesus then gives us the education that we must first believe for a miracle to happen in our lives. This is applicable today also. It's a simple requirement - we are to believe in Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI am confused about the passage in Leviticus today... "In all future generations, none of your descendants who has any defect will qualify to offer food to his God." Is God passing judgement and saying these people are not good enough in his eyes - perhaps by having a "defect" it is a form of sin so they are not worthy to offer food to God??? As a parent of a child with special needs I have always felt my daughter to have a pure heart and worthy of God and he would not deny her at any level. Perhaps I am being over sensitive?
ReplyDeleteMichelle, thank you SO much for asking these kinds of questions. I love your transparency and I grow every time I get to peek into the Bible through the eyes of a new/young believer.
ReplyDeleteFirst, notice (if you haven't) my first paragraph in today's introduction (above). Second, the restrictions applied to the priests who ministered in God's presence. Third, the restrictions were meant to be a picture of our human heart imperfections compared to God's holiness.
As time went along, many years later we are told that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. Many years after that, Jesus clearly said that it is what proceeds from our hearts that make us impure. However, these were ancient people and I don't think they were ready to fully understand yet what we now know.
In other words, your beautiful daughter is precious to God. He loves her as His own and she is a powerful picture of that love to others -- including me!
Concerning the "harshness" in Leviticus, I think it relates to something I just studied while getting ready to speak this weekend. The law shows us some of God's character. It definitely shows us God's Justice. He made us in his image and when we chose to sin instead of obey, God's Justice would demand that we die. Balance this with God's mercy. He loves us and wants us to become everything he designed us to be. So the jewish sacrificial system is a way to satisfy God's justice and accomplish his mercy.
ReplyDeleteTo satisfy God's justice every element involved in the sacrifice must be absolutely right. I think this points us to Jesus. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, and as such, able to pay the price for sin once and for all. All people can be right with God regardless of size, color, age, or physical condition. Not all people are capable of making us right with God. Only Jesus has that distinction. What I pull from the Leviticus passage is this: God is laying the groundwork for us to understand the incredible perfect standard that must be met in order for us to have our sins forgiven.
He is not rejecting those-with-a-defect as his people. He is saying that they do not fit some elements of the role of priest. To my mind it is similar to a casting agent looking for an actor that fits the description of the character given in the script (the reason that Danny Devito has yet to be cast as Abraham Lincoln).
Sorry about the length. Complicated question, complicated answer.
Tom