Leviticus 18

28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Seems like around the world no matter the country there is a lack of sexual purity whether it be sex out of weddlock or gay relations, this chapter is pretty relevent right now. There also seems to be growing cultural unrest and turmoil at least here in the US, but I suspect elsewhere too as you listen to the news. I think the devil has found his strongest foothold in sex and he is very effectively using it against humanity to drive a wedge between us and God. Its interesting how society has turned Christians into the villian on this topic. I think we have to stick to our principles and teach our kids God's direction for us which includes hating the sin but loving the sinner. knut

Leviticus 17

11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.[c] Before Jesus, God gave us animals and it was there blood that was necessary to make atonement or reconcile people's lives. So it is constant that we needed bloodshed for our lives to be saved and Jesus has now fulfills that need for us. Thanks to the Lamb of God I am saved. knut

Leviticus 16

30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. Pheeew, again another long list of procedures and blood shed to ensure atonement of the sins of Israel. I am thankful for Jesus and his atonement of my sins. Simple procedure believe and ask him into my heart and ask for forgiveness. knut

Leviticus 14-15

more descriptions of uncleanliness and how to make clean. I don't know if these were practical rules God provide to help keep Gods people healthy or maybe to be a reminder of the fact that God is Holy and to be close to him you should need to be as clean and holy as possible? Its difficult for me to find value in all the details, so maybe there is a real practicality of practicing these rules back in the day when keeping clean would be far more difficult than in todays modern world. Wiki provides an outline for Leviticus that is helpful for me to step up to a higher level and look at how the book is constructed. I. Laws on sacrifice (1:1–7:38) A. Instructions for the laity on bringing offerings (1:1–6:7) 1–5. The types of offering: burnt, cereal, peace, purification, reparation (or sin) offerings (ch. 1–5) B. Instructions for the priests (6:1–7:38) 1–6. The various offerings, with the addition of the priests' cereal offering (6:1–7:36)7. Summary (7:37–38) II. Institution of the priesthood (8:1–10:20) A. Ordination of Aaron and his sons (ch. 8) B. Aaron makes the first sacrifices (ch. 9) C. Judgement on Nadab and Abihu (ch. 10) III. Uncleanliness and its treatment (11:1–16:24) A. Unclean animals (ch. 11) C. Unclean diseases (ch. 13) D. Cleansing of diseases (ch. 14) E. Unclean discharges (ch. 15) F. Purification of the tabernacle from uncleanliness (ch. 16) IV. Prescriptions for practical holiness (the Holiness Code (chs. 17–26) A. Sacrifice and food (ch. 17) B. Sexual behaviour (ch. 18) C. Neighbourliness (ch.19) D. Grave crimes (ch. 20) E. Rules for priests (ch. 21) F. Rules for eating sacrifices (ch. 22) G. Festivals (ch.23) H. Rules for the tabernacle (ch. 24:1–9) I. Blasphemy (ch. 24:10–23) J. Sabbatical and Jubilee years (ch. 25) K. Exhortation to obey the law: blessing and curse (ch. 26) V. Redemption of votive gifts (ch. 27) have a great weekend! knut

Leviticus 13

46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp. Well I'm no Tom Vander Well but reading his post yesterday prompted me to think about Jesus healing a man with leprosy. That must have been even more impactful to witness than I was thinking. People would surely know the people that had been designated to live alone and had probably witnessed first hand many who lived and died alone. So to see a man come and make them Clean again must have been an even more powerful sight than I can imagine. Not only can he make us physically clean but he is the only one who can make our souls clean again. knut

Leviticus 12

I got nothing...but read Tom's post and really liked it. I want to develop that depth of knowledge to make these kinds of connections. his last line hits the mark, below is his post--- “If she can’t afford a lamb, she can bring two doves or two pigeons, one for the Whole-Burnt-Offering and one for the Absolution-Offering. The priest will make atonement for her and she will be clean.” Leviticus 12:8 (MSG) One of the reasons I’ve always encouraged fellow followers to read through the Old Testament is that it provides layers of new understanding to familiar passages in the New Testament. Take the verse above, for example. Now compare that with Luke 2:22-24: When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” Now we get a deeper picture of Mary and Joseph, who were dedicated followers of the Law and held to the rituals prescribed in Leviticus chapter 12. We also learn that Jesus’ family was of limited means because they sacrificed the doves or pigeons rather than the lamb. This, in turn, is fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophetic word picture (Isaiah 53:2) that the messiah would be of humble beginnings “like a tender shoot and a root out of dry ground.” God’s Message provides wholistic understanding. While individual verses or passages provide inspiration or instruction, they are intended to be interpreted in the context of the whole. I am always wary of those who pull one or two verses out of God’s Message and interpret them to mean all sorts of things that do not fit in context with the whole. These early books of law are certainly dry in terms of simple devotional reading, but they are thick with providing a broader historical picture of God’s plan.

Leviticus 11

46 “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. More rules that seem pretty arbitrary. But maybe it not the rules themselves but god setting a system to create discipline and also to keep him at the forefront of their minds? But does seem quite different than having a personal relatiinship with him. Not sure what else to make of it. Knut