Leviticus 19 – 21
Chapter 19 starts with the Lord telling Moses: “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God am holy.” God then goes on to tell Moses what holiness looks like. Did you notice how much this was like the Ten Commandments? He talks about respect for parents and observing the Sabbath, as well as not trusting in idols or metal images of gods. He discusses how the peace offerings to the Lord must be handled.
We discussed previously how important the treatment of orphans and widows was. God makes provision for the poor and the foreigners living among them. They were not to harvest the grain along the edges of the field, or completely strip “every last bunch of grapes” from the vines. They were not to pick up what dropped on the ground during harvest. If you are familiar with the story of Ruth and Boaz, you’ll know that Ruth took advantage of this when she and Naomi came back from Moab with very little to sustain them.
Of course, they were not to steal, to deceive or cheat each other. They were not to swear falsely or defraud or rob their neighbors.
Did you notice that hired workers were to be paid on the day they worked? Both insulting the deaf and causing the blind to stumble were also forbidden.
I found it particularly interesting that justice was not to be twisted in legal matters by favoring either the poor or the rich. People were to be judged fairly.
There were a number of other specific no-no’s mentioned, including sexual prohibitions. This chapter leaves no doubt about how God looks at a number of different sexual sins. And what about fortune-telling or witchcraft? Do you ever consult your horoscope?
Did you see that tattooing your body was forbidden?
And God leaves no doubt about what He expected. Verse 37 says “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.”
Chapter 20 gives instructions about how people were to be punished if they were disobedient. Some of it was pretty severe, like putting to death both the man and the woman who commit adultery. Some sins resulted in death by burning and some in death by stoning. Some were cut off from the community.
What it boiled down to was they were not to live like the people God was driving out to make a place for them. God set them apart from all other people to be His own.
Chapter 21 discusses specific instructions for the priests and high priest. The people were set apart; the priests and high priests even more so.
Tomorrow, it’s Leviticus 22 – 23.
Right vs Left
Why is it that Conservatives are called the "right"
and Liberals are called the "left"?
By chance I stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, But the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2
Can't get any simpler than that.
Spelling Lesson:
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican.......I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
End of lesson.
Test to follow in November, 2012.
Remember, November is to be set aside as rodent extermination month.
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