Week 7

Well, I'm a bit late with this one too.

We've made it to week 7! This week, and next, may be the most difficult reading schedules simply because of the content. (And certainly a difficult one to write on) The Levitical Law, or the Law of Moses, is laid out. Some find it fascinating, some find it confusing, and some even find it dry and boring. Keep moving forward though!


Point to consider:

"Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."

After 430 years in Egypt, the Israelites were greatly influenced by pagan culture, customs, practices, politics, and religions. In the cultures of that period, thieving and murderous raids, brutality, human sacrifice, and all types of sexual immorality were among the acceptable and common behaviors. Once God freed them from Egyptian bondage, the people needed to learn how to relate to God, how to live a pleasing life before God, and how to be forgiven by God. They needed to learn that absolute right and wrong - holiness, righteousness, and morality - are only established by God. They are not established by mighty conquerors, government, media, celebrities, popular opinion, or a majority will. Much of our culture today needs to learn this same lesson.

In Leviticus, Moses expounds on the laws that God gave His people for instruction on living with spiritual righteousness, moral standards, and physical well being. By calling them to be a holy people, His laws for living would make the Israelites different from the peoples and cultures they would encounter - an example to be used to show those nations the true, living God.

Paul would later write that although sin was in the world, it wasn't known to be sin until the laws God gave identified them as sin. Sinfulness, inherent in us since the fall of Adam, was then brought to light by the Law. It is impossible to keep all the law, all of the time, for all of our lives, and God knows this.

The sacrifices offered for sins under the old covenant (which we call the Old Testament) didn't provide for salvation of the transgressor, but was a symbolic representation of Christ's sacrifice. Their faith in God's forgiveness was the key, just as it is with our faith in God's mercy and forgiveness today. With the establishment of the new covenant (or New Testament), Christ's blood spilled at the cross then covered all of their sins and ours, one time, and for all.

"By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified."

Many of the laws and rites we will read in this book will not make sense to us today, but be assured, God had specific reasons for instituting them, and for recording them in His word for us to read centuries later. These laws are still observed by the Jewish people today - with the exception of the sacrifices. Just a short 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the temple was destroyed and the Jewish people removed from their land.

Christians understand that Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins, as the Lamb of God, once and for all. There is no need for more sacrifice.

God's peace on you all.