Leviticus

As we sat down this last Wednesday morning at our group meeting, it's fair to say that there was a sense of trepidation in the room about tackling Leviticus, that in terms of both content and style it would be an oppressive read. I didn't find it so bad, though I will say that the few narrative sections were welcome breaks during the long march through the many rules and laws. Some impressions:

1. Have a few offerings, why don't you! It's mind-boggling how many types of offerings are described in Leviticus. Drumroll please...you have burnt, grain, fellowship and sin offerings. There's the guilt, thank, freewill and wave offerings. Then you have the drink and ordination offerings. Did I miss any? I was struck by the fact that the Israelites, to say nothing about the priests, would have been BUSY just keeping up with the offerings.

2. Plenty of "WTF laws." I made a list of my 5 favorite Levitical laws, for your reading pleasure. Here you go:
a. Lev 7:27. Seems especially relevant in this day when vampires are so en vogue...
b. Lev 13:40. Good news for my father, and for some of my friends who shall remain nameless...
c. Lev 15:8. I suppose it's good to have this articulated specifically, but doesn't everyone know never to spit on someone when you are having a discharge?!? I mean, really.
d. Lev 18:21. I needed this one. I was one half step away from driving Gracie over to Molech the other night...
e. Lev 19:27. Short on the top then, please!

3. So that's where the term "scapegoat" comes from! Right there in Leviticus 16:8.

4. I can see why the one place in the culture where Leviticus gets airtime is in the conversation about homosexuality. Two passages in particular: Lev 18:22 and Lev 20:13. The punishment is death, which makes it pretty clear what the Lord thinks about it all. That said, the punishment for heterosexual adultery is also death (Lev 20:10). How come adultery doesn't get the same treatment in the American church?

5. Don't get on God's bad side! Just saying. Check out Lev 26:27 and following. Yikes.

6. God has a thing about holiness. His people are to be holy. Why? Because He is holy. Lev 11:44. Leviticus 22:32-33 is even stronger: "I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord." When the dust settles, I think this is really the main message of Leviticus: God is concerned with purity and holiness and He alone gets to set the standard for what that looks like for His people. What's beautiful about that for me is that it means that there is an objective standard for right living, that I or my community do not, can not create that ourselves. Our task, then, is to live into the standard that He gives more and more each day.

What's next? Numbers. I'm already into chapter 8 as of this morning. We're off to Campus by the Sea today for 5 days, so I'll catch up posting after we're back.