1:14 “If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar.
The book is filled with that kind of stuff. But having said that, there is 'good stuff' in this book. My first bit of highlighted stuff appears in chapter 10:
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu put coals of fire in their incense burners and sprinkled incense over them. In this way, they disobeyed the Lord by burning before him the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. 2 So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said,
‘I will display my holiness
through those who come near me.
I will display my glory
before all the people.’”
And Aaron was silent.
God didn't mess around in the Old Testament. They 'burned a different kind of fire than He had commanded' - so He killed them. Pretty harsh. It shows us what He really thinks of sin and how important Jesus is to us. Jesus took that punishment for us. That's why 'we are not consumed' by God. Jesus has suffered for us, allowing us to go free. That is why He deserves our love and devotion.
My next highlighting occurs in Chapter 17:
11 for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.
All the sacrifices noted in Leviticus were to point us to Christ. It is Christ's blood, given in exchange for our lives, that makes purification possible. Note that it says 'possible'. It's not automatic. It requires a choice from us - to believe, understand and accept the free gift. Purification is possible if we will believe and receive it.
Then chapter 18 again talks about being separate from the people of the surrounding lands:
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. 5 If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.
Chapter 23 talked about all the "Festivals" they were to have. And in all of them, they were to stop what they did and gather for a sacred assembly. They were to present offerings to God on these special days. They were to humble themselves and remember God. To reflect on His provision and care for them. I thought about our "festivals" - Labor Day - where we are to 'rest from our labor' and celebrate. But for the most part we celebrate with family and friends and probably don't give much thought to God at all. I know we aren't Jewish and don't celebrate all the special holidays as they do, but I'm thinking as Christians we should focus more on recognizing God in our 'celebrations'. Look at Christmas - that's a celebration because of the birth of Christ, but think about how it has changed - People don't even want to call it Christmas anymore - but look at it more as a 'winter holiday'. God forgive us for turning from You as a nation.
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