Leviticus / chapter 27 (read the chapter)
People who say whatever they think you want to hear. You know some of those, right? I certainly do! And boy, do they ever get on my nerves. I’d rather people just be honest about what they think and feel instead of thinking that they have to try to manipulate my moods with their words . . . especially when they don’t mean what they’re saying. Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 26 (read the chapter)
I don’t know that I’ve ever had more utter respect for God than I have at this moment, after going through 26 chapters of Leviticus. There’s this image I have of Him in my mind as a strong, hulking man with bulging muscles who has encountered a rip-roaring, flooded river, and on a tiny piece of land in the middle of this rushing river is a huddled group of soaking-wet, desperate people who have no way to get out of their predicament. And with no thought for Himself, this strong God, with sleeves rolled up, strides mightily into the midst of that roaring river, dodging the debris and deflecting the uprooted trees, with every fiber of every muscle straining against the current to reach and save those people. Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 25 (read the chapter)
There is something really beautiful in this chapter of Leviticus: “Even if [an Israelite slave] is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (vs 54-55) Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 24 (read the chapter)
This is a very strange chapter, in the way it’s divided. The first part is about the oil and bread to be laid out before the Lord in the sanctuary. The middle part is about a blasphemer who was stoned to death. And the last part is the famous “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” passage. At first, I was going to try to find something inspiring to say about oil and bread (I like them as appetizers at Italian restaurants), but then I decided that would be a big, fat cop-out. Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 23 (read the chapter)
Right now, I live for the weekends. My husband is a truck driver, and that means he’s gone all week. He gets home on Friday and leaves again on Sunday morning. I try not to complain, though. For the first two years of his job, he used to be gone for two weeks at a time, and I would only get to see him every other weekend. Compared to that, getting to see him every weekend is a treat! Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 22 (read the chapter)
My husband and I are a “big brother and sister” to a young boy who has severe emotional problems. He is eleven years old. His mother died of a drug overdose when he was five. And his father, who is also a drug addict, recently gave guardianship of him to his aunt. He has been living at his aunt’s house (which is about 15 minutes away from his father’s house) for nearly five months, and in all that time, his father hasn’t come over to see him once or even called to talk to him on the phone. That tells you what kind of “father” this guy is. Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 21 (read the chapter)
This chapter really bothered me. Given a cursory reading, I think it makes God look pretty bad (according to our oh-so-enlightened 21st-century heads). Check this out: Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 20 (read the chapter)
There is a clear connection between wandering away from God and losing your individuality: “You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. But I said to you, ‘You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.” (vs 23-24) Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 19 (read the chapter)
I have recently been thinking quite a bit about the “God of the Old Testament” versus the “God of the New Testament.” I have seen some debates on TV where prominent Christians have basically advocated for “throwing out” the Old Testament in favor of Jesus and the New Testament. I have read blogs and forum postings from confused Christians, wondering how we can possibly “defend” the Bible when things (many of them things God supposedly said!) in the Old Testament look so awful. Continue Reading »
Leviticus / chapter 18 (read the chapter)
How long has it been since you read Leviticus 18? Really, you must read it. It’s incredible. It reads like a laundry list of things not to do if you want to avoid being a guest on The Jerry Springer Show. It’s mainly about sex. Just for kicks, let’s chronicle the list here. Continue Reading »
