Devotional thoughts from Leviticus

August 24, 2005

Lev. 5: …the moment he does realize his guilt he is held responsible.

So how do a people of God live?  How do they conduct business, relate to one another, and worship?  That’s the challenge that is met in Leviticus.  There’s a lot of “sin” language there.  “If a man sins by…then he must….”  Living justly, making things right, even being holy are the goals of Leviticus.  The instruction near the end of Lev. 5 catches my attention: “If anyone sins by breaking any of the commandments of God which must not be broken, but without being aware of it at the time, the moment he does realize his guilt he is held responsible.”  So much of this book of rules and regulations seems out of touch – part of the Old Covenant and therefore subject to modification by the superior New Covenant.  Still, there are principles that can be applied anywhere and anytime.  This is one of them.  Responsibility is linked to knowledge.  It is when we realize that we have come up short that we are responsible to make things right.  There is grace in this – that is, God isn’t waiting for us to mess up so he can come down on us like a load of bricks (if so, I sure wouldn’t be writing these words right now).  There is also responsibility here – once I do know, I can’t retreat to, “I didn’t know.”  If possible, I must make it right – to at least acknowledge my failure and repent of it.  To do otherwise is to presume on God’s grace and to bring condemnation upon myself.

August 25, 2005

Lev. 6: Keep the fire burning on the Alter continuously.  It must not go out.

Instructions for worship continue, and will throughout the book.  The command to keep the Altar fire burning stands out.  The fire is representative of God.  It was fire that Moses had encountered in the desert, it is a pillar of fire that leads them at night.  The fire of the Altar once again symbolizes the presence and work of Jehovah in their number.  Because of that, the command is that it never be allowed to go out.  The application is pretty easy to understand, and not so easy to apply!  I want the fire of God’s presence in my life to burn freely – and, like that of the burning bush: never go out.  It was the work of those who tended to the Tent of Meeting to assure the perpetuity of the flame, and it is my responsibility to keep that flame burning in my life too.  I pray, read the Word, and live in fellowship with God and his people.  In the midst of my busyness, this is my priority.  It must not go out.

August 26, 2005

Lev. 10: Distinguish between the holy and the common, between the ritually clean and unclean.

It started with another “fire” issue.  Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu had somehow failed to follow the Lord’s instructions concerning fire used in worship.  The result – fire!  The fire of the wrath of God killed them.  Things have calmed down a bit, and Moses warns everyone to not take the things of God lightly.  Holy things must be treated as such – with reverence.  If it is possible to treat uncommon things as common, and thus bring condemnation, it is just as possible to treat common things as uncommon.  Our society specializes in that.  Things which should be treated with absolute reverence are tossed aside as though they are worthless.  Silly things that are either totally common or worse are held up as shining objects of worship.  Our society does that with sports, entertainment, and so-called success.  To treat the holy as common is sin that brings death.  The same can be said of treating common things as holy.

August 27, 2005

Lev. 19 Be holy because I, God, your God, am holy.

This phrase is a repeated in several other places in the Books of Law. Here, it comes just before a rundown of how to live that includes everything from “no idols” to “no gossip.”  However there are several other items thrown in: how to plant one’s crops, how to cut one’s hair, and don’t get tattoos.  When I see people stupidly (my opinion) going along with our popular culture and getting tattoos I am tempted to spend some time on that one. However, I will resist and push on to my primary thoughts about this powerful phrase in this specific location.  It is just that God intends his holiness in us to be lived out in every arena of our lives.  It is plain that cultural concerns are being freely mixed in with universal moral issues in this passage.  God calls his people to apply their relationship with him to, not only how they conduct worship in the new Tent of Meeting, but also how they live their everyday lives.  That’s a message I need today.  After all, part time holiness isn’t much holiness at all.

August 29, 2005

Lev. 20: Set yourselves apart for a holy life…I am God who makes you holy.

Which is it?  Am I holy because I consecrate myself to God or is it because he works in my life making me holy?  You know this is a terrible question because the answer is simply, “both.”  In fact, you might say that God works on both sides of this issue while I am in the middle.  He makes it possible for me to share in his holiness through his living in and through me.  He also makes it possible for me to accept his gracious offer to fill my life, creating in me the capability to choose him over myself.  On one hand, there is God, ready and willing to “make” me holy.  On the other hand, why, there is God again (!), making it possible for me to say “yes” to this offer.  In the middle – well, I am in the middle.  If I refuse this grace-filled offer, I open the doors to the possibility of all the horrible things described in Leviticus 20.  If I accept it, if I take advantage of this grace + grace offer, I open the way for God’s life – his holiness – to be lived out in my life.

August 30, 2005

Lev. 22: I insist on being treated with holy reverence among the People of Israel.

As worship instructions continue the rules concerning types of sacrifices are given.  As God’s people they are to bring unblemished animals when making sacrifices.  If you want to give God something less as a freewill offering, okay – but it can never be an “official” offering.  Even then, there are many limitations.  We get lost in the rules and regulations and are in danger of missing the main point in them.  The reason for the rules is that to do otherwise is to treat God with less than reverence.  Understanding the reason for the no-sick-animals rule transforms my reading of the passage.  That which I bring to God and that which I do in his Name is not to be second rate.  There must always be an element of reverence in my dealings with God.  One answer to the question, “how do a people of God live?” is this: with holy reverence toward God.

August 31, 2005

Lev. 26: I’ll set up my residence in your neighborhood…I’ll stroll through your streets.

There’s a bit more to Leviticus but this section is really the grand finale.  Chapter 26 is the “blessing and the curse” chapter.  Here, God says, “If you do this…then I will do that.  If you do that…then I will do this.”  To me, the greatest moment is when God says he will move into their neighborhood and stroll through their streets with them.  This is the Creator being fully engaged with his Creation.  They wouldn’t go to visit God down at the Tent of Meeting, and he wouldn’t just make special appearances at big events like the Passover observance. This is the promise of continued fellowship throughout all the affairs of life.  Amazingly, God wants that even before we are aware of him and certainly in spite of that truth that we are not worthy of such a relationship.  What we see promised here is fulfilled to a great extent in Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us.  It is also fulfilled when I receive the fullness of God, the Holy Spirit into my life.  It will be gloriously completed when we find ourselves living the last pages of the book of Revelation. Lord, make yourself at home in my life now, and then.

September 1, 2005

Lev. 26: On the other hand, if they confess their sins…I’ll remember my covenant….

I admit it.  I don’t like reading the middle portion of Leviticus 26.  It is the “curse” part of the chapter in which God lists all that will happen if they break their promises to God.  The “blessing” part is great.  The “cursing” part is hard to read.  Then comes the “faithfulness” part and in some ways it is the best part of all.  God says that even if they utterly fail and if all the “curse” comes to pass…even then, he will be just a prayer away.  When it all falls apart he will be waiting to continue the covenant relationship with them.  In this I see, as I see throughout God’s Word, that God is the God of Second Chances.  There is unbelievable power in the words, “I’ll remember.”  In spite of failure, in spite of the feeling of a people being utterly rejected – in spite of it all, God remembers.  I am thankful, so thankful, that I serve the God of Second Chances.