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I'm re-reading the Bible all the way through (did so for the first time last year) and am currently in Leviticus. Most people know Leviticus for the ordinances, rituals, clean versus unclean animals and practices, and the like.
A 21st century observer would, at first glance, likely not totally understand many of these rules. But context is everything! Remember, Israel was surrounded by pagans and heathens. God wanted His people to be totally distinct and separate in every way. He wanted to set them apart. Many of these ordinances point to this objective.
Diets are especially important in Leviticus. Remember, they didn't have modern sanitation and disinfecting like we do. It would have been easy to contract and transmit a disease. That may or may not have played a part in these strict diet rules. But - and I didn't learn this until today - many of the unclean animals were used in pagan rituals or as idols by Israel's neighbors. The prohibition against eating or even touching them was, in part, to prevent the Israelites from drifting into these practices.
Which makes sense considering how weak the moral resolve of the Israelites could be. In Exodus, Moses had temporarily left them to go up the mount to talk to God, only to come back down and see them (with Aaron's permission, basically) worshiping a golden calf. To try to prevent this sort of stuff from happening again, God enacted strict rules.
We also see how difficult it is for man to keep all these rules, and the Mosaic Law as a whole - thus setting the stage for the Redeemer who would atone for us once and for all.
What are some lessons you've learned from Leviticus? What about some of the more unusual verses that may seem odd to a modern reader?
A 21st century observer would, at first glance, likely not totally understand many of these rules. But context is everything! Remember, Israel was surrounded by pagans and heathens. God wanted His people to be totally distinct and separate in every way. He wanted to set them apart. Many of these ordinances point to this objective.
Diets are especially important in Leviticus. Remember, they didn't have modern sanitation and disinfecting like we do. It would have been easy to contract and transmit a disease. That may or may not have played a part in these strict diet rules. But - and I didn't learn this until today - many of the unclean animals were used in pagan rituals or as idols by Israel's neighbors. The prohibition against eating or even touching them was, in part, to prevent the Israelites from drifting into these practices.
Which makes sense considering how weak the moral resolve of the Israelites could be. In Exodus, Moses had temporarily left them to go up the mount to talk to God, only to come back down and see them (with Aaron's permission, basically) worshiping a golden calf. To try to prevent this sort of stuff from happening again, God enacted strict rules.
We also see how difficult it is for man to keep all these rules, and the Mosaic Law as a whole - thus setting the stage for the Redeemer who would atone for us once and for all.
What are some lessons you've learned from Leviticus? What about some of the more unusual verses that may seem odd to a modern reader?
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