Okay-so I've made it through all those rules and regulations in Leviticus. Now for Numbers. Before heading there I thought I better write a little about all those rules.
I can really see how people can get in arguments about what God wants us to believe today when I read this ancient book. I mean, most of it is just great advice for healthy living, especially in those days. The rules about the offerings and which parts to eat and which parts to burn make sense when you consider that the animals we were dealing with could contract diseases and such from the ground. I don't know that much about animal husbandry and such (city girl that never had 4H!) but from what I understand, those animals get worms and stuff!! And eating everything before the next day makes sense when you don't have refrigeration!
I can see where we get our traditions of giving to the church as well. In doing so, the people were providing for the priests and their families (I liked that they had families, compared to some of our religions that don't allow for that today.) much like we do today. It really allowed the priests to freely do their job without having to think of provision. As the wife of a part-time preacher, I see times when the two worlds can really pull at each other for time and concentration. And the idea of giving to God first has stuck in our lives with tithing. I know our budget works best, when the first line is our tithe.
I thought it interesting the way that the poor are taken care of. If they could not afford the offering, there was a lesser offering alternative, but they were still expected to give. (Wish we would take this approach with taxes!) And everyone left food in the fields for the poor to gather. Notice how they didn't gather it for them and hand it to them. They had to work for their own provisions. (Wish we would take this approach with our welfare!)
The arguments come in when we take some of the rules and follow them, but don't follow others. Some seem to make sense in our world, some seem antiquated. Some seem to fit even though times have changed, some seem to not fit anymore. The trouble is--which are which? Can you follow some rules and not others? Can you justify why they had to but we don't? Which do you pick and choose?
If you follow some, do you follow all?
Like how about the ones that have death as their penalty and yet it also says don't kill? That's the easiest one to see a glaring contradiction with because both rules are written right there. But then some get harder--especially the sex ones. Some of us want to say--well, they didn't understand or have access to the medicine and medical knowledge that we do today. What may have been unhealthy to them is not unhealthy to us--we understand more than they did at the time. But consider that the laws were from God---He knows all about what is healthy and not healthy, both physically and mentally, both socially and spiritually.
I don't have any answers and I need time to think it through more. But if anyone out there has any thoughts about it--I'm open!
God, help us in our times of questioning. Thanks for giving us strong brains and free-will. Help us to keep those brains open and seeking the truth--even when that gets hard. And keep us grounded in love for You and one another!
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