Good morning! We have two more chapters of Leviticus today, and these are ones we may find challenging to keep as divinely-inspired “Scripture” rather than simply literary relics of an earlier time. Leviticus 10-11 confronts us again with the distance between (one version of) ancient Hebrew spirituality and our own understandings.
Category: Daily Bible
Leviticus 8-9
Good morning! The end of Exodus described the tabernacle and its “furniture” set up, but only passingly references the priests who begin their duties. What that might actually have looked liked is presented here in Leviticus 8-9. Today’s two chapters are largely enactments of instructions already given to Moses in Exodus for the inauguration of the priesthood and the first sacrifices. While there is much ritual to read through, we have heard most of this already. To give it a different feel, this time try to imagine these rituals from the perspective of priests who are going through them for the first time.
Leviticus 4-7
Good morning! Today’s reading from Leviticus (chapters 4-7) continues instructions about various kinds of sacrifices for the priests and people to offer before God. Its instructions give us a window into the worldview and experience of ancient Israel.
Leviticus 1-3
Good morning! Today we start Leviticus, the third book of the Torah. We modern readers find this a daunting book to make sense of, since it presumes and further shapes a highly sacrificial culture. The “book of the Levites” focuses on holiness as that which sets God (with faithful Hebrews and their priests by extension) apart from other human communities. Remember that the zeal of these descendants of Levi led them to kill thousands of their kin who had worshipped the golden calves in Exodus 32. Thereafter, the Levites have a reputation for rigorously following the laws of God, because human happiness consists of obeying God, no matter what God commands. While I mostly find the Levitical tradition alienating and inflexible, it should be said that strict observance of Jewish practices is one of the reasons that this very small faith has persisted, despite millennia of intermingling with other cultures. Let’s look for other positive elements as we make our way through Leviticus, and if that seems impossible take comfort in the fact that we’ll be through the book in less than two weeks. We got this!
Exodus 38-40
Good morning! We close out the month of January today with the final three chapters of Exodus. Earlier we’ve read God’s instruction to Moses about each part of the tabernacle, then read about it being built. Here we have the actual setting up of the tabernacle, which is a great accomplishment for the Hebrew people and a “guarantee” of God’s presence among them for the decades of wilderness time still to come.
Exodus 36-37
Good morning! I’ve been thinking of you each day as I write, and wonder how the reading is going for you. Have you heard the phrase, “After the ecstasy, the laundry”? I suspect that following our initial euphoria at Genesis and the start of a new resolution, many of us are now feeling the “laundry” portion of just getting through the daily readings. Let me encourage you to do what you can as you have time, and to recognize that this is a marathon endeavor. So just do what you can to get a taste of each day’s reading, and I recommend skimming or listening to an audio edition if that makes it easier to stay caught up. Free yourself of the burden that you must read each verse, plus everything that I or others write, if it gets in your way. Giving some of your finite attention each day to this effort is a lovely demonstration of your desire, and the “perfect” need not get in the way of your “personal best”. Many of us have already read more of the Bible in a faster and deeper way than ever before, and this is a huge accomplishment all on its own!
Exodus 33-35
Good morning! In today’s passage (Exodus 33-35) God, Moses and the Hebrew people must figure out what they’re going to do to repair their breach. After chapters of God’s rhapsodic descriptions of the beautiful tabernacle, the people lost patience and decided to create other gods, which evoked slaughter and divine plague in response. The relationship between God and people is sometimes described in the Bible as like a marriage, so what to do now when one’s vows have been betrayed?
Exodus 30-32
Good morning! Today in Exodus 30-32 we finish the description of the tabernacle’s furnishings, then run into the story of idolatry and retribution which is known by the Golden Calf.
Exodus 27-29
Good morning! Today’s passage (Exodus 27-29) continues yesterday’s instructions for the outfitting of the tabernacle and its items, then describes the appearance and preparation of Hebrew priests. You might get either glassy-eyed or grossed out at the details here, but I’ll do what I can to help us find contemporary significance in this ancient haberdashery.
Exodus 24-26
Good morning! Today’s reading from Exodus 24-26 describes the ascent of Moses and other leaders on Mount Sinai, plus detailed instructions from God for what sacred artifacts are to be built as symbols of God’s presence in the wilderness. It’s odd to get architectural blueprints from the Divine, so let’s look for the meaning behind these instructions to see what purpose they serve in the Hebrew community. Throughout, these chapters emphasize holiness through hierarchy.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 