Trigger warning: I am going to make a couple of statements in this post that I am sure will offend some people. My intent is not to offend. My intent, as always with my posts, is to share information and my viewpoint and opinions. But because I do want to share in love, please do read and think about anything I say before you dismiss it.
I will be honest and admit that I have trouble reading through books like Leviticus and Numbers. It's so tempting for me to skip over these "drier" books.
Every word in the Bible is there for a reason, though so I refuse to take any shortcuts this time around. I have been taking notes and try to find something to think about for each section of the chapters I read. With Leviticus, I mostly have questions which means I have to look for answers. That's how I came up with so many links in my last post.
I have just struggled through chapter 7 in Leviticus. It wasn't until I got halfway through chapter 4 that something dawned on me.
We commit so many sins - intentional, unintentional; "small" sins, and "large" sins. I couldn't possibly even attempt counting how many times a day I sin in thought. If I lived during the Mosaic era, I'd have worn a hole in the path to the priest's door.
When I started thinking about all those sacrifices people had to offer back then, I became ever so much more thankful for the Lord's sacrifice on the cross. His once-and-for-all sacrifice takes on more and more meaning as I think about my sins. People, I don't sin daily, I sin from moment to moment. On some days, my thoughts are a blur of sin.
So, I started paying attention to the types of offerings in Leviticus. Because of the repetition, there seem to be hundreds mentioned but I realized there were five of them. I still had trouble understanding them though so I was thrilled to come across this wonderful chart by Raymond K. Campbell on *Bible Centre:
Cambell (who has other contributions shown on Bible Centre) gives a sketch explanation of each offering type. I have printed this out to study while I skim back over chapters 1-7.
By the way, I found it interesting that a wave offering (ex: Lev 7:30) is a portion of a sacrifice waved in the air indicating that it is for the Lord. When I read that, I immediately thought of how music fans are often encouraged to wave their hands "in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care". A Redditor might tag this as being mildly interesting. Of course, when I got to Leviticus 10:2 and started reading about Aaron's sons offering up "strange fire" so I did a quick search for any lyrics and found something by The Indigo Girls (never listened to their music before) and they have a song called "Strange Fire" with this as the starting lyrics (my emphasis added):
I come to you with strange fire
I make an offering of love
The incense of my soil is burned
By the fire in my blood
I come with a softer answer
To the questions that lie in your path
I want to harbor you from the anger
Find a refuge from the wrath
Because I never heard their music or knew anything about this duo, I did some cursory Wiki lookups. I am surprised that they are gay but seem intertwined with ministries. Sort of like if I was a proud and professional liar who claimed to follow Christ - who died for my sins as a liar, cheat, adulterer, etc. I am not proud of my sins and don't live unrepentant of them and I, for the record, would be afraid of the fire of God's wrath. Just saying so don't come for me with wagging fingers and the shaming. This is not a statement about hate for gays. This is a statement about my understanding of sin and repentance and salvation through Christ. I don't hate gays or anyone else for their sin but I do pray they find salvation.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that. I hope this helps anyone else reading through Leviticus.
Peace
--Free
*I have not visited Bible Centre before now and have not perused the site. I have not read their Statement of Faith. Please use discernment when visiting any linked site.
