the ruminations of aaron eberline

>I think every other time I have read Leviticus it was my version of the blitzkrieg: fast and swift with little accuracy. It’s the kind of thinking that says if I blitz through this ‘boring’ book of the Bible enough I will eventually glean something useful from it. I was really wrong because I have been reading through Leviticus since May 19th and even though it has been a long slow walk through this difficult book full of sacrifices and laws but I am finding great enjoyment and passion because I am seeing a picture of Jesus Christ .

In the beginning of Leviticus chapter 19 I was faced instantly with the question why is the command that mothers and fathers to be reverenced listed right in the middle of the relationship law of chapter 18 and the sundry laws given in rest of chapter 19. It initially seemed out of place among all the laws and commands about sacrifices and daily living. I remembered that Paul in Ephesians chapter 6:1-3 states, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.” The promise that Paul is referring to is from Exodus 20:12 when God is giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” What appears to be random charge to honor your parents is actually God restating the Ten Commandments in greater detail as is seen in chapters 17 and 18.

Chapter 20 brings the consequences to the laws found in chapter 18. Laws given without consequence do not carry the same threat or dissuasive power. These consequences were not light hand slaps they were death or being cut off from the community. It seem like being cut off is better than death but image what it meant to be cut off from your friends, family, or job without a fallback plan. That is a heavy burden in a society where you rely on the community interaction to survive. It makes the burden of sin weigh even heavier on people. In addition to the consequence God is consistently telling the Israelites to be holy because He is holy and that charge is also given to me. How could the Israelites follow God’s command to be holy because He is holy? How can I? I think that this command is another reminder of how inadequate we all are. It makes me wonder how people lived before Christ died on the cross? There was no cornerstone to belief so there was no assurance in life. Jesus Christ gives assurance to christians today. At first glance I though that it would be too difficult to live with the continual sacrificing for sin and lack of assurance of forgiveness but my perspective of life under grace overshadowed a key aspect of the forgiveness extended. After someone brought their sacrifice to the Lord their sins were forgiven, end of story! An Israelite could walk away with a weight lifted off their shoulders because of God’s forgiveness. There was assurance of forgiveness from God just as we have today. A sacrificial offering had to be made in order to be forgiven but this is a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for all mankind.