Day 24: Leviticus 16-22
I am not feeling well today. I hope I'm not coming down with the flu. I say this because today is a day when I don't want to read the Bible or blog about my thoughts. My mind isn't working well, and I just want to lie in bed and watch TV. But I've committted to doing this every day. And that's the only thing that's keeping me going.
There are a lot of dos and don'ts (A LOT!). In this passage, God sets morality standards for the Israelites, standards regarding sex, mating, neighbors, attitudes, behaviors, and sacrifices. It's easy to get distracted by all the rules (how did anyone follow all of them?!!), so, once again, I'll ask, what does this passage say about God? The answer to me lies once again in the word holy. God is holy and he wants us to be holy was well. This is why he's laying down these rules. He's giving the Israelites standards to live by.
God does something really amazing here, though. In the midst of all these rules and commandments, God includes a chapter--chapter 16--on "The Day of Atonement." I have heard of the Day of Atonement before (it's the Jewish holiday known as Yom Kippur, Hebrew for "Day of Atonement"), but I didn't know what it was until I read this chapter. Basically, as I understand it, the Day of Atonement is a day that happens once a year in which God forgave the sins of the Israelites. The day itself is a day of rest where the Israelites were to fast from food ("deny themselves") and be cleansed from all their sins when they approached the Lord.
I wonder if any Christians celebrate this holiday. I'm sure there are some, but I'd like to know why they do it and how they do it. I've become more and more interested in the Christian calendar, and this is one holiday that I'd be interested in knowing more about. Any of you readers out there celebrate this one? It was a few days ago on September 28 (I just missed it corresponding to the reading!).
I think it's cool that in spite of all the laws that God gives the people, he still allows for the Israelites to be free from sins. He still offers salvation to them. In their case, he saves them from death. The Day of Atonement allows them to be free. In spite of all the sins they might commit, the Day of Atonement awaits them. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
2 comments:
I actually preached from Leviticus 16 the Sunday morning of the beginning (evening) of the Day of Atonement. Spoke on how Jesus fulfilled both sacrifices (slaughtered ram and scapegoat).
That's cool, Doug. How did it go? And what do you think is the significance of Jesus fulfilling both sacrifices? Just curious.
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