Reading the Bible in 2014: Day 57 - Loving Leviticus

As of today, we are close to the end of the book of Leviticus.  Are you loving it?  Some people find it difficult to read.  I have found in the last few years that the book retains my attention for one simple reason.  God is speaking.  When God speaks, the words that are said are authoritative for us.  And it is impossible to miss the authoritative tone of Leviticus.  I experience what I would call a healthy fear of God when I read Leviticus.

But how can we truly say that Leviticus is authoritative for us when we don’t do everything the book tells us to?  Whether it’s mixing fibers, stoning people to death, or not eating seafood without fins or scales, there are a number of laws we don’t obey.  In fact, there is a lot of confusion in our society when Christians refer only to Leviticus.  The reason is that there are so many laws in Leviticus that we don’t follow.

So how is it authoritative?

Christopher J.H. Wright is one of the great Old Testament scholars.  He wrote a fabulous article for Christianity Today last summer called “Learning to Love Leviticus”.  I want to provide three keys to reading Leviticus that he discusses in his article.  These will help us to see Leviticus as truly authoritative even as we don’t keep all the rules it gives us.

Principles

Did you know that London taxi cab drivers are still required by law to have a bale of hay and a bag of oats for their horses?  Do they follow that law?  No, because taxi drivers no longer ride horses, but drive automobiles.  But the principle still stands: provide sufficient food for your horses.   In the same way, we find principles for Old Testament laws that it no longer makes sense for us to follow.  Wright includes another example.  Paul in the New Testament is writing to the Corinthian people.  He quotes from a Deuteronomy passage about how oxen that are grinding corn should be fed from the product of their labors.  The urban Corinthians would not have had oxen.  So what is Paul’s point?  The point is in the principle.  Just as the oxen deserve the reward for their labor, so do people.

Notice that just because an Old Testament law like the one I just mentioned is not addressed to me (I have no oxen) does not mean it is not authoritative.  If I had oxen, it would be.  This is what it means to see the principle behind the Leviticus laws.

Finding the Principles

Wright lists a number of helpful questions for finding principles.  We can ask ourselves these to help engage imaginatively with the book of Leviticus.  1) What kind of situation was this law intended to promote or to prevent?  2) What change in society would this law achieve if it were followed?  3) What kind of situation made this law necessary or desirable?  4) What kind of person would benefit from this law, by assistance or protection?  5) What kind of person would be restrained or restricted by this law, and why?  6) What values are given priority in this law?  Whose needs or rights are upheld?  7) In what way does this law reflect what we know from elsewhere in the Bible about the character of God and his plans for human life?  8) What principle or principles does this law embody or instantiate?

These questions won’t make sense of all the laws, Wright claims.  “Some laws are just plain puzzling.”  Even just looking over these questions helps us to understand that the most important thing about the laws isn’t what they are preventing.  Sometimes we need to look further and imagine the kind of life these laws are creating and protecting.

Why We Don’t Keep Certain Laws

There are certain laws that we don’t keep because they are fulfilled in Christ.  We find cause to keep levitical rules, or see them as fulfilled, depending on how they are treated in the New Testament.  The food laws and the sacrificial laws are fulfilled in Christ the New Testament.  For the food laws, see Acts 10.  For the sacrificial laws, see…wait for it…the next book we’re reading!!  The Letter to the Hebrews is the next book on our reading list.  Its entire subject is the finished work of Christ.  There is no sacrifice that can improve upon it. 

I hope these three points from Wright’s article help you to learn to love Leviticus.  

Reading the Bible in 2014: Day 42 - Unanswered Questions, Running Partners, and Finding Jesus in the Book of Acts

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

We’ve been through Genesis, Mark, Exodus, and we’re currently making our way through Acts.  I’ve heard from a few people who are still in Exodus.  Maybe some of you are still in Mark!  I encourage you to press on.  As hard as it is to imagine, I believe a day will come when you will get a heaping portion of time to read Scripture.  And that will bless you.  In the meantime, I’ve decided in this devotion to speak about how our questions and running partners can humble us and also bring our reading to life.  This will allow me to look back at some of what we’ve covered so far, of which I hope to do more in future devotions.  Then, I’ll write about seeing Jesus through what we’ve read - and what we will read - in the Book of Acts.  This will be our way of looking ahead.

Allies in Our Reading: Questions and Running Partners

Fun stuff happens while reading the Bible.  Especially since my wife, Jessica, is reading it with me.  I was reading Exodus 16:13-36 and thinking about the manna that God provided.  The Israelites only got a certain amount – an omer.  This was to last each person a day.  I was wondering whether this really filled them up.  I should admit that eating too much has been a struggle for me lately.  “Could I make it on an omer?” I thought to myself.  “How much is an omer anyway?”  If I’d had a Bible dictionary, I could have found out.  But then as I read, the Bible told me: small enough to fit in a jar. (16:33)  So I’m bragging to my wife about my close Bible-reading.  Now, I know how much food is in an omer – a jar’s worth.  “Well, how big were their jars?” she asked.  I answered, “you know, like one of our mason jars probably.”  She gave me a look that was like, “Really, Chris?”  I understood the look immediately.  I started to laugh at the presumption that the Israelites were marching through the desert 3000 years ago with jars the exact same size as the ones in my food pantry.  I didn't know as much about omers as I thought I did.

All sorts of questions come up as we read the Bible.  I’ve collected quite a few so far.  Here are several:  “It seems like the midwives lie to the Egyptians in Exodus 1:17.  Do they really though, since they are doing the right thing?”  “Exodus 12:40 tells us that ‘this was for the Lord a night of vigil.’  What does it mean for the Lord to keep vigil if he never sleeps?”  “In Exodus 14:13-14, I love the verbs ‘do not be afraid,’ ‘stand firm,’ and ‘see the deliverance the Lord will bring you’.  Do other translations express this phrase like this?”  I’m sure you’ve collected some too!  Are unanswered questions obstacles in our reading?  In answer to this, I prefer to think of our questions as opportunities into deeper reading and reflection.

I mentioned Jessica in the paragraph before last.  Twice over the last several weeks, she has made a comment on the scriptures that has led me into serious thought and prayer.  Once, she shared that she thought the Gospel of Mark often spoke of what real faith was.  That really shaped the way I read Mark.  Another time, she read me the passage from Exodus 14 in which God tells the trembling Israelites, stuck between the angry Egyptians on the one side, and the Red Sea on the other, that all they have do is "be still." (Exodus 14:14)  (I’ll write more about this line soon).  It surprised me in looking over my reflections how much I’ve thought about these two passing comments Jess made from her reading. Allow your running partner (if you have one) to lead you into deeper reading and reflection.

Seeing Jesus’ Mercy and Power in the Book of Acts

Some of you may still be in Mark.  Some of you may be up to date as of today and are at Acts 12.  Acts has given us scenes of preaching, judgment, exorcism, healing, opposition, and danger.  Does this sound familiar?  It sounds a lot like the Gospel of Mark.  This is no accident.  When Jesus ascends into heaven at the beginning of Acts, he tells the disciples that they will be his witnesses and they will receive his Spirit.  Their work will continue his work.  We can begin to see the connection in the way the books begin.  In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is baptized and begins his ministry.  In Acts, the disciples are “baptized in fire” at Pentecost and begin their ministry.  As we see the church develop in Jerusalem, Damascus, Antioch and other places, we are often reminded of why we call the church “the body of Christ”.  Their lives are shaped by devotion to Jesus.  They look more and more like Jesus’ life.  Moved by the Spirit, they continue Jesus’ ministry.  We do too! 

 

As we continue to read Acts over the next week, reflect back upon the themes that stood out to you in the Gospel of Mark.  We have seen in Peter’s numerous speeches that the mighty acts that occur are linked to the name of Jesus. (Acts 10:36, 5:29, 3:13, 2:22)  When Saul gained his sight, Jesus spoke to a man and said about Saul, “I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:16)   Jesus is intimately involved in all that happens in Acts.  He is intimately involved in our lives as well.  When something happens to Peter or to Paul, ask yourself, “where is Jesus’ power or mercy reflected in this scene?” 

 

We have seen a lot of Peter in the previous few chapters.  Starting tomorrow, we’ll really be introduced to the ministry of Paul.  As we continue, we will get to know his ministry better through reading his many letters over the course of this year.