The Old Testament is a tale of repetition!
Repetition in the sense that God continually wanted to establish a covenant, an understanding, with his chosen people, the children of Israel.
Continually wanted to perfect a relationship with us even though we are imperfect—a so-called imperfect perfection?
God tells us “I am the Lord your God” thirteen times alone in Leviticus Chapter 19.
More repetition. In some ways I get tired of repetition, forgiving myself and others and starting anew again hoping for better relationships in the future. There is a time and place for everything or said another way, a season for everything. It’s summer now so if I am looking for it to snow I will be waiting for a long time or at least six months.
He tells us to fear the Lord thy God two times.
And he tells us to love strangers and out neighbors as ourselves.
Yes, we do need to fear somethings in life to shake us out of our bad habits and boring repetition at times.
Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy.
And to be holy because He is.
Seek the higher standard, grow in the right way and in the right direction, knowing we will never reach it. We will never ever be perfect!
How then do we deal with our mistakes, our imperfections?
Huge question once we accept that hardships is the pathway to peace and fulfillment in life!
Lots of law and order, high standards and fear do fill this part of The Bible.
But there is always hope and always love, God’s love for you and me, for us!
And oh, by the way, according to God, Moses, and Aaron, priest may marry, may have spouse per Leviticus, Chapter 21 of The Holy Bible.
He shall take a virgin unto his wife, but a widow or one that is divorced, or defiled, or a harlot, he shall not take, but a maid of his own people.
God, Repetition, Fear and God, Repetition, Fear and… of course change, hopefully and lovingly change for the better! With God comes hope and love, always and that’s always good to hear! Say that again and again and again…
Day 41: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; God, Repetition, Fear and God, Repetition, Fear and-
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Leviticus Chapters 19-23
Bible Notes:
This Book of Leviticus is so called, because it treats chiefly of divine worship for which God had chosen the tribe of Levi.
After describing the ordination of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, it records the Mosaic laws of sacrifice, of legal purity, of holiness, of vows, and of tithes.
Leviticus Chapter 19: Holiness required; Fear of parents and observance of Sabbaths; Idols forbidden; Peace offerings; Helping the poor; Stealing, lying, and deceit; Swearing falsely and profanity; Oppression and payment of wages; Treatment of deaf and blind; Judging; Talebearing; Hatred and criticism; Love of neighbors; Mingling; Immorality with servants; Eating of fruit; Eating blood and interpreting dreams; Shaving and haircutting; Disfiguring the body; Morality of daughters; Sabbaths and the sanctuary; Wizards and soothsayers; Honoring old age; Treatment of strangers; Weights and measures.
Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy.
Let every one fear his father, and his mother.
I am the Lord your God.
I am the Lord your God.
Nut shalt leave them to the poor and the strangers to take.
I am the Lord your God.
I am the Lord.
Calumniate—to make false and malicious statements about; slander.
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, because I am the Lord.
Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, nor judge unjustly. But judge thy neighbor according to justice.
I am the Lord.
Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself.
I am the Lord.
Thou shalt not make thy cattle to gender with beasts of any other kind.
And the priest shall pray for him and for his sin before the Lord, and he shall have mercy on him, and the sin shall be forgiven.
I am the Lord your God.
You shall not divine nor observe dreams.
I am the Lord your God.
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord your God.
Honor the person of the aged man.
Fear the Lord thy God.
I am the Lord.
If a stranger dwell in your land, and abide among you, do not upbraid him, but let him be among you as one of the same country: and you shall love him as yourselves; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Upbraid—to find fault with or reproach severely; censure: The military tribunal upbraided the soldier for his cowardice.
I am the Lord your God.
I am the Lord your God, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. Keep all my precepts, and all my judgments, and do them.
Precepts—a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct.
I am the Lord.
Leviticus Chapter 20: Punishment for offering children to Moloch; Punishment for consulting magicians; Punishment for cursing parents; Punishment for unlawful lusts; Laws to be obeyed; Death for diviners.
Give of his seed to the idol Moloch, dying let him die: the people of the land shall stone him.
And hath defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my holy name.
To commit fornication with Moloch
Moloch—is the Biblical name relating to a Canaanite god associated with child sacrifice
Magicians and soothsayers
Soothsayers—a person who professes to foretell events.
Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy because I am the Lord your God
Let them be put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress
If anyone lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination, let them be put to death.
Hath uncovered the shame of his own flesh
You shall be holy unto me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from other people, that you should be mine.
A man, or woman, in whom there is a pythonical or divining spirit, dying let them die: they shall stone them.
Pythoinical—gigantic or monstrous.
Divining Spirit—One of the only named spirits in the Bible, the python spirit is a coiling spirit that works to squeeze out the breathe of life (the Holy Spirit) and cut off your lifeline to God (prayer).
Leviticus Chapter 21: Mourning of priests; Holiness of priests; Wives of priests; Daughters of priests; Things forbidden to priests; Marriage of priests; Priests with blemishes.
But not even for the prince of his people shall he do any thing that may make him unclean.
They shall be holy to their God… and therefore they shall be holy.
The high priest, that is to say, the priest who is the greatest among his brethren
He shall take a virgin unto his wife, but a widow or one that is divorced, or defiled, or a harlot, he shall not take, but a maid of his own people.
Because he hath a blemish, and he must not defile my sanctuary
Leviticus Chapter 22: Priests who are unclean; Eating sanctified things; Animals must be without blemish; Age of animals; Eating of the victim; Sanctity commanded.
In whom there is uncleanness, shall perish before the Lord
Or that suffereth a running of the seed
Leviticus Chapter 23: Holy days; The Sabbath; The Passover; Offerings of firstfruits; Pentecost or Feast of Weeks; Harvesting; First day of the seventh month; The Day of Atonement; Feast of Tabernacles.
These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call holy.
Because it is the rest of the Sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work on that day.
The solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord
The firstfruits of your harvest
It shall be an everlasting ordinance in all your dwellings and generations.
The sound of trumpets
The day of atonement… you shall afflict your souls on that day.
The feasts of the tabernacles
The day of assembly and congregation
I made the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles.
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