Catalyst Blog [happenings and other things at catalyst]

Ten days ago I started a reading plan that would take me through the Bible in 90 days. It's a very optimistic goal but I'm committed to it. I'm actually discovering that it's fun...well, to some extent.

The Book of Leviticus is like watching the American Idol auditions. You know, the ones with all the really bad people singing. You want to turn it off so badly but you can't. You have to see if the next person is worse that the previous. And in the case of Leviticus, you want to skip verses (even whole chapters) but you can't because you want to see what seemingly ridiculous rule or law God gives to the Israelite people next. 

The first 5 books of the Bible are referred to as The Law and they were written by Moses. They are called "The Law" because the entire set of instructions God gave the Israelite people are written there. And there are tons of instructions.

The back story is that God made a promise to this dude Abraham. He told him that He was going to give him some land that God himself had set aside for Abraham and his descendants. God told him that he would be the father of many nations (meaning, his family was about to get busy...if you know what I'm sayin?). But Abraham's people ended up in slavery in Egypt. Not the great plan that God had in mind for Abe. But God DID have a plan. He sends a messenger to rally the troops. This guy Moses (also known as Charlton Heston) parts the Red Sea and brings the people out of Egypt and out of slavery. But see, God knows these people really, really well. He loves them a whole lot. In fact, He calls them HIS people. He wants a relationship with them and He doesn't want them to forget all He has done for them. So He knows that He has to give them some instructions or else they're gonna revert back to their old ways of living life. Or worse, they'll take up the ungodly and sinful practices of the people around them. Thus, the Book of Leviticus.

I've met two different types of people when it comes to the Old Testament Law. There are literalists and passivists. Literalists are the people who say that we are sinners if we get a tattoo (Leviticus 19:28). They believe that the Law is still as important today as it was when God gave it to the Israelites. Otherwise God would not have included it in our Bible. Passivists say that none of the Law is relevant anymore because Jesus did away with every letter of the Law. The literalists refer to these people as the "Jesus freak hippies."

My opinion? It doesn't really matter what I think about tattoos or Jesus freaks. I do know this though. In the beginning of time God started a love affair with man. He wanted to have a relationship with him but He knew man was capable of horrible things. So God says, "Hey...if you want to be my people and have me protect you from your enemies and prosper you on earth, you'll follow all these rules." And for about 1500 years people did keep those rules to the best of their ability. 

Then a man named Jesus shows up and says, "Hey...you know all those rules you've been following? Nice work, but now I'm the way. No more rules, no more law...just freedom in me. All you gotta do is trust me." And the people who followed the rules killed him for saying it.

So the first 10 days of reading has brought on a lot of thinking. It's a neat thing to know the ending because it makes the context that much more meaningful. Now on to Numbers.

posted by Chris Owens