A Work in Progress….

Leviticus 16:15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 

Again I am struggling with making this scripture relevant. It feels very distant from my daily life. So this morning, I again turned to Google AI to see if it could cut through the clutter and help me latch onto these verses in a way I couldn’t perceive. 

Leviticus 16:16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 

Once again, the goodness of God’s word, the specificity of my prompt, and the assist of AI helped me connect by reminding me that “there is no amount of human messiness, internal chaos, or spiritual distance that God is unwilling to work through to get to you”. It is an important reminder, no matter how I get there.

Leviticus 16:17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the ability to use tools to help me understand Your word and make it relevant. Help me not to take Your word out of context or spin it to my worldview but to simply recognize Your loving presence and to draw closer to You. Amen.

Leviticus 16:18-19 “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 16:11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 

I did some AI Googling for today’s verses as they are just not sticking. One sentence jumped out at me about the ritual performed by the priest during this time and that sentence dealt with “the heavy cost of bridging the gap between a holy God and a broken people”. 

Leviticus 16:12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 

Again I find myself thinking of priests in a modern context with their crisp, clean white chasuble over a black cassock. But the reality of priests during the time of Leviticus was that they dealt daily with a lot of blood and gore. 

Leviticus 16:13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. 

Precious Savior, I’m honestly not sure what to do with this observation other than to remember that things have changed substantially, both in the role of priests in worship and in the barriers to You, especially for individuals. Thank You that we now have a smoother path to You. Help me to walk that path often, to sit at Your feet, to soak in Your presence. Amen.

Leviticus 16:14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 16:6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 

I’m sure I knew that the term scapegoat was originally used in this context and meant, quite literally, the goat that escaped death and was sent into the wilderness, symbolically carrying the sins of the community, but when I read this passage, all I can see is the modern meaning, which, according to Google means: “a person or group unfairly blamed for the mistakes, problems, or misdeeds of others”.

Leviticus 16:7-8 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. 

And I can’t help but think that a lot of people who use the Bible to blame and hate and ostracize are using the Bible as a scapegoat, unfairly blaming the words in the Bible for the way the person chooses to interpret and use those words. It is imperative that we remember God’s heart.

Leviticus 16:9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 

Precious Savior, You are the epitome of love. You left the 99 to find the one lost soul. It hurts my heart that people use Your word to justify hatred and ostracization of Your children. Help us to be honest with ourselves about how we use Your Word. Help us to be true to Your heart when we do so. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 16:10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 15:28-29 “ ‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Commentary provided two essential reminders today. One is that sex with temple prostitutes used to be a thing, so the Israelites needed the reminder that that was not ok.

Leviticus 15:30 The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the Lord for the uncleanness of her discharge.

The second reminder was that the rules and laws in Leviticus were intended to help the Israelites to remain ceremonially clean so they could worship. “[T]hey were never intended as the way to be right with God.”

Leviticus 15:31 “ ‘You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place,  which is among them.’ ”

Precious Savior, Thank You for allowing me to see first hand this week that Your word is alive and active (Heb 4:12) and that, even though so much has changed in this world, I can still draw closer to Your heart by reading and studying Your word. Amen.

Leviticus 15:32-33 These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen, for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who has sexual relations with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 15:19 “ ‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.

Talk about cultural shame and embarrassment, women’s monthly cycles have been surrounded with shame and embarrassment for a long, long time.

Leviticus 15:20 “ ‘Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean.

Commentary spins it as “at least she gets a break from housework, kids, and sex” for a week (paraphrase), but the bottom line it that a natural bodily function is stigmatized. That’s not ok.

Leviticus 15:21 Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

Precious Savior, I’ve spent a lot of time hating my body for not living up to ideals and for functions that are normal. That’s not ok. Thank You for this body, Lord. Help me love my body exactly as it is. Amen.

Leviticus 15:22-23 Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean till evening.

Have a blessed day. 

Leviticus 15:1-2 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has an unusual bodily discharge, such a discharge is unclean.

I don’t think I realized that the Bible talked about sexually transmitted diseases, but that seems to be the focus of today’s scripture.

Leviticus 15:3 Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

And, honestly, I think the biggest issue I have is that male STDs and female menstruation are treated in the same way. That doesn’t seem right.

Leviticus 15:4 “ ‘Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.

Precious Savior, It’s honestly fascinating sometimes the things you call me to ponder as I read and study your word. Help me to draw closer to You each day as I ponder.

Leviticus 15:5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

Have a blessed day.