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On support and celebration…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 8:6 Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. 

Today’s scripture has me thinking about ceremonies, about public rights of passage–church confirmation and baptism, Eagle Scout Ceremonies, high school and college graduations just to name a few. 

Leviticus 8:7 He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also fastened the ephod with a decorative waistband, which he tied around him. 

There is just something about standing with someone who has completed something difficult and amazing that is incredibly satisfying–for the one who completed the thing AND for those who have gathered to recognize and celebrate the accomplishment. 

Leviticus 8:8 He placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that we are to “….encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thess 5:11). Thank You for the reminder that there are so many ways to support and celebrate each other through the daily trials and accomplishments of this life. Help us to seek opportunities to encourage each other always. Amen. 

Leviticus 8:9 Then he placed the turban on Aaron’s head and set the gold plate, the sacred emblem, on the front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Have a blessed day. 

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Getting out of God’s way…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 8:1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, a the two rams and the basket containing bread made without yeast, 

Today’s reading sent me back to Exodus 3 where Moses first meets God. He sees the burning bush and is curious. He hears God’s voice and is afraid. He receives God’s call and immediately comes up with excuses as to why he, Moses, is not the one for the job. 

Leviticus 8:3 and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” 

I am reminded, today, of how far Moses has come and how greatly God has used him. Looking back on this most unglamorous beginning, I am reminded of what God can do when we give up the excuses and allow Him to use us fully. 

Leviticus 8:4 Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Precious Savior, I am curious and faithful, afraid and full of excuses. Thank You that, through Moses’s example, I see that You can use me, too, as long as I trust You, as long as I am willing to get out of your way. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 8:5 Moses said to the assembly, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.”

Have a blessed day. 

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Love God. Love others…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:35 This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests.

All the sacrificial offerings in this section have me thinking about the books of Matthew and Luke and of Jesus’s declaration of the greatest and second greatest commandments: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40).

Leviticus 7:36 On the day they were anointed, the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their perpetual share for the generations to come.

In Luke 10:25-37, we have the parable of the Good Samaritan and the reminder that a neighbor is one who has mercy on others and we are to go and do likewise. All the rules and regulations have their place and their significance, but we are called to show love and mercy always.

Leviticus 7:37 These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering, 

Precious Savior, You know I need both the big picture (show love and mercy to all) and the fine details (all these specific sacrificial offerings, the tabernacle descriptions, etc). Thank You for helping me wade through Your word and for drawing me closer in the process. Amen.

Leviticus 7:38 which the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai in the Desert of Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord.

Have a blessed day.

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Made for community…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:32 You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution. 

Today’s verses bring to mind the idea of community. There is community involved in this sacrificial system. Yes, God is there, as are the priests, but the penitent is there as well. 

Leviticus 7:33 The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share. 

This idea of community brings to mind Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” When we gather, God is with us. Honestly, when we are alone, I think God is with us as well, but this reflection is about community. 

Leviticus 7:34 From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their perpetual share from the Israelites.’ ”

Precious Savior, Thank You that You made us for community, for gathering in Your name, for supporting and up lifting each other. You know I am rather solitary in my ways. Help me to remember that You are found in community, too. Thank You. Amen.

Leviticus 7:35 This is the portion of the food offerings presented to the Lord that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests.

Have a blessed day. 

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A lifeline…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:27 Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from their people.’ ”

Just as I was thinking “Good grief! There are sooooo many rules!”, it occurred to me that if your world has gone sideways, having these very specific rules to cling to can be a lifeline.

Leviticus 7:28-29 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as their sacrifice to the Lord. 

When you don’t know which way is up, knowing specifically what is expected can be such a blessing.

Leviticus 7:30 With their own hands they are to present the food offering to the Lord; they are to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that in the middle of my frustration over more rules and more specificity, You remind me why having so many rules that you can count on can be a blessing. It’s not about me. It’s about drawing closer to You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 7:31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.

Have a blessed day. 

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On scorekeepers and gatekeepers…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:22-23 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. 

According to commentary, “Nineteen offenses resulted in a person receiving the punishment of ‘being cut off’” from their people. Why nineteen? Why not eighteen? Or twenty?

Leviticus 7:24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it. 

Just the idea of that kind of gatekeeper, someone who’s job it is to count offenses and keep track, makes me incredibly uncomfortable because I know where that kind of scorekeeping can lead, and it’s nowhere good.

Leviticus 7:25 Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which a food offering may be presented to the Lord must be cut off from their people. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You do not encourage a gatekeeper mentality. Help us to love You and love others to the best of our abilities, admitting when we get it wrong, giving ourselves grace, and trying again. Amen.

Leviticus 7:26 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal.

Have a blessed day.

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To love and not to judge…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:20 But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord, they must be cut off from their people. 

Commentary talks about modern folks who know they have sinned but try to take communion (or other spiritual gifts) with God despite their sin as also being, essentially, unclean. But here’s the thing, I’d wager that there are a healthy number of “good Christian people” who have sinned in word or deed, knowingly or unknowingly, who think they are just fine with God. 

Leviticus 7:21 Anyone who touches something unclean—whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean creature that moves along the ground —and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord must be cut off from their people.’ ”

Don’t get me wrong. There are absolutely those folks who know they have sinned, but there are far more, I think, who have cut down God’s people, who have judged and schemed, and jockeyed for position who think they are living just right, when God knows their hearts. 

Leviticus 7:22-23 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats. 

Precious Savior, You did not put me on this earth to judge. You call me to love: Love You and love others. Thank You that the job of judge does not fall to me. Thank You that You know our hearts. Help me to love and not to judge. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 7:24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.

Have a blessed day. 

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On love and rules…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:16 “ ‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day. 

As I read commentary on today’s verses, I keep thinking about context and abuse when it comes to God’s word. Commentary talks about how hot it was in the climate and how, potentially, that’s why there were such strict rules about how many days after the sacrifice was offered that the meat could be consumed. Putrifaction was not part of the ritual.

Leviticus 7:17 Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up. 

But I can’t help thinking of the Pharisees and Sadducees and their abuse of these rules. They used them as “Got ya” moments, as in “You aren’t following the letter of the religious law and now I”ve got ya!” 

Leviticus 7:18 If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, the one who offered it will not be accepted. It will not be reckoned to their credit, for it has become impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.

Precious Savior, I just don’t think You ever intended Your word to be a “Caught you doing wrong” trap. You call us, again and again, to love You and love others. Help me put aside my own prejudices and love as You love. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 7:19 “ ‘Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it.

Have a blessed day. 

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Symbolism, communion, and reconciliation…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:12 “ ‘If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in. 

There are just so many sacrifices and rules in Leviticus that sometimes it all seems to run together, so when commentary compared the thank offering to “the symbol of communion based on reconciliation,” I perked up.

Leviticus 7:13 Along with their fellowship offering of thanksgiving they are to present an offering with thick loaves of bread made with yeast. 

Symbolism, communion, and reconciliation are things I understand. Sacrificing animals and splashing their blood all over the sanctuary, thankfully, is not something I readily understand nor identify with. But removing those barriers between my actions and God’s love, I get that completely.

Leviticus 7:14 They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for allowing me insight into Your word, especially when I am struggling. Thank You that You love me so much, You will stop at nothing to restore me to Your unending love. Draw me closer. Amen.

Leviticus 7:15 The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.

Have a blessed day. 

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Understanding God’s Word…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 7:7 “ ‘The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them. 

Commentary on today’s verses talks about an ancient Christian writer who interpreted verses 9-10 “in an excessively allegorical way” and the untold harm that interpretation did to the early church. 

Leviticus 7:8 The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself. 

My questions were immediate: Who gets to say an interpretation is excessively allegorical? Why would excessive allegorizing cause harm? Shouldn’t we all be reading and interpreting the scriptures for ourselves, testing them against what we know and understand, reexamining them again and again to be sure that our current interpretation is as correct as we can make it at the moment?

Leviticus 7:9-10 Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it, and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

Precious Savior, I want to read and understand Your Word. I do not want to rely on someone else’s interpretation. Help me to continue to read Your Word and test my understanding of it against what I know to be true of You. Help me draw closer daily. Amen.

Leviticus 7:11 “ ‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the Lord:

Have a blessed day.