Old Testament
(Leviticus 15 – 27:13)
Maybe I've watched a little bit too much Supernatural, but I
did a double-take when God was doling out the instructions about the sacrifice
for atonement. He mentions that Aaron is to send a goat out into the wilderness
for Azazel, which made me wonder, “Why the heck does that yellow-eyed demon
get a goat!?” Someone clear this one up for me.
I have written (at length) about my views on Leviticus 18,
homosexuality and the Bible in the past, so I don’t see the need to revisit it
here.
Every time I read “in the Jubilee,” I couldn't help but
imagine that there were colorful sparklers constantly going off and that all
the Israelites wore yellow rain jackets and pink wraparound shades.
Somewhat in the middle of these instructions, God drops this
little nugget: “Do what I tell you; live
what I tell you. I am God.” I love it that God felt the need to clarify that
there is a difference between just doing something and living it – a difference
between just going through the motions and allowing something to permeate my
being, flow through me and dictate the direction I’m heading. God then ends
this chore of a book with an Oreo cookie: a list of incentives of things he
will bless the Israelites with if they follow Him, consequences for if (when)
they don’t and a promise that he will remember his covenant with their
patriarchs if they were to fall away and then repent.
And that’s Leviticus. Still gotta slog through Numbers, but
then we’re through the mud so we’re halfway through the mire!
New Testament
(Mark 7 – 10)
I like to drive. Ever since I got that laminated picture ID
and a set of keys, I've taken great pleasure in driving folks around. I think
it’s a learned behavior – my mom liked to drive my crew around before we could drive
ourselves. She says it’s because it gave her a glimpse into our lives – what we
were into, who our friends were, who liked who, whatever. It let her connect
with us during a time where kids tend to disconnect from their folks as much as
they can. I think I picked that up once I got the keys to jLo and moved on to
college. I had a car with a giant backseat and a working engine, something the
majority of my crew didn't, so I found myself volunteering to drive us wherever
we went. I also liked the control that came with being the driver – I never had
to call shotgun, I always had veto power over and radio and I got to decide
which route we took. That hasn't always worked out so well, though. There have
been plenty of times, especially since moving back to NOLA, that it would have
been wiser for me to let someone else take the wheel and get us where we needed
to go, because I had no idea how to get there. Jesus kind of hits on this point
this week, when he essentially tells the disciples that if they’re gonna follow
him, they need to give him the wheel.
As I was reading the passage where Jesus talks about poking
out your eye or cutting off your hand if it causes you to sin, I was reminded
of a SCL entry I read once. In it, Jon talks about things that he, as a
Christian, probably shouldn't know exist. One thing that Jesus says is that it’d
be better to sit around in heaven with one eye than to have 20/20 vision in
Hell. This is something I struggle with, because I so want to be up to speed with what’s going on in the world.
Despite the fact that I’m not edified in the slightest by Odd Future (besides
an instrumental or two), I’ll listen through all of it, just so I can be “in
the know” if it happens to come up in conversation (and it never does). Food
for thought.
Psalms (40:11 –
45) & Proverbs (10:13 – 22)
This week, the psalms started off with this classic hymn.
As I read Psalm 44, I was reminded of something God said at
the end of Leviticus (what!? I actually
got something out of Leviticus!?). God’s talking about the possible
consequences if his people don’t follow his instructions and one of the things
he says is that if they “continue to defy me, then I will in turn defy you” and
goes on to list all of the terrifying ways He’ll do this. And I get the feeling
that David’s sentiments in Psalm 44 echo the defiance he feels from the Lord.
To me, it’s the best picture of doubt the Psalms have produced yet – far from
the typical, “I’m so low, but you’re so great and you will redeem me” psalm he’s
written over and over and over and over again. That said, I feel like this
aforementioned common theme running throughout the Psalms is vocalized in this jam from Rich Mullins, so enjoy.
