I’m now reading
Leviticus, and wondering if people actually did this stuff.
Nuts!
Anyway, at some point, the modern reader has to step back from the writing and ask…
“What does this mean?”
In all seriousness, imagine if, out of the blue, someone approached you while walking down the street and told you:
“The inspired word of God says that there is some benefit to you to kill an unblemished newborn lamb in the following way…”
“Or you will not be walking with God.”
“You will be cut off.”
“You will be abhorrent.”
“An abomination in this world.”
“And in any world to come.”
Leviticus outlines in detail the specifics of sacrifices designed to afford harmony between God, humanity, and the world.
It specifies rules concerning what, how, and where things are to be sacrificed, who is allowed to participate in the ritual ceremonies, identification of things that are unclean and what needs to be done to cleanse things that have come in contact with them, and various prescriptions of how to be holy, including issues of food, sex, and acting neighborly, among others.
Such practices which maintain the relationship between God and humankind.
It outlines cultic ritual sacrifices for the removal of evil, atonement for sin, healing of the sick, abatement of troubles, and the restoration of cosmic unity with the divine.
And it makes some sense, coming from an agrarian society that traces its beginnings to shepherds.
Consider the dealings of Jacob (pre-wrasslin’ match with God when he was still Jacob, not Israel) and Laban where Jacob created his flock of sheep through ingenious methods of animal husbandry, and Moses before Pharaoh immediately prior to the plague of the first born, where God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to deny release of the Israelite’s animals (which was the last straw as far as God was concerned).
Wealth and stature in the community were based on the ownership and control of sheep, goats, and other animals.
Giving that which is most dear is the highest form of sacrifice.
Leviticus also outlines the need to create a place for the Almighty to dwell, emphasizing that it must be holy, cleansed of pollution and free from impurities.
And it describes the practice of the annual ritual cleansing of theTemple
Yom Kippur.
Which, by chance, luck, or providence, begins this evening at sundown.
The specific ritual involves a young bull, a ram, and two goats.
One of the goats is offered for a sacrifice to the LORD.
And is slaughtered in a fairly gruesome fashion.
The other is to bear all the sins and iniquities of the children ofIsrael
Yet it lives.
That goat is known as the
scapegoat, and survives the ritual sacrifice to be released in the wilderness.
The scapegoat for Azazel, the “fierce and angry god.”
A foreshadowing of what is to come in Numbers, addressing the wanderings in the wilderness of the sinful generation of the Israelites.
And also a foreshadowing of things to come in the New Testament.
Which begs a question appropriate to consider on the Day of Atonement:
Is it better to bear the sins of the community in the wasteland...
and live,
Or to give of your life to be the sacrifice...
and be united with God?
It’s an
instruction manual for a slaughterhouse.
A cookbook for
ritual mayhem.
Clearly, PETA was
not around when the korban (animal sacrifice through burnt offerings) was being
practiced.
But it makes me consider
whether I truly appreciated the sacrifice of the formerly animate being that
went into this morning's breakfast.
And my afternoon
lunch.
And what may be
in this evening’s repast.
Thinking like
that might turn me vegan.
Which is what we
were when we were back in The Garden (at least that’s what Genesis says---
humans were only allowed to start eating animals after we got booted out of Eden
Too bad that the
smoke of the offering by fire is such a pleasing odor.
Perhaps such
things are best left to God.
But that would mean no more barbecues.
But that would mean no more barbecues.
Nuts!
Anyway, at some point, the modern reader has to step back from the writing and ask…
“What does this mean?”
In all seriousness, imagine if, out of the blue, someone approached you while walking down the street and told you:
“The inspired word of God says that there is some benefit to you to kill an unblemished newborn lamb in the following way…”
“Or you will not be walking with God.”
“You will be cut off.”
“You will be abhorrent.”
“An abomination in this world.”
“And in any world to come.”
Leviticus outlines in detail the specifics of sacrifices designed to afford harmony between God, humanity, and the world.
It specifies rules concerning what, how, and where things are to be sacrificed, who is allowed to participate in the ritual ceremonies, identification of things that are unclean and what needs to be done to cleanse things that have come in contact with them, and various prescriptions of how to be holy, including issues of food, sex, and acting neighborly, among others.
Such practices which maintain the relationship between God and humankind.
It outlines cultic ritual sacrifices for the removal of evil, atonement for sin, healing of the sick, abatement of troubles, and the restoration of cosmic unity with the divine.
And it makes some sense, coming from an agrarian society that traces its beginnings to shepherds.
Consider the dealings of Jacob (pre-wrasslin’ match with God when he was still Jacob, not Israel) and Laban where Jacob created his flock of sheep through ingenious methods of animal husbandry, and Moses before Pharaoh immediately prior to the plague of the first born, where God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to deny release of the Israelite’s animals (which was the last straw as far as God was concerned).
Wealth and stature in the community were based on the ownership and control of sheep, goats, and other animals.
Giving that which is most dear is the highest form of sacrifice.
Leviticus also outlines the need to create a place for the Almighty to dwell, emphasizing that it must be holy, cleansed of pollution and free from impurities.
And it describes the practice of the annual ritual cleansing of the
Yom Kippur.
Which, by chance, luck, or providence, begins this evening at sundown.
The specific ritual involves a young bull, a ram, and two goats.
One of the goats is offered for a sacrifice to the LORD.
And is slaughtered in a fairly gruesome fashion.
The other is to bear all the sins and iniquities of the children of
Yet it lives.
 |
| The Scapegoat |
The scapegoat for Azazel, the “fierce and angry god.”
A foreshadowing of what is to come in Numbers, addressing the wanderings in the wilderness of the sinful generation of the Israelites.
And also a foreshadowing of things to come in the New Testament.
Which begs a question appropriate to consider on the Day of Atonement:
Is it better to bear the sins of the community in the wasteland...
and live,
Or to give of your life to be the sacrifice...
and be united with God?
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