Leviticus 10: As I read this chapter I canāt help but think about the time in Exodus where God mentions that heās not quick to anger. Within the first two verses, Aaronās sons, the two who were consecrated, were killed by God. Hereās what happened: āNow Aaronās sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered unholy fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them. Ā² And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lordā (Lev 10.1-2). This may make people mad, but thatās not an example of someone who isnāt quick to anger.
8/10 Reading (Leviticus 7-9; Acts 5)
Leviticus 7: The first part of this chapter outlines the ritual for the guilt offering from chapter 5 in Leviticus. The text actually says āthe guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is the same ritual for themā (Lev. 7.7). That makes life easy for the priests. Next we get the ritual for the well-being offering from chapter 3. As with the other rituals, the text is very detailed on what an individual is supposed to do in this situation.
8/9 Reading (Leviticus 4-6; Acts 4)
I read a really interesting article in the Washington Post today titled Seriously, āGame of Thronesā made me a better Bible reader. I encourage people to read it. Iāve already mentioned numerous times over this past month how I wonder if people realize just how much sex and violence is in the Bible. The author said this:
8/8 Reading (Leviticus 1-3; Acts 3)
NOTE: Typically I put an introduction to a book in a separate post. Not doing that for Leviticus. I didn’t really have much to say about the introduction.
Introduction to Leviticus: Nothing really to address here. The main thing I remember ever hearing about Leviticus is how tedious and dry it can be. Clearly the person who wrote this introduction had a similar thought:
8/7 Reading (Exodus 40; Acts 2)
Exodus 40: The last chapter in Exodus. God tells Moses to set up the tabernacle and everything that goes with it: the Ark of the Covenant, the table, lampstand, lamps, golden altar, screen, etc. Then Godās presence filled the tabernacle. I found it interesting that when God was there, no one, not even Moses, was able to enter it. This was strange to me because Moses was allowed to be in Godās presence in earlier chapters.
8/5 Reading (Exodus 37-39; Psalm 18)
This was a long day and I was really tired when I read this. I didn’t have much to say on these readings.
Exodus 37: The construction of all interior furnishings of the tabernacle occur in this chapter. This is pretty much a repeat of when God described everything to Moses.
8/4 Reading (Exodus 34-36; Acts 1)
Exodus 34: The chapter starts with God telling Moses to get two new stone tablets and bring them up to Mount Sinai so he can write on them again. I find what he said to Moses really funny: āāCut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you brokeāā (Ex. 34.1). I just love that final little remark.
Introduction to Acts
Introduction to Acts: I just have to say that Iām pretty excited about reading this book. Iāve always been curious about what happened right after Jesus ascended into heaven. I hope this will help with that. It’s also going to be interesting to read about how Christianity grew right after Jesus died. Clearly Jesus was Jewish, but why didn’t the Jewish people see him as the messiah? Did the apostles convert to Christianity? When did this new religion take the name Christianity? I don’t know if Acts will be able to answer these questions. I certainly hope so. If not, then I’ve come up with more questions that I need to answer.
8/3 Reading (Exodus 31-34; Luke 24)
Yesterday I found out that Iām a finalist for the Sinai and Synapses fellowship. Itās a two year program where I would study and learn from others about science and religion. My interview is next Monday (8/7) and Iām excited about the possibility of doing this.
8/2 Reading (Exodus 28-30; Luke 23)
Iāve been pretty tired the past few days and I gotta admit, the readings from exodus have been challenging. The instructions are so lengthy and the details are a little overwhelming.
Exodus 28: Chapter is all about vestments for the priests, in this case Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The vestments are pretty extravagant. The one thing that really stood out to me was the turban Aaron had to wear. We live in a time where there is a lot of confusion and hate towards people who wear turbans. This is based on a lack of understanding of the differences in religions as well as what the Muslim faith is about. It really is a shame that ignorance plays such a large role in our society.