Navigating the Worlds of Science and Religion
Joshua 7: Israel loses to Ai in battle all because Achan took what belonged to God. For this, Achan, his family, and all of his possessions were killed and destroyed. WOW! Such harsh punishment. The sins of one person directly impact everyone and lead to the death of an entire family.
Continue reading “9/20 Reading (Joshua 7-9; 2 Thessalonians 1)”
Introduction to Deuteronomy: I’m always fascinated by the introduction section to each book. Even if I don’t have much to say about what I’ve read, I still find it very interesting. The NRSV study bible provides extensive detail about each book in the introduction. Discussion of authorship, date, and historical context always intrigue me. It makes me want to read more about each book in the Bible. Just to better understand all of this stuff is really interesting to me. For example, it’s really interesting that the structure and messages in Deuteronomy match other historical documents from other cultures, such as the Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon (672 bce) (p. 248).
I have to admit, reading Leviticus is really tough. Just so many rules. Now I see why so many people have chuckled when I mentioned that I am currently reading Leviticus. I recognize the importance of the chapter, but wow!
Leviticus 16: The chapter is about the day of Atonement. Aaron was charged with doing a lot. He had to offer and slaughter a bull as a “sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and his house” (Lev. 16.11). He had to slaughter a goat as a sin offering for the people. This allowed him to make atonement for the sanctuary and the full tabernacle because of the uncleanliness of the people as well as their sins. We learn that this is supposed to happen every year forever:
Leviticus 7: The first part of this chapter outlines the ritual for the guilt offering from chapter 5 in Leviticus. The text actually says “the guilt offering is like the sin offering, there is the same ritual for them” (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.
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:
I’m looking forward to starting Exodus. As a first time reader of the Bible, what I know about Exodus comes from what others have told me, the bits and pieces I’ve read, and from movies. The cartoon, Prince of Egypt, was pretty good and the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, was definitely entertaining. However, I can’t rely on those films as my primary source of information.