READING FOR AUGUST 12, 2024: LEVITICUS 4, LUKE 5, PSALM 78:56-72 LEVITICUS 4 This chapter details offerings for unintentional sins of four categories of people: the anointed priest, the entire Israelite community, a leader, a member of the community. The focus here will be on the significance of the differences among these categories of offerings:
| Anointed Priest 1) young bull 2) priest lays hand on head 3) slaughter at the entrance of tent 4) sprinkle blood 7 times before curtain 5) put some blood on horns of incense altar 6) pour rest at base of burnt offering altar 7) burn fat on burnt offering altar 8) burn rest outside of camp | Entire Community 1) young bull 2) elders lay hands on head 3) slaughter at the entrance of tent 4) sprinkle blood 7 times before curtain 5) put some blood on horns of incense altar 6) pour rest at base of burnt offering altar 7) burn fat on burnt offering altar 8) burn rest outside of camp |
| Leader 1) male goat 2) leader lays hand on head 3) slaughter at the entrance of tent 4) put some blood on horns of burnt offering altar 5) pour rest at base of burnt offering altar 6) burn fat on burnt offering altar | Community Member 1) female goat or lamb 2) member lays hand on head 3) slaughter at the entrance of tent 4) put some blood on horns of burnt offering altar 5) pour rest at base of burnt offering altar 6) burn fat on burnt offering altar |
Young bulls were considered the costliest sacrifice, male goats next most, and female goats or lambs the least. Notice the procedures were lengthier for the anointed priest and the entire community than for a leader or individual community members. This seems to signify the greater seriousness of offences committed by these individuals in God’s sight. We should ponder the fact that all these were unintentional sins, yet they must be atoned for in order to receive God’s forgiveness: “In this way the priest will make atonement for them [sins], and they will be forgiven” (Lev. 4:31). Perhaps we have been minimizing our own unintentional sins too much believing lack of intent made the sins harmless. Not so, according to Leviticus.
LUKE 5 It says in Luke 4:15 that Jesus taught in the synagogues in Galilee, but here he was on the shore of a lake teaching the word of God. Later he taught while sitting in a boat. He was not locked into a type of venue. What was the same in all locations is that He taught the word of God. Let’s be creative in reaching people, but never replace the Bible with something we think is more culturally relevant. After his session, Jesus gave Peter, a professional fisherman, fishing advice. Jesus is the creator and sustainer of the universe: “All things have been created through Him [Jesus] and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16-17). If we think we’re better informed than He is on anything, we’re being delusional. Peter, having just heard Jesus preach, understood this and obeyed Jesus. When he saw the results, he gained deep theological insight into who Jesus was (someone to be worshiped) and who he was (a sinful man not fit to associate with Jesus). By this reaction, Jesus knew that this man could not only be His disciple, but eventually a leader among them. At Jesus’s invitation Peter, James, and John left a gold mine of a catch to become fishers of men. What about us?
READING FOR AUGUST 12, 2024 CONTINUED: LUKE 5, PSALM 78:56-72 Here is excerpt from Leviticus 13:45-46: “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ He shall be unclean... and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” But when Jesus encountered a leper in Luke 5:12 he didn’t avoid him but healed him with the touch of His hand. This was His will; he wanted to do this (vs.13). In reaching out to the leper, he also reached out indirectly to the Jewish leaders (vs. 14) by telling the man to go to the priest as a testimony to them. He’s still reaching out to all who are unclean. “The blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7).
The healing of the man coming down from the roof is found in Mark 2 and Luke 5. Notice the differences regarding the roofs. Mark’s Gospel does not indicate its intended audience. Luke clearly says he wrote for Theophilus. It’s fair to presume Luke used the word “tile” to make it understandable to Theophilus, but that Mark’s rendering is more literal.
Matthew is another disciple Jesus grabbed right off his job. Jesus was really brazen to choose a collaborator with the hated Roman occupiers. Matthew immediately proved worthy by leaving his lucrative career and throwing a big reception for Jesus to meet other tax collectors. The Pharisees’ criticism is emblematic of the current bad theology of our times. They didn’t and we don’t understand that everyone’s a sinner desperately needing to be saved by Jesus.
PSALM 78: 56-72 This last section is a poetic summary of the tumultuous time from the end of Eli’s life to the reign of David. It starts with rebellion and idolatry, root problems of God’s people at every period. In God’s anger, He literally and symbolically removes His “might,” the ark, from Shiloh (Israel). This led in turn to defeat, death, and despair. Asaph poetically writes the Lord then woke up, punished Israel’s enemies (who had actually carried out God’s discipline), rejected Ephraim (tribal location of Shiloh), and chose Jerusalem in Judea as the home of His special presence. David the shepherd (remember not a respected profession) was chosen to shepherd His people because of his “skilled hands and pure heart.” Remember how Moses sought skilled people whose hearts were stirred to serve God? Still openings available.
