Saturday, July 21 2007

Leviticus 5-7

The Levitical-era laws were not merely rituals. They were also about behaving honestly and responsibly. Examples:

"If any one sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity." (Leviticus 5:1 RSV)

"Or if any one utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that men swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it he shall in any of these be guilty." (Leviticus 5:4 RSV)

They were also about caring for one's health. Examples:

"Or if any one touches an unclean thing, whether the carcass of an unclean beast or a carcass of unclean cattle or a carcass of unclean swarming things, and it is hidden from him, and he has become unclean, he shall be guilty. Or if he touches human uncleanness, of whatever sort the uncleanness may be with which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it he shall be guilty." (Leviticus 5:2-3 RSV)

The sacrifices for violations almost certainly helped the people to strive to obey; watching an innocent lamb or dove being killed for the guilt of one's self was surely an incentive to not do wrong (keeping in mind that all humans are responsible for the killing of a far more perfect and innocent "lamb" as payment for our sins - see Why Blood?).

"When a man is guilty in any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering to The Lord for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring, as his guilt offering to The Lord for the sin which he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer first the one for the sin offering; he shall wring its head from its neck, but shall not sever it, and he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, while the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering." (Leviticus 5:5-9 RSV)

Leviticus Chapter 6

All of the laws were and are based upon The Ten Commandments (see The First Commandment, The Second Commandment, The Third Commandment, The Fourth Commandment, The Fifth Commandment, The Sixth Commandment, The Seventh Commandment, The Eighth Commandment, The Ninth Commandment and The Tenth Commandment. Notice below how violators "shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to The Lord" i.e. the high priest was merely a symbol of the High Priest that actually has the power to forgive and make atonement (see What Is Jesus Christ Doing Right Now?).

"The Lord said to Moses [see The Education Of Moses], "If any one sins and commits a breach of faith against The Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor or has found what was lost and lied about it, swearing falsely - in any of all the things which men do and sin therein, when one has sinned and become guilty, he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found, or anything about which he has sworn falsely; he shall restore it in full, and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs, on the day of his guilt offering.

And he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to The Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued by you at the price for a guilt offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before The Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things which one may do and thereby become guilty." (Leviticus 6:1-7 RSV)

Leviticus Chapter 7

Only "clean" animals (see the Fact Finder question below) were acceptable for sacrifice. This principle was used in both a physical and spiritual sense.

"Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh, but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of The Lord's peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people. And if any one touches an unclean thing, whether the uncleanness of man or an unclean beast or any unclean abomination, and then eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of The Lord's peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people."

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, You shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat. The fat of an animal that dies of itself, and the fat of one that is torn by beasts, may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which an offering by fire is made to The Lord shall be cut off from his people. Moreover you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwellings. Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people." (Leviticus 7:19-27 RSV)

Fact Finder: How is it that The Lord's dietary laws for humans are exactly that - laws of healthy diet for all humans? How is it that they are simply about good health, not "religion"?
See Clean and Unclean

Today's Word
The Holy Bible was primarily written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. Today's Word examines the pronunciation and literal meaning of one of those actual words of the Holy Scriptures and how it is usually translated into English-language Bibles.

The Hebrew word pronounced mis-paw-er means to number or count. It is most often translated for use in English language Bibles as count, account or abundance.

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This Day In History, July 21

1403: Henry IV defeated the Percys in the Battle of Shrewsbury in England.

1542: In an increasing fight against Protestantism, Pope Paul III set up an "Inquisition."

1588: The English fleet defeated the Spanish armada.

1667: The Peace of Breda ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1664-1667) and ceded Dutch New Amsterdam (today known as New York City) to the English.

1711: Russia and Turkey signed the Treaty of Pruth, ending the year-long Russo-Turkish War.

1773: Clement XIV issued his Dominus ac redemptor noster which officially dissolved the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).

1798: The "Battle of the Pyramids" took place in Egypt. The Mameluke army attempted to block Napoleon's march on Cairo but were repulsed and eventually driven into the Nile River, where many were drowned.

1831: Belgium gained independence from the Netherlands. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg (in Germany) was elected the first king of the Belgians.

1861: During the American Civil War the Confederates routed Union forces at the first Battle of Bull Run. A key player was Thomas Jackson, described by the Union forces as standing his ground like a "stone wall," a nickname that stuck.

1904: The 4,607 mile / 7,468 kilometer Trans-Siberian railway was completed after 13 years of construction.

1925: The "Scopes monkey trial" ended in Dayton, Tennessee when John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.00 for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in violation of a Tennessee statute enacted earlier in the year. Scopes' conviction was later overturned.

1954: The French signed an armistice with the Viet Minh that ended their war but divided Vietnam into two countries.

1969: Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin lifted off from the surface of the moon, successfully completing man's first lunar landing.

1983: Martial law was lifted in Poland. It had been imposed in December 1981 by the communist government in a crackdown against Solidarity labor union.