Resumo de Leviticus

Contrary to some people's belief, the ten commandments were not the only laws God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai. The ten commandments were a compressed version of what God required of Israel, a small list anyone could remember and carry with them day by day. God did, however, give Moses a more detailed version of the law that the Levites (one of the tribes of Israel that Moses and Aaron came from and God appointed to be His priesthood) woulddedicate themselves to learningso that they could teach the people. This is what the book of Leviticus covers. Exodus started part of the rules and regulations, and Leviticus carries this on. Given the fact that the book of Leviticus was focused more on the Levites and their service, Leviticus was really aimed at the priests and priests in training.Besides maintaining the tabernacle and offering sacrifices, the priests were responsible for handling disputes, treating diseases, and ensuring that the entire nation of Israel followed all of God's laws. It was their job to help the people carry God's laws into their homes and to apply them to every day life, much like today's clergy. The covenant made between God and Israel required that all people, even foreigners in the land obey all rules and regulations, so the Levites were not only priests, but judges as well; it was also their job to enforce the law. Understanding the role of the priesthood helps one understand why the law is so specific, and at times all the rules and regulations can seem overwhelming, but so is the law of our country. In order to serve all men, the law must be specific enough to help all people, regardless of their situation understand and obey the law. Due to the fact that Israel was about to enter Canaan and fight numerous battles, its was imperative that everyone obeyed God's law, for God's protection would be lost if they were disobedient. Not only must the people treat each other right and obey moral law, their relationship with God must also be in accordance with His will. At the time, the Jews had to offer a series of sacrifices, animal, grain, and drink offerings to keep fellowship with God. These sacrifices were similar to other pagan sacrificial rituals in terms of the manner in which they were carried out, but later in the Bible God Himself expresses that the sacrifices themselves were not what He required, they were merely a physical representation of their devotion to Him. In other pagan rituals, sacrifices were made to appease their god, and even to feed them. This was not the case with Israel, God merely wanted their devotion and attention so that they may remain pure. The livestock, grain, and drink that the Israelites sacrificed were their income and source of food, so by sacrificing a whole bull that could be sold for a good amount, or by burning grain that could have been eaten, they showed their devotion and acknowledged that God was their ultimate provider, and gave thanks by giving back a portion. These sacrifices were also used to atone for their sin, for in Genesis God told Adam that the payment for his sin would be his life. Technically, God had the right to destroy all who sinned. However, in order to preserve the life of His children, He accepted an animal in the place of the human life. Usually an unblemished goat or lamb would be sacrificed in place of the human blood. When this animal was sacrificed, the sin of the man was symbolically placed on the animal, and it was killed for the sin of the one presenting the offering. Once a year, the highpriest would take a goat, place his hand on the head of the goat placing all the sins of the whole nation on it and send it our into the wilderness, hence the term we use today 'scapegoat'. We call Jesus the lamb of God for this reason; He took all of our sins on Himself and paid the price so that we wouldn't have die. These sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the work He would do thousands of years later. Purity was also an important part of the covt only for the health of the people, but for their relationship with God. Purity was required on the inside as well as outside, and in order to serve God fully, we must be clean in both aspects. For this reason, those with certain diseases, ailments, and other disorders were not allowed in the camp or to worship at the tabernacle. It wasn't that God didn't love them; but the physical and the spiritual are deeply connected, and in His eyes its all the same. The priest were appointed to regulate life in the community and ensure that everyone served God with all their facilities. The law not only ensured that the covenant wouldn't be broken, but would ensure that the people lived happy, healthy lives.

Resumos Relacionados