Leviticus

Response as the Goal of All Bible Reading

I love purpose statements. I love them because I really don’t like guessing about someone’s motivation. It’s an uncomfortable place to be in. If I’m reading something someone wrote or listing to someone give a talk, I don’t want to be left wondering why they wrote what they wrote or said the things they said. I think this is partly why I like John’s gospel so much.

As the apostle John was drawing his gospel to a close, he thought it would be a good idea to make clear why he wrote it in the first place—to remove the mystery, if there was any.

Exegetical Meditations (23)

What a difference a word makes!

In the beginning of the book of Leviticus—before God had given his instruction through Moses to the people of Israel regarding their state of cleanliness in his presence—Yahweh (the LORD) spoke to Moses from the tent of meeting.

Why, from?

Because Moses could not enter; this was before the instruction had been given.

Then we continue reading and God (through Moses) gives to the Israelites everything they need to do to be clean before God. The rituals are extensive and somewhat boring and out-of-touch to us, but they meant everything for the Israelites. You see, there was a problem between them and God.