February 11, 2006 - Leviticus 11-12 and Mathew 26:1-25
I enjoy reading all of these laws in the Old Testament. I guess that is kind of strange, since most people seem to find them fairly dull. I think the reason they find them dull is that sometimes they are hard to understand, and sometimes people think they do not have any meaning for us today. Therefore, they think it is a waste of time to read them. I do not feel that way. I do not believe God ever changes. His nature is constant. When He gives a law, it shows us some insight into His nature. There is a difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. We do not have to do everything in the Old Covenant any more, but there are many things we can learn from it, since God gave it, and God does not change. I would encourage you to look for the meaning of the laws for this reason.
One thing the dietary laws in chapter 11 show me is that God is not arbitrary in His decisions. Isn't it amazing how modern science has come up with reasons for us not to eat many of the foods on God's list of unclean foods? Why is that? There seems to be a physical reason for not eating them, as well as a spiritual reason. God wants us to be healthy and holy. He cares about us physically and spiritually. We obey His laws because He gave them to us, and He said we are to be holy. (v.44-45) However, at the same time we can know that there is a reason behind each law. In reality, if a food is good to eat, it is good for us. If it is unclean, it is not good for us. Therefore, we should ask ourselves the same question today. Am I eating something because it tastes good or because it is good for me? We should care about our health as God does.
In chapter 12 the laws concerning childbirth are a little more unusual to us. Why would a woman be unclean for something that happens naturally? Why does a woman need to offer a sacrifice for atonement after giving birth? Has she done something wrong, so she needs forgiveness? I do not think it points to sin. I think it points to the blood, and again, it is unhealthy to be in contact with blood. It can cause sickness. Therefore, God wanted people to be careful around the blood. I don't have a clue why the period of uncleanness was twice as long for a female baby. I do not believe for a minute that boys are superior to girls. However, we can ask God that when we get to heaven, and I am confident He will have a very good answer. I trust Him completely.
Matthew 26 gives us the straw that broke the camels' back for Judas. When He saw the costly ointment poured out on Jesus, and he thought of how that money could have been used for other things, he decided to betray Jesus to the Jewish leaders. Why did he do that? We know from the rest of the Bible that Judas never was really a believer. He was just a follower. He never put his trust in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He was just curious. We know he would steal money from the Disciples' money bag. Therefore, his heart was more on money than righteousness. Now, he just got fed up. He could not take this spiritual talk any longer. He must have been convinced that following Jesus would not help him personally, so he would help the Jewish leaders and stop following Jesus. Isn't that how it works for many people? Think of how many people you have seen follow Jesus for a while and then leave Him? Why did they do that if He was their Lord? They were more concerned with self or with others. That is why the Bible says that those who endure to the end will be saved. It is not that we can lose our salvation once we have it. The truth is that if we depart, Jesus was never our Lord in the first place. Judas is a good example of that.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 13 and Matthew 26:26-50.
One thing the dietary laws in chapter 11 show me is that God is not arbitrary in His decisions. Isn't it amazing how modern science has come up with reasons for us not to eat many of the foods on God's list of unclean foods? Why is that? There seems to be a physical reason for not eating them, as well as a spiritual reason. God wants us to be healthy and holy. He cares about us physically and spiritually. We obey His laws because He gave them to us, and He said we are to be holy. (v.44-45) However, at the same time we can know that there is a reason behind each law. In reality, if a food is good to eat, it is good for us. If it is unclean, it is not good for us. Therefore, we should ask ourselves the same question today. Am I eating something because it tastes good or because it is good for me? We should care about our health as God does.
In chapter 12 the laws concerning childbirth are a little more unusual to us. Why would a woman be unclean for something that happens naturally? Why does a woman need to offer a sacrifice for atonement after giving birth? Has she done something wrong, so she needs forgiveness? I do not think it points to sin. I think it points to the blood, and again, it is unhealthy to be in contact with blood. It can cause sickness. Therefore, God wanted people to be careful around the blood. I don't have a clue why the period of uncleanness was twice as long for a female baby. I do not believe for a minute that boys are superior to girls. However, we can ask God that when we get to heaven, and I am confident He will have a very good answer. I trust Him completely.
Matthew 26 gives us the straw that broke the camels' back for Judas. When He saw the costly ointment poured out on Jesus, and he thought of how that money could have been used for other things, he decided to betray Jesus to the Jewish leaders. Why did he do that? We know from the rest of the Bible that Judas never was really a believer. He was just a follower. He never put his trust in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He was just curious. We know he would steal money from the Disciples' money bag. Therefore, his heart was more on money than righteousness. Now, he just got fed up. He could not take this spiritual talk any longer. He must have been convinced that following Jesus would not help him personally, so he would help the Jewish leaders and stop following Jesus. Isn't that how it works for many people? Think of how many people you have seen follow Jesus for a while and then leave Him? Why did they do that if He was their Lord? They were more concerned with self or with others. That is why the Bible says that those who endure to the end will be saved. It is not that we can lose our salvation once we have it. The truth is that if we depart, Jesus was never our Lord in the first place. Judas is a good example of that.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 13 and Matthew 26:26-50.