READ - RESPOND - REPEAT

The relevence of Leviticus

When I was on the pastor nominating committee trying to locate our current pastor, I was put in charge of asking the more theological questions. One of the questions I asked was something to the effect of, “Are there any parts of the Bible that you consider to be irrelevant or out-dated for modern people or people of a different culture since it was written thousands of years ago by and for folks in the middle-east?” I would have personally voted against any pastor candidate who had said that parts of the Bible were irrelevant or out-dated.
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But I have to confess, I’ve gotten into Leviticus in my current reading and have gotten instantly bogged down. I started praying for the Holy Spirit to guide my studies and lead me to understanding of what in the world these Levitical laws have to do with anything. And guess what? The next day I stopped by the Magnolia Library, just aimlessly browsing, and on the discard shelf I found a set of bible commentaries on a variety of the books of the Bible. I bought eight bible commentaries, including Leviticus, for 25 cents apiece. That might sound sort of trite, but it sure seemed like providence to me.
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Anyway, I’m still working through Leviticus and I’m still bogged down but I’m going on the assumption that everything in the Bible is relevant and timely to me today and that everything in the Bible serves to give me a clearer picture of Jesus Christ.

1 comments:

John said...

I am first reminded of the words of Paul in Romans where he states that the purpose of the law is to reveal our sin. It was to help us realize we can not do be "good". We must have a Savior. As believers we are no longer under the law.

My recollection of Leviticus is for instructing the Israelites in how to approach God by sacrifice and how to be holy before God. These words are still relevant. I have not studied Leviticus in detail yet, but it is on my study plan for Spring 2010. That is a long way out so I look forward to hearing what you say.

Like you, I believe the entire Bible is God's inspired Word and still relevant today.