Day 67, 6th November: Leviticus, Mark and Psalms
We may not always get God but he certainly gets us
James Grier, Soul Exeter and Unlimited Youth Church
Today’s readings
Leviticus 17:1-18:30
Mark 14:17-42
Psalm 31:9-18
By now you might be despairing of Leviticus! It’s addressed to people of a culture seemingly a million miles from ours – or is it?! Okay, so all this stuff about blood’s a bit weird, but we’d certainly go along with the fact you shouldn’t sleep with your mum, your aunty or an animal – that’s something we don’t even want to think about.
Following God means standing out from the crowd. How can God help his people be different from the other people around when they are 12 fairly independent tribes wandering in a desert? Leviticus is about helping them not get into the bizarre practices of other religions of the time. In order to avoid confusion God takes a fairly hard line on blood. In effect, it’s best to avoid it and sacrifices are best left to priests who know what they’re doing. Otherwise, you might get into pagan worship and that’s always a bad idea. When it comes to sex, the Bible, as a whole, shows us that marriage is the only right place for it. For now, this passage helps clarify some of what’s off limits when it comes to sex. It goes into specific examples to avoid confusion or people looking for other permutations or loopholes!
Why does God have to go on and on about what’s right or wrong? Well, he knows how easily influenced we are by other people and how easily we go their way rather than God’s. If you look at the reading from Mark, we find Jesus telling his disciples that one of them will betray him to those who want to kill him. Another disciple will betray him and pretend he doesn’t know him. Whatever Judas and Peter’s motivations, they stop standing up for God and go with the crowd. Jesus knew they were going to let him down. He didn’t condemn them for it, but he understood. We may not always get God but he certainly gets us. This is why, in the Old Testament, he put boundaries around behaviour to help protect his people from themselves and those around them. It is why he warned his disciples. He also demonstrated that we have a choice in the face of temptation. In Gethsemene, he didn’t want to die, yet he chose to pray, “Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Are we willing to stand out from the crowd? Will we go God’s way rather than that of those around us, who want us to be no different from them?
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Today’s picture was taken by…
Chloe Plumridge. Thanks Chloe.
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The Bible in One Year with Soul Survivor 
This is all crap. I love the way religious people pick and choose what they believe in the bible. I you say that you believe the bible is accurate and “real”, then you should believe everything in it is real.
I know a few gay individuals and they grew up very miserable. Both country childhoods in a large family. Once their families found out, they were the “outcast” and everyone turned their backs on them. Why would anyone in their right mind want to go through this. If this is a choice, then do you think this would be more of a priority then having your family love you. Many of the individuals that are “anti-gay” are truly ignorant. But then again, so are many “religious” people that I know.
Leviticus 17:1-18:30
Through the shed blood of Christ, we have peace with God and eternal life (17:11; Romans 5:1-2, 8-10). Having received life through Christ, we are to live a new life. We are not to live in the way of the world. We are to live as those who belong to the Lord
(18:1-5: Romans 6:12:14; 12:1-21).
God spoke to me in the reading today about something, so just thought I’d mention it on case this helps anyone…
I always kinda ignored the bits in psalms about “enemies” cus I don’t really have any, I get on with most people.
When I was reading the psalm today, I realised enemies can be other things aswell, not just people 🙂
Eg, stress, discouragement, the devil, pressures of life…
So so great to know God is with us through it all!!
X
hey Lauren 🙂
yeah me too! that was really helpful to point out, thanks
God bless xx
Thanks, James, for your comments.
Here are a few comments to help us (a) not to despair of Leviticus -it’s for us as well as people who lived a long time ago; and (b) to go God’s way -it’s never an easy way, but it’s the best way.
May God bless you and help you to bring His blessing to others.
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We are to be devoted ‘to the Lord’ (Leviticus 17:4-6,9): ‘You are not your own; you were bought with a price’ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Underlying Christ’s atoning death, there is this principle: ‘the life… is in the blood… I have given it for you… to make atonement…’ (Leviticus 17:11). Christ has shed His blood: He has given His life that we might have life. God looks upon His Son, crucified for us: He ‘has commanded the blessing, life for evermore’ (Psalm 133:3). We confess our sin, acknowledging that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins’ (Hebrews 9:22). With grateful thanksgiving, we rejoice in our Saviour, ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). ‘Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power…’
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After ‘they had sung a hymn’ (Mark 14:26), Peter showed that there was a great deal of ‘self’ in him (Mark 14:29). All of us can be like this – ‘they all said the same’ (Mark 14:31). We attend Communion (Mark 14:22-24), we sing hymns (Mark 14:26) – yet still the wrong attitudes persist! We ‘enjoy’ praise, prayer, and preaching – Remember: God is concerned with the whole of life, not just the ‘spiritual’ activities! Christ looked ahead to the Cross – ‘the hour’, ‘this cup’ (Mark 14:35-36). He was far removed from an ‘enjoyable atmosphere’ within which prayer is ‘easy’. Sorely tempted, He prayed, ‘not what I will but what You will’ (Mark 14:36). This was no easy road – the ‘betrayer’ was waiting for Him (Mark 14:42). It was a lonely road – ‘they all forsook Him, and fled’ (Mark 14:50). ‘The gate is narrow, the way is hard’ (Matthew 7:14). May God help us to follow Jesus.
Ok, just to be picky, Lev 18:22 “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman”, so quite clear there that male homosexual relationships are ‘detestable’, but what of female same sex relationships? Are they just as detestable? And what about masturbation? Sin or not? And there is no mention here of sex with children, so was that so obviously a sin and detestable that it was not thought necessary to mention it?
I am loving the Bible in One Year, even if the more we read, the more questions I seem to have.
I can’t remember anything about sex with children in general but there are very clear restrictions for sex outside of marriage. Biblically speaking, if a man had sex with an unmarried girl he would have to make her family an offer of marriage (i.e. promise to support her for life), and if they refused he would still have to pay the bride price for her. So there would be consequences in law for this – there were also legal consequences for rape as well (Deuteronomy 22).
Can’t remember the passages but somewhere later female same-sex acts are mentioned.
As for masturbation, the old testament says nothing about it (to my recollection), it is obviously something impossible to pass laws against. But in the ten commandments in Exodus 20 it says ‘Do not covet your neighbour’s wife’, and in Matthew 5 Jesus said ‘But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart’ – and goes on to talk about ‘if your right eye causes you to sin’ and ‘if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.’ I think that we are clearly forbidden here from fantasizing about other people – and definitely from looking at pornography.
Female same sex acts are mentioned in Romans.
The reason they’re not mentioned here is because all of these commands are addressed to men- I think it was taken as read they were the same for women as well.
But isn’t it okay to be gay just not practice it, it can’t be controlled… (I’m not btw!!)
As Leviticus says you should slay your children if they disobey you – if you want to take 18:22 you have to take the rest.
I’ve known Christians who are openly gay and celibate. People often don’t choose which gender they are attracted to (and usually can’t change it), and I think it is important that this verse calls the action ‘detestable’ and NOT the person.
As far as I understand it, being gay and not practicing it is fine, although as we see all over the Bible, God cares about our thoughts as well as our actions – which is something that applies to all of us when it comes to sex.
To reply to Luke, Leviticus does not say to slay your children if they disobey you. There are plenty of times in Leviticus where it says ‘they must be put to death,’ this does not mean ‘slay them’ – there is a huge difference between a legal punishment and an individual’s actions.
It’s like the difference between a criminal being executed by the state, as opposed to me hunting down and murdering criminals myself.
Nowhere in Leviticus does it say anyone should harm their own children in any way – and in fact Leviticus goes a long way to protect children from the child sacrifices happening in surrounding nations at the time.
I think Tim is trying to Split hairs about words ( and translations) the words of Leviticus are and can be brutal. As a Christian you have to respond to them how you think God is asking you to respond to them . I believe they are words of their time , and out understanding of the nature of God has changed. I think you have to look at God’s Creation and see that some are created Gay – and once you see that you can see they are not an abomination.
@Luke – I’m not personally against homosexuality (undecided), but it doesn’t seem that some people being born gay makes it OK. Most people are born relatively selfish too!
@Calum, surely it’s to do with whether you make a decision to be selfish, yes we’re born selfish, but we can always chose not to be selfish. Many homosexuals feel it is not there choice and there is nothing they can do about it.
A lot of people would say that they don’t have much of a choice. Having said that, I’m never really sure what people mean by not having a choice or ‘being born gay’. Usually they mean that there’s a genetic predisposition to being gay, but that seems unsatisfactory for three reasons:
a) There is only a predisposition – it doesn’t follow that the trait will actually follow.
b) Genes are not determinative – through environmental factors (including our ‘choice’, if we genuinely have free will), we can manipulate expression and silencing of genes.
c) People have genetic predispositions to plenty of harmful behaviours, and it doesn’t mean those behaviours are acceptable.
As I say, I’m unconvinced by the arguments for homosexuality being wrong, too. If people want to make an argument from lack of choice (or explain what they mean by that) not based on genetics, I’d love to hear it! 🙂
Hey Ellie, God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Homosexuality is a very complex thing. I believe that you are not born gay it is just a concequence of the fallen world we live in today. there is not gay gene. saying that you can be gay and not practice it is like saying to a heterosexual guy, you can be straight but never have sex with a women. it will never work. Homosexuality is a cage, its bondage, its stealing men and women from having true godly relationships with another, its an emotional need met by sexual desires, its an elution and a travesty. Anyone who is gay can become straight meet the man or women that god always planned them to marrie and have a familly. Through God all things are possible. Being gay is not perminent and is not natural or what God wants.
“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a women; that is detestable” – With Gods help i can break free from ANY stronghold for nothing is beyong you Lord. No pit is so deep that his love cannot shine through. I trust in your unfailing love Jesus.
Through my emense struggle your Love for me has been magnified.
I love that God protects us and shares what he knows is the best way. In the new testament lots of the verses are summed up in one phrase – sexual immorality – and we can refer back to these verses if we need clarification, which is why I don’t think it changed in the new testament.
What I don’t like is that people single out one aspect of sexual immorality and go on about how it’s wrong, such as having sex with someone of the same gender, but so often no one, even ministers in the news when their interviewed mention that God speaks against a whole range of sexual behaviour that is outside his plan. And their all on the same footing in God’s eyes.
Also, at no point does God say to hate people who do this. Jesus in the new testament went on to die for everyone, even two of the people closest to him that he knew would let him down.
Sorry, “they’re” not “their” x 2!
Amen! Well put.
Thank you Fiona, well said.
Well Jesus called down “woe” to Judas and said it would be better if he’d never been born. That’s near enough to condemnation IMO
I’ve read people using “Jesus said there will always be poor people” as an excuse not to work to eradicate poverty, and there’s quite large bunch of people that think Christians shouldn’t work for peace- especially in the Middle East- as war is a sign that the second coming is near. We’ve read these things just recently- but I guess this verse is a reminder that God isn’t grateful to us for “helping” Him fulfil his prophesies instead of getting on with following his commands.
I must admit, I have previously thought of how similar Jesus prophecies of the end times that we read yesterday seem to events we see in the world today, But, I think the thing to remember is that even if the end times are near, doesn’t mean we should stop trying to change the world and give up, because these things are going to happen – if anything it should spur us to making a change, because there are so many people who are not saved. The other thing is that I have heard the interpretation that the end times and coming of the antichrist refers to all time between Jesus death and his second coming – this would definatly make more sense, because Jesus says no-one knows the time not even the son, plus the sort of persecution Jesus talks about has occurred ever since the Acts of the apostles.
Jake
I guess that’s the point of Jesus’ parable about the “sheep and goats” and the “Bridesmaids and the lamps.”
If we focus more on being like the sheep… feeding the hungry, clothing the naked/etc … perhaps God’s Kingdom would come a little closer in the places where we are.