We find in chapter 10 that God is serious when it comes to the responsibilities of the priests. He is not kidding around. The resolution with Aaron at the end is vague, but it does seem to assuage Moses. The ritual purity of the priests is very important, which we will discover later.
Chapter 11 starts a series of laws about purity and impurity. Notice that impurity is a part of daily life. There will be cases for everyone when they will become impure. It is important to remember this. The Jewish idea of "impure" is not what we often me when we connect it with morality. The two are distinct ideas, though a person who commits a crime becomes impure.
Also, leprosy is not what we today call leprosy (Hanson's disease). It is likely a variety of different skin afflictions. Remember, there were no doctors, no one to go and check things out with. Also of note...the priests job was not to cure someone, but declare whether they were cured - or in more ancient terms, whether they had been cleansed of impurity and were ready to be re-incorporated into the community by their sacrifice.
Also, please notice that sacrifices were never offered to bring about a cure. One did not sacrifice so that the deity would then cure you. You offered sacrifice as thanksgiving and as a part of your re-entry into the community. This is very different from the pagan idea in which you sacrifice to appease or win the favor of the deity. Yahweh cannot be bought.
Much of the purity laws revolve around procreation. There was little difference between sex and reproduction, though we separate them in our own culture. Bearing children was the most important function in that society and the family was the social welfare system. This will become more important in later laws.
Chapter 16 is one of those important chapters in the Bible. It is important because it deals specifically with the idea of atonement for sin. It is the description of what is known today as Yom Kippur. Please note several important things:
- There are two sin offerings, one for the high priest who is performing the ritual. The other is for the nation of Israel
- The sin offering is not to appease the deity.
- It is specifically to cleanse the temple. Once a year the temple was given a kind of spring cleaning with the sin offering.
- The offering ritual's focus is not on purification or repentance of an individual.
- Notice two hands are laid on its head. This is the only time it happens and the only time that the idea of sin being transfered to any ritual animal
- Notice the animal is not killed
- It is sent away from the camp. It bears the sins of the people out into the wilderness.
- There are some Rabbinical comments from much later that someone was sent to make sure the animal (carrying the sins of the people) would not return.
Now all of this points back to how we understand Jesus' own sacrifice, or offering. There have occasionally been strains in Christian theology that say Jesus death was necessary for our forgiveness, that Jesus was destined to die on the cross, that his death appeased an angry God, or somehow "paid" for our sin. It is sometimes argued that Jewish sacrifice prefigured this in some way. If you pay attention to Jewish sacrifice, you will see that their cultic practices do not support this kind of theology. Rather it is better to say that he was killed by our sin, and in forgiving us for killing him and rejecting his message, he bears our sin, bears it away from us. This is what we mean when we say, "Jesus died for our sin." Jesus played the role both of the animal that was sacrificed to purify the temple and the scapegoat who takes the sins of the people of God out into the wilderness where they are forgotten by God and banished from his presence.
Chapter 17 introduces the Holiness Code (see last week). It begins with how animals are slaughtered, specifically that they not be killed outside of the sanctuary. Remember, in ancient cultures no one ever killed an animal without some kind of theistic ritual. This section of the law has as much to do with worshiping false gods as anything else.
Many of the laws that follow in 18-20 may seem archaic. Remember, for the most part these laws were rather progressive for their time. They treated both men and women as members of society whose purpose was the preservation of order and the growth and strengthening of the extended family. Also, remember there aren't laws against things that no one was doing. There are also significant provision for the poor.
The section ends with almost a kind of warning. The covenant they are making with God is conditional. If they do not follow these laws, they will end up like the people they are going to displace in the Promised Land.
Mark 7-9
Interestingly, while we are reading the purity codes of Leviticus, we find Jesus fighting with the Pharisees over these things. Jesus makes the argument that what goes into a person ends up in the toilet anyway (Jesus was not above locker-room humor on occasion). It is what comes out of a person's mouth, what they say and do that matters. He points out several flaws in the laws that people would follow, for instance not taking care of family for "holy" reasons. The purpose of the law is to help, not to deprive and hurt.
As if to drive the point home, we have the story of the Gentile woman, some one who would be an outsider to a Jew. She receives her miracle because she challenges the generosity and abundance of God.
The stories of the deaf man and the blind man bookend another miraculous feeding and the blindness of the disciples. Here they are worrying about the fact that they had only one loaf for their crossing. Jesus challenges them. Do they not understand the promise of abundance that God has made to them. A promise shown in as clear and concrete a way that you could expect. There is always enough with a little left over!
We also find the great pairing of stories in which Peter gets it, but not really. He understand Jesus is the Messiah, but he doesn't get what kind of Messiah Jesus is (8:27-33).
Chapter 9 has the transfiguration followed by another exorcism. The "battle" with Satan continues in Jesus ministry. It is followed with a section similar to the Sermon on the Mount. The kingdom is all or nothing; don't be afraid to leave some things behind.
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