Blogging through the #B90Days: Day 9

Blogging through the Bible in 90 Days, with Amy from Mom's Toolbox.

Reading:  Leviticus 14: 33 - 57 - Leviticus 26: 1 - 26

Scripture:  Leviticus 18: 1-5

1 The Lord said to Moses,2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the Lord your God.3 You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.4 You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.5 Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

Observations:


This section of scripture is in the middle the huge list of "don'ts" that basically make up the book of Leviticus.  In fact, immediately following this beautiful  statement is a long list of perversions the Israelites are to stay away from.  They range from general human decency (don't sleep with your mother in law, she is your father's wife) to the very offensive (don't have sex with an animal).  And then we see, in verse 26 - 27:

26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things,27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled.


Ewwww!!!
No wonder God felt like He had to spell it out!!
The blanket statement "do not live like those people who lived here before" was not strong enough.

Application:


Stay focused of God.
Do what He has told me to do, live the way He has told us to live.
Do not be concerned, or focused on the way the others around us are living.

If I am the Lord's, I will obey Him.


Prayer:


Lord,

I am overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of what Jesus' death on the cross accomplished.

Thank you for having a plan in place to redeem us, and thank you for including all people, regardless of where we come from, or who we are.

Above all, thank you that the Law was completely fulfilled with the sacrifice of your Son.

(And thank you for the covenant with Noah about the whole not killing off the Earth with a flood again, because humanity is so depraved, you would have had to start over at least 1,000 times....)

I am so grateful to be going through the Old Testament again, for the reminder of your Majesty.

I am in awe of you.

Amen.