“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
As you begin to read I think you might say “Hey, these all fit into one of the 10 commandments”.
The first and last sections deal with a person’s relationship to God ( 3-8, 32-36), and the second and fourth with one’s relationship with others (9-18, 30- 31). The central section deals with man’s relationship to himself (19-29). I once took a study on ” chiastics” to find patterns like this and it wasn’t for me (I never went past the first class, I would rather be getting cavities filled) Did I just say that out loud?
As I read them in my Bible I tried to mark which of the 10 commandments it matched with.
All of chapter 19 is important, and if this is your first time reading the Bible, look forward to your second time…because you will see things like 19:9 about leaving the edge of your field and say “Ohhhh that’s what Ruth was doing!” HOWEVER, which command in all of Chapter 19 was the one most quoted by Jesus? (If your Bible has cross-references in the margin, you should see it immediately. Write your guess in the comments.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
If you are looking for a black and white answer on whether it is ok to get a tattoo, you are not going to get one from me. That’s your decision. I find it funny that very few Americans read a Bible BUT most of us know a scripture in Leviticus. People’s take on it varies:
- We are not under the law anymore, we’re under grace.
- This passage speaks of an ancient pagan Egyptian practice and not to modern tattooing practices.
- It’s okay if your tattoo honors the Lord, etc.
If this is your first read-through take note of the end of the first section, it will explain WHY these commands are stated. I know you read some of them and said “They need to be told not to do that?? I thought it was obvious!
Chapter 20:22 “‘Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.
If this is a repeat read through did you notice how many of these the Israelites will ignore?? I was reading it and thinking…yup they ignored that one too! SMH! Wait…I ignore some of them as well…not the gross ones though. I promise.
Chapter 21 (continued tomorrow into Chapter 22) Rules for Priests:
These chapters tell us what the priest:
- must not do
- must not be
- must not offer
More importantly, they are to be set apart, Holy. They are to properly represent God. Always look for Jesus on every page. Jesus completely fulfills all of the Tabernacle rituals so that we, as believers become His Priesthood.
1 Peter 2:
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Reading the Bible - 2021 