Post by mommadee48 on Jun 29, 2021 13:23:46 GMT -5
FIRST; 101 IMPORTANT WORDS of the BIBLE, by LEN WOOD:
HOLY, "means to:" set apart from evil; morally perfect".
I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. ( Leviticus 11:45).
I f any book of the Bible could use an image consultant, it's the book of Leviticus. People describe the third book of the Bible odd ways, for example, " Leviticus is like brussels sprouts- probably good for me, but I tried it once, and, well, that was enough to last a lifetime". Or they sheepishly confess that Leviticus was where their read-through-the-Bible plan crashed and burned.
How tragic! The first book Jewish children used to study in synagogue classes* is the last bit of Scripture most Christians read.
Ignore Leviticus and you might miss one of the Bible's most crucial words: "holy". Various forms of the word are found here more than 150 times! That's more mentions than in any other book in the Bible.
The literal and technical meaning of the term "holy" conveys the idea of separateness. To say that God is holy is to say that HE is set apart from all that is sinful and profane and imperfect. A holy thing or person is pure, unblemished, clean.
Leviticus shows that treating God as holy means His people must approach Him with the gravest respect, soberly-not flippantly. Think of how a nuclear physicist treats radioactive material or a worker at the CDC handles a deadly virus. One careless moment can kill!
To be sure, Leviticus outlines a highly complicated system for approaching God. And to be honest, none of it makes much sense until you read the rest of the Bible-especially the New Testament.
Here's a worthwhile exercise. Read the book of Leviticus from start to finish (500 bonus points if you do it in one sitting). Circle or underling every reference to holiness. Then wrestle with this one question: since the divine command to the ancient Jews- "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2)-is repeated to New Testament believers-"Be holy in all you do" (1Peter 1:15)-how does holiness need to be part of the story I am telling with my life today?
SECOND; 101 IMPORTANT WORDS of the BIBLE, by LEN WOOD:
ATONEMENT," Reconciliation through a required payment".
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. (Leviticus 17:11).
One common-and entirely valid-criticism lobbed at the Bible by skeptics is that it is a violent book. People are constantly being bludgeoned or stabbed or flogged. Animals are repeatedly being slaughtered and sacrificed.
This raises unsettling questions: Why is the so-called Good Book so bloody? AND what in the world does "atonement" mean?
HOLY, "means to:" set apart from evil; morally perfect".
I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. ( Leviticus 11:45).
I f any book of the Bible could use an image consultant, it's the book of Leviticus. People describe the third book of the Bible odd ways, for example, " Leviticus is like brussels sprouts- probably good for me, but I tried it once, and, well, that was enough to last a lifetime". Or they sheepishly confess that Leviticus was where their read-through-the-Bible plan crashed and burned.
How tragic! The first book Jewish children used to study in synagogue classes* is the last bit of Scripture most Christians read.
Ignore Leviticus and you might miss one of the Bible's most crucial words: "holy". Various forms of the word are found here more than 150 times! That's more mentions than in any other book in the Bible.
The literal and technical meaning of the term "holy" conveys the idea of separateness. To say that God is holy is to say that HE is set apart from all that is sinful and profane and imperfect. A holy thing or person is pure, unblemished, clean.
Leviticus shows that treating God as holy means His people must approach Him with the gravest respect, soberly-not flippantly. Think of how a nuclear physicist treats radioactive material or a worker at the CDC handles a deadly virus. One careless moment can kill!
To be sure, Leviticus outlines a highly complicated system for approaching God. And to be honest, none of it makes much sense until you read the rest of the Bible-especially the New Testament.
Here's a worthwhile exercise. Read the book of Leviticus from start to finish (500 bonus points if you do it in one sitting). Circle or underling every reference to holiness. Then wrestle with this one question: since the divine command to the ancient Jews- "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2)-is repeated to New Testament believers-"Be holy in all you do" (1Peter 1:15)-how does holiness need to be part of the story I am telling with my life today?
SECOND; 101 IMPORTANT WORDS of the BIBLE, by LEN WOOD:
ATONEMENT," Reconciliation through a required payment".
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. (Leviticus 17:11).
One common-and entirely valid-criticism lobbed at the Bible by skeptics is that it is a violent book. People are constantly being bludgeoned or stabbed or flogged. Animals are repeatedly being slaughtered and sacrificed.
This raises unsettling questions: Why is the so-called Good Book so bloody? AND what in the world does "atonement" mean?