Leviticus 17 teaches us that the Israelites were not to eat anything that had blood left in it. Of the clean animals they were permitted to eat all of the blood was to be drained from it and basically buried. We also kind of get a glimpse to the fact that sometimes the Israelites offered sacrifices to other gods. These gods are referenced here as images of goats. God wanted to make sure that they understood that all offerings were to be directed to Him and they were required to do them at the tent of meeting. The image of the god as a goat appears in some other religions and the one I can see the most reference to would be of Greek Mythology. The Greek god Pan often appeared as part goat and was the god of shepherds and flocks. I can see why some of the Israelites might have taken to offering things to this particular god, because of what he was supposedly a god of.
Leviticus 18 is a dandy. We learn a lot about unlawful sexual relations. This chapter goes into great detail about who and what we are not permitted to have relations with. I would prefer not to get into a huge commentary on gay relationships but this chapter does contains a verse that confirms that God did not create people to be gay.
Mark 9 begins with three very lucky disciples. They accompany Jesus up on a high mountain and are blessed with being able to see. They not only see Jesus before them but also Moses and Elijah. What a truly amazing site this must have been. They not only got to see those three but they even heard the voice of God. We then head back to town were the remaining disciples have been trying to exorcise a demon from a young boy. They were unable to vanquish this demon and Jesus does it for them. He tells them that this particular type of demon can only be dealt with by prayer. I find it interesting that we kind of see a glimpse here that suggest that demons can be cast out by different means. If there are some that can only be cast out by prayer what are the other methods of casting out a demon?
Tomorrow's reading is:
Leviticus 19, 20 and Mark 9:30 - 50
17. Well, I'm glad you explained that to me b/c I totally didn't get that the goat was representing another god. Went right over my head apparently
ReplyDelete18. I found this chapter very sad. Probably not for the reason you might thing. It makes me sad b/c it's the chapter were I realized that The Bible is not a book written for women to read. It's clear from the descriptions of all these various relationships that they are speaking solely to men. I understand that this is just a reflection of the times that the Bible was written in, but it still makes me sad. Makes me feel a little like an accessory at best and livestock at worst.
9. Alright, I'm just going to admit I'm stupid and ask. Who is Elijah? He's referenced quite a bit in Matthew and Mark and I keep thinking we'll get to who he is, but so far no.