1 Samuel 6

As a reaction to the destruction visited upon the Philistines in the previous chapter, they decide to return the Ark of the Covenant to Israel. Along with it they send golden rats and tumors, as a guilt offering to represent the things that had been terrorizing their people. Rats and tumors, rats and tumors... why does that sound familiar? Could it have been an instance of the Bubonic Plague?

They also devise an interesting way of testing to see if these troubles had indeed been sent by the Israelite God - and of course they are proven right (verses 7-12). When the Ark arrives at a nearby Israelite town, the inhabitants celebrate and offer sacrifices to God. Unfortunately it seems that some of them get a bit too close and personal with the Ark. Note to self: if the Ark is ever found again here on Earth, by all means *do not look inside*!

Deuteronomy 26

This book is now starting to trend away from laws and back toward rules concerning offerings and tithes. We have a reiteration here of the command to bring the firstfruits of all the produce and livestock raised in the promised land to the Lord, as well as a reminder that the third year (of each seven year sequence, if I remember correctly) was to be donated to the poor and the Levites.

The chapter ends with a call to remember the Lord, and what He has commanded the Israelites. I suspect this marks a transition back to historical narrative, but we'll have to see tomorrow.

Numbers 28

This chapter contains a summary of the regular scheduled offerings the Israelites were to make - daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly (at important feasts or holy days). I don't have a lot to say about it, but something did come to my mind that has been floating around ever since we started getting the instructions for offerings and sacrifices back in Exodus. There always seems to be a combination of some or all of the following: meats, grains, oils, and liquids (alcoholic by the sound of it); however, fruits and vegetables seem to be missing entirely! This mirrors the story of Cain and Abel, where God was pleased with Abel's animal sacrifices but not with Cain's fruits. Now I've heard that might have been because Abel brought the best of his flock, and Cain isn't explicitly said to have done the same - but the lack of fruits and veggies in Israelite offerings makes me wonder if there might not be a deeper significance to it.

Numbers 18

This chapter covered the use of all kinds of offerings made to the Lord as the sustenance of the Levites, the priests of Israel. It is very similar to how tithing works in churches today - we give a portion of what we make so that the pastor and other church staff can be paid, and so that the facilities can be maintained. It is quite a logical setup, and when done correctly it scales quite well: with more people, more ministers are needed and larger buildings... but more money is also provided. I imagine the same was true in Israel: as the community as a whole grew, so would the Levite population and the amount of offerings that they were given as their portion.

One other interesting thing to note here is that the Levites were not to have any other part of the inheritance with their brothers. I wonder if that meant they could not own land at all, or if it just meant that when the time of the Year of Jubilee rolled around they had no "native" lands of their own.

Numbers 7

Hmm, how can I say this politely? This chapter was the best example of repetition I've yet seen in Scripture - the same exact phrases, over and over; 12 times in total (once for each of the leaders of the Israelite tribes). I'm sure this conveyed how important the dedication offerings they brought were, but when readnig it today it seems so unnecessary.

Oh well - at least it sounds like the next chapter should be interesting. We are left with a cliff-hanger at the end of the reading today: "Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. Thus he spoke to him." (verse 89, NET) Wow, 89 verses!

Leviticus 22

This chapter covers laws about how priests are to deal with the portion of offerings that belonged to them as food, as well as some commands about certain types of sacrifices the Israelites made. What I liked here - and what I recall seeing on occasion in previous chapters - is that there was a clause for someone who accidentally ate the priests' food if he wasn't supposed to. God knows we are human, and far from perfect, and He set up His laws accordingly.

Also, it sticks in my memory that at some point David had his men eat from the food dedicated to priests (when he was on the run, I think). I can't pinpoint where I remember reading that, but when I get into those later books of the Bible I will have to keep that in mind and see if I can find it.

Leviticus 9

From the text today it sounds as though the ceremonies surrounding the Tabernacle and the beginning of the priests' work is drawing to a close. One thing that occurred to me while reading this evening was that maybe some of the complexity in the offering system was actually God meeting a 'need' of the Israelites. When all He asked was that they follow Him out of Egypt and not worship other gods, they failed. Maybe they needed more pomp and ceremony that they could focus on. After all, they would have doubtless seen the Egyptians making all manner of sacrifices to their pantheon of gods - maybe the expectation of such things was culturally bred into them at that point. I could be completely off base here: maybe God had symbolic or other reasons for the requirements He put in place.

Leviticus 6

More regulations for the various sacrifices and offerings. As I've said before, this all just makes me glad that we no longer have to go through all of these motions and sacraments. The first section of the reading relates to the guilt offerings that were discussed yesterday, though, and it I found interesting. Specifically the requirement that a thief (or other person who has sinned by taking what is not theirs) give back what they took along with an additional fifth is very interesting. In some ways that seems like letting someone off easy, but at the same time it might be enough to make someone think twice before committing a crime.

Leviticus 5

This chapter has more about sin and guilt offerings, a followup to the last reading. What I find most interesting here is that there is a sliding scale, if you will, of offerings. There are three tiers of what someone can afford, which I'm sure the poorer Israelites appreciated. I guess God was ahead of the times ;)

Leviticus 4

The regulations in this chapter cover "sin offerings" - which were apparently special for circumstances in which a person or group had fallen into sin unintentionally. Once that was discovered, this type of offering would be made to cleanse the affected person/people.

What really surprised me here were two things:

- It seems that every time one sinned accidentally this was to take place. If that is correct, and was followed to the letter, I would expect a non-stop stream of people coming to give offerings day and night!

- For the way things are phrased, at least in the NIV I was reading tonight, it sounds like one wasn't considered guilty of the sin until one had realized it had happened. This was backwards of what I thought previously: I always assumed that once one committed a sin (intentionally or not) one was guilty of it; this, though, makes it seem that guilt traces back to the moment of realization of the sin. I suppose that could be instantly after - or even during - the sin, or it could be days, weeks, or years later.

How interesting these items are! Furthermore, I wonder what one was to do as restitution if one sinned willfully...

Leviticus 3

The concept of a 'peace offering', as described in the text today, is rather unfamiliar to our modern culture. We see sacrificial offerings in movies, and the idea is related closely to Christ's death on the cross for our sins. Doing a little research, though, it appears that the peace offering was a representation of the relationship between God and a worshiper; it was done after any other offerings, and as best as I can put it showed that God and the individual were on okay terms. That is kind of a cool idea, but I'm glad we don't have to go through all of the ceremony the Israelites did to demonstrate it.

Leviticus 2

In today's readings about how to offer grain sacrifices to the Lord three things stood out to me:

- The offerings had to be prepared without yeast or honey. The idea of leaving yeast, or leavening, out of foods that were part of religious ordinances was also present in Exodus, and I think is throughout the Bible. This is even used in Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.

- It was also required that salt be included in any baked offerings, which again is reminiscent of New Testament ideas. There we, as Christians, are to be the salt of the Earth; here, the salt is somehow representing the covenant between the Lord and the Israelites.

- Lastly, I noticed that only a small part - a "handful" of the offerings were to be burned. The rest was given to the priests, so I assume that was part of how they were provided for. That seems pretty cool :)

Leviticus 1

Today we have the instructions for burnt offerings, or as the text puts it "gift[s] of a soothing aroma to the Lord" (NET). I am very thankful that we no longer need to do such animal sacrifices - with Christ's atonement on the cross that ended, and we now are washed clean through His blood rather than through that of livestock. Praise the Lord!

Exodus 35

The neatest thing about the gathering of goods God arranged for His tabernacle is that it was all voluntary: the text repeats in many places that only those who felt it appropriate gave donations, and that was what Moses relayed as God's instructions. How many other ancient religions do you suppose made giving to their gods optional? Even today, groups and cults like Scientology basically require giving of their members - but every church I've gone to portrays tithing as optional. Mind you, in that case God does command it (both in the old and new testaments); the difference, though, is that no one but you and God know how much or how little you give in church. You won't get kicked out of any real Christian church for not giving, though you may find that God will bless you tenfold for donations that come from the heart.