Offerings from the poor

Today: Leviticus 14-15

All right--so today was another one of the Leviticus passages with more laws and instructions. I hope you're sticking with me (and this reading project we're on together) because these are the kinds of passages that test our persistence. :)

One of the things that I noticed today was God's instruction for poor people giving offerings. (See these verses for example.) Did you notice that? It was interesting to me because God didn't say, "Well, if you're poor, you don't need to bring anything." He also didn't say, "If you're poor and can't afford the offerings, too bad. You can't be clean before Me." And He didn't say, "If you're rich, give some of your extra money to the poor, so that they can give offerings to Me." Interesting, huh?

God's system of giving is really unique and pretty cool, I think. He asks that we all do our part. He wants us to be obedient. But He does not ask us to give more than we're capable of giving...and He doesn't ask us to take on the responsibility of giving on behalf of others. No--each of us is responsible. We have an opportunity to give the best we can. And He deserves our giving, our effort and our hearts.

Tomorrow: Leviticus 16-18

Clean and unclean

Today: Leviticus 11-13

All right...did you stick with the reading today?

It was tougher than most, I'll admit. Lots of commands and instructions for defining clean and unclean food and people. Thankfully, today, most Christians do not live under the religious nature of these laws--thank God for the New Testament and Christ's fulfillment of the law!

A few things stood out to me today. First, how holy and perfect God is--and the big gap that separates us imperfect human beings from Him. Secondly, I was thankful for God's grace and gift of salvation that "bridges the gap," so our eternal destinies are not based on following laws or not. Jesus fulfilled the law and if you have chosen Him as the leader and Lord of your life, you can walk in the freedom of His forgiveness. Beautiful.

As I read this passage, I also thought of Jesus' work with people in the New Testament. For example, how He interacted with lepers. According to the law, lepers were unclean people--people to be basically banished from their homes and families. Lepers were outcasts. They couldn't DARE come close to a Temple or a priest after being declared "unclean."

Contrast that with Jesus--God Himself--who walked up and physically touched lepers to heal them. Quite a different picture, right? Before Jesus, the lepers really couldn't connect with people except those who were also deemed unclean. Jesus' care and His simple touch changed that. It first gave them dignity and kindness. Then it changed their health, social status, and their eternal destinies forever.

Tomorrow: Leviticus 14-15