I was feeling quite ill today and ended up sleeping on and off all throughout the day (it seems easier to sleep sitting up in the chair, as I don't cough quite as much). Now it is two o'clock in the morning and the fever seems to have broken enough that I can stay awake for a few minute.... so I'm here to get writing and keep up with my challenge!
These chapters of Leviticus have me somewhat in awe of the priests. Each day, their job description seems to expand. Not just holy men, Aaron and his sons have now taken on the roles of butcher, dietitian, family physician, dermatologist, and CDC. Wow!
Unfortunately, I've not yet found answers to yesterday's questions. Instead, I have a few more to add. Firstly, why would something completely natural, such as childbirth, make you unclean? Secondly, what does "unclean" even mean in this context? From the notations in my study Bible, it seems to mean something akin to "unfit to worship," but this has me seriously confused. Aren't we supposed to worship and pray in all circumstances? Or does "worship" in this context simply refer to the gatherings where people worship as a community? If that is the case, then I can understand, since most of the circumstances mentioned thus far which label someone as unclean are health issues that could infect others of the community. But...childbirth? And are the unclean still permitted to worship on their own? Is there a way for them to atone for their sins while they are still separated and unclean?
Well apparently, my awake time is up. Tomorrow I'll continue on with chapters 14, 15, & 16 (and hopefully feel a bit better). We'll see what answers and questions they bring about.
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Hiya. Glad you are a tad better... Some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteQ. Why did God strike down the Sons of Aaron?
A. The answer is in the passage. "Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified." Consider what follows on the heels of this ... "8 And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”
In other words, God is zealous for his Holiness. We will read a little later on about Uzzah who was struck dead instantly for touching the Ark of the Covenant - while trying to stop it falling in the mud! It's also possible (and I think likely) that Aaron's sons were drunk and skylarking - showing off a bit. This explains the alcohol prohibition before service. God is not the object of tomfoolery and is jealous for his reputation.
Q. Why kill them instead of rebuke them?
A. I think for the same reason Uzzah was struck: God's not your mate. He's not your girlfirend. He's not some giggley guy who will go "Oh. Haha. Drunk priests making up worship. What scallywags!" Adam sinned, he died. Uzzah presumed on God, he died. I think the question needs to be more like this: "I see God is jealous for perfection and covetous for Holiness. Why does he not strike me dead on the spot for surely I am no better than any of these? Thank you, Jesus, for bearing the death for my sin and help me be conformed to your image of holiness."
Q. Post-Cremation, why did God let the others off?
A. Good question. Could it be the difference between a drunken mockery of worship and the fact that these guys did the ritual as prescribed but were terrified that if they ate the actual offering to God, that they would eat their own destruction? Aaron tells Moses, who is angry about this; "Look - they did the offering, but after seeing my sons killed, I was terrified about offending Yahweh by eating and so I refrained." Moses was ok with that. God obviously saw through to the heart motive of Aaron in this and was gracious because Aaron's motives touched on the holiness of God and purity of worship.
Q. Notice that most of the things that make a person unclean (chs 11-15)involve things going into or coming out of the body. The period of uncleanness following childbirth seems to relate to two things: 1. The emission of blood, the symbolism of which I don't need to explain :) and which is also bound up in the menstruation uncleanness (Ch 15 .. I wish you had read this too! You will...) where we also note that seminal ejaculation makes men unclean. So it is this sense of discharge that renders a person unclean rather than childbirth per se... and 2. In many ancient cultures, following a birth, women go into a liminal stage. (Liminal = 'neither nor' or 'in between') Because of our technology, we think you spit the kid out, hang around for a day or so to make sure it ain't gonna croak, pack it in the car and go home. But consider the thousands of hours of preparation that go into that birth. The construction of the facility. The training of the staff. The preparation of the room, the equiment made, cleaned, readied. All this was not there for these women and the risk of death and/or infection of the mother or child was enormous. The putting of the mother aside for a time was as much for her safety as it was anything else. I tend to see this not so much as protecting the community from her - but her from the community. It also allowed her time to recover in peace for 2 months where she was freed from the religious obligations of worship. And, by virtue of being in covenant community, she continued to be a partaker in the blessings and relationships of that community on that basis rather than on the actual physical participation in worship.
A final comment. It's tempting to see these issues and relate to them on an 'Ah ha!' level as being health issues. We've seen arguments that shellfish, pork, and scavengers, for example, often contain diseases that make people sick or dead. It's tempting to see stuff on leprosy or menstruation, or diet and go "Yeah - health. That what God was doing here." And whilst it make be a secondary benefit, God's PRIME concern is to make a people seperate for Himself. It was to establish a nation seperate from the nations and proscribe ways and means for that nation to approach him in ways that pleased him. That lays behind all this as the big picture. Now, if He was so wise (as I honestly think He was) as to construct this in a way that had sensible health benefits for the people of His heart, that's another testimony to the great grace of God. But, like work, they were 'health benefits' Benefits! Benefits for living God's way. Not God's way of making sure his people were well - with some holiness fluff packed around it to make sure they obeyed - but Gods' commandments to His people for how they were to seperate themselves, consecrate themselves to him and live holy lives and that's where we tack on some sensible health benefits that come along with obedience. There's not much point being healthy if you're going to hell so His concern is always, first and foremost, a Holiness concern, a heart concern. But praise God that he also has a wholistic concern for His people!
Not sure if you wanted that so tell me to shut up if you'd rather puzzle it through :)
Thank you for the extra info. Perhaps the biggest problem with my understanding is in the definitions for "unclean" and "worship". Does unclean relate to sin, or permission to worship, or something else entirely? Does "worship" mean the same thing I think of today - praise, prayer, and adoration - or is that something different as well?
ReplyDeleteUnclean relates principaly to worship. To be pronounced unclean does not mean that you are rendered 'more' sinful etc. Its not a statement, even, that you are a sinner or have sinned. At its heart, it is a disqualification from being able to participate in ritual worship.
ReplyDeleteWorship. Wow - that's a big subject with lots of opinions. :) Suffice to say, that worship in the OT tends to be refering to the aspects that eventually would fuse into synagogue services. Temple rituals, sacrifice, service, reading, prayer, exposition, singing. All these would have been elements of OT worship at various times. The main difference was that early in the history of the church, this worship was very tightly scripted. It was ritualistic and formulaic and not so 'casual' as we might see today. It was constructed to point directly and specifically to Christ and so God prescribed that certain things happen in precise ways so as to be foreshadowings of Christ's work for us. Today we have a kind of 'come as you are' approach to worship - but ours is mediated through the Cross. In some senses, the OT worship was much more closely connected to God himself, even though mediated by the priests and, in a real sense, also through the Cross.
Soooo... an unclean person wasn't allowed to talk to God at all until s/he was pronounced clean?
ReplyDeleteAllowed to? Absolutely. Did they? Probably but not much at this stage of history. Remember, Israel pretty much had Moses to intercede between themselves and Yahweh communicationwise and it was the birth of a new nation and worship. There was not the immediate relationship between the people and God like there was between Moses and God. It was the face of Moses that shone with Glory - and the people were awed. So they did not enter into His presence the same way Moses did. Could they pray? I'm sure they could and I'm sure they did and uncleanness did not prevent that spiritual relationship.
ReplyDelete